“It might be best if they stepped outside for a bit. I’m going to call for the doctor.”
Greg gave me a weak smile. “Josh, buddy, I’ll be right back. Liz…” He waved for Elizabeth to come over and talk to Josh.
As soon as we got out into the hallway, I wanted to collapse to the floor. Greg and Amanda helped me over to one of the waiting room chairs.
“Oh my god. He doesn’t remember me. He doesn’t remember me, Manda! Greg, why doesn’t he remember me? Why did he think y’all were in Paris?”
“Um…well, considering his confusion with Victoria working at the hospital and then his comment about us being in Paris, he must think it’s his sophomore year of college.”
“What?” Amanda and I both yelled at the same time.
Greg took a deep breath in before he slowly let it out. His eyes filled with tears, and he looked at me with such sadness that I felt like my whole world was about to be ripped apart.
“The only time Liz and I ever went to Paris was for our anniversary when Josh was a sophomore at UT. He was dating Victoria at the time.”
I just started shaking my head. No, this is not happening. This can’t be happening.
“So, you think Josh doesn’t know who we are because…because he thinks he’s back in college?” Amanda asked.
“And dating Victoria…he thinks he’s dating Victoria,” I said as tears started to roll down my cheeks.
My mother was just staring at me as I watched Victoria walk around the room.
What the fuck is going on? How in the hell is she a nurse?
“Mom, what the hell happened? Tori, when the hell did you get a job as a nurse?”
Victoria laughed just as the door opened, and a doctor walked in.
“Good morning, Mrs. Hayes, Mr. Hayes. I’m glad to see that you’ve woken up,” he said as he gave my mother a smile and a wink.
“Good morning, Dr. Michaels. Um, it seems Josh has woken up…in a different time zone!” my mother said with a small smile.
“Can someone please tell me what the fuck is going on?”
My mother spun around and gave me the look. “Joshua Michael Hayes, do not use that language!”
Dr. Michaels laughed and walked up next to me. He picked up the medical chart and glanced over it before looking back at me. “Josh, let me start off by telling you that you were in a serious car accident yesterday. You had surgery to repair some internal bleeding, and you got a pretty bad concussion with a small amount of brain swelling. Your brain scans all came back normal. Your vitals are all good. It just appears that you have a slight case of amnesia.”
“Slight? A slight case?” my father said from behind the doctor.
Dr. Michaels turned around and shook my father’s hand. “Good morning, Mr. Hayes.”
“He thinks he’s still in college,” my father said as he went to stand next to my mother.
Wait. What? Still in college? Does that mean I’m out of college? What about football? Someone needs to tell me what the fuck is going on! And who the hell was that beautiful girl holding my hand?
“Okay, stop. First of all, my head is pounding. Second, Dad, what do you mean by I think I’m ‘still in college’? Someone tell me what the hell is going on! And where did that girl go?” I glanced at Victoria, who was giving me a funny look, and then over to my mother, who was smiling from ear to ear.
“You mean Heather?” my mom asked.
Victoria walked right in front of my mother and grabbed my hand. “Don’t worry, sweetheart. It’ll all come back to you when it should. Heather is a friend of yours. As soon as your brain has healed, you’ll remember everyone when you’re ready.” She turned around and looked at my parents. “Isn’t that right, Dr. Michaels? We don’t want to force Josh into remembering things. His memory needs to come back on its own.”
My mother was glaring at Victoria. Damn, Mom has never liked Victoria.
Dr. Michaels said, “Well, um…thank you, Ms. Chapman, for that explanation of sorts. Josh, I wish I could tell you exactly why you don’t remember the last four and a half years, but—”
“Four years? I’ve lost four years of my life? Did I finish college? What am I doing now?”
My head was spinning. Then, I remembered the beautiful blonde who was holding my hand. The moment I looked into her eyes, my stomach had dropped.
That has never happened to me before…ever. Victoria said she’s a friend, but the girl didn’t look at me like we were just friends.
“Mr. Hayes, just calm down.” The doctor glanced over at my parents as he took in a deep breath. “With amnesia, we can’t say that you’ll regain a hundred percent of your memory. In most cases, we’ve seen patients get all of it back, but then in others, people seem to only get some of it. It could happen in a day or maybe a year. We just don’t know. Don’t force yourself to remember, and don’t feel pressured by others who want you to remember. The key is to let your memory come back on its own.”
I shook my head. I don’t remember four and a half years of my life. I looked at my parents and then back to the doctor. “Well, can I ask questions about my life?”
“Of course you can. Just try not to take in too much right now. First, Victoria needs to change your IV.” The doctor turned to Victoria. “Ms. Chapman, please give him some of the pain meds I prescribed. I’m sure he needs it right about now.” Looking back to me, Dr. Michaels gave me a wink.
Oh, I’m feeling it. Not only was I in pain, but I was also completely confused.
Victoria walked over and leaned down. After she kissed my cheek, she moved her lips to my ear, so no one else could hear her. “Maybe after everyone is gone, I can help ease some of your pain,” she whispered before she pulled away.
I tried to give her a smile, but my stomach turned at her words. Okay…I’m pretty damn sure we’re no longer together. Didn’t I break up with her? Oh yeah…right after the blow job. Best fucking blow job of my life…at least from what I can remember.
Then, my mind flashed an image of the beautiful mystery girl. Who is the blonde?
I glanced at my mother, who was watching Victoria leave the room. If looks could kill, Tori would be flat on the floor.
For a few minutes, the doctor talked to us about the rest of my stay in the hospital. He mentioned that I’d need another brain scan before I could leave, and then I’d need follow-up appointments with the internal medicine doctor.
Once he was out the door, my mother walked up to me and leaned down to give me a kiss. “Baby, you scared the shit out of me.”
I let out a laugh and then winced in pain. “What happened?”
My dad pulled up a chair next to me and sat down. “You were heading out to Mason when a drunk driver hit you.” He began shaking his head with anger.
“Mason? Was I going out to the ranch to meet Gunner and Jeff?”
My mother smiled. “No, you were—”
“Liz…too much information, maybe?”
“Oh please, I know exactly what that little witch was doing with the whole don’t-force-him-to-remember shit!” Mom said with a disgusted look on her face.
“Yes, but the doctor said the same thing, and…”
I tried to suck in a deep breath, but everything hurt. Fuck, just tell me already. “I want to know everything. Don’t hold anything back. Fuck what they said. Mom, where was I going?”
Smiling, my mother said, “You were going to see Heather.”
“Heather? The girl that was in here earlier? That’s Heather, right?”
My dad cleared his throat and nodded. “Yes, Josh. You and Heather are, um—”
“More than friends,” I said.
My mother sat straight up and gave my dad a huge smile. “What? He’s figuring it out on his own!” she said with a wicked grin on her face.