Thea
Ihold my dad’s cell phone in my hand, waiting. I texted Andi ten minutes ago, and she still hasn’t responded.
Me: Something happened in Mexico. I need your help.
Three little dots keep appearing and disappearing to the point of causing me psychosis.
I need some tea to calm my nerves.
I sneak out of my room, hoping Pierce isn’t awake, though I know from firsthand experience he doesn’t fall asleep that fast. He’s no doubt on his computer, doing his nightly research. Something about researching bad guys puts him right to sleep, which should probably be a red flag.
The phone in my hand rings as I hit the bottom step and I jump, forgetting I was holding it.
“Andi!” I answer.
“I’m at the front door. I didn’t want to knock and wake your dad.”
I rush to the front door and yank it open. Her red hair is a blur as she rushes inside. “Thea!” she exclaims, embracing me in a hug, her wide glasses scratching my face as she does. “Your dad said he couldn’t reach you. I’ve been so worried.”
I pull back and shut the door behind her. “I lost my phone. He just forgot.”
“Thank goodness.” Her relief is palpable—even her wild locks seem to tame slightly.
She paces, a habit she has when stressed.
“I know you’re okay, since obviously you’re here.
But then I saw your text, and I thought the worst.” I lead her to the small library where she can pace and ramble to her heart’s content.
“Tell me what happened before I lose my mind.” She finally stops talking long enough to really look at me, and she frowns. “Why do you have stitches?”
“I tripped and fell on a fish hook.” I tell her the same thing I told Dad and Aunt Megan when they asked.
“You seriously have the worst luck.”
“You have no idea.”
“What else happened?”
I sit on the chair, crossing both legs underneath me while she paces across the small rug. “That’s just it… I don’t know.”
She stops and faces me with a confused frown. “What do you mean you don’t know?”
I lower my voice in case Aunt Megan is close. “I was drugged.”
Her hazel eyes go utterly blank, and then her whole face cracks into one of utter horror. “What?”
“Shh,” I whisper. “On the plane to Mexico, someone drugged me. I woke up in a hotel room with no memory of how I got there or of the previous week.”
Her curious frown says she doubts me. I wouldn’t believe it myself if I hadn’t lived through it. “You… can’t remember…”
“Anything.” My words catch. “Andi, what happened? I remember you encouraging me to take the trip Scott planned for us, but that was a week ago. What happened after that?”
She looks at me, the way people look at broken things. With pity.
“I-I don’t know, Thea. That was the last time I saw you. I had a huge project due and missed Sunday dinner.” She paces again and bites her nails.
I hug my knees to my chest, wishing Pierce was here to hold me. I take a deep breath and whisper the next part. “I’m afraid I did something bad.”
I expect her to immediately come to my defense. Andi is as good as family to me, she knows me better than most. Instead, she pushes up her glasses and looks at me like I’m an equation she’s trying to solve. “Like what?”
If I could remember I wouldn’t be in this predicament. “After I met Pierce—”
“Who’s Pierce?”
“My friend, who is totally not a spy.” I mentally slap myself. I shouldn’t have said that. “He helped me get home.”
“You brought a man… who may be a spy… home from Mexico with you?” She enunciates each word with increasing doubt.
“Technically, he brought me home. He’s been protecting me.”
She blinks. “Because… you were drugged?”
“Yes. And because when I got back to my hotel room…” I can’t finish. What is she going to think of me?
“What?” she asks hesitantly, she’s scared to know.
I swallow and force myself to spit it out. “There was a dead man.”
Her hands fly to her mouth, and she staggers a step. I worry she’s going to fall into the coffee table and topple the vase of fake flowers. “A dead man was in your room?”
“Yes.”
“Did you know who it was?”
“No. Maybe? I thought I might have met him before, but my brain is a muddled mess.” I drag in a breath. “Andi, what if I killed him?”
She finally gives me the reassurance I’ve been waiting for.
“You didn’t. You are the kindest person in the world.
You would never hurt anyone.” She sits beside me on the edge of the couch, wrapping her arms around my shoulders.
“This is insane, but maybe it’s not as bad as you think.
I’ll be here for you whatever you need.”
Having Pierce on my side is one thing, but confiding this truth in Andi is something I didn’t know I needed. I can’t tell my dad or aunt; they’ll freak out. I have to protect them from this. Andi can help me remember, and then Pierce and I can figure this out together.
“Do you think you can make something to help me remember?” I ask.
She draws back, scrunching her nose. I can tell she’s already thinking of what she could possibly mix.
“I don’t have high hopes, but I can try. I’ll need to figure out exactly what you were exposed to.”
“Benzodiazipines.” That’s the only word that comes to mind from what Pierce originally told me.
“Yeah, but what kind? You could have been roofied.” She studies the rug while nodding, her brain already far from here.
“Even the longest lasting ones shouldn’t have made you forget so much of the past.” She chews her nail as she resumes pacing.
“I could take a sample, but it’s probably already out of your system. ”
I figured as much, but I love that she’s willing to try this for me.
“I’m going to head to the lab and do some research. Come in first thing tomorrow,” she says, heading toward the front door, a woman on a mission.
“Wait.” I stop her. She’s ready to leave, and I don’t have time to get Pierce. I can ask her the questions he’d want to know. She’ll tell me, not some strange man she’s never met. “Do you know anything about the new drug SciTech is developing?”
“Which one?”
For some stupid reason I hadn’t considered there would be more than one. I chew on my bottom lip. “I don’t know what it is, but it’s big, and another company wants it.”
She chuckles dryly. “There’s always another company wanting the same drug. They think every drug will change the world.”
She makes it sound insignificant, but there were people shooting at us, following us. This is more than a regular drug. “Could you ask around?”
She gives me a sad smile. “I’ll try, but I’m at the bottom of the totem pole, remember?”
I frown. “I thought you were in the running for that promotion?”
“I was.” She shrugs. “I haven’t heard back yet.”
“Well, if you hear anything about a drug named Amnexia, will you let me know?”
She reaches for the door handle then freezes. It takes a moment before she fully faces me. When she does, I see the indecision in her eyes. “Did you just say Amnexia?”
“Yes…” She knows something.
“It’s been a while since I heard that name. You should ask your dad about it.”
“Why?”
“Because he developed it.”