Page 75

She was just behind the door, but I wasn’t sure who she was anymore, or if she knew. The nurse opened it and led us in. Fai didn’t hesitate, barreling through the door and toward Goldie, who was dressed in a hospital gown, sitting under the covers of the bed. Her short hair had grown in the last couple of months—it now brushed her jaw line, but was still as dark as the night sky.

She smiled from ear to ear when her eyes met Fai, and they immediately filled with tears. He pulled her into his arms, and I watched it all from the doorway, unable to fully step in, but unable to step away.

Goldie laughed in Fai’s arms. “I know I’ve seen you… since, but it feels like the first time,” she explained with a watery laugh.

He pulled back just a bit and looked at her. “Damn, did I miss you, kid,” he said, tucking her short hair behind her ear. “You’re really back? All of you this time?”

She nodded and wiped at her cheek with her hand, leaving a streak of tears behind. “I think so, yeah. Most of me, at least.”

He sighed and wrapped her in his arms again. She melted into him, and it was obvious that this Goldie was different. She had the history with Fai; she saw him as her family. She had her memories back. She remembered it all… she remembered that she despised me, and why.

Goldie looked up past Fai’s shoulder to me and River. Her smile dropped from her face, but it stayed in her dark eyes as she looked at the two of us. She pulled away from Fai, who sat in the chair next to her bed. “River?”

My boy smiled and wiggled in my arms. I set him down, and the minute his little legs touched the ground, he was running toward her and scrambling onto her bed.

“Goldie Girl!” he cried excitedly, making his way onto her lap.

She laughed lightly—the sound reminding me of linen drying in the sun—and scooped him into her lap. She caressed his cheek with her thumb. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry I scared you.”

He shook his head and pushed his alligator into her arms. “Aunt Theo said you were sick. I brought you my Gator. Just like last night, to make you feel better.”

She took the stuffed animal and smiled softly before hugging River. “You make me feel better.”

River smiled up at her, and Fai looked at the two with nothing but love. Goldie looked back to me, and her smile dropped yet again. I waited for her to yell at me—for moving her into my house, for keeping so many secrets from her. But it never came.

She reached her hand out. I stood unmoving, and she rolled her eyes, gesturing for me to come closer. I listened and closed the distance, taking her hand in mine. My heart sang at the contact, but the look in her eyes wasn’t love. It was apprehension, worry, and even a hint of sorrow, which I couldn’t understand.

She grasped my hand. “I didn’t understand it then—what you did for me—and soon I will ask you all the questions, but thank you, Lexington. Thank you for finding us that night.”

I swallowed and nodded.

She let go of my hand with a soft smile, but it was restrained, and she turned back to Fai. “Is everyone here?”

He nodded. “All in the waiting room. Only a few could come back at a time. Oliver and Theo are waiting, and Jackie is interrogating the doctor.”

She laughed. “Of course she is,” she muttered, relaxing back into the bed. “They said I could go home tomorrow.”

“Today, actually,” I explained. She turned to me in surprise, a brow raised. “If you came home with me,” I cleared my throat and motioned toward River, “with us.”

“Oh,” she muttered and looked down at River, letting out a sigh. “Sorry. My mind is really jumbled right now. It’s called a postictal state… I think. I don’t entirely remember. I forgot for a minute that I’ve been staying with you.” She sighed and rubbed her hands over her eyes and up through her hair. “I have all my memories back, but they’re still hard to pull. It’s not quite like before, but they think it’s from the seizure,” she explained, “not the… well, everything else.”

“It’s okay,” Fai placated, taking her hand in his own. I wanted to do the same—to comfort her, to feel her hand in mine. But I didn’t know where we stood. Not after last night. Not after four years ago. Not after six months ago. It was all too messy. “Take your time to sort it out.”

She smiled gratefully and wrapped her arms around River. “I can come back with you two,” she glanced up at me, her dark eyes wide, “if that’s okay with you.”

I nodded. “Of course. I wouldn’t have invited you in the first place if it weren’t.”

She eyed me as if she were trying to understand if I were telling the truth or not. I wasn’t sure what she decided, but she turned back to River as he started talking about her seizure from the point of view of a four-year-old. Fai glanced at me, motioned with his head toward the door, and stood, walking out. I followed behind him into the hallway. He glanced back at Goldie, who was still listening to River with her full attention, and turned his gaze to me.

“Are you sure you’re okay with her going back to your place?” he asked under his breath.

I stuffed my hands in my pockets and nodded. “Why wouldn’t I be?”

“I assumed you invited her in the first place because she didn’t remember… well, the tension between you two. I knew you wanted to help, but… are you two friends now?” he asked curiously.

“I’ll… ummm…” I looked back at Goldie. She was different, and I couldn’t decide if it was just her memory being back. Maybe it was the memories of her life before mixed with the last six months that had changed her. It would have been more unbelievable if it hadn’t scarred her in some ways. How much had she changed? I wasn’t sure. Was she the woman I left at the house this morning, whom I kissed in the living room quickly on my way out the door with a promise to talk about us later? Or was she the woman who threw glare after glare at me whenever I showed up late for work? Would I ever know? Finally, I answered Fai: “I’ll get back to you on that one.”

It has now been two months since Goldie Taylor and the unnamed minor known as John Doe made their daring escape, and tonight, official details remain extraordinarily scarce.