Her nervous glance told me a reset had just hit. I hurried toward her.
“How long has it been?” she demanded before I was halfway across the room.
“Two years, Miss Hughes.”
She nodded and eased a sigh, her eyes going to my nametag. “Thanks… Jim. I had an accident. The doctors are trying to figure out what’s wrong with me.” She stuck out her hand. “I’m Thea.”
I’d forced myself to stop counting her introductions and endured her vigorous handshake for what felt like the millionth time.
“Would you like to go for a walk?”
Thea’s luminous face broke out into a smile that made my chest ache. “I would love to. Are you my escort?”
I nodded.
She raised an eyebrow. “Well?”
“Oh, right…”
I offered her my arm and laughing, she took it. I led her to the back door that opened on the fenced grounds.
“It’s such a beautiful day,” Thea said, turning her face to the sun.
The heat wrapped around us in a thick blanket of humidity. Insects buzzed. The lush, green grasses threatened to overtake the stone path through the grounds. The high fencing was just visible on our right, with the thick forest on its other side. I wondered if Thea saw only the trees and plants and not the fence that kept her in.
“You’re awful quiet, Jim,” she said. “Not a big talker?”
“Not much.”
“I’m the opposite. My sister says I never shut up.” Thea peered up at me. “Jim is short for James, yes? You don’t look like a James. Or a Jim, even. Jimmy, I think. You have kind eyes. Do you mind if I call you Jimmy?”
“I don’t mind,” I said, my heart aching and glad at the same time. The same every time.
“Something bothering you, Jimmy?” Thea gave my arm a squeeze. “Contrary to what Delia thinks, I’m a good listener too.”
“N-Nothing’s bothering me,” I said.
Nothing was what I could do about Thea’s predicament. I suddenly regretted this walk.
Thea cocked her head. “Okay, but I’m all ears if you change your mind. Especially now. It’s so quiet out here.”
Twice she’d brought up the quiet. I wondered if the silence of her mind—empty of memory—bothered her more than the quiet of the grounds on this humid afternoon.
Of course, it bothers her. Because she knows. Her word chains are proof.
That line of thinking wasn’t going to get me anywhere. There was nothing I could do to change the future, but I could do something for her at the moment. For the five minutes she had.
“Do you like music?” I said.
Thea’s face lit up. “Like it? Music is life. I’d kill for some tunes right now.”
I reached for my phone to play something for her and realized I’d left it in my locker.
Shit. So much for that plan.
“What about you, Jimmy?” Thea asked. “What do you listen to?”
“Old school rock and metal, mostly,” I said.
“Right on. Dance and techno are my jam. Do you play an instrument too?”
“Not really.”
She gave my arm a nudge. “Not really usually means yes, but you don’t want anyone to know.”
What difference does it make if you tell her? In about three minutes, she won’t remember anyway.
“I play guitar,” I said. “And I sing a little.” The words flew out before I could catch them back.
Thea stopped walking and stood in front of me on the path. “You sing?”
“A little,” I said. Fuck.
“You sing and you play rock music on the guitar. Good grief, Jimmy. You have to know how hot that is, right?”
I coughed. “N-N-No…”
She cocked her head, her expression softening. “Am I making you nervous?”
Inhale. Exhale. Hell, I told her before.
“I have a stutter. It was worse when I was younger. A teacher told me singing can help.”
Thea nodded, then her smile returned. “I’d love to hear you sing.”
I stared. I hadn’t sung in front of anyone. Ever.
“No one’s around for miles,” she said. “And it’s so quiet. Please? Just a little sample?”
“I don’t have my guitar.”
“A cappella works for me,” she said.
My stomach tightened and my palms got sweaty. “I don’t think so.”
“Are you sure? Because—”
“I’m sure.”
Thea flinched and looked away. I cursed myself, aware of the sheer volume of trust Thea had to place in everyone around her—whether she knew it or not. Except for Delia, everyone in Thea’s life was a stranger.
“Sorry,” I said. “Didn’t m-m-mean to bite your head off.”
“No, it’s my bad. Delia’s always telling me I’m pushy as hell. Guess she’s right.” She slugged my arm half-heartedly. “You’re off the hook. I just feel like…”
“Like what?”
“Like it’s so quiet, you know? Not just out here.” She gestured at the grounds. “But all the time. Always. I know that doesn’t make sense. Not even to me…”
Just fucking sing for her. Make her happy. Her reset is coming. She won’t remember.
The ache in my chest tightened like a hand squeezing. I dreaded singing out loud, but I dreaded the reset more. How it would tear down everything we built. Another introduction. Another request to call me Jimmy. But in these few minutes, she’d have what she wanted. A change from her endless cycles of sameness.
It wasn’t about me anyway. If she really was aware of her situation, deep down, the very fucking least I could do for her was anything she wanted.
“Okay,” I said. “I’ll sing.”
“Really?” Thea’s face lit up. “Score. I am so ready.”
“Let’s walk. I can’t do it with you staring at me.”
We began to walk. Years of taunting and bullying nearly changed my mind, but before I could think about it for another second, I began to sing “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” low and rough. A slowed-down a cappella rendering of the rock song as we walked the silent grounds.
I sang of a woman’s blue eyes that thought of rain, her smile, and the beauty of her face that could make me cry if I stared too long. I lost myself in the words, inhibitions falling away with every syllable because I was singing to Thea. I was singing about Thea and it was the easiest thing in the world…
“Are you kidding me?” Her hand clutched my arm, cutting me off.
Shit. Here it is. The reset.
But gazing up at me, those crystal blue eyes were only full of wonder, awe and—God help me—want.
“You’re so good.” She yanked up the sleeve of her ugly beige shirt. “It’s a million degrees out but I have goose bumps. Look.”
Her pale, perfect skin was raised in gooseflesh.
“You have a beautiful voice,” she said, her tone lower now. “Rough and deep and… sexy.”
I swallowed. Jesus, I wanted to kiss her. Her cheeks were dusted pink, and the sun glinted on her hair. I wanted to bury my hand in it, haul her to me and kiss her. Feel her smile against mine and taste the sweetness of her mouth.