“Where’s Casey?” I ask Flint, after he hugs me and they all stay for dinner. Caden keeps looking at me strangely. 

“She’s back at our base, we were waiting until we were sure you weren’t in danger before coming to bring her,” Flint explains. I nod. 

“You don’t still like me, do you?” I ask quickly. Flint shakes his head. “Good, because that would make things awkward with Harrison,” I say with a chuckle, gesturing over. He nods. 

“Right,” Flint says, then glances around the room. “Um, dinner.” He gestures to the table. I nod, and go to sit next to Harrison, in my spot, and he kisses my cheek before sitting down at the head of the table. Caden’s across from me, and stares into his food as he does. He looks pale. 

“Are you ill?” I ask, and he shakes his head. 

“Just tired, Iv- Olive,” He answers quietly. 

“It’s going to be hard to make friendships again for her,” Harrison says to Caden. “Just trying to remember gives her migraines.” He turns to me. “Right, love?” I nod, poking at the vegetables and meat that aren’t as good as Harrison’s. 

“It’s not very fun,” I say with a chuckle. Harrison watches me for a second, then stands up. 

“Can I talk to you outside?” He asks, under his breath. I nod, my brows furrowed, and he takes my hand, leading me onto the balcony where the sun is setting. Caden watches me, Flint and Julia too. 

“What’s going on?” I ask him, glancing around, as he takes both of my hands, turning to face me. 

“I was going to ask tomorrow, but I’m really impatient,” He says, and I see him descend, down onto one knee. I hear several forks clatter to the ground over by the dining table. I freeze as Harrison produces a ring from his pocket, and holds it up to me. 

“Oh my gosh,” I mumble. He chuckles, stumbling for words. 

“I love you, Olive,” He mumbles. “And I never want to be apart from you.” He glances over at our audience, then chuckles. “Will you marry me?” He asks, and my eyes fill with tears as I nod. 

“Yeah,” I answer, and Harrison gets up, slipping the ring onto my finger as he kisses me. I giggle as he lifts me up in his arms, his lips still on mine. 

“Congratulations,” Flint says quietly, the only one to speak when Harrison sets me in my seat. 

“Thanks,” I say quietly, and the meal progresses in silence, Harrison nudging my foot with his, and smirking at his food whenever I kick back. I look at the diamond ring on my finger. It sparkles as I tilt it towards the light. I’m engaged, I think, and blush. 

◈◈◈◈

I pick up my pillow, and throw it at the wall, folding my arms as I sit down on the ground by my bed. 

“I told you not to get up hope,” Isaiah says, hanging in the doorway. 

“Don’t,” I mumble. “Don’t say you told me so.” He scoffs. 

“That’s what happens, Caden, when you’re naive like that.” Isaiah sighs. I turn to look at him, pulling off my glasses so he’s blurry. 

“I wasn’t naive. That guy…” I gesture around. “How could anyone guess that she had amnesia? I was allowed to expect her to remember me,” I tell him. “Nobody could have predicted that I’d watch another man propose to her, and she’d accept!” I stand up, stumbling around because I’m mostly blind. “I- Leave me alone,” I mumble, and hear footsteps retreating, then coming back. “Go away, Isaiah.” 

“It’s not Isaiah,” Flint says, coming over to me. “Put your glasses on, you’ll get a headache.” 

“I’m fine,” I mumble, shoving my glasses in my pocket. Flint sighs, his arms folded. 

“Do you need to talk?” He asks, and shuts the door. 

“I was dumb, I got up hope, and-” My eyes fill with tears, and I stumble back slightly. Flint pulls me into a hug, patting my back. 

“You couldn’t have known,” He mumbles, sighing. I sob quietly. “I think they’re real, sadly,” He adds. 

“Of course it’s real, she-” I pull away from the hug, my arms folded, and go over to the balcony. “She’s happy with him. I know when she’s faking a smile, and that’s not it.” 

“It’ll be okay,” Flint tells me. I wipe my eyes. 

“Yes, it is going to be,” I mutter, and straighten up, my hands on the balcony railing. Flint stares at me, looking at the railing, then at me. I step back on his urging. 

“Cai?” 

“She gets a headache every time she tries to remember the past, Flint,” I mutter. “And he cares about her, worships the ground she walks on. She deserves that, she deserves to have everything she should ever want, and he can provide that.” 

“Cai…” Flint trails off. 

“It’s for the best, Flint,” I argue. “She’s happy, and they care about each other. I can get over it,” I stare down at the balcony floor. 

“I can talk to Harrison about it, Cai, explain the situation.” 

“No!” I snap. “Ivvy’s happy, Flint. Don’t- don’t ruin it.” Flint nods. “I’m not going to throw myself off this thing, so you don’t have to babysit me.” 

“I’m not sure of that, Cai,” Flint says. “Your girlfriend is engaged to another guy, and you had to watch, I’m not sure I can trust you with your life.” 

“She’s not my girlfriend!” I hiss. “She’s his. His fiancée.” I clench my fists. “I’m fine.” 

“No, you’re not,” Another voice chimes in. Julia walks over. “You’re going cross-eyed. Wear your glasses.” 

“I’ll put in my contacts later. Better that I get a headache than Ivvy.” Julia snatches the glasses from my pocket as she arrives at my side, and shoves them onto my face quickly. I still don’t look at anything but the ground. “I just… I hope she remembers Casey, at least,” I mutter, and leave the balcony, sighing. “I’m going to go down to the library.” 

“It’s midnight, Cai.” Flint says. I ignore him, and leave my room. 

Someone walks into the library at around two, heading for the section of old books from before the war. I look up from the red almost-cuts in my arm from my fingernails. They look like crescent moons. 

“Oh, hi, Caden, I didn’t know you were in here,” Olive says, and starts looking at the books on the shelf. 

“What are you doing up so late?” I ask. Olive chuckles. 

“I could ask you the same,” She says, fixing her hair, which is brushed soft. She’s wearing a pair of pajama shorts and a t-shirt, not wearing any shoes. I quickly pull my sleeve down over my forearm. 

“I just can’t sleep,” I answer. She nods. 

“Me either, so Harrison suggested we read together,” She says with a chuckle. “He knows all the old books, he gave me a list.” She squints at a piece of paper in her hand. That’s my job, knowing the old books. He’ll take everything from me, huh? I start bouncing my leg up and down, my nails in my arm again. “We accidentally left Lord of the Rings at the beach house, and he already looked for a copy here. They don’t have it,” She says with a sigh. 

“Oh, so he’s a fantasy guy,” I mutter. She nods. “What did he recommend in terms of books?” She looks at her paper. 

“The Hobbit? The Chronicles of Narnia…” She trails off, reading. “His handwriting is awful.” Hah! I’ve got that over him. I squeeze my arm tighter. 

“I’ve got a better idea. Fantasy is a bit much,” I say, and stand up, walking past her to the classics bookshelves. I spot a red book, and put it in her hands after pulling it down. “Historical fiction is always fun, and you learn stuff,” I say with a shrug. Olive looks down at the cover. 

“The Scarlet Pimpernel,” She reads, then looks up. “Is it good?” 

“Yeah, pretty good. If you need anyone to explain the historical context, I know pretty much everything about it,” I answer with my head held high. Olive looks down, chuckling. 

“Well, Harrison knows a lot about the past, so I think I’ll be okay,” She says quietly, shrugging. Her t-shirt is slightly too big, so it falls off her shoulder. I quickly look away. “Um, your arm is bleeding,” Olive tells me, pointing over. 

I look at the drops of blood rolling slowly down onto my wrist, and quickly wipe them away, holding my hands behind my back. She holds the book against her chest with her arms folded.

“Were we very close?” She asks, then closes her eyes, gesturing with her hands. “I mean, before I hit my head.” 

“Pretty close. We’re both Metal, and we could confide in each other.” She furrows her brows. 

“Oh,” She says, then clears her throat. “What happened to your arm?” She asks, setting the red book down, and coming over, pulling up my sleeve. I try to step away, but she’s holding onto my wrist. “You really shouldn’t pinch yourself, Caden,” She says quietly, her face going pale. 

“I’m fine,” I tell her, trying to pull away. She doesn’t relent. 

“I still want to be friends, you know. Even if I don’t remember. You can trust me,” She says. I nod, and pull my sleeve down. 

“Harrison’s probably waiting for you, and I should get some sleep,” I tell her. She nods, letting go of my wrist. “Good talking to you.” 

“Yeah, see you tomorrow,” Olive says, and walks off, waving. I stare at her as she disappears. 

“See you tomorrow,” I repeat, and look down at my arm. Long sleeves from now on. I think, wiping off the blood. 

◈◈◈◈

“Only one book? Which one is it?” Harrison asks, as I crawl under the covers with the book Caden gave me. 

“I don’t know, Caden recommended it, he was down in the library,” I answer, looking at the cover. Harrison looks over, and grabs the book, reading the cover too. 

“Oh, I’ve heard of this book. It’s really, really inappropriate,” Harrison says, setting the book on the side table further from me. “Super graphic, and ridiculously trashy.” 

“Oh. Caden said-” I furrow my brows. 

“I would not trust Caden, he always seemed off to me when I was in your head,” Harrison said. I nod. 

“Maybe he’s just going through a hard time,” I mumble, thinking of the scars on Caden’s arm. I saw similar scars on some of the people in the Rust workhouse as a kid. 

There were days when they left work and didn’t come back. A new grave would be dug in the already-crowded yards in the scariest part of the island once their families found them. 

Oh, I hope Caden doesn’t hurt himself. I have to keep him safe. I think, then look over at the book. Even if he recommends sketchy books. He still deserves kindness. 

“Let’s just go to bed,” Harrison tells me, and flicks off the light before reaching over to pull me closer. I smile and lean into his chest, yawning. “Good night, love.” 

“Good night.”