Chapter 159 - Dr. Seuss

"Why are you here so early in the morning?" She was plodding to the kitchen barefoot, rubbing her eyes as she yawned. 

"I'm not going to miss the glorious deets of your adventures with our boss," he maliciously leered at her disheveled look. "I don't expect you to wear that —" he pointed to her oversized shirt like he was disgusted by it. "...with your night shambles with Mr. Tiefenbacher." 

She scoffed, pulling a chair and sitting down, only to drop her head to the breakfast table.

"Does our boss tire you that much, Little Miss Jessie?" he wiggled his thick eyebrows on her as he put a plate of ham and eggs sandwich in front of her. "Where is he by the way? Should I prepare his breakfast now, or would you act like a pretty little miss Jessie and bring him breakfast in bed?" 

He poured two cups of steaming black coffee that he brought to the table. One for him and one for Jess, who was already eating the breakfast he prepared for her. 

"Well," he probed her, who just grunted her thanks when he put down a cup of coffee next to her plate. 

"Nothing," she mumbled with her mouth full. 

"What do you mean no? I didn't leave the house and give you privacy just for you to get nothing." he shifted in his seat to face Jess who was still acting like he was not dying of curiosity. 

"It is what I expected and — more," she winked at him. 

"And?" 

"And, nothing."

"What nonsense are you saying, Jessica? You really going to do it?" he asked in exasperation. 

"Luke!" she rolled her eyes at him, "I don't know what to tell you. Yes, the sex was great! It was earth-shattering and I can't seem to get enough —of it." 

"ENOUGH!" he shrieked. "My god, what do you think of me? I don't want to hear how you and Noah did the deeds." He looked disgusted at her. 

She punched his shoulder, "If you don't want to hear the good details, then what are you asking about?"

"I wonder if he remembers you now." He looked solemnly at her, holding his cup of coffee in front of his face. 

"No."

"No?" 

"Yes, no." 

"W-what? I don't understand. What kind of game is he playing?" He asked in astonishment. 

"And he wasn't faking it either." He truly didn't remember what happened that night." 

"And you are okay with it?" He noticed the change in her expression and was surprised to see that the usual bitterness in her eyes every time the topic was discussed was gone. 

"I'm not okay, okay. You know what I mean. It just struck me that whatever I do, the fact that I like Noah is something I cannot change." 

You are letting go of what happened that night as if it were nothing?" His eyes were wide with shock. 

"I- I'm not truly letting go of what happened —"

"Yes, you must not!" 

"Wait - why are you singing a different tune now?" She twisted her body to face him. 

"You should ask yourself that, why are you singing a different tune now?" 

"What do you mean? You were the one that told me before that I should just go dive in with Noah," a slight irritation can be heard from her tone. 

"Well, that was before you started looking like a lovestruck woman, ready to accept whatever piece of bullshit Noah would throw your way!" 

She squinted her eyes at Luke, "I still don't understand." 

"Jess, before you — you look like you are someone who has her ego beaten, hence, I told you to just go get over it with Noah, but now —" he didn't finish his sentence and just shook his head slowly while staring at her face. 

"WHAT?" 

"You look like a woman madly in love. And it is scary." he averted his eyes from her questioning gaze. 

"Oh!" she exclaimed. 

"That's it? Oh? Do you understand the situation you are in now, Jessica?" 

"You and Ellise kept on telling me to just have my heart broken. You said, it would be easier to get over my infatuation of Noah if I would just let him break my heart," she shrugged nonchalantly. 

"That was different! You are different!" he said in a panic, trying to make her understand. 

"Luke, I am a big girl. I know you are worried about me. But, I can't run away forever." She gave him a small smile. "Isn't it better if I just let him sweep me off my feet?" 

"Jess, ---" he sighed. "I -- I'm just here," he mumbled in surrender. 

"Thank you," she stood up from her chair, bent towards him, and kissed his cheek. "Thank you, for always having my back." 

She took her plate to the kitchen sink and washed it while whistling a happy tune. 

Luke stared at her with apprehension in his heart. He is happy that Jess is happy, but he can't shake off the worry he is feeling when Jess told her that Noah still didn't remember that they had an encounter in the past. 

Noah is a good person, but he can't shake the looming shadow of gloom in the back of his mind that Noah will break Jess's heart. 

"Oh, by the way, I'm not hiding Noah in my room. I sent him home last night," she informed him while she was wiping her hands dry on the hem of her shirt. 

"Okay," he nodded absentmindedly, watching Jess return to her bedroom. 

He told himself in the past that he would not actively get on Jess's way with her relationship with Noah because Jess has to learn her lesson when it comes to love on her own. 

As he recalled, he told himself that he was just going to watch on the sideline. However, why is he feeling so anxious right now? 

***

"Ugh," he grunted in the dark. 'Why is it so dark?' He glanced at his wristwatch and saw the face of his clock illuminated the hands of time as three twenty in the morning. 

"Why am I on the floor?"

He tried to stand up but bumped his head under the table, "Fuck!" he cursed in the darkness. 

When he successfully stood up from the floor his feet hit something hard on the floor and another curse escaped his mouth. He bent down to pick up whatever it was that he hit in the dark. 

He picked up his laptop computer. When he flipped it open the light from the screen gave off enough light for him to see in the kitchen, although, he didn't really need that much of a light to move around his kitchen for he had everything in his kitchen memorized in his head.

He walked to the wall where the light switch was located and the kitchen was flooded in warm light. 

He knitted his eyebrow when he saw that his computer had a long crack on its screen. 

He took a deep breath trying to steady the thumping of his heart. What happened was freaking him out, but just like what his doctor said, panicking at this time does not help. 

What he needed to do is the opposite. However, it was not easy not to panic when he woke up on the cold floor of his kitchen, with a bump at the back of his head, and his computer screen broken. 

And he couldn't remember what happened! 

'Meds. I need to take my medicine.' 

He put down his computer in the kitchen and walked to his bedroom. He saw his phone lying on the kitchen island and picked it up as he passed by. 

He hastily dialed his doctor's number. He has pressed his doctor's number in his phone because he didn't have it saved in his phone. For security reasons. 

He didn't wait long before someone answered his call. 

"Hello, Dr. Seuss, Austin here. I think I just got another episode." 

"Hello, Austin. Which order is this name?" 

"The first one, doctor." 

He already knows this stupid drill by heart. His doctor insisted on this code. 

"I see that you are fine, Noah. Tell me what happened." 

"I lost consciousness. I have my memories but they are a bit detached from each other, like puzzles." 

"No need to panic. Our memories have always been like puzzles. You just have to put them together. But, I don't want you to do that tonight." 

"Why not?" 

"Because tiring your brain will not bring you any good. You need to rest first. You still have some of your medicine, right?" 

"Yes." 

"Good. Now, I want you to take your medicine, lie on your bed, and sleep. Tomorrow, I need to see you in my office. Do you understand?" 

"I am busy, doctor. I have to deal with a lot of things." 

"I need you in my office first thing in the morning Noah. As soon as you wake up." 

Noah took a deep breath. His eyes were feeling heavy, he dropped his phone after he murmured his answer to Dr. Seuss.