amnesiac
"Thom? How are you feeling now?"
"Sick. Really sick. What happened?
Jonny hesitated for a moment, then... "Y-you...you had a fit at the office, and passed out. You're in hospital, Thom. Don't you remember?" Thom shook his head, which pounded painfully, and looked around- Indeed he was in hospital, the one with the dolphin curtains and the bastard doctor called Paolo who would say 'We're only trying to help' when it was bloody obvious they weren't- He hated it so, and he hated himself for being there. "They want to keep you in for a while, Thom. They want to know what's up with you." Thom nodded. "Okay. Where's Colin and the others? And does Rachel know?" When Thom looked at Jonny he knew there was something up- Jonny looked confused for a brief moment, and then like something was really, really hurting him, and then horribly upset, which hurt him more than he thought it should have, before he spoke in barely more than a whisper. "Thom... the rest of the band are outside. But Rachel...Rachel's not...She doesn't want to know, Thom. She left you last year remember, when she fouund out about you and..." He didn't finish, but could already guess who fit onto the end of that sentence. "Oh God..." Two words which hardly expressed his disorientated state of confusion- As far as he was concerned, it was December 23rd, and the year was 1993, and he was dating Rachel, the girl from his University, but then again he couldn't remember her leaving him so how much else was he wrong on? "Jonny?" When Jonny looked up, he was flushed slightly pink, and his dark hair covered most of his face, but Thom heard him clearly enough. "I'm going to send Colin in. He knows about amnesia and things like that." Jonny stood, and Thom saw the dark red stain of blood that covered his shirt and his jeans, ans spattered across his shoes, and touched his face, which was cold, but clean. Maybe they'd cleaned him up already.
Almost as soon as Jonny had left, a small man carrying a newspaper came strolling in, confidently it seemed, although his face was pinched white and he was barely smiling. He looked slightly like Jonny had, but his nose was larger and he had less hair, and a more intellectual appearance. When he spoke, it was almost a mimickery. "Hello, Thom. How are you feeling now?" Thom shook his head, and puled himself up into a half sitting position before snatching the paper and unfolding it. "Oi!" was Colin's reply, but he didn't snatch it back or tell Thom off like usual- Colin watched as Thom studied the date, watched his confusion as he read out loud. "October 1st, 1997." There was a silent moment then, when a nurse walked by carrying Paracetomol, and the halogen lights flickered eerily, and the buzz of conversation could be heard through the door that Colin had come through, and the nurse, and Jonny. "...1997..." Thom's head swam in a haze of confusion and fear- How had he managed to lose four years of his life? "Is this...real?" Colin nodded gravely. "I'm sorry, Thom. What year is it, in your head?" Thom sighed. "In my head? 1993." Colin nodded, looking every bit the psychologist as he considered. "Ok. How many albums have you released?" Thom thought hard for a moment, and then... "Just one. Pablo Honey." Colin winced slightly. "Oh. Ok. Do you remember anything about that year specifically?" Thom nodded. "My hair. Rachel kept telling me to cut my...hair!" Whilst talking, Thom had reached up absentmindedly, expecting to feel his long, bleached blond hair, but instead touching rough bristles that felt like barbed wire to him, his face one of pure horror. "Colin... My hair!" Colin reached over and pulled Thom's hands down, placing them safely on the bed, careful of his wires, and said soothingly, "Thom, calm down. It's ok. You're going to be here for a little while, but the doctors will help you out." Thom pulled away and hid under the bed covers, the machines he was hooked up to bleeping and flashing in response, causing several doctors and nurses to come running up to them.
The room was bright white, blinding, and the smell of air conditioning hung in the atmosphere. Thom felt like he was choking on it, and Jonny and Colin were whispering to each other as they waited for Dr. Paolo, who came in at that precise moment looking, as always, too happy. Too happy to work in a hospital, in Thom's opinion. Maybe he was up to something- This whole thing was a conspiracy, right? He cleared his throat. "Mr Yorke-" Thom interrupted moodily. "It's Thom." Paolo continued as if the interruption hadn't happened. "Mr Yorke. We have the results from your scans and your blood tests. Our scans have picked up on an anomoly, a... malformation on the left side of your brain, basically a tumour. It's about the size of a small orange-" He held up the scan picture, and Thom eyed it worriedly. "-and..I'm sorry, but due to its position we can't operate." Paolo hesitated for a moment, and then he said "We believe it's cancerous."