I wish I could catch a glimpse of the old Allie, just for a moment, long enough to see how she acted, how she talked, what she truly thought about everything. But even if I could study my old life for hours on end, it would never be enough to make me the same person I was back then. My circumstances and experiences must have been a large part of what made me who I was, and now that all of that has been stripped away, it’s impossible to replicate. If only everyone else understood that.

“Fair enough,” he says, after a pause. “We’ll go back to our other game. Any more questions?”

“Hm,” I hum, gently pulling apart a piece of cotton candy and placing it in my mouth, feeling it dissolve. “The letterman jacket.” I gesture to it. “Are you a jock or something?”

He smirks, puffing out his chest proudly. “Captain of the soccer team.”

“Of course. Am I a cheerleader?”

Laughing boisterously, he throws his head back. “Not even close.” Damien grins as he throws the stick from his candy apple in a nearby trash can. “Exercise isn’t really your thing. You’re actually a theater kid. It’s super dorky.”

“Hey, watch it!” I give him a playful shove, prompting him to laugh again. “Theater seems sophisticated, you ass.”

“I didn’t say it was a bad thing. I’m very much into dorky.”

“Damien,” I start, “how do you feel about all of this?”

“You being a dork?”

“Me not remembering you,” I say softly.

Damien’s face becomes solemn. “Crushed,” he admits. “It’s kind of like you died in the accident but you’re still here. I don’t like that I’m a stranger to you now.”

I never expected Damien to be the one to accurately describe the way I’ve been feeling—like I really did die that day and now I’m a ghost inhabiting someone else’s body.

“But I’m telling myself it’s just a temporary setback,” he finishes. “I’m not losing hope yet.”

“Temporary?”

“There’s a good chance you’ll get your memory back, right? And even if you don’t, I’m confident we can get back to the way things were.”

He reaches for my hand, intertwining our fingers, and I stop myself from pulling out of his grasp. Just like Audrey, it’s clear he’s clueless about my relationship with Parker. Because of my near-death experience, they both treat me like I’m a saint. I don’t deserve it.

Desperate to change the subject, I’m drawn to the neon lights ahead of us. “Can we ride the Ferris wheel?” I blurt, less than subtle.

“Oh,” he says. “Yeah, if you want to.”