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I was grateful he was letting the matter drop. “How well do you know me?”

“Pretty well,” he reasoned. “Is there something you want to know?”

I laughed humorlessly. “Everything? Anything? I don’t know. I can feel all the memories in the recesses of my mind, but I can’t get to any of them. I feel like I’m going crazy.”

Lexington had taken the news of my memory loss well. He didn’t react beyond looking concerned for me and asking me how long ago I had forgotten.

“Well…” he began, leaning back on the palms of his hands. “You are wicked smart with a computer, but prefer to write everything down. You drink an absurd amount of caffeine, you own more books than I could count, and I think you can play the guitar. Though I’m not sure. You do own one.”

Each small anecdote gave me back a piece of myself I didn’t know I was missing. Since waking up in that dungeon, I had been trying to put together the puzzle that was myself. But the pieces were scattered, and I didn’t have the box to guide me as I worked.

But Lexington had the pieces and the full picture I needed.

“How did we meet?” I asked.

“Like I said, we work together; you’re technically my boss,” he explained and smirked. “I think I’m your worst employee. We’ve worked together for over four years now.”

“I’m your boss?” I asked in surprise.

He nodded. “You are. You’re good at it, too.” He was holding something back; I could see it on the tip of his tongue, but I didn’t press him. There had to be a reason he was keeping it from me.

“Did you call…” I trailed off and took a steadying breath. “Do I have a family for you to call?”

He nodded. “You do, yeah. They’re here right now. Blowing up my phone, too, based on it vibrating in my pocket. The doctors don’t want to overwhelm you too much until they know what’s wrong, so they’ve been banished for all intents and purposes.”

“Did they look for me?”

“We never stopped; we never would. Your family… well, they’re not traditional.” I raised a brow at his words, and he continued. “It’s hard to explain, but it’s the family you chose. Not the one you were born with.”

I rolled the information over in my mind. I didn’t care if they were the family I was born with. They looked for me. From what Lexington said, they never stopped. “I’m sorry I don’t remember you.”

I was completely sincere in my words. It seemed to pain Lexington at times when it was evident how little I knew about him. I was worried about what the rest of my family would think. I also wondered who they were. It was a bit much to take in at once, and I understood the doctor’s reluctance to overwhelm me at this time… even if it was love that overwhelmed.

He shook his head. “Nope. No. You should not be sorry; none of this was your fault. Honestly, it gives me a fresh slate with you. When you do remember… well, you’ll remember why I need it.”

“You’re a strange man,” I mused, and he laughed and stood.

“I think I’m in shock,” he muttered.

Silas opened the bathroom door, wandering out with a shocked expression on his face. “That was the weirdest experience of my life. Where did my shit just go?”

A startled laugh fell from my lips. “It’s called indoor plumbing. You’re gonna love it.”

Lexington looked between the two of us with a soft smile. He didn’t say anything, but stood and walked to the door, glancing back at us for a moment. “I’m gonna talk with your doctors to figure out what the plan is. If you need me, just call for the nurse. She’ll track me down.”

His eyes lingered on me for a moment before he stepped through the door, closing it softly behind him.

Lexington

Iclosed the door behind me, leaving Goldie and Silas to themselves. I needed a minute. I needed more than a minute. I couldn’t breathe in there, not that I would let her know.

That woman sitting on the bed with her tentative smile, she wasn’t the Goldie I knew. She was a shell of the person I had lost, and I didn’t know how to process the change. It wasn’t her fault. In our search to find Goldie, I had never thought about what she would become after being gone. Every minute she was missing was another minute where she changed.

I wandered down the bright halls of the hospital on autopilot, looking for my brother. Oliver wouldn’t make it go away, but he would ground me back into reality. He had brought River with him, and more than anything, I needed my son. I needed to hold him close, to know he was real.

I stumbled into the waiting room to a hurricane of motion. Fai was at the receptionist's desk, trying to find a way in, to get to Goldie. Jackie was by his side, just as angry and just as argumentative. I nearly felt for the receptionist, but I held the same fire within me to help Goldie. Oliver sat in one of the waiting room chairs while River sat on his lap, flipping through a small book. Theo was lying on Oliver’s shoulder, her eyes closed.

I stopped in my tracks, taking deep and desperate breaths. The panic crawled up my throat, threatening to burst free from me.