war. After Caesar died, Antony was put in charge of Egypt, where Cleopatra was queen. They had an affair that nearly started another war. He was Cleopatra’s love. Strong. Noble. A soldier, but he fought only because he had to.” She raised her eyes to mine. “You look like you’d fight, but only if you had to.”
“Only if I had to.”
I’d fight for you.
Our eyes held another moment, then Thea drew a deep breath. “Oh my God, Jimmy,” she said, her arms out wide. “I feel so awake.”
“Yeah?”
“Like I just drank six Red Bulls or something.” Her smile turned warm and flirty, and she tapped my phone. “You got one more song in there for me?”
“I have hundreds.”
She raised her crystal blue eyes to mine and for one precious moment, something deep in her connected to something deep in me so hard and fast that my chest constricted, trying to hold on to the air that had been punched out. Thea’s eyes widened and so did her smile. The radiance inside her burst through the cracks of her broken mind and I saw her. This girl whom, if we had longer than five minutes, I’d make mine.
But no sooner did I get a sweet taste of mine when the familiar confusion rolled through Thea’s gaze. She was resetting. I was resetting, going from protector to threat. From friend to stranger. From Jimmy to…
No one, Doris finished. You’re no one.
My hands itched to grab Thea and hold on, so I didn’t vanish.
She took a step back. “Who…?”
“Jimmy,” I said. “My name’s Jimmy.”
We did that scene three times that afternoon. Three times, I waited for the curtain of her mind to close and open again and we started over. Actors in a movie, reading a script, but the cameras and crew were hidden from sight. The same words, take after take.
Every time, the confusion swept across her eyes, wiping everything away. Erasing our five minutes. Erasing who and what we were to each other.
Nothing. We can’t be anything to each other because she has nothing to give. No way to give it.
Eventually, we made our way back inside, each still with an earbud in our ear, listening to a dance song together. We sat at Thea’s table, still tethered, a techno beat thrumming in our ears.
“You like this one?” I asked. “BOOM” by X Ambassadors.
Thea nodded to the beat. “I love it.”
She loves it. She’s happy. Delia can shove it up her—
“What is going on here?”
I flinched, and the earbud fell out of my ear. Delia Hughes stood by the table, her hard stare going between me and her sister.
“Delia!” Thea shot to her feet, then immediately froze, gripped by an absence seizure. I watched her to make sure she was okay until it released her, then turned to her sister.
“Hello, Ms. Hughes.”
Delia started to speak, and I was pretty sure it wasn’t to tell me what a great job I was doing. But Thea came around the table and threw her arms around her neck.
“You’re here. How long has it been? Where are Mom and Dad?”
Delia’s voice was a stone. “Two years, and they’re on their way.”
“I’m so glad you came.” Thea hugged Delia again, then stopped short when she saw me. A shy, soft smile came over her features. “Oh. Hi.”
“Hi.”
“I’m Thea Hughes.” She stuck out her hand, and I shook it, drowning in déjà vu.
“Jim Whelan.”
“So nice to meet you. This is my sister, Delia.” Thea laughed at her sister’s sour look. “Oh my God, Deel, you’re such a crank.”
“You’re an orderly, yes?” Delia asked me. “Where is Nurse Soto?”
“We’re shorthanded today,” I said.
Delia pursed her lips. “I see. Well, I’m here now. You may go.”
I glanced at Thea who rolled her eyes and mouthed I’m sorry at me.
An hour later, I was pushing a mop down the hall outside the rec room and saw Rita, Alonzo, and Delia in a huddle. They looked up as I approached and Delia turned to me, arms crossed.
“We can ask him, himself. What were you doing with my sister?”
Shit. I’m going to lose my job. Thea will be alone in the silence.
“N-N-Nothing,” I said. “Just listening to music.”
“Is that in your job description?”
“N-N-No.”
“Are you nervous? Guilty? What’s wrong with you?”
Rita interjected. “Jim’s been taking Miss Hughes for her daily exercise on days when I—”
“When you can’t because you’re short-staffed,” Delia finished. “I don’t pay to have Thea cared for by an orderly.”
“Jim is a fine employee,” Alonzo said. “One of our best.”
Delia