As Dominic and I stopped by my dorm just before heading out to meet Butterfly, Sierra and Jack were already in there. I let go of Dominic's hand before either one of them could see, but luckily they were too busy huddled by Sierra's laptop to notice.

"What are you two up to?" I asked as I grabbed my bag.

Sierra had told me that there was maybe something going on between them, but I didn't see it. What did they even have in common besides that they were the first two to suspect that there was something more going on with the talisman than just being an everyday artifact?

"We're watching this documentary on this little girl who might have killed her whole family in the seventies, but no one has been able to definitively prove that she did it so far. I love Halloween so much. Everything cryptid, murdery, and cool is trending on Netflix," Sierra said.

I hesitated. Why would anyone want to watch that? "I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

Maybe one day there would be a documentary on Netflix about the talisman and me. It probably wouldn't be that interesting, though.

"It's definitely not something I would normally watch, but it's kind of interesting. I really think she did it," Jack said.

"Look, if a little girl kills her whole family and covers it up that well, she deserves to get away with it. She earned it," Dominic said.

I looked over at him. What was wrong with me that I kind of liked him a little? "Okay, Captain Edgy. Why don't we head out and see if Butterfly can help me fix you?"

"Wait. Before you go, can I talk to you, Lindsay?" Jack said and got up from his spot next to Sierra.

I followed him out into the hallway. We hadn't really spoken one-on-one since the incident in Harvey's garage besides to get him up to speed on what really happened, so there were plenty of directions this conversation could go.

"It's obvious you care about him," Jack said. Wow, how insightful.

Why wouldn't I care that I just erased someone's memory and made his life even more difficult than it already was? How big of a bitch did everyone think I was?

"I just want to fix everything, Jack. And I'm done screwing around with this talisman. It needs to go before I can hurt anyone else. I know I've said it before, but I really mean it this time," I said.

"So that's it? You're quitting because it's too difficult? Again?" Jack asked.

I shook my head. "It's not too difficult. It would just be better for everyone if it was someone else's problem."

"And whose problem should it be?"

"That's not my problem."

"Yes, it is. A lot of things are your problem, and you can't run from them anymore."

"What do you think I'm doing? I'm obviously trying to fix the situation with the memories. How the hell is that running from my problems?"

"That's the most immediate problem. There are ninety others going on, like school, your family, and that's not even considering what you're gonna do if you can't undo—"

I interrupted him before he could even put that possibility out in the open right where the talisman could hear. "Some problems are too big to fix, even with a talisman. You just have to wait those out and deal with the consequences later."

He didn't reply to that right away, and before he could formulate a response, I changed the subject. "What about you? Don't you have a new but good problem?"

"What do you mean?" Jack asked.

"Sierra, obviously."

"That really doesn't clear that up. What do you mean by a new but good problem?"

I rolled my eyes. What else would I mean? "Don't be dense. Everyone knows that new flirtationships are problems, but they're kind of fun."

"Is that what's going on?"

I took in a breath. He really had to be trying to be this stupid. "Well, that's what I heard. And I sure hope that we're not gonna have to deal with sad, rejected Sierra again."

His eyes widened. "Oh my god, is that what this is?"

"Do you watch murder documentaries with me, your girl space friend?"

He shook his head. "No, but I don't know if I want—"

I interrupted him again. "Just see what happens. Just keep being yourself."

"Why would you tell me that? How am I supposed to act natural now? I never told you that I used to have a crush on you, and obviously that worked out fine."

"Yeah, because you were great at keeping that on the down-low." I shook my head. Guys were so stupid. "Look, I really have to go. Try not to let this information get in your head, and you'll be fine. Just pretend you don't notice anything."

"Lindsay, don't leave me here alone with her. I don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do when someone actually likes me. This is uncharted territory for me."

Considering he reminded me of a lumberjack leprechaun, I believed that.

"So you want to come with Dominic and me to Sherwood instead of hanging out with a cute girl for long enough to pretend that everything is normal?" I asked. "That's not an offer. I was being sarcastic, and you are not allowed to come with us."

I wasn't sure what was going to happen if we found out a way for Dominic to get his memory back, but I certainly didn't want Jack there to witness it.

"Please?" he asked.

"No. Don't run from your good problems. I sure as hell wish that was mine right now," I said.

He nodded, and before he could change his mind, I opened up the door and waved Dominic outside.

At least I was making good on my forced promise to Sierra.

***

The bell at the front door rang out as we entered the shop. Dominic looked over at the shelves, which weren't stocked with much, but he didn't remember when I broke just about everything when I got upset that my mother was talking to him.

"Seems kind of picked over in here. Is imaginary magic really that big in Sherwood?" he said in a quiet voice to me.

I nodded. "People here are weird. I would know."

"Welcome to—" Butterfly began, but she paused when she looked up from under the counter and noticed that it was me. "Lindsay Hughes? What are you doing here?"

"Nice to see you too," I said, and before she could tell me that wasn't what she meant, I continued. "So I may have messed up again, and I was wondering if you had any sort of non-FDA approved way to improve memory."

"Like some Ginkgo extract supplements?" Butterfly asked.

I blinked. I probably should have expected her to have something like that. "Well, yeah. That might be a good place to start."

"Ginkgo? What the hell is that?" Dominic asked.

"It's a tree that's native to China. It supports memory and blood circulation to the brain," Butterfly said.

"Yeah, that's bullshit." He shook his head. "I'm not doing that."

It probably was bullshit, but we had to start somewhere. I turned back to Butterfly. "How long would it take for it to work?"

"A couple weeks, probably." She shrugged and laughed. "I don't use it, so maybe that's why I can't remember where I put chemical-free countertop spray."

"Isn't everything chemicals?" Dominic asked, and I shushed him before he could run his mouth any more and get us kicked out.

"We really don't have that kind of time, so that's gonna be a no. Okay, let's just say that I used the talisman to erase three people's memories. How would I go about bringing them back for just one of them?" I said.

"This is a very specific hypothetical situation you're in," Butterfly said.

I was very aware of that. "I've undone one of my wishes before, but that was right after I made it and before it had any actual effect. I know that talismans are complicated and all that, so do you think I could undo this one partially?"

"Have you tried to undo this one?"

I shook my head.

"How long has it been?"

"A few days."

She grimaced. "I'm not sure if there's anything you can do at this point."

My eyes widened. "What? Why wouldn't I be able to fix it now?"

"Think about it. Essentially what you've done is killed the original versions of those people. Days have gone by, and those bodies are starting to break down at the bottom of a lake somewhere."

"What the fuck?" Dominic said. "I don't remember a goddamn thing about anything that's happened, but I know enough to know that's bullshit too."

"This is your new normal, Lindsay. There's nothing you can do," Butterfly said.

I shook my head as my heart sank into my stomach. That couldn't be true. I had undone a wish before, and I didn't kill any version of anyone. All I did was take away some information they once knew.

What kind of MCU bullshit was she on?

"Oh, and I don't suppose you know what happened to the pink tourmaline ring on the counter? I can't remember where I put that either," Butterfly changed the subject like it was nothing.

I knew exactly where it was (probably on Sierra's finger), but I shook my head anyway. Either she knew I took it and was messing with me to get back at me, or she had an ulterior motive. And considering she tried to take the talisman off my hands when I broke her store, I couldn't put it past her to try that shit again.

That was what it was. She wanted me to think it was my idea to give her the talisman. Maybe there was something to her energy-sensing abilities, but I came into the shop considering that possibility. Not anymore.

Talisman, please bring back Dominic Bachmann's memory after we erased it on Friday. I don't care how you do it. Just let him remember all we've done the past few weeks, and let him remember how everything felt.

And if the talisman brought back Harvey and the other guy's memories too, I could deal with that. Right now, I needed Dominic back the way he was, because it was a little more difficult to like the version I met at the beginning of class.

"Lindsay, I don't know if you've noticed, but this lady is kinda crazy," Dominic whispered to me. It wasn't nearly as quiet as he thought it was, but he had a point. But she was my boss, so I couldn't agree with him.

"Stop it. You just don't like people who think differently than you," I said.

He rolled his eyes. "No one likes people who are wrong all the time."

"The dead version of you at the bottom of the pond on campus liked me, so that's not true."

He smiled for half of a second, but he quickly turned it into a scowl. "You're annoying."

"If you want, I can get you some of those Ginkgo extract pills. That might be able to help in the long-term, but there's not going to be an instant fix to this," Butterfly said.

I nodded. They couldn't be that expensive, could they? And it sure as hell would seem like I hadn't just tried a quick solution on my own. And if it ruined everything, at least I would have Dominic back the way I liked him.

Probably.

There were no givens with the talisman, I had learned.

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Hello everyone! Thank you so much for reading!

So I think that I might change my updating schedule to Sunday afternoons/evenings in my time zone, if that's okay with everyone. That way, I can write when I have the chance and you have the updates ASAP, and if you really love to read this on Mondays, you can still do that. I think this is the best solution to my new situation without screwing y'all, because I wouldn't have this opportunity without you guys.

So for today's question, let's do a fun one. How similar are you to your child self?

I really haven't changed much since I was a kid. Sure, I cry less and have a larger vocabulary, but I still make the same faces and get irritated by the same things. Being hungry and sudden changes in weather make me turn into a three-year-old.