It had been a month since his world changed. A month since he saw her for the first and last time. A month since he stopped caring anymore. He never answered his calls. He never opened the door when he heard his friends outside trying to console him. He hadn't gone back to work. He wasn't sure he ever would. He had no desire to. He had no desire to do anything anymore.

He sat on the couch, wrapped in his robe that was starting to smell from lack of showering and doing laundry. He wasn't sure he even remembered the last time he cleaned himself properly. Outside rain was pouring down and lightning flashed menacingly every 15 seconds.

He slowly got up, wandered into his bedroom. He tossed the robe on the floor, stripped himself of his pajamas and tossed on some sweatpants and a black hoodie. If Morgan could see him now. He bet no one believed he even owned anything but suits and sweater vests.

He grabbed his keys and started unlocking the door when he heard commotion on the other side. He hesitated a moment to listen.

"Put that down! Ms. Kavanaugh, I told you to keep your hands off those baskets! They aren't yours!"

"He clearly doesn't want them!"

"That isn't for you to decide. Now put that back or I'll make sure you don't sleep a wink tonight."

Spencer heard a huff. He assumed that was Ms. Kavanaugh. He waited until it had gone quiet and opened his door. He startled when he nearly tripped over a girl down on her knees fixing the pile of baskets. She let out a shriek.

"I'm so sorry!" she said jumping to her feet.

She was a bit shorter than Spencer. Her black hair with streaks of blue was tied up in a messy bun. She wore tight black yoga pants and a loose hanging black tank top. Her ears had multiple piercings and he noticed a tiny ring in her right nostril.

"I was just trying to fix them. Some of the neighbors have sticky fingers," she said.

Spencer looked down at all the baskets. There had to be a dozen filled with a variety of foods and gifts. He wanted to throw them all away.

"You have a lot of admirers."

Spencer didn't respond. He kept focusing on the row of gifts.

"Not much of a talker, huh?"

Spencer looked up into her piercing deep brown eyes. He just shrugged. He hadn't spoken since that day and it seemed as though he had forgotten how to talk. Not that he wanted to.

"It's cool. Strong silent type. I like that," she said making him furrow his brow at her. "I guess since I nearly tripped you, I should introduce myself. I'm Jade. I moved in across the hall."

Spencer looked at the door she pointed at and then looked back at her questioningly. He was surprised when she answered the question in his mind.

"Ms. Walker is my Nana. I moved in to help her," she said with a small frown.

Right on cue, the door to Ms. Walker's residency opened and she came hobbling out. When she saw Spencer, a smile stretched across her lips.

"Dr. Reid, good to see you out, dear," she said.

Spencer waved but said nothing. He just wanted to go. Suddenly a tiny brunette came storming out of the house behind Ms. Walker. She had to be no more than 7 or 8. She stopped in front of Jade and began moving her hands furiously in front of her.

"Lizzie, stop … slow down …" Jade said to the little girl, who Spencer now realized was communicating through sign language.

"She doesn't want to go to bed. I told her it was bedtime. She needs her rest for school tomorrow," Ms. Walker said.

"Nana, it's only 6 o'clock," Jade replied gently.

"No, it's ten. A girl her age should go to bed by 7," Ms. Walker stated.

"No, Nana. Look," Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out her cell phone. "See it's only 6:11. Lizzie doesn't go to bed until 8:30."

Ms. Walker stared at the phone with confusion.

"Look, why don't you go back inside. I'll be right in to finish dinner. Lizzie go put Wheel of Fortune on for Nana," Jade said as she signed.

The little girl rolled her eyes, but she walked over to Ms. Walker, grabbed her hand, and led her back inside. Spencer watched the door close and then looked back to Jade, who looked embarrassed.

"Sorry about that. She's been diagnosed with Alzheimer's. Some days she's clear as glass and other days she doesn't know her up from her down."

"I understand. My mom has it too," Spencer said without even thinking about it.

Jade's eyes widened a bit, but only for a moment before he saw genuine empathy.

"I'm sorry. How is she doing?"

"Same. Some days are better than others," he said in a soft voice.

"Well, if you ever need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to come over. It's kind of a relief to know someone else understands what I'm going through."

Spencer noticed her eyes looked a bit glassy.

"Anyway, it was nice talking to you," she said walking back her door. "Oh, and if you want any of those baskets, I suggest taking them inside. Otherwise Ms. Kavanaugh is going to help herself."

Spencer saw the corner of her mouth turn up in a subtle smile, before she turned and closed the door behind her. He stood in the hallway quietly thinking about the conversation he had. With that, he bent over and started carrying the baskets into the house. Once he had gathered them all, he closed his door, changing his mind on going out that night.

For whatever reason, his interaction with Jade stirred something inside of him. He didn't know what it was or what it meant. All he knew was he didn't want to go out anymore and he decided that it was time to finally take a shower. And maybe text his friends and thank them for the gifts.