Page 9 of Stone Coast

"Nope."

“Fascinating." It just kind of slipped out of his mouth. He sounded truly intrigued. "You know, your brain is like a hard drive. The data is never lost. Not until it's overwritten. Your operating system just doesn't know how to find the files.”

"Maybe we can run a disk utility and clean up the file structure," I joked.

"I think you're on the right track. A little time to reboot, and you will be as good as new." He flashed that charming smile again. "Well, I should be going. I’ll stop by again in a few days to check on you." He squeezed my hand again, acknowledged Grayson and Olivia, then left the room.

“You have a lot of people that care about you," Nancy said. "With that kind of support, you’re going to do just fine."

Nancy left and returned with a bowl of chicken broth minutes later. I spooned it into my mouth, taking cautious swallows at first. My stomach rumbled and gurgled, but seemed to agree with it.

I finished the small cup in no time.

Grayson had turned on the television and switched it to a 24-hour news channel. "Might be good for you to see what’s going on in the outside world. Who knows? Could jog a few memories."

I turned the volume down with the remote. I wasn't interested.

"Listen, I gotta run," Olivia said. "Hot date.” she winked. "I'll tell you all about it. I'm so glad you're back!” She gave me a hug and air kisses. "If you need anything, just call. I'll be back to check on you tomorrow."

"I don't have a phone."

"Oh," Grayson said, remembering. He pulled the device from his pocket and handed it to me. "I guess you need this back now. I kept it with me in case someone called."

"Did anybody call?"

"A bunch of spammy telemarketers. Somebody from your bank. Don't worry, I've been paying all your bills."

"Thank you." I glanced at the phone, but it didn't look familiar.

It recognized me, however.

The security screen cleared from facial recognition. It was the most bizarre sensation. Even my phone knew who I was.

I looked at the wallpaper and the apps, then launched the photos app and started scrolling through the images. It was like muscle memory. I didn’t even have to think about it. Maybe that was the key. Let it all go and stop trying so hard to remember.

There were plenty of pictures of a pretty redhead with Grayson, looking like a couple in love. Then it dawned on me… THAT was me.

I switched to the camera app, flipped it to selfie mode, and looked at myself.

I didn't look near as cute as the girl in the picture with Grayson. Of course, I’d been out of commission for a week and had a bandage around my head. I’d lost weight. My face was sunken, and I had circles under my eyes. I was pale from the lack of sunlight. But the resemblance was there, and I felt reasonably certain of the possibility of once again achieving cute status.

I continued scrolling through the photos. There were plenty of pictures of me and Olivia having a good time at the bars. Pictures of pretty sunsets and teal waves.

"I think this is a good idea,” Grayson said. “Look through your old photos. Something's bound to spark a memory. Go through your phone's contact list. See if you recognize any names. The more people you can talk to from your past, the better."

Olivia left, and Grayson took a seat in a chair that reclined and pulled out to a sleeper.

"Have you really been staying here the whole time?"

He shrugged. "When I can."

"Don't you have a life?"

He laughed. "My life has been thoroughly upended without you. But yes, I have a job, I have patients, I have rounds. But I've been able to pop in a lot, and I stay here when I can."

"You’ve been sleeping in that chair, waiting for me to wake up?"

He nodded.