We sat back down at Booth 4. The puddle on the table had spread. It was now soaking the edges of the coaster formation. I didn't fix it. That's how rattled I was—I let the coasters stay wet.
Desi was shivering. She dug a cigarette out of her pack, but her hands were shaking so bad she couldn't get it to her lips.
"You did this," she whispered.
I looked up. She was staring at me. Her eyes were rimmed with smeared eyeliner, making her look fierce and terrified at the same time.
"Excuse me?" I said.
"The note," she hissed. "The handwriting. You said it was yours. You wrote the note that said Adam was in the hospital."
"I told you, I have no memory of that!" I defended myself, feeling sweat trickle down my back. "It’s a forgery! A mimicry!"
"Or maybe you're the one doing all of this," Desi stood up, slamming her hands on the table. "You're the control freak, Leo! You're the one who always wants everything perfect! Maybe you locked us in here so you could... I don't know, lecture us until we die!"
"That is absurd!" I shouted. "I want to leave just as much as you do! I have a Zoom meeting on Monday! I have plans!"
"Plans," Greg rumbled. He laughed, a low, dry sound. "We don't have plans, Leo. We just have Adam."
"Shut up, Greg!" Desi spun on him. "Stop acting like a doormat! We have lives! I have a gig next week. I have... I was seeing someone."
I frowned. "You were seeing someone? Who?"
"Adam!" Desi shouted.
The silence that followed was louder than the thunder had been.
I blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
"We were together," Desi said defiantly, lifting her chin. "For three months. It was messy, and wild, and... real. He loved me. He told me I made him feel alive."
"Desi," I said slowly, trying to process this data. "Adam is single. He has been single since Sarah left. He complains about it constantly. I have charts of his loneliness."
"You don't know everything, Mr. Blueprint!" Desi yelled. "We kept it quiet because we knew you'd judge us! You'd say I was 'bad for his stability' or whatever."
"She's lying," Greg said.
We both looked at Greg. He was shaking his head slowly.
"He wouldn't date you, Desi," Greg said. His voice wasn't mean. It was just factual. "Because that would be weird. You're practically family."
"We are not family!" Desi spat. "We're friends!"
"He's my brother," Greg said.
My brain stuttered. It felt like a computer trying to divide by zero.
"Greg," I said carefully. "Adam is an only child. I organized his mother's birthday party last year. There were no siblings on the guest list."
"No," Greg insisted. He looked up, and for the first time, he looked angry. "I'm his older brother. I look out for him. That’s why I’m so tired. I’ve been carrying his sadness since we were kids. Since Dad left."
"Adam's dad didn't leave," I argued, my voice rising. "Adam's dad is a dentist in Ohio! I have his contact info in my phone!"
"He's my boyfriend!" Desi screamed.
"He's my brother!" Greg roared, slamming his fist onto the table. The wood cracked.
"Stop!" I yelled, covering my ears. "Both of you stop!"
I looked from Desi to Greg. They were glaring at each other, their chests heaving.
"Don't you see?" I whispered. "These facts... they contradict each other. Adam can't be an only child with a dentist father and have a brother with a runaway dad. He can't be single and heartbroken and secretly dating Desi."
"So someone is lying," Desi said, narrowing her eyes at me.
"No," I realized, feeling the blood drain from my face. "Nobody is lying. That’s the problem. You both believe these things are true. You feel they are true."
I looked down at my hands. They were trembling.
"Memory is data," I muttered to myself. "But if the data is corrupted... then the system is compromised."
"What are you talking about?" Desi demanded.
"We aren't remembering a person," I said, looking up at them. The red light made them look distorted, like reflections in a funhouse mirror. "We're remembering... pieces. Fragments. We're fighting over who owns him, but none of us makes sense without the others."
"You're talking crazy again," Desi backed away. "I need a drink. A real drink."
ns216.73.216.10da2
and then Add to home screen.