Alicia envelops me in a bear hug, squeezing the life out of me. “How’s my little Ashie? I’ve missed you so much!” She releases me and I grimace at her. “I genuinely can’t tell if you’re being sarcastic or not.”

She winks, pushing past me. “That’s a secret I’ll never tell”. I quirk an eyebrow at her but follow her into my home. “So, where’s this roommate of yours? Please tell me he’s a hottie.”

I boil the kettle, giggling. “Well, you’ll be glad to know, that he is, in fact, a hottie - tall, bright blue eyes with matching blue curls, and olive skin” and two totally adorable moles.

Alicia hugs me from behind, pulling my head down onto her shoulder. I wrap my arms around her torso, her fluffy chestnut waves brushing against my cheek.

“Thank fuck. You could do with some eye-candy”. Another giggle slips past my lips, and we part. Alicia strokes my hair lovingly, then ruffles it. “Really?” I cross my arms and pout at her. “You know I hate that, it messes with my hair.”

She scoffs, leaning back against the counter. “Obviously I know it annoys you; that’s the whole point.” She pours herself a mug of tea and reclines on the sofa.

“As much as I’m all up to talk about hot guys, mum will flip out if I don’t do the whole check up routine.” I nod, knowing there’s no real point in avoiding it. “Oki doki, what’s it this time?”

Alicia grins. “What a good boy, letting me look after you!” That earns her a scowl. She produces a folded up piece of paper with a list of questions from her back pocket, and dramatically clears her throat.

“Lets get started then, Ash.”

—————

Once my sister’s interrogation is complete, the topic of conversation turns to Alicia’s romance life with her girlfriend, Megan. “She’s being a total babe at the moment.” She smiles happily, turning to me.

“And I mean, more than she normally is. I gotta say; I love it” she moves my hand so that she can reach my hair, absentmindedly playing with it in the way she knows I adore.

“That’s really great; she seems lovely.” Megan is nice. Apparently our families have been friends for years, but I only remember her from one visit, about three months ago.

Alicia smiles again, a hint of sadness evident this time. “She is.” She looks away, then glances back at me. “I wasn’t sure whether to tell you this or not, but…you two used to be really close.”

I look up suddenly. “Really?” I bite my lip. “Is…is she sad? That I don’t remember?” I think back to all my school ‘friends’, whom, upon hearing I had amnesia, decided they couldn’t be bothered to make new memories with me, and all cut ties with me.

Just proves they were all pieces of shit, doesn’t it.

Alicia slowly nods. “Yeah. She understands that it’s unlikely you’ll ever recover them, but she loves you like a brother. She’s prepared to wait until you want to get to know her again, and then be a part of your life.” Wow. Alicia found a really great girl.

I smile, reaching for her hand. “That’s really kind of her. I want to get to know her again, but it’ll be my first time properly trying to reconnect with someone I knew before, who isn’t family.”

Alicia nods again “of course, and she totally gets that. So don’t rush it, ok Asher” I laugh and pat her hand. “Trust me, I’m too lazy to rush.” Alicia laughs, then squeezes my hand.

“That’s enough about my love life, how’s yours holding up?” She smirks and pokes me in the ribs. I blush, remembering the feeling of Laurence’s comforting embrace. “Well, so far we’ve held hands and hugged and he’s braided my hair several times.”

Alicia slaps my arm “no way?? What was this about being ‘too lazy to rush’? Damn, Ash, look at you!” I smile. I’m pretty happy with how things are going. “I think I like him. Laurence, I mean.”

“Well duh. Duh - you like him, and duh - it’s Laurence we’re talking about”. I peer up at her. “What made you think I like him? Aside from what I just said”. Without even thinking, she replies.

“He’s exactly your type.” I gape at her. “You haven’t even seen the man!!! How’d you come up with that conclusion?” She thinks for a moment, then responds.

“You don’t remember Byron, do you?” Byron. Somehow, the name is familiar on my tongue. “No, but I recognise the name - you mentioned him before. You said you wanted to be involved in my love life, after Byron.”

It clicks in my mind.

“He’s my ex.” It’s not a question, I know that’s what she meant. Alicia sighs, nodding. “Yeah, and he was a total piece of trash.”