ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

Two uniformed officers guide me to a small table in a small garden just outside the hospital. One officer, a broad-bodied man with a mustache, sits down and invites me to sit across from him. The other, a small woman with ash-blond hair, remains standing behind him.

I reluctantly pull out a chair and sit down.

"Thanks for taking a moment to talk to us," the man says, pulling out a notebook and pen.

Like I really have a choice.

"Is this going to take long?" I ask, anxious to get back to looking after Ava.

"I know you've got a lot going on right now, I'll try not to take up too much of your time. We have to investigate particular types of injuries that come in here. I just have a few questions for you."

I'm hardly up for this right now, but I know I need to get this over with so I don't have the cops breathing down my neck.

"So we've already talked to your girlfriend, Ava, and got her story, so we need you to be honest with us and fill in some details."

Having worked as a compeller in interrogations for The Council, I know the script all too well. They're trying to imply that Ava told them something, but I know there's nothing to tell—not that Ava can remember anyway.

"So, start by telling us what happened that brought you to the hospital," he says.

"Ava was attacked by this guy who broke into our house, I came in and interrupted the attack, and the guy took off," I say.

I mean, technically Ava stabbed him and turned him into a pile of dust, but close enough.

"Now, the nurses told us that she suffered multiple injuries to her head, neck, and arms consistent with being physically attacked. She also has a pretty serious broken leg. We collected epithelial samples from under her fingernails, so if she scratched her attacker we will have that DNA for comparison."

I nod.

"Do you know how those injuries happened?" he asks. The officer behind him crosses her arms and glares at me.

"Most of that happened before I got there," I say. "Except, er, her leg."

I cringe at the memory of Asmodeus breaking Ava's leg. I can still hear her piercing scream.

"You saw her attacker break her leg?" he asks.

"Yeah," I say, closing my eyes for a moment. I feel a tear run down my cheek.

"Has Ava ever broken a bone before?"

"I, er..." I say, pausing for a moment. It's obvious that they think I hurt her, just like Mike thought, and the idea alone makes me ill. "Not that I know of."

"Were either of you under the influence of any substances at the time?"

"No, er... wait, Ava was at a bar earlier that night, so she may have had something to drink. I'm not sure. I didn't really ask."

"And how did she get home from the bar?"

Shit.

Technically she left with Asmodeus, but anyone watching would have thought she left with me.

I'm royally fucked.

𝔸𝕧𝕒

"Hey," I hear a soft voice say.

I open my eyes to Mike crouching beside my hospital bed.

"Wha-," I start to say. "Are you okay? What happened to you?"

"What do you mean?" he asks.

"You just disappeared after that fight. When I came to, you were gone."

"What fight?" he asks.

How could he possibly have forgotten his fight with Zane?

I think back through everything and I begin to question it myself. Zane seemed impossibly strong and there was smoke flowing from his fingertips.

Was that real? Was it all just some sort of bizarre concussion-induced hallucination?

"You... you didn't get into a fistfight with Zane?"

"When I punched him?" he asks, raising his hand which is now wrapped in a brace.

Maybe I did imagine it.

"Yeah..." I say. "I guess I got confused. Where is everyone?"

"You mean your boyfriend and his friends?"

"Um, yeah, I guess so."

"I don't know where he is, but the other two are asleep out there," he says, pointing out the door.

From here, I can see Kieran draped over a couple of chairs, his limbs tangled in all directions. It's miraculous he can sleep like that.

A nurse steps into the room and gives us both a small smile.

"Hi, I'm sorry to bother you," she says. "Would your visitor be able to help us with a few questions about your history?"

"Um..." I say, looking to Mike.

"Sure," he says. I'm surprised by his willingness to get involved, as he usually wants nothing to do with my health issues.

"Could you confirm if this is her current medication list?" she asks, showing him a paper on a clipboard.

"Oh, uh..." he mumbles, looking over the list. "Jesus, Ava, why are you taking all this stuff?"

"I don't know. That's kind of why they're asking you. I don't remember."

He rolls his eyes and shrugs.

Yeah, I get it, okay? My health is a mess. No need to rub it in.

"That's alright," she says. "We'll try to track down your pharmacy records."

The nurse walks out and Mike turns back to me.

"Why are you here?" I ask.

"I never got to really talk to you yesterday. I wanted to finish our conversation," he says with a sigh. "Are you hungry? Do you want me to get you some food from the cafeteria and we can talk?"

"Actually," I say, eyeing a sleeping Kieran, "I'll join you. I'm really bored of being stuck in this room anyway."

*****

The cafeteria is mostly empty, with an older gentleman sitting alone by the window and two doctors grabbing food at the counter. I sit down at an empty table and set my crutches down beside me. Mike brings our food trays and sets them down.

"So," he says. "Have they figured out your health stuff yet?"

He keeps asking me questions like I haven't forgotten everything from the past year or so.

"I have no idea."

"Oh, yeah, that's right," he says, pointing to his head. "The whole amnesia thing."

"Speaking of which," I say. "Do you know what my phone passcode is? I tried my old one but it's not working. I clearly changed it since and I can't figure it out."

"Why would I know that, Ava?"

"I dunno, I thought maybe I had told you or something."

"You forget we're broken up now," he says with a scowl.

Fair enough.

"I guess you're right," I say, spearing a piece of fruit with my fork and taking a bite.

"Well, about that," he says with a sigh. "I'd be willing to give us another shot."

"Oh."

It's the only thing I can think to say.

Of course I have feelings for Mike, but I'm hardly in a position to be making important life decisions, and the fact that he's even asking right now feels a bit inappropriate.

Over Mike's shoulder, I can see a woman in green scrubs glaring at us. I'm not sure why we've caught her attention, but she's certainly adding to the pressure.

"I don't know what to say," I say.

"Well think on it," he says. "I'm going to fill our drinks."

He grabs our empty cups and heads over to the drink fountain around the corner.

After a second, the woman in scrubs approaches me and leans on my table.

"Are you with that guy?" she asks. "The one who just walked away?"

"Mike?" I ask. "Um... we're friends."

"But you're not like, together?"

"No. Why?"

"Okay, good," she says. "He's my friend's boyfriend, so I just wanted to make sure."

What??

"He's... dating your friend?" I ask.

"Yeah, my best friend Ashley. Sorry to bother you guys, I just thought something was going on between you two."

"Oh, no worries," I say. "Nothing is happening between us and it definitely never will."

I'm going to kill him.

She leaves the cafeteria just as Mike makes his way back in. He sets our glasses on the table and sits back down.

"So you want to get back together?" I ask, internally seething but trying my best to seem inconspicuous.

"Yeah," he says, taking a bite of his fries. "I think it makes sense. Don't you?"

"And you're not with anyone right now?"

"No," he says. "Why?"

"Oh, I dunno, maybe because I know you have a freaking girlfriend?" I spit.

His eyes widen and he takes a heavy gulp.

"Shit," he curses under his breath.

"Really, Mike?" I ask. I do my best to stand up and storm out, but I have to grab my crutches and awkwardly scoot my chair back while hopping on one leg.

Sadly this isn't even my most embarrassing moment of the week.

"Okay, I'm sorry you found out this way, okay?" he says, resting a hand on my crutch. "Yes, I technically have a girlfriend, but Megan and I aren't really working out."

Megan?

Oh my god... he has TWO girlfriends???

"What the hell?" I ask. "You know what, Mike, stay the fuck away from me."

I tug my crutch from his grasp and limp away. He'll have to imagine I'm stomping angrily because I can't really stomp with my broken leg.

He runs around to cut me off.

"Ava, let's talk about this," he says. "You're being dramatic."

With that, I decide to do the most dramatic thing that comes to mind—I swing my crutch forward between his legs and he drops to the ground.

Fucking asshole.

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

That's the last time I actually try talking to the police. Next time, I'm cutting straight to the part where I charm them.

I walk back into the waiting area and I see Kami slumped over and asleep in her chair. Kieran's seat is now empty, so I imagine he's off chasing an attractive nurse or doctor.

I peek into Ava's room and my eyes land on an empty bed.

What the fuck?

Bloody Kieran and Kami were supposed to be watching her.

I panic and immediately scour the room.

"Kami," I call. She jumps up in response. "Ava is missing."

"Oh god," she curses, looking at her empty room. Kieran rounds the corner in too-tight green scrubs and walks up to us.

"Relax, Z-Man," he says. "Ava is just getting food."

"What the hell, mate? Why are you wearing that?" I ask.

"Oh, long story," he says. "I had to handle something in the cafeteria."