I grinned. “He’s my boyfriend.”
Morena shuffled through her papers. “You two know each other?”
I lifted our joined hands to my cheek. “Of course. We’ve been making out like Meredith Grey and Dr. McDreamy in the residents’ bunk room.”
He laughed. “You likeGrey’s Anatomy?”
“Loveit!” I said. “I watched amarathon. Didn’t run in one, though.”
Jared and Ria burst out laughing. I looked at them, then at Morena. “Is that funny?”
The social worker moved forward from where she’d been watching at the door and handed Morena another piece of paper. “Here’s a little background on Ava.”
Morena scanned it. “So you had a memory loss event last night, Ava?”
This got everybody quiet.
“I admit nothing,” I said. People liked saying that onJudge Judy.
My boyfriend turned to me with a broad smile.Yes.I said the right thing.
Morena turned to the social worker. “She has amnesia?”
My body buzzed with energy. “I’m right here,” I said. “I can tell you myself.”
The social worker’s lips pinched the tightest I’d seen, but it no longer made me anxious. I was a fighter. The notes I left in my history book said so. I had to fight.
She tapped the paper Morena held. “Memory loss, declarative. She was tested this morning. All procedural intact. She can walk, talk, seems normal. Only episodic memory is gone.”
“Jabber jabber jabber,” I said, each word like a shard ofglass aimed at the woman. Every scene from the TV shows I’d watched that day were like treasure troves, words and emotions I could fire like the guns the cops carried inLaw and Order. “I’m fine. Look at me. My boyfriend is right here. I’m all good.”
Jared perked up. “Dang.” He and Ria were paying full attention.
Morena tucked the new paper into her clipboard. “Ava, do you remember anything before last night?”
“Of course I do.” I flipped my hair with my hand like a shampoo commercial, forgetting the wires, and had to disentangle my fingers. “Nobody can tell what I know or don’t know.”
Morena’s gaze clashed with the social worker. The social worker subtly shook her headno.
A fighter instinct rose in me, heat curling through my belly. No one was going to tell me I was weak. I wrote on my skin. I found the shower curtain. I read about who I was. I was smart and fierce, and none of these people would take me down.
“All right, Ava,” Morena said. “What did you do yesterday?”
“The same crap we always do.” I glanced at my boyfriend. “Right, honey?”
His grin made my stomach swoop just like the kiss. “Absolutely. You got here yesterday morning, checked in by the fish tank. Told me the blue one was your favorite.”
I had no notes about him, but it didn’t matter. Here he was. Perfection in jeans and an orange and brown shirt. His smile told me he would help.
“Nope, it was the red,” I said. “Blue wasyourfavorite.”
“I stand corrected,” he said, his grin even bigger. “And it took forever for them to wire you up. We tried to arrangebeing here at the same time, but I got here several days ago.” He lifted my hand and kissed the back of it. My belly positively vibrated with joy. We were fiercetogether. “I’ve purposefully held off having a seizure so I could be here with you.”
Morena pulled her pencil out. She was going to take notes, too. This was atest. “Ava, have you met me before?”
I looked her dead in the eye. “Nope. The only person I know is my boyfriend.”
Morena lifted one of her eyebrows. “So, you really are her boyfriend?”
