“Hi, dear,” her voice was warm and a little raspy. “I just finished a reading and I – well, forgive me my maternal habits, but I had to make sure you got to Dr. Troy’s office all right.”
My smile widened. From inside the window next to the door, I spotted Dr. Troy sitting in her chair reading a book. “Thank you. Yes, I am here.”
Landreia sighed. “Good. All right, sweetie, well you can tell me about school when you get back. Are you going to hang out with the girls again tonight?”
My jaw dropped. How did she know? “Oh, um, well they did invite me to…”
“No pressure, love. Think about it, talk to Dr. Troy about it, and see how you feel. I’m more than happy to come pick you up if you’d prefer. Just let me know.”
“Thanks, Landreia. I’ll call you soon.”
I hung up the phone and took a deep breath. As I walked to the door I realized I’d gotten really lucky, all things considering. Landreia was taking good care of me. Dr. Troy was helping me through it. And I’d already made two friends. My memory may have been nonexistent, but it could have been worse.
When I got to the door, I knocked once.
“Come in,” Dr. Troy yelled through the open window.
I turned the handle and pushed it open. Inside the office was cozy and warm, with fresh air rolling in through a few windows. There were no artificial lights on, just candles with flickering flames. It was extremely calming.
“Hello,” I said softly and shut the door.
She smiled and pushed glasses up her nose. “Good evening, Saffie. How are you?”
I sighed and dropped down on the sofa across from her, then sat my backpack on the floor by my feet. “I am…okay.”
She arched one eyebrow. “Just okay?”
“Well…yes. And no.” I chewed on my bottom lip. “Today was good, but you know…”
“Still no memory, I know.” She sat her notebook and pen down then crossed her hands over her lap. “This is not an easy path you walk, but you are strong enough to handle it.”
My cheeks warmed. “Thanks. I don’t always feel that way.”
“No one does.” She winked. “So, what would you like to start with today? Anything specific you’d like to talk about?”
Riah.
I opened my mouth to say it…but the words wouldn’t come. My stomach tightened into knots and my palms grew sweaty. I wanted to tell her. To tell someone. It was weird and a little bit scary. Yet I couldn’t. There was just something so unsettling about it all. And I wasn’t sure which part scared me the most…the seeing him in places he wasn’t or the feeling of being inexplicably drawn to him.
“Um…” I frowned. “Uh…”
Just tell her, Saffie. Tell her about Riah. Tell her you found the guy you saw two nights ago on the wharf. Tell her he’s a student at your school and your new friends know who he is. Tell her you keep seeing his face everywhere.
Tell her how your heart beats funny when he looks at you and that you get all hot and sweaty.
“Well, I see a backpack.” She pointed to it at my feet. “Does this mean you took my advice and went to school today?”
“I did. It was…” I took a deep breath. “A good idea, for sure.”
She grinned. “Excellent. Why don’t you tell me about it?”
So I did. I told her everything. Meeting Savannah and Gigi, and how really nice they were. I told her about lunch and the feast they gave me to help me remember what foods I liked. Then we talked about photography class and Ms. Kelly, and of course the walking around. Then I filled her in on the rest of the school day and the classes I liked : history and English. And the class I didn’t like – mathematics. At that, she chuckled.
“And these girls, Savannah and Gigi, they’re in all of your classes?”
I nodded. “Well, I guess technically I’m in all of theirs.”
“That’s good. I was a bit nervous about you being on your own today, so this is a wonderful turn of events.” She pushed her hair behind her ear. “And you like these girls, yes?”
“Oh, yes. They’re funny and super smart. I can ask them anything and they’ll have some kind of answer for me and they won’t make fun of me for it.” I bit my lip and shrugged. “And I don’t feel so scared and alone when I’m with them.”
“They sound like really special ladies.”
“Yeah, they are.” I pursed my lips. “They invited me to hang out with them tonight. They’re having a slumber party at Savannah’s house.”
Her eyes widened. “And how do you feel about that?”
I leaned forward and put my elbows on my knees, then rubbed my hands together. “I do really like them. It was nice to be around them because I didn’t think quite so much. And I think I’d like to be friends with them.”
“But the idea of sleeping somewhere even more foreign than Landreia’s makes you nervous?”
I sighed. “Yes. Does that make sense?”
She smiled. “Perfect sense, Saffie. You may not have any physical damage to your head, but you still suffered a trauma. Be easy on yourself. I think you should definitely hang out with them tonight and try to have some fun, but then go home to sleep.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. “Okay. Yeah, yeah, I’ll do that. They said they’d bring me home, too.”
“See, perfect.” She rubbed her hands together. “Now, is there anything else weighing on your mind this evening that you’d like to talk about?”
Riah. “Um…” Definitely Riah. “I don’t think so.”
RIAH.
Quit that, brain. I’m not ready. I was nervous today. If it happens again, then I’ll tell. Yeah, that’s a good plan. Even then, as I made up my mind, I saw his beautiful face in my mind.
“All right, well if you change your mind just say so.” She reached down and picked up a box on the floor. “Now, I’d like to test your short term memory to see where we’re at with that.”
Chapter Fourteen
Saffie
I walked out of Dr. Troy’s house with a smile on my face. Sure, I hadn’t talked about Riah even though I’d told myself I needed to, but I felt better anyway. With a little more pep in my step, I pulled my cellphone out and opened up the favorites screen, then tapped Savannah’s name.
It rang two times in my ear, and then I heard, “SAFFIE!”
I chuckled. “Hi!”
“You’re on speakerphone. Say hi to Gigi.”
I had no idea what speakerphone meant, but I went with it. “Hello Gigi!”
“Heyyyyy! How was your appointment?”
“It was great. So, um, is the offer still available for me to hang out with you tonight?”
“MA’AM,” Savannah drawled with her thick accent. “Hell to the yes it is. We were just going to get some dinner. Are you hungry?”
My stomach growled in response. “Unless I swallowed a bear, yes.”
Gigi snorted.
“Brilliant, my little Safferella – yes, I just gave you a new nickname. Imma roll with it. Anyhoo, if you walk straight outta there toward the street, then turn left, then go to the first corner and stop there, you’ll find us.”