Remember Me(16)

“Why aren’t you at work this morning?” Jim Everett asked, concern laced in his words.

Jim Everett was a kind and considerate gentleman in his early forties. When Kenny started working at the law firm, his first adult job, Jim had taken him under his wing. Kenny considered the man to be more of a second parent than just a mere friend.

“It’s Sunday.”

“Uh…no, it’s actually Monday.” Jim paused for a moment before continuing, “Are you okay?”

Kenny jerked up into a seated position and looked around the room. How long had he been asleep? He had no memory of Saturday. It was as if the day had been skipped entirely. Damon drove him home from the hospital on Sunday morning and now, Sunday was starting to become a blur as well. How could a whole weekend just disappear? He felt panicked and sick to his stomach.

“I’m not feeling well. I’ve been sick all weekend,” he simply said, not wanting to share the truth of what really happened with his friend and mentor. “I’m not going to be able to come in today.”

“No problem. I was just worried about you. I’ll let the rest of the office know that you’ll be out.”

“Thank you.”

“Take care of yourself,” Jim said, and Kenny made a non-committal noise in the back of his throat before hanging up.

He rubbed his face before climbing off his bed. Walking over to the dresser, he removed a clean pair of briefs, jeans, and a T-shirt. It didn’t take long before he was dressed and leaving his apartment behind. Kenny strode down the street toward the Silver Bullet, his mind a mess.

He needed to get his car, but once that was taken care of, he was going back to the hospital. Or at the very least, he needed to find out what had happened to him. Perhaps in finding out the details, he could jog his memory and remember. Kenny was missing a significant amount of time from his mind, which made him feel incredibly disoriented.

He stuck to the main streets where there were a lot of people instead of breaking off and using side roads as short cuts. He was glad he lived near the club. It meant he didn’t have to call a friend for a ride. When he finally reached the parking lot, Kenny was surprised to find it so busy. It seemed that a lot of people enjoyed partying at the club. Striding through the packed lot, Kenny made his way to his vehicle. When he got there, he stopped dead in his tracks and looked around, but there wasn’t another person lingering near his car.

Moving closer, Kenny picked up the bouquet of flowers resting against his windshield. He lifted the mixture of wild flowers up to his face and inhaled the light fragrance.

Who put flowers on my car? Kenny couldn’t help but smile. This was the first time he’d ever received flowers. When he spotted a small box wrapped in colorful paper with a big shiny blue bow, his small smile turned in a huge grin. Unlocking the driver’s side door, Kenny carefully set the bouquet on the seat and picked up the box.

He lifted it to his ear and shook it before slowly removing the wrapping paper. He was careful not to rip it open as his anticipation grew. When he was greeted with a simple white box, Kenny flipped the lid open. He lifted up a thin silver chain necklace with a polar bear charm. Dropping the empty box onto the hood of his car, Kenny placed the necklace around his neck, locking it into place.

He fingered the charm, rolling the polar bear in between his thumb and forefinger. Why a polar bear? And then, as if the little charm triggered something, Kenny remembered Damon driving him home from the hospital. The man had mentioned that Michael, the man that saved him, was in fact a polar bear shifter. Is this from you, Michael?

Kenny shut the car door and locked it before heading toward the club. He wanted to find Michael. For some unknown reason, the man had saved his life and left him a present. The first could be attributed to the man doing his job, but the gifts, Kenny couldn’t figure out the motive behind the nice gesture. Unless, of course, the shifter was just a nice guy, like Damon said.

When he reached the front door, he pulled out his picture ID, handing it over to the bouncer. “Is Michael working?”

“No, I’m sorry.” The big man shook his head. “It’s his day off.”

“Oh.” Taking his ID back, Kenny slipped it into his pocket before turning on his heel. There was no reason for him to go inside the Silver Bullet after all. He’d wanted to see the polar bear to thank him, not only for the gift, but for saving him from becoming a victim.

“Hey, Kenny!” the bouncer shouted and Kenny glanced over his shoulder. “Gideon Channing would like to see you, is that all right?”

“Sure, I guess.” Kenny shrugged. He knew who Gideon was, the Alpha and owner of the club.