𝔸𝕧𝕒

Jen took the past few days off to stay with us at the apartment, helping me with my memory and picking up some chores since I can't do much with a broken leg. She also made me a set of "Ava's Life Flashcards" to help jog my memory.

"Okay, next one," she says, holding up a card with her photo on it.

"Really?" I say. "That's obviously you."

She smacks me on the shoulder.

"Play along," she says with a furrowed brow. "Images are supposed to help jog your memory, I saw it on TV."

"Well if you saw it on TV..."

I get another smack on the shoulder.

"Okay, okay," I say, rubbing my shoulder slightly. "That's Jen, she likes comic books and board games."

"Aaannd...?"

"And torturing her best friend."

She swings to smack me on the shoulder, but I know it's coming and dodge out of the way.

I hear footsteps across the wood floor and turn to see Zane coming downstairs from the office. He gives us both a small wave and an awkward smile before heading to the kitchen.

"Ugggghh!" I groan, letting my head fall into my hands. "This is the worst, Jen."

"Hey, I know you don't like the flashcards but you don't have to be a bitchmuffin about it."

"No, not the flashcards," I say with a sigh. "It's Zane."

"What about him?"

"I don't know how to act around him. To him, we're boyfriend and girlfriend. To me, he's the random cute stranger who took me to the hospital. He keeps staring at me like he wishes I were the 'old me' but he seems—I don't know—defeated? It's almost like he thinks I'll never get better."

"Well you will, the doctors even said they think so," she says with a reassuring pat to my back.

"Will I? What if I don't? What if I'm stuck forgetting almost two years of my life?"

"Then we'll still love you anyway. Zane is crazy for you. He'll come around. Besides," she says holding up a flashcard with Mike's face on it. She has clearly drawn devil horns on him with a black marker. "At least you got to get rid of this loser—twice."

I chuckle with her and lean back on the couch.

Memories of Mike come flooding through: laughing at the movies, having an awkward dinner with his parents, throwing a roll of paper towels at his head when he accused me of cheating. That pretty much sums up our whole relationship; for every good memory, there was another crappy one.

I let out another sigh. My ears are ringing and my head hurts.

"I'm sorry you're going through this," Jen says. "Your memory will come back, though. Just you wait."

"How will I even know if it does?"

"Knowing you, you'll probably start banging Zane right away."

I feel blood rush to my cheeks and cover my face with a pillow. I just hope Zane didn't overhear that or I'll officially die of embarrassment.

ℤ𝕒𝕟𝕖

I lie down on the bed and bury my face in Ava's pillow, inhaling her scent.

I don't know how much longer I can take this torture.

She looks at me and all I see is pity. I could be anyone in the world to her—or no one. That's what I am, isn't it? No one.

Jen and Ava are laughing in the living room as they go over the flashcards Jen made to boost her memory. I wish they stood a chance of working, but I know better than to get my hopes up.

My phone vibrates and I pull it out of my pocket.

"Hello?" I answer.

"Hey, Z," Kami says through the phone. "Just calling to check on you."

"Still breathing. Have you found anything to help Ava?"

"No..." she says in a quiet voice. From her tone, I can tell she's encountered more discouraging news since we last spoke. Her hope is clearly dwindling.

I'm startled by the doorbell ringing several times in quick succession.

What the bloody hell is it now?

I dart to the door so the girls don't have to get up, checking through the peephole to be sure my demon friends aren't back.

I see a man with long dark brown hair hunched over.

So it's my other demon friend.

I open the door and he stumbles in, falling onto the floor.

"Hey, Z-man," he says with a forced smile, gripping his abdomen. There's blood dripping from a rather large wound, and he's holding his intestines in his hands.

"Bloody fucking hell, mate."

Jen stands up next to Ava and they both look this way.

"Kieran?" Jen asks with a gasp.

"Hey Jen, beautiful as always," he replies, grunting slightly as he speaks. "How's my little lady killer?"

"Are you-" she begins to say, starting to walk toward us. "Oh my god, you're bleeding!"

"Ahh this? It's no big deal," he says with a wink. "I'm a fast healer."

"I've got him," I say to Ava and Jen. "Jen, bring me the first aid kit from the bathroom?"

She nods as I scoop Kieran into my arms and bring him to the bedroom.

"Aww, it's like our honeymoon," he says. "You're carrying me over the threshold."

"Threshold is the front door," I say, placing him on the bed. "What the hell happened to you?"

"So good news, bad news," he says. "Bad news is I got cornered by some demons who were pretty sure I helped you kill Asmodeus."

"Shit."

"Good news is I won."

"You don't look like you won, mate," I say, shaking my head. "Why aren't you healing?"

"Well, I haven't had a proper meal in a while," he says. "A few humans will only go so far without Siren venom. They're just not strong enough."

"Why didn't you say anything?"

"Oh yeah, seemed like a great time to bug you with my problems. Plus, to be fair, I really didn't predict getting de-kidneyed by Asmodeus's lackeys."

Fuck.

If he's injured and starving, his body won't replenish itself. He could die.

Jen enters with Ava in tow and sets the first aid kit on the bed. They both look horrified.

Ava limps over to the bed and sits on the edge.

"What can I do?" she asks.

"I need you to go down to the restaurant, ask for Daniella and Eric, tell them I need them up here immediately."

She nods, pushing herself up off the bed and rushing out as quickly as she could with her crutches.

"It's gonna be okay," Jen says, sitting beside Kieran. "What can I do?"

I look to Kieran and I see that his eyes have gone all black. I'm going to have to charm Jen into forgetting that little detail.

"I'm so sorry," Kieran groans.

"What are you on about?" I ask.

In an instant, I get my answer. Kieran pulls Jen by her shirt and feeds off of her, a light white smoke passing between her mouth and his. Jen faints and falls off the bed with a thunk.

"Shit, I didn't mean to do that," he says. "She just got too close to me, I couldn't resist."

"You're lucky you didn't seriously hurt her," I snap.

"You're the one who let her get so close to me!"

"I thought you could handle it; Ava was just there!"

"Ava's not human anymore, bro!" he snarls, wincing in pain as he clutches his wound tighter. "She doesn't have that human allure."

His eyes suddenly shift back to their usual color and his expression becomes serious.

"Wait, shit, Zane," he says. "Ava's immortal now."

"Yes, I'm aware."

"No, Zane—fucking listen to me." His eyes lock with mine. "Ava's. Not. Human."