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Andrews.”

Chapter 4
    I
would not place you in a situation you could not overcome. Don’t forget, I was supposed to deliver you to your maker.
    Waking up was an uphill climb. I felt myself begin to surface, but I tried to remain under. That moment of bliss when I understood my consciousness before I actually knew my life, Dex’s life, it was something I’d continue to live for. I wanted to prolong it for as long as I could.
    I opened my eyes, giving up on going back to sleep. The sun had gone down; the lights were dim in my hospital room. The television was on, although muted. Beside me, Ralph was sleeping, his arms pillowing his head.
    Tracey sat in the corner, her eyes on her laptop. When I shifted to sit up, her gaze found mine and she smiled warmly.
    “He’s asleep,” I whispered, grunting as I moved.
    She nodded, her eyebrows pulling downward with concern. “He was worried about you, you know.”
    “Me too.” He began to wake up, and I sat up straighter. I didn’t know if he was going to apologize or if I needed to. I wasn’t used to the situation I found myself in. If I was being honest, I wasn’t used to anything.
    He cleared his throat, blinked up at me, and smiled.
    “We done?” he asked, his throat scratchy, the smile still plastered over a face suited more for a grown man than an eighteen-year-old.
    “Sure. Whatever.” I smiled too. Ralph made it easy to be his friend.
    “ Ha. Jackass.” He looked back at my aunt just as she said his name, telling him to watch his mouth. “I heard you’re leaving tomorrow. You excited?”
    I shrugged. I didn’t know what to think about leaving the hospital and moving into foreign territory.
    “You’ll be fine,” my aunt said, leaning forward in her chair.
    “Certainly. I can hear the ladies offering to stop by and play nurse,” Ralph said. I glanced at Tracey.
    She rolled her eyes, and I remembered how young she was. I hadn’t seen a man around and she wasn’t wearing a ring. Ralph hadn’t mentioned a boyfriend or husband.
    “Are you seeing anyone?” I blurted out. When she looked at me quizzically, I realized how random I was being. “I’m just trying to get everything sorted.”
    “No, no, it’s a fine question. Just not one I’d have expected to hear from you.” Her eyes crinkled with her smile. “I don’t have much time for dating. All social life flew out of my life the day you flew in it. I mean, I’d always been in your life but once you were my responsibility, I didn’t bother with friends or dating anymore.”
    “I’m hurt. I thought I was your friend,” Ralph cried out.
    “Sure, Ralph.” Her phone screen came to life and she stood up. “I have to take this. I’ll be right outside, guys.”
    I leaned my head back. The things I’d learned from Dex’s past haunted me.
    “Don’t let what happened before bother you, bro. We can only go up from here, right?” Ralph picked up a bottle of Coke from beside his feet and took a sip, shrugging when I looked at him. “You’re freaking out. I told you not to. What’s done is done. But what’s ahead of you, that’s the real adventure.” He waggled his eyebrows.
    “Yeah, I’m on this cosmic search for the right girl. That should be an adventure all right,” I muttered, leaning back.
    “ We’ll just try each flavor until you find one that suits you,” he said easily, causing me to laugh. “What? That’s legit. Baskin-Robbins had it right. Try all thirty-two flavors!”
    “I’m not really looking for someone to just have fun with. I mean, that too, but I’m not into the one-night stand scene. Maybe something more long term.”
More like forever
, I thought to myself. But Ralph would just make fun of me if I said that to him.
    “All I know is the one-night scene, man. But I’m willing to bet whatever caused you to lose your memory has also caused you to lose your damn mind. You’re eighteen!” He laughed at my seriousness, continuing on with a rant that I’d begun