You tell Vic that you will give them a call as you need to head inside to start working.

Vic says nothing, only smiles. As the action you intend to take forms in your mind, you feel an extreme force pull at the thoughts that were beginning to motivate you to move. The tape crunches as extreme lengths are pulled off the spool. An agonizing ache in your skull takes over all awareness. You close your eyes and can only hear crunching but even your hearing is a distant thing against the pain you feel in your head.

The pain suddenly ceases.

Vic grabs your arm and guides you inside, still saying nothing. Vic supports you as a wave of disorientation nearly knocks you down and guides you to a lounge to sit. Exhaustion overcomes you on the spot as you feel Vic guiding your head to a pillow.

Your eyes open and you take time to fully regather your wits. You rise and explore your home, Vic is asleep in bed. You panic realising you're late for work. Rushing to your desk you open the laptop and see an email response from your manager telling you to rest up. The message is in response to one that you sent that very morning stating that you felt terrible and would be unable to work. You don't remember sending that. You don't remember much of the day up to now.

You look in on Vic, sleeping peacefully. How lucky you are to have them. You have a lifetime of memories with them but your relationship still feels fresh as if you had just met. A perfect relationship. Walking back to the lounge room to relax, your head feels heavy. Now that you are sitting still, there is a discomfort in your mind that you have not experienced before. Not painful. The only thing that seems close to describing it is the feeling of a newly replaced tooth. Something that you were use to had been changed. It was part of you, so it being different feels almost alien. If it was a tooth, you'd be impulsively tongueing it, feeling the alien bone, yearning for familiarity to return.

The feeling of Vic's arms wrapping around you from behind startles you. You usually feel amazing when they hold you. You know you should, you remember the feeling. The feeling isn't there now though. You can remember this exact same scene melting your heart and can remember that you're more in love than you ever have been.

You don't feel in love right now, but you think you are. You remember you are. Looking around the room, you don't see much to suggest that two people live here, but you remember Vic lives with you here, and has done for the last few years, you can remember them moving in.

Vic asks what you want to do for the rest of the day, but you cannot hear them. Your mind is now fixated on the memory of Vic moving in, reliving it. Vic didn't have much to unpack, but you remember the framed picture of their mother that they placed next to the TV. What is her name? You struggle to recall it but are unable. Opening your eyes and searching for the picture brings more disappointment. The picture is not where you rememeber Vic putting it.

You ask Vic where the picture is and point to where it should be. Asking Vic if they remember it being here or where it is now is met with silence. Vic seems distubed by your probing at this.