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“Why do you ask?” She tried to sound unfazed by my question, but her voice wavered. The question bothers her, just not enough for me to want to retract it.

“Just the way you two acted today. It was…” I searched my mind for the right descriptor. “Intense.”

“Intense how?”

I tucked my feet under my butt. “Well, you seem attracted to each other.”

Maddy eyed me with caution, and I saw the wheels turning in her head. If she needed convincing…

“The sexual tension was…”

Maddy’s shoulders dropped as she sighed. She hopped up from the sofa to come sit next to me. “It’s complicated. Before the accident…” her gaze fell to her lap, and when I found her hands trembling I covered them with one of mine. “I mean, he’s been there for me you know?” Her head came up, her eyes glistening a little. “I know he’s had a hard time with everything too, and somehow we just ended up being there for each other. I don’t understand it, and it scares me shitless, but I care about him. A lot.”

“Did something happen between you two before my accident?”

Maddy hesitated, and then leaned her head on the back of the sofa. “I thought so, but he shut down on me just before that.”

“Did you tell me about it?”

Not remembering something that was obviously important to Maddy killed me.

“No, but you caught us…” her words trailed off. When I didn’t respond, she raised her eyebrows. “You know…”

My brows furrow. “What?”

Maddy stared at me a little longer, and then what she was inferring finally hit me.

“Oh God,” I slapped my free hand over my face, and then peaked at Maddy through my fingers. “I caught you having sex, didn’t I?”

Maddy nibbled on her lip and nodded, color rising from her neck all the way to her ears. Her creamy skin turned pink, and her head full of brown curls bounced as she giggled with embarrassment.

“On the kitchen counter,” she added. Oh great. “And the coffee table.”

“I caught you twice?” My voice came out pitchier than I expected, but to be fair, I was more than shocked.

“Yeah…”

I looked between her and the coffee table. “But how…”

No. The thought was shaken from my head before I could imagine my brother and my best friend bumping uglies on our coffee table.

“I hope you cleaned it,” I muttered. “And the kitchen.”

Maddy replied, “You did,” and then burst out laughing. “You were so grossed out that you put a mask on, with rubber gloves.”

My own laughter couldn’t be helped. It was funny.

We fell silent, both of us caught up in our own thoughts.

“Is it weird?” asked Maddy, her voice softer. “Not being able to remember?”

“It’s frustrating.” I let out a breath. “Especially when my Dad talks to the boys about the games they played last year, or something else that happened that I’m supposed to know about but don’t. And if I don’t say anything they all look like someone kicked their puppies.”

That was what I hated the most. The looks of pity.

“They were all a mess, especially the twins. They dealt with it the worst, I think. Your Dad was trying to be strong for everyone, he knew how to handle it, but the twins…”

I thought of Liam and Aiden, both spitting images of our Dad with their brown hair and green eyes. They were the trouble-makers in our family, and always got into the most trouble because they egged each other on. But admittedly, I loved them, the same way I loved the rest of my cooky family.

“Everyone needs to adjust,” added Maddy. “Same as you.”

“I know, but I need everyone to stop tiptoeing around me all the time, and to stop being afraid to reminisce about last year. Just because I can’t remember, doesn’t mean I expect everyone else to forget.”

“It’s not always that simple, Kenzi. You’re a big part of our lives, and nearly losing you…” Maddy’s throat worked as she swallowed. “We had an amazing first year at college, and you were in every single one of my memories.”

I swallowed back my need to cry, and squeezed Maddy’s hands. “I know, but now we get to make new ones.”