forum Shattered Memories // oxo // closed, stalkers welcome

Started February 22, 2020 by @maddie-the-unknown

tune

The nurse paused for a moment, falling silent, and then proceeded to do what she had intended to do. When she was done, she looked up at Grace. "I'll order a CT scan, and I'll be back in a bit to see how she's doing."

"Am… amneee… amneshi… amnesia, what's that?" Megan asked, confused. She understood why Grace was sad, but did this 'amnesia' have something to do with her memory loss? It was then that the understanding set in. "It has something to do with my memory, doesn't it?" Her voice was no longer confused. She understood most of it now. Something had happened, and that had triggered her memory loss.

“A-Amnesia,” Grace repeated. “It’s… the loss of memory after an accident.”
Her voice trembled again at the mention of the situation. Her hand on the side of the bed curled into a defiant fist. Inside, she still denied what had happened. She had wanted to kill Jacob. The man who hit Megan. She had grown this fire within her, up to the point where she couldn’t even mention the man’s name.
Grace had stopped her crying now, but still held that broken posture. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to tell Megan it was okay.
But she didn’t know how she could, when she didn’t even believe it herself.

"Accident…" Megan murmured to herself. So she had been right. Her heart ached for Grace, she wanted to tell her that she was fine, that it was okay. She'd be fine, and they could be friends again. And Grace could help her recover lost memories! Amnesia wasn't permanent, was it? She didn't think it was… But she knew nothing she could say at the moment would help. "Grace…" Megan started, looking up into Grace's eyes. "What happened?"

Grace’s heart broke the second Megan said her name. She said it carefully, like she perhaps didn’t know how she used to pronounce it. Which… which she didn’t.
Grace looked off, away from the girl’s bed. Her eyes traced the lining of the barren steril room. Her clenched fist held onto the bedsheets tighter.
“Are you sure…,” Grace began. “Are you sure you want to know?”

"I want to know," Megan said. Her eyes softened, and though she couldn't see Grace's face anymore, she could still see the hurt practically emanating off of her body.

"I want to know," she repeated again. "I want the truth. Please, Grace…" Megan didn't want to evoke further hurt in her former friend, but she had to. She knew that life would never leave the subject alone, if she didn't ask now.

“You we’re heading home,” Grace began. “And got hit by a drunk driver. It was h-his fault, not y-yours.”
Her voice was rough and hard, almost piercing through the air. She spoke of Jacob like every word was a threat. Which, in her case, it was.
At the mention of the driver, her hand clenched even tighter than one would have thought could be possible. Her nails dug into the bedsheets, and it was clear her arm was shaking. Well, not just her arm— her entire being. Heart and soul alike.
She explained the length of the situation, being as truthful as she could with ever part she knew.

Megan closed her eyes, taking in every detail. So it had been serious. She whispered a soft apology and reached out a hand to cover Grace's. "It's okay… I'm okay… you don't need to worry about me anymore…"

Grace stifled a laugh, her bottom lip quivering slightly as she gave a smile.
“Are you kidding?” she said, her voice still a bit shaky. “I’ll always worry.”
She shook her head, closing her eyes slightly. “And that’s what I’ve been doing the past… however long? Doesn’t matter. At least you’re okay.”

However long, the words echoed in her head. How long had she been out, then? How long had she been sleeping, hiding from the real world? "Grace…?" Megan started. "…how long was I out?"

Grace grew terribly still, her eyes locked on the side of the bed below, but they weren’t trained. She looked distant… that kind of glazed over look that people get when they would daydream. It was a far-off look, like a hundred-yard stare.
“A year and a half,” she mumbled quietly.

"A… a year…" Megan echoed, not quite sure how to process this. She had been out for a year and a half? How had she been out that long? How? She squeezed Grace's hand softly.

Grace kept her eyes from the girl, instead surveying the room. She focused all of her attention on the girl’s hand holding her own. How much she had missed her…
“It’s okay,” she mumbled. “You’re awake now. That’s all that matters, right? You can come home soon.”

"Yeah…" Megan whispered softly. And that's when it all hit her. She had been in a coma for a whole year and a half. A year. And a half. She didn't know how to quite process this, and froze up, all of her brain power focused on processing this information that didn't seem real yet.

“Don’t worry about taking it all in,” Grace said quickly, noticing the girl’s change in tone.
She glanced over, closing her eyes with a long, much-needed sigh.
“You have time now,” she said, trying to mold her tone to fit a slightly happier expectation. It did little to lift the mood. Though what else could she do?
“I’ll be by your side to help you along the way. We’ll get you back. I can promise you that.”