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“Right.” Except it doesn’t feel right. There are holes in the puzzle and I’m missing crucial pieces.

“Alexis, I…I—”

The ache reappears inside my chest as I watch him struggle with his words.

What? Alexis, what?

“Everything okay?” Liam’s voice appears from the door. His head cocks to the side as his eyes bounce between the two of us.

Ethan swallows and curves his lips into a half-grin, and my heart flips. The man is too handsome for his own good. He takes a few more steps backward and turns to Liam. “Your sister was trying to do a box jump on her own and nearly broke her neck.”

“You fucker!” I hiss, my goodwill vanishing like an apparition.

I’m reminded of why I don’t like this man. Something about him unsettles me, and now he’s a backstabber on top of everything.

Liam growls and stalks toward me, his leather boots clomping on the floor. The last eight years have been kind to him—he’s filled out his black T-shirts and leather jackets, his tattoos on his arms and neck have multiplied but just add an element of danger. But deep down, he’s still my doting older brother. More pain in the ass and ridiculously overprotective now, but I can’t blame him. It must’ve been hard for him to see me in a coma.

“Lexy, what did I tell you last time? Don’t rush this and don’t make me sic a bodyguard on you.”

“You wouldn’t dare!”

“I definitely would, and Charles would agree with me. If you insist on endangering yourself, I don’t give a shit what your opinions are.” He swallows, a haunted hollowness appearing in his blue eyes. “We can’t lose you again. We’ve lost too damn much already.”

My eyes prickle and I know he’s thinking about Grandma and Uncle Ian again. They had to grieve the deaths of Grandma and Uncle Ianalone. I was told Grandma had passed away in her sleep and Uncle Ian had died from a car accident.

I wasn’t there for them. I couldn’t wrap them in a hug and give them a shoulder to cry on. Taylor also told me Liam and Charles had a rift for most of the eight years and didn’t reconnect until this past year.

“Liam.” A sob chokes my throat and I throw my arms around Liam. “I’m sorry. I promise you, I’ll take care of myself better. I was being stupid and impatient.”

Pulling back, I continue, “I just want to live again. Not only recover, but to move forward. And I want to remember what happened before the accident.”

“Does it matter, Lexy? What happened? It’s all behind us, right? Maybe it’s better you don’t know.” Liam swallows, his eyes shifting away from me and a muscle pulses in his jaw.

My eyes narrow.

“There’s something you aren’t telling me, isn’t there? Tay wouldn’t tell me when I asked her about the past either. Charles would always change the subject.”

“Of course not, you’re overthinking.” Liam drags his gaze back to me, his smile as fake as a spray tan in the middle of winter.

I squint, not buying it, but I’ll let him off the hook for now. I’m supposed to let the memories come back to me and not ask about my past.

It’s so damn tiring.

Yawning, I rub my eyes and grumble, “Fine. Whatever. I should probably rest before the brain doctors pick apart my mind again. A fun few hours of memory games and testing await me. It’s exhausting and mentally draining.”

A headache forms at the base of my neck and I wince before closing my eyes.

“Maybe Liam’s right,” Ethan murmurs. “Maybe trying to recover the past is hurting you.” He releases a ragged exhale. “Maybe…maybe you need to stop trying.”

Something in his voice—an anguished rawness—causes my eyes to snap open. His gaze is shuttered, a muscle twitching at his temple, his jaw clenched. His fingers are gripping, releasing, and tugging at his cuff links—aged silver and black ones which look incongruous with the rest of his expensive outfit.

“See? Ethan agrees with me. He’s an outsider, so he can look at this objectively.” Liam pats my shoulder. “Anyway, we were headed out to lunch nearby and wanted to drop in to see how you were doing.”

A smile twitches on my lips as I see his mischievous grin. “Nice to see you haven’t forgotten me. And you suck.”

Liam winks before heading back out the door, with Ethan trailing him. “Dels, hurry up. Didn’t you used to say time is money?”

Dels.Goosebumps form on my skin. The nickname sounds familiar, even though I could’ve sworn I’ve never heard it before.