The Deal

Thirty-Five-Bernadette

As if I magically summoned her, Yvonne steps into the room and avoids looking at Thabo. He's even pretending as though he and I are the only ones present. "Look at you," Yvonne says. "Feeling all bad-ass after kicking death's ass twice."

Thabo grimaces and rolls his eyes as he motions toward the door. But I'll have to get something off my chest. "I had another flashback," I voice out and my husband halts.

"Earlier, when I was on set, I scolded my young co-star when she wouldn't get off a prop we've been using for filming. Right then, I remembered a little girl sitting and eating on a couch. I remembered being annoyed at her and so I raised my voice. I ordered her to get off it and leave. The thing is, the memory felt so peaceful and comforting. After the memory, I've been feeling like something big is missing in my life. I could be hallucinating, but I feel like I've abandoned someone close to me. It's a strange feeling."

Yvonne furrows her brows at me as though I've just told her I've been reincarnated or something. Thabo instead smiles. "There was a time you and I got invited to a neighborhood couples party. You told me you caught their ten-year-old daughter staying up late to watch TV. You were kinda furious that they would let their kid wander downstairs while an adult party was being hosted outside. I'm glad you remembered."

When Thabo leaves, Yvonne snares at him. But now, another thought gets to me. How much do I trust Yvonne Anderson? My husband's right about her. She encouraged me to get back into filming the series not too long after the coma. She would be like; "What do you say? Do you think you have the spirit to come back and be Puleng again?" "You can't let amnesia win, Bee. If ya went face-to-face with death, you can fight your way back to being the star that you are." "Your fans are praying you come back, Bee. I hope you've not forgotten how much you fell in love with playing Puleng. This is yer dream job, and amnesia will kill it if ya let it win."

"Why're you looking at me like that?" Yvonne asks. "I feel like you're scared of me or something."

I force a smile. "Gosh, no. Okay, I am a bit afraid of what I want to tell you and how you'll react."

To put it evidently, her manipulating me to get back on set led me to meet Armani in the make-up room. Yvonne might be lying and pretending not to know Armani. They could both be working together or a part of the people trying to make me forget my memories.

When Yvonne tilts her head, I voice out; "I want to quit. I'm so sorry, but with everything going on, I can't continue —"

"Ugh, don't. Don't talk about Bad Habits." She scoffs. "It's the last thing on mi mind now. Of course, I was gonna let you go, anyway. Right from here, I'll send my team the message and we'll end your contract. Things are gonna have to change from now on, even if it hurts."

"Thank you," I reply. Even though I believe she's two-faced, I still feel bad for her. She's put so much effort and hard work into this show, and it will be heartbreaking to see it get canceled. I shift my head again, and relief overwhelms me upon realizing the pain from the wound has gone down.

"Hey. You better get some sleep, ya hear? I need you healthy and strong enough to tell me about Armani." I flick my gaze to Thabo and the doctor, who are both in a deep conversation outside the ER. "Stupid bitch won't get away with this. We'll find her." Yvonne kisses my cheek and nods at me before exiting the room. I flip my position over to face the right side, imagining Yvonne sneaking up on me while I'm in a deep sleep. I imagine her smothering me with the pillow. Sweet, kind Yvonne. Well, she has shown a bit of selfishness, giving me false hope that I could get back to work and give an Oscar-worthy performance while, in reality, I needed to be left alone so I would recover from the trauma. She even admitted that. But she's not perfect. I'll still need to be on guard. I try scanning the table for anything sharp so I can protect myself from her. When she comes to finish me or bludgeon my head with a hammer.

***

The door opens and shuts. When footsteps tap the floor and the sound of a zipper hits my ear, I grow alert. I couldn't find a weapon, but I realize the best option would be my fingernails. I could scrape some DNA off the perpetrator; only if that would be useful in the investigation. The temperature around me gets warm when a body towers over me. The rich cologne. Once it hits my nasals, I grow a bit surprised.

"Hi," Jabar whispers once I open my eyes. He still hasn't changed the jacket. "Sucks to be in bed doing nothing, right?"

What are you doing here? I didn't expect you to visit me. I never thought you cared so much for me. I find it hard to utter words to describe my reaction, so I just glare at him.

"Aw, well. This feels awkward, I tell you." He scratches the back of his head and shrugs. "I'm not the type that sits beside a hospital bed and fills your head with false hope. Hospitals give me the creeps. The last person I went to visit at the hospital was my first college roommate. Bra had a panic attack because he caught me banging his lady. I went to tell him we had been friends with benefits long before he came into the picture. I didn't know she was dating him, and I personally had no beef with him. You know what happened next? He passed out again. Later on, I heard on the news that he OD'ed on pills while in the hospital. As messed up and funny as it is, that's why I never visit people in hospitals again."

I raise a brow, concerned about how his story applies to my situation.

"The reason I came here is to warn you." He leans closer to me. "Stop digging. You want answers but trust me, you won't find the truth. Things don't make sense right now? Good. Keep it that way. Eyes are watching your every move. Others are making sure you lose your memories. Not just Bill. You were drunk when you drove that night. That's what happened, so pretend like you've accepted it and move on."

I don't respond. I remain silent, but I listen to every word he says. Awkwardly, he places a kiss on my forehead and I allow him because I'm too stunned to move.

"See you later." He winks at me before swaggering off. I hush out a breath, not even realizing I'd been holding it in. With a trembling hand, I open my left palm to read the text on the crumpled piece of paper Jabar left with me. My heart rate ticks faster.

Stop searching and let's meet on the bridge at 11 PM. I'll explain everything.