That evening I give myself another scrutinizing look, almost ready for dinner with Adria. I wear a black cocktail dress casual enough for a friendly meal but smart enough for dating.

Adria must remember me by the end of the night. No matter what, I'll find some way to jar her memory.

I've been in the bathroom straightening my unruly, fiery curls and donning makeup, but Adria hasn't made a single appearance. She's got to show up eventually. She can't avoid me forever. The woman is always perfectly dressed and coiffed, and that takes time.

My stomach gives a sickening churn at the thought she might just cancel on me like a coward.

No, that's not like her. Is she sick?

After touching up my red lipstick, I enter her room without knocking, a habit from our former friendship. I forget that she doesn't remember me, and regret floods me in an instant.

Brieanna pipes up, furious at my intrusion. "What the—? Get the hell out of here! Now!"

That's when I notice something my eyes can never un-see.

I resist the urge to rub my eyes or to pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming. With a careless fumble, I step back. 

My finger reaches for the camera on my smartwatch to record this spectacle. If only to convince myself that I haven't imagined it later.

Brieanna has her back to me, and she's unplugging something.

No, not something. Someone.

She's unplugging...Adria.

I twist my watch so that it captures every detail. Somehow, I find the nerve to ask in a breathless stutter, "What are you doing to your sister?"

"You fool," Brieanna hisses as she turns to face me. "You still think we're sisters? I just finished charging her, you idiot."

I stumble back towards the door when Adria boots up with a ding and turns to me, brushing her beautifully coiffed curls from her long, slender olive neck. She looks so human. She acts more human than Brieanna.

"Good evening, Valerie. You look lovely tonight."

"Quiet!" Brieanna says, her sapphire eyes ablaze with anger. "You only say that to me. Not her!"

Adria bows her head. "Sorry, Mistress."

Bile rises in my throat. "Adria, what's happening?"

"What do you mean?" she asks in her sweet innocence. "Is something wrong?"

Somehow, I gather my wits as I fight to stay calm. "We're leaving, Adria. We have a lot to discuss."

"Adria, you're staying home tonight," Brieanna says in a sharp tone, "or I'll wipe your memory again. You're mine."

"Yes, Mistress." 

"Do you hear me? Not hers. You won't fall for her again."

My heart sinks into my stomach. Again?

"Answer me! Tell me you understand." Brieanna shakes Adria with a force that makes my skin crawl. "I made you. How could you betray me again?"

Adria shirks back. My inner voice screams at me to help Adria, but my feet refuse to obey. I resist the urge to vomit. Every instinct is screaming at me. 

Run!

Brieanna has treated Adria like she's a damaged computer in need of a factory data reset. Never mind what else the poor woman has had to endure all these years. The thought makes me cringe.

Dear God, am I dreaming? How can Adria even exist? She blows the Turing test right out of the water, and yet she's lost every recollection of me with a single refresh.

Adria turns to me, and a tear trickles down her cheek. "Valerie, please go to dinner without me..."

One thing I know for sure. As anger surges through my veins, brushing aside the fear, I'm not leaving Adria with that wench.