Johnny stood up and gave Kristina a hug. "Kristina, it's great to see you out and moving around. How are you feeling?" He motioned for her to sit down and join him.

"I'm feeling much better, thank you. Still a bit sore, but everyday it gets better."

"I'm actually surprised that Alexis would let you out of her sight already."

"Well, she didn't. She's in the city for a few hours with Molly. I'm sure if she could she would lock me up forever at the lake house."

"And yet you're here at Kelly's." Johnny laughed.

"I had to get out. I was going stir crazy."

"Listen, I was going to call you, but I was told that you were having some issues with remembering people that were associated with what happened to you. I thought maybe I might be one of them. I didn't want to upset you."

Kristina paused and then drew in a deep breath. "It's weird, I know who you are and know that we're friends, but when I think back, there seems to be a lot of missing pieces in our past meetings and conversations."

"Yeah, I guess we've talked a lot about Ethan in the past."

"Oh, makes sense then. Ethan's your friend?"

Johnny leaned in closer. "So you really don't remember him?"

"No, I don't. I mean everyone keeps telling me that we have this long history of being good friends and recently getting involved in a relationship, but I can't remember any of it."

"I know what happened to you was awful, Kristina, but that guy loves you and would never hurt you. He tried everything in his power to find out who was trying to hurt you."

Kristina sighed. "I actually just ran into him outside."

"You did?"

"Yeah, some girls I knew a long time ago were giving me a hard time and Ethan stepped in and put them in check."

Johnny laughed and Kristina was puzzled by it. "What's so funny?"

Johnny shook his head. "I won't get into it right now, but I'm sure one day you'll see the humor." He smiled until he seen Kristina hang her head low. "What's wrong?"

Without looking back up and barely in a whisper, she spoke. "I know that I'm hurting him, Johnny, but I don't know what to do about it."

"Why don't you try talking to him? Maybe being there with him for a little while will help you to remember."

"I don't know, right now when I look at him, I see a stranger. I don't think I am ready for that yet."

Johnny's phone beeped and he picked it up to look at it. "I'm sorry Kristina, but I have to go."

Kristina smiled. "No, it's okay."

Johnny stood up. "If you need anything… have questions about anything, you call me and I'll be there."

"Thanks, I really appreciate that."

"Alright then, I guess I'll see you around."

"Yeah."

Ethan couldn't believe he let Johnny drag him here. The booze he welcomed, but the club atmosphere was something he could do without. "Tell me again why we are here?"

"Because Coleman told me he was tired of seeing your moping face every night at The Rib."

"Well he could've just told me. I would've stopped going there."

"And then you would've just showed up at The Haunted Star."

"So I guess Kristina isn't the only one who doesn't want me." Ethan said over the load music.

Johnny rolled his eyes. "Come on man, I know it's been a couple weeks now and she still won't talk to you, but you can't just get drunk all night and sleep all day. You have to learn to socialize again."

"And you think that bringing me to a club with a bunch of drunken college students and awful music is going to do that?"

Johnny shrugged his shoulders. "It can't hurt."

Ethan pounded back on his beer.

"Hey, I didn't bring you here to try and get over Kristina. I still believe that she is going to remember you any day now, but you can't just pity yourself until that day comes. You need a night of fun.

Ethan looked around at his disapproving surroundings. "Yeah, fun."

Johnny signaled to the waitress that was walking by. "We'll take a couple shots of straight whiskey."

They settled themselves in a booth that sat off one side of the dance floor. Johnny was quickly realizing that maybe Ethan was right about the club when trying to have a conversation over the loud music was becoming less than impossible. He realized just how bad of an idea it was bringing him here when he glanced over to a group of young girls dancing with some guys and noticed that one of them was Kristina. She was dressed in a tight black mini skirt and a shimmering see through silver tank top that let her black bra show through. Kristina having a great time out without Ethan was not how he wanted him to see her, especially with the young man dancing closely behind her. "You know Ethan, I think you were right. This place isn't doing it for me either. Let's get out of here."

Without any hesitation Ethan stood up. "Now that is music to my ears. Let's go."

They were half way to the exit when Ethan suddenly stopped and reached back for his wallet. "Wait, we forgot to pay the tab."

Johnny tried to keep Ethan moving forward. "Right, listen, why don't you head out to the car. I'll get the bill."

Ethan was going to agree to Johnny's request but turned back when their waitress walked right past him. "Hey, we're taking off." He began and pulled out some money and handed it over to her.

The pretty waitress pouted her lips and stuck the money in her cleavage. "Do you really have to go? I get off in an hour and was hoping that maybe we could hang out for a bit." She ran her fingers down the front of Ethan's shirt flirtatiously.

Johnny was pulling back on Ethan's shoulder. "Come on, man. We really need to go."

Ethan took a step back toward Johnny, but found the waitresses offer amusing. "Thank you sweetheart, but I'm already… take…en." His last word trailed off when he seen Kristina's arms wrapped around the shoulders of some boy. "Kristina?"

"Ah shit." Johnny breathed out and grabbed Ethan's arm. "Ethan come on, let's go."

Ethan yanked free from Johnny. "Hell no, I'm not going anywhere." Ethan began heading straight for an unsuspecting Kristina on the dance floor.

"I don't think this is a good idea!" Johnny hollered as he followed quickly behind him, but there was nothing he could say or do to stop him.

Ethan saw red when the guy's hands moved lower onto Kristina's backside. Once he reached the two of them, he pulled the man's hands off of her and grabbed tightly onto the front of his shirt. "Do not touch her!"

"Who the hell are you?" The guy tried pushing Ethan's hands off of himself.

"I'm her boyfriend, that's who the hell I am!"

"Let go of him!" Kristina shouted.

Ethan turned to look at a worried Kristina. Her face looked scared again, like it did the time in the hospital room. He immediately released his grip on the guy. "I'm sorry." He said to Kristina.

Kristina shook her head and looked to Johnny. "Can you get him out of here?"

"Kristina, I'm sorry. Please come with us." Ethan pleaded.

"No, I came with my friends and I'm going to leave with my friends."

Johnny once again grabbed onto his friends arm and pulled him back. "We need to leave, Ethan."

"Why are you doing this to me?" Ethan said before reluctantly walking away. The hurt and pain was evident in his eyes and voice.

Johnny was set to go after Ethan, but paused for a second in front of Kristina. "I told you to talk to him. Don't you see that you're killing him? I know that you did not choose anything that has happened to you, but you do love him and he is still madly in love with you. You might not remember your past with him, but that past is still very much alive inside of him. You're a good person, Kristina. If you don't want to remember your relationship with him, that's fine, but then you owe it to him to at least talk to him and tell him so he can somehow begin to move on with his life. Because what you are doing to him now… well quite frankly it's pretty damn selfish."

Kristina stood motionless as she watched Johnny exit the club. She could feel the soft hands of her friends gathered around her, but the sounds of their voices and that of the music had all disappeared. Johnny was right, she was being selfish. Whether she would remember her life with Ethan or not, she owed it to him, if not herself, to talk to him.

Ethan went straight for the liquor after him and Johnny entered into his loft. "I can't do this anymore, Johnny. Watching her from afar, pretending that I'm okay with waiting. It's killing me. It's like she doesn't even want to acknowledge that we have a life together… or had a life together."

Johnny grabbed a beer from the fridge. "I wish I could still tell you that everything is going to work itself out, but I honestly just don't know anymore."

Ethan plopped himself down on a kitchen chair. "Maybe this is karma."

"What?"

"Karma for pushing Kristina away for all those years. I'm getting paid back by her now doing the same to me."

Johnny wanted to be able to say something to Ethan to make him feel better, but knew after what happened tonight there was little that would do the trick. "I'm really sorry, man. I had no idea that she would be there. I was just trying to make you have a little fun."

"Don't worry about it. It's not your fault Kristina wants nothing to do with me."

There was a knock on the door and both men turned in its direction. Johnny looked back at Ethan who just shrugged his shoulders, so he walked over to the door and opened it.

Kristina stood nervously as the door opened up to Johnny standing there. "Hi, Johnny. Can I… Can I please talk to Ethan?"

Ethan nodded when Johnny turned to him for his approval. Johnny then moved to the side allowing for Kristina to enter. "Alright man, I think I'm going to take off."

"You might want to okay that with Kristina first. She may not feel comfortable enough to be left alone with me." Though there was sarcasm behind Ethan's words, he did want to make sure that she was okay with it.

"I'm okay." She walked further into the apartment, getting a strange sense of déjà vu as she looked around.

Johnny grabbed his jacket and walked out. There was an awkward silence until Ethan finally spoke first. "So what brings you here? The boy at the bar didn't turn out to be quite what you hoped?"

Kristina closed her eyes. "I know I deserve that. I'm sorry."

Ethan was full of different emotions right now, but he knew he was really mad at the situation, not at Kristina. He sighed heavily. "No, Kristina, I'm sorry. I know none of this is your fault and I know that you don't remember, but just a short time ago you promised me that no other man would ever lay his hands on you. I didn't mean to scare you tonight, but seeing that guy all over you… well I guess it just sent me over the edge."

Kristina sat down at the table across from Ethan. "I understand. I should've come sooner to talk with you, but I guess I just didn't know what to say. It's really weird having a seemingly big part of your life just disappear."

"I can't imagine." He said back.

"Ethan, I don't mean to hurt you purposely. I want to remember everything about my life, including you, but I just don't. I have been avoiding you and it's wrong and like Johnny said… it's very selfish of me."

"Johnny said you were selfish?"

"Yeah and he was right. I was thinking that maybe we can grab some coffee or something tomorrow and I don't know… talk. If you don't have any plans I mean."

"No, I don't have any plans." Ethan straightened up in his chair. "Tomorrow's perfect."

Kristina shyly smiled. "Okay, then tomorrow at Kelly's. Ten a.m.?" She moved back towards the door.

"Ten it is." Ethan stood up.

Kristina was about to walk out, but realizing that she might be giving Ethan false hope she turned back around. "I can't promise you anything, Ethan."

"I know, it's just coffee."

"Good night, Ethan."

"Goodnight, Love."

Kristina smiled and felt warmed by his term of endearment. But without a second thought, she walked out of the apartment and headed back to her moms.

Ethan's sleep habits had become reversed lately, so he was barely able to sleep at all through the night. The sun rose and he readied himself with a shower and some pre coffee date coffee. Time seemed to be standing still as he checked his phone several times waiting for the clock to turn to nine-thirty so he could leave. He arrived at Kelly's ten minutes later and sat at a table as he anxiously waited for Kristina.

Kristina stood outside of Kelly's, pacing back and forth as she tried to think of a way out of following through with her coffee plans. She walked up to the door and peeked in through the window. Ethan was sitting there with his fingers intertwined with each other as his arms rested on the table. She couldn't figure out why she was so nervous. She found Ethan to definitely be an attractive man. Extremely attractive actually. Stop being so childish. She thought. Get in there and talk to the man. It's the right thing to do. She drew in one deep breath and pushed through the wooden door.

Ethan immediately looked up and upon seeing Kristina standing there, he stood up. "Hey, good morning."

"Hi."

"You look great."

She looked down at her faded jeans and plain ocean blue t-shirt. "Thank you." She answered before taking a seat.

The waitress came by and they both ordered their coffee and each requested a muffin. Kristina was afraid of any silence so she decided to dive right in. "So you're Luke's son. He and my father are good friends."

Ethan laughed a little. It was so weird to be having a conversation like this with Kristina. They had gotten to know so much about each other over the years it felt so odd to be starting like new.

"What's so funny?"

Ethan quickly cleared his throat. He didn't want Kristina to think he was laughing at her. "Yeah, I'm Luke's son…"

The conversation soon seemed to be flowing easily. Ethan had to retell Kristina everything about himself, but she truly seemed to be enjoying herself. She laughed at Ethan's little jokes and the fear she once shown through her eyes had completely disappeared.

They were sharing a laugh when Ethan found himself once more in awe of the beauty sitting across from him. He was in a daze when he suddenly blurted out. "I love you so much, Krissy."

This caught Kristina off guard. "What?"

"Oh, I'm sorry. I know I shouldn't have said that." Ethan shook his head to break his stare.

To her own amazement, she didn't get up and run out of Kelly's, instead she reach out her hand and placed it over Ethan's. "No, it's okay."

Ethan looked back at her. "That didn't just freak you out?"

She smiled. "No, I mean, yeah, it sounded a little weird, but I get it. Listen, I know that I have been acting childish lately, but I think it was just a way of dealing with all of this craziness going on. I have to deal with this the right way. And even though I don't know what the outcome will be, I want to know about my life… all of my life and that includes everything about you and me. I've heard it from everyone else, but now I think I want to hear it from you. Ethan, will you tell me everything about us?"

Ethan grinned. This was going much better than he expected. And then he had an idea. "How do you feel about a little field trip?"

Kristina suddenly beamed with curiosity. "Sounds like fun."

Sorry if this chapter seems blah to anyone. The next chapter or two will be more fun! Promise!