If I Forget You by Michelle D. Argyle

Tam had announced she and Avery were going to a party tonight. Why would she go to a party when she was supposed to be at home entertaining him and his parents?
    But the Royals didn’t even live in Spokane. Last year they had flown from California. Hadn’t they? She put a hand to her forehead as Ryan gave her a soft smile and she opened the door wider for them all to enter.
    “So glad you’re here!” her mom said loudly from the kitchen. She poked her head into the room as Avery told the Royals to make themselves comfortable.
    “Lovely to be here,” Mrs. Royal called out as she sat next to Victor. Avery couldn’t remember her first name.
    “I’m glad you’re here,” Ryan said in a low voice as he passed Avery on his way to the living room.
    “I’ll, uh, get you all some drinks,” she said softly, giving Ryan a quick glance before leaving the room. She had to get out of there.
    “Mom,” she said as soon as she was in the kitchen and out of earshot. “Did the Royals move here recently?”
    Her mother turned around from whisking some hollandaise in a double boiler, her eyebrows knitted. “No, they haven’t moved here.” She turned back to the hollandaise, and Avery waited. She knew how important it was to get the sauce right at the perfect time. Finally, her mother lifted the top pan and set it aside. Then her eyes widened. “Oh, you mean Ryan?” she asked, turning back to Avery. “He doesn’t live with Victor and Amber, remember? He’s staying here with his grandparents until he graduates. We met them at the mall for dinner last Christmas. Ryan goes to Rogers. You still don’t remember after seeing him? You two talked all through dinner.”
    Avery tried not to let her eyes fill with tears. It was times like this that made her feel completely, one hundred percent stupid. She didn’t remember even one shred of that dinner. She dug and dug into her memories and came up with nothing. “What restaurant?”
    “Olivia’s — the steak place. You had the salmon.”
    Avery shook her head. How could her mother recall so many details? “I don’t remember,” she whispered so intensely it was almost a hiss. “What am I supposed to say to him?”
    Her mom tilted her head and rested a warm hand on Avery’s cheek. “Oh, sweetie, it’s okay. Just tell him the truth.”
    But she couldn’t. She’d never admitted to anyone except her mother and Tam the extent of her forgetfulness. She knew it would only sound like an excuse. She’d just have to flub her way through it, as usual.
     

7
     
     
    After her shower, Avery pulled on the yellow dress and looked at herself in the mirror. Not bad. It was sexy, but comfortable enough she could fall asleep in it if she wanted to. Not that she was planning on falling asleep at the party.
    She dried her hair, put on a little makeup, and slipped on a pair of flats. Chloe had gone to bed an hour ago. She had probably stuck earplugs in so she could drown out the noise. It was only ten o’clock and Avery could already hear the bass thumping next door and more than the usual amount of traffic driving up and down the street.
    As she looked through the small stash of jewelry she’d brought from home, she realized she should probably double-check Jordan’s address against the address next door. Maybe it was only a coincidence Chloe’s neighbor threw parties. When she checked, she was glad to see she was right. It made her wonder if Jordan knew she was his neighbor. If he didn’t, he was about to find out.
    Avery’s stomach turned over when she stepped outside. She’d never been to a party by herself. She’d always gone with Tam, and after the falling out, she had never gone to another one. Nobody would have let her into a party after all of that, anyway. She wouldn’t think about it now. Why couldn’t all of those memories flit away like most everything else?
    There was a little stone path through the trees and bushes between the two houses. Avery followed it through