Chapter 3

The next morning, I woke up and totally forgot where the kitchen was.

I stood in the hallway, staring at two doors with sweaty palms.

One was the study. The other was the storage room.

The kitchen was supposed to be right outside, but my mind blanked out, and I couldn't remember the way.

Holding onto the wall, I felt my way forward, step by step.

Emily's laughter drifted in from the living room. "Charles, have a look at this photo.

"You used to look so silly when you smiled."

Charles's voice dropped. "Don't look at that one."

"Why not? Can't I look at Sophie's old photos?"

I stepped into the living room. The photo album my grandma had left was on the coffee table.

Emily was sitting on the carpet, flipping to the page with my childhood photos.

Charles stood nearby, holding the album's clasp. The clasp was silver. Grandma had said not to lose it.

Emily looked up at me. "Sophie, I was trying to help Charles remember.

"Don't be mad."

I walked over and closed the album. "Who said you could touch that?" I asked.

Emily's eyes grew teary. "Charles said this was our home, so I thought I could." I cut her off. "It's not yours."

Charles set the silver clasp back on the table. "Sophie, she was trying to help."

"So because she's out of goodness, she thinks she can mess with my grandma's stuff?" I snapped.

"She didn't know."

"But you did."

Charles went quiet after that.

Emily murmured, "Sophie, I really didn't know this meant so much to you." She lowered her head, her fingers stroking the silver clasp.

"Charles said you never talked about your family, so I thought you didn't care," she added.

My eyes locked on her hand. "Let go."

Emily flinched. The silver clasp slipped from her fingers, tumbling under the couch. Then, she quickly clutched her chest.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to," Emily said.

Charles quickly reached out to help her. "It's okay, don't be scared."

I crouched down to look for the clasp. There was dust under the carpet. My nail caught on something hard and got scraped. I found and grabbed the silver clasp and then stood up.

Charles was pouring water for Emily. He didn't even look back. "Em just touched it, don't scare her like that," he said.

I clenched the silver clasp in my hand. "What she touched wasn't just a clasp."

He got impatient. "Then what else could it be?"

"It's something my grandma left me," I said. "And the only home I have now."

Charles's shoulders tensed. But Emily was the first to start crying. "Sophie, I don't have a home. That's why I envy you.

"Charles only ever thinks about you. So I wanted to see what you guys were like before."

As she cried, she lifted her wrist. She was still wearing that bracelet.

"Charles said he didn't want it anymore, so I started wearing it," she explained.

I turned to Charles. "You said you didn't want it anymore?" I asked.

"It was already old." He avoided my gaze.

Old. Things wear out, like people. Even feelings fade with time.

At the moment, I had no idea where to put the clasp. The sweat in my palm made the clasp press painfully into my skin.

Charles walked over, his tone softening. "Sophie, you can't keep living in the past.

"You have to look forward.

"Emily saved me. I can't turn my back on her."

"When did she save you?" I asked.

"That time when the warehouse caught fire," Charles replied instantly. "She dragged me out, and she's still got scars on her hands because of it."

Emily pulled her sleeve down a bit. "Let's not talk about it. It's all in the past."

I stared at her sleeve. For an instant, flashes of fire, thick, suffocating smoke, and Charles's hands stained with blood shot through my mind.

I tried to cling to that image. But it faded quickly.

My head started pounding. Charles reached out to steady me. I shoved his hand away. "Don't touch me."

"What is it this time?" his face darkened.

"Nothing." I shook my head.

Emily spoke up softly, "Sophie, did you forget things too? You've been acting kind of strange lately."

Charles finally looked me in the face. "So what were you getting checked for at the hospital?" he asked.

I clutched the photo album tightly to my chest. "That's got nothing to do with you."

He pressed his fingers against the edge of the album. "Sophie, we haven't broken up yet."

I slowly pulled the album out of his grasp. "That won't last."

Charles's smile vanished. "Say that again."

I didn't repeat myself.

My phone rang. It was the girl from the Gallery. "Sophie, something's happened at the Gallery."

I gripped the photo album tighter. "What happened?" I asked. I could feel that her voice was trembling.