Title: A M N E S I A
Rating: U
Summary: Jasper Whitlock has a car accident. Will he loose the most important thing in his life?
Author's note: I'm from Spain so there could be mistakes but I've tried my best to correct them.
Constructive criticism is more than welcome but I ask you to ignore any English spellings.
It's a two shot. I hope you like it.
A M N E S I A
Jasper looked up from his iphone to the hospital's door.
At last, she was coming home after 3 months of a living hell.
The accident had been terrific. Jasper remembered it as if it was yesterday. The night that crazy asshole crossed a red light at 4 a.m. In addition, to remember him of that, there was a huge scar on two of the fingers of his left hand. He had two surgical operations to make them work again 100%. Those scars did not let him forget that this night he almost lost his life.
And it wasn't only his own life. What he feared the most was loosing her. Among all the persons who had to be in his Toyota Prius that night, it had to be her.
All his fears of loosing her if she didn't breathe again or if she could die followed him in his nightmares every night. Those long nights he didn't want to leave her room and his mother had to throw him of the room. Randee, his mother, had hailed him a taxi and she had sent him home to get some rest. She had quarreled him because his fingers were still healing and he needed to sleep.
He didn't come back to their apartment. There were many memories and a lot of pain. He only went home a couple of times to grab some clean clothes.
Just entering their bedroom and smelling her night-shirt made his heart break and his eyes fill with bitter tears. He had given her the perfume in their third anniversary.
They had met three years ago and just one and a half year after they met, they were married. And now the destiny was trying to snatch what had cost tears and more than one problem with her family, which didn't agree with her leaving her country to marry with a complete stranger. The only thing Abby had told them was that he was an actor that was very known in that roller coaster called Hollywood.
Actually, after three months in a coma, and just 6 days ago, she finally opened her eyes. Those two hazel lights, which had turned him mad from the first day.
But the look he received when with his eyes full of tears he took her hand made him back up as if he had received an electric shock.
She was looking at him between scared and sad. She was looking around trying to remember how she had ended there. He whispered her name and she turned and asked him: "Do I know you, sir?". That alone broke his heart.
Hours later a doctor tried to hush him before he could hit something and break it or hurt himself.
"Mr. Whitlock, your wife suffers amnesia. It's possible for her to recover the memory. But it's possible that she doesn't recover it nevermore. You must be patient. Try to gain her confidence. Take her home and give her all the space she needs. If it's possible, make her tell you what she remembers. This way we will know how she evolves. She will take a treatment of tranquillizers. Possibly, when she recovers the memory, she will need them since the accident can be traumatic enough".
""Traumatic? Traumatic?"", he thought feeling the wrath rising. ""Noooo … you kidding? … I'm going to repeat it tomorrow, you asshole! ""
"Yes, sir. Thank you."
The doctor gave him her papers and the historical file and he said they could go home then.
Jasper entered the room, more nervous than other times. His mother was inside, helping Abby to put on the coat.
"Hello, sweetheart. Have they given you all the papers already? I'm going home, I have spoken with your father. He says he will call you later and to give her a super-hug. You need privacy, especially this little one. Abby, honey, stay calm and if you need something, you have my telephone number, you know it"
"Yes, Randee". Randee looked at her out of the corner of the eye and coughed. "Pardon. Yes, mum"
"Mum, do you want me to take you to somewhere?", asked Jasper smiling, seeing that at least Abby was trusting his mother.
"Oh, no, thank you, sweetheart. I have a taxi waiting for me. We'll meet in a few days. Be good. And take care of this lady, son. Do not press her and have patience".
Jasper sighed, "Mum … the doctor told me that too... Here, have 50 dollars. I'll pay you the taxi".
Randee took the money and embraced Jasper, who pressed her against his chest strongly and then kissed her forehead. Abby was observing all that while she sat at the edge of the bed.
Randee approached her and she embraced her and kissed her in both cheeks and went out of the room, slowly, closing the door behind her.
"Well, apparently, there's just me and you".
"Jasper, I …"
"Don't worry, I have everything at home prepared … I mean … the apartment … hehe … I will sleep in the studio and you will sleep in the main room, in addition you have your own bathroom. I will use the small one but it doesn't have a shower, so, I will have to ask you for permission to have a bath in yours". Jasper didn't see he was babbling until Abby started to speak smiling at him.
"Of course, Jasper. Don't worry. By the way, it's your house, I'm the guest".
Jasper stretched his hand smiling and she put hers in his. They walked up to their neighborhood hand in hand. All the way there, she was surprised at how his fingers were interlacing naturaly, as if they were mean to be this way.
"Jasper … and my family? Where is my husband?"
Jasper stopped dead in his tracks. Never had he said to her that he was hers and his only family there.
"Your husband? … how... how do you know you are married?"
She raised the hand that had been interlaced in his and the ring finger distinguished itself.
"I have a mark of a ring. And I suppose that it was a ring that I've never removed. I've thought that … Oh, I must be silly. I might not be married. My husband would have come to see me. Wouldn't he? And nevertheless, the only one that has been there have been you. You are be my best friend. Probably I'm divorced. He didn't show at the hospital. And I'm sure that all the time that you have been in the hospital, looking after me, you have neglected some girl. I can feel it when I look into your eyes".
"My God, sugar, you speak really fast. OK, yes, you were... are married. They had to break the ring when they brought you to the hospital, I'm sorry. And as for your husband … let's say that he is an idiot and a coward. And as for me … how I say it to you … there was an important woman in my life. The most precious thing I've ever had. She completed me. And I lost her. And I would give everything I have to have her back, to be able to embrace her, kiss her, to love her, but she acts like I don't exist... and that's breaking my heart...", said Jasper with tears in the eyes.
"Oh, God, Jasper. I'm so sorry. I'm a disaster. I'm sorry. Please, forgive me. I didn't want to upset you."
She embraced him strongly and he passed his hands through her waist and sank his face in her neck inhaling her aroma and he let out a moan full of pain. He missed that so much. That morning, he brought to the hospital clean clothes and her shampoo and her favorite gel.
His own body had reacted at the smell of her soap that was impregnating the hospital's room.
She huged his neck and closed her eyes. How could she feel so right embracing her best friend? Was that a tickle in her belly? He sighed and kissed her neck. But faster than a thunder he opened his eyes and separated from her slowly.
"I'm sorry, Abby. Let's keep going. Do you want to go to any place in particular? I think we can eat something before we go home. If it suits you"
"Whatever you want it's fine with me. I'm not tired, I've been sleeping the last months more than I feel safe to admit. And I want to see things, you told me you could help me remember. You can show me the things that I liked to do … or the places to which I liked to go … I don't know… I suppose that if we were friends... best friends, you would know everything about me... and now I can learn more about you...", said she smiling shyly.
"Sure thing, darling, it will be my pleasure. Lets go find my car, I left it in a workshop. They are washing it. So next stop… Sunset!"
She began to laugh. When they arrived to the workshop, Jasper went to a grey Toyota. They fastened their seatbelts and went to Sunset to beging rebuilding their relationship.
Two months had passed by. Their living together had turned into something smooth. He had returned to work because she had insisted that was necessary to create a routine. And she was OK and she could be at home alone for a couple of hours.
The only thing she still wasn't sure of was if Jasper felt the same way as her and if he too felt butterflies in his belly when they were near each other.
She had had several memories back. And some of them were of her saying to him that she loved him but when she had told him he had looked at her intensely, just giving her the sweetest and at the same time sexiest smile.
On the other hand, she was having a dream that was repeating itself a lot lately.
She was naked, sweaty, and with her there was a man who was undressed too. But the more she tried to see his face, the less she could do it. In all her dreams all she could see was his naked chest and a tattoo in his left hip. There were three words "I'm lost". She found it interesting. It was not anything that people were tattooing normally. The logical thing were tribal signs that didn't have any meaning.
But that tattoo was engraved in her memory like fire.
Those dreams were the only thing that she didn't told him. And he didn't seem to realize that when they were together and he was hugging her or when he was telling her how beautiful she looked the few nights she allowed him to take her out for dinner, she had blushed and a shiver had run through her back.
But that night everything was going to change, she had a premonition that something would change. And it was something good.
She had gone to sleep soon because he went to met with the monkeys for a late rehearsal of the concert they were giving that night at a nearby bar. She didn't come as always telling Jasper she was tired. He kissed her forehead and wished her good-night before leaving with his guitar. She smiled, he really looked happy when he was with the boys and a couple of guitars playing around the house. And she loved the boys. And they also had shown that they loved her too.
She lay down in her bed looking at the roof and reliving everything they had done since her exit from the hospital.
She remembered all the hugs he had given her. At first they had been fast, fleeting, fearful and now they were languid. She sank her face in his chest and let his strong arms encircle her.
She remembered all the kindness and the fondness had turned into an everyday habit in their life during all those weeks. He always said goodbye with a hug and a kiss in the cheek or in the forehead.
Then it came to her mind all those Saturday nights that he didn't have to work and he didn't call the boys for a mini-concert. Those were long nights sharing a bottle of white wine and seeing some movie. They usually finished the night in the porch covered with a blanket and with him telling stories and anecdotes and making her laugh out load.
Jasper was the strongest man she ever knew. He was young and at the same time he talked to her with a maturity that surprised her and amazed her in many ways. He had told her all about his life, about his childhood and the hard work that he had to do to be where he was. He told her all of this between laughs and weeping. She had cradled him like a baby and for some rare reason that seemed right as if they were mean to be like that.
There were times in which just the smell of his aftershave made something come up to her mind about some bit of life before the accident. But those memories didn't stay enough time in her head. And as quickly as they arrived, they disappeared.
Tonight was a cold night, much colder than usual. She rolled on bed. She was full awake. She didn't know what made her go to the bedside table of the other side of the bed but she started opening all the booths, one by one. She blushed. There, between papers, packets of cigarettes, a burner… were condoms, hundreds of them. And she knew it was HIS booth, his "Jasper's happy time booth". She smiled at her own joke but blushed even harder when she thought of him using one of them with her.
She shook her head feeling guilt. He was her best friend, he let her be at his house. And all she could think was to seduce him? Was she even thinking about going to bed with him? He had lost his only one and she wasn't respecting that, not to mention she was married.
He didn't tell how he had lost her, but only the transformation in his features when he talked about "her" made her know that had been traumatic. And his words were full of love, they were full of adoration towards this girl and that was something Abby would never have. Jasper reproached her for abandoning him, he just felt sorrow.
With a sigh, she closed the booth and opened the next one down below. There were only photos. She looked at them. Some of them were the monkeys. She already knew all of them, they helped her remember Jasper better… she had laughed with the anecdotes. And the best of all had been to see the face of mortification of the above-mentioned one. He was the best example of what it means to want the Earth to swallow you alive in this very moment.
There were more photos … Randee … Jack (his father) … his sisters... his friends drunk … he drunk … and … and …
Oh, my God. Sultan? But … but why could she remember that cat's name… Sultan… my God, Sultan. Her little Sultan …
Her eyes filled with tears. Suddenly, she remembered much more than she had remembered until now. Sultan… They had had to sacrifice him because he was ill and old.
Jasper hadn't eat in almost a week, he just kept walking through the house as a ghost. And she remembered that pain too. She remembered that loss and the heartbreaking. It was almost like to lose a son. They had buried him in the garden. And... Wait a minute!
God, the garden!
The garden!
She went out of the bed, with Sultan's photo griped tightly in her hand and she put on her slippers. Without taking a coat or something to be warm outside she went out running to the garden behind the house. How could be she hadn't pay attention to those little white rocks on the corner?
When she reached the corner she fell to her knees and noticed the ceramic plate that was surrounded by white stones. There, in the garden, was their child.
Jasper arrived at the house at that very moment. He tried not to make a noise so he didn't wake up Abby but when he entered the room to see if she was sleeping and if she needed him to refix the blankets, she wasn't there and the house was empty. He almost had a heart attack when he didn't see her in bed and immediately thought the worst.
He looked out the window and saw her in the garden.
But then his heart broke when he saw where she was. In front of Sultan's tomb crying her heart out, as the day that they buried him. She was griping strongly a photo. He ran to her as fast as he could but stopped dead in his tracks beside her.
"Abby …", he wishpered kneeling beside her.
She turned. She was paler than ever. He put a hand on her shoulder and made her turn to him.
"He was our baby…"
"Shhh … yes … but it happened two years ago, my love"
"Jasper … I think I can remember … not everything … but a lot … I don't know how to explain it … but I have seen the photos of your bedside table and…", she said blushing.
"Have you looked in there? Have you seen the photos and "all"?", it was his turn to blush.
"I'm sorry… I know that it's private… I … I couldn't sleep … and … I..."
Jasper took her cheeks and gave her a peck in the lips.
"What, darling?"
She blushed. Other times he had given her a kiss in the lips, but his eyes had never been so green. It was like he was undressing her with his intense stare.
"I remembered Sultan… the boys… "your" drunken times and how hard it was to take you home and into your bed... and that you always were making me enter the concerts with Marty so the paparazzi weren't taking photos of me and I could continue being anonymous … I remember that you have stopped smoking five times... but the moment you start a new project, you start smoking again... so you quit trying to stop smoking!"
Jasper was looking at her amazed. Everything. There, in that little head of hers was everything… well, almost everything.
She never mentioned "them" … neither their wedding, nor their honeymoon, or their last trip to the Fiords, nor the romantic vacations, nor the weekends at home… nothing. Not even a kiss.
His eyes filled with tears and before he could stop his knees, he fell down crying and he hugged her waist with unsteady arms.
"Jasper….?"
She caressed his soft hair. It had been washed today. She caressed it and when she came to his neck, her hands retained there trembling and his head stayed close to her abdomen.
Later, he looked up at her with his green eyes feeling more serene. She was trembling profusely.
"Oh, my God, Abby... You must be frozen. Lets go inside".
He took off his leather jacket and covered her, passing an arm through her shoulders and he attracted her towards his body. They entered the house.
"Jay … can I ask you for one thing?"
"Whatever you want. You know I'm your slave". Jasper smiled, she used his nickname. She hardly used it.
She laughed. He always had a humorous answer for everything. Answers that in spite of all her efforts were making her smile, even explode in guffaws.
"Can you sleep with me tonight?"
He shot her a sideways glance and pressed her to his body.
"Are you sure? I don't want you to feel uncomfortable… "
"Yes, I'm sure. I don't want to be alone. I know I will have nightmares. I'm afraid. But before you come to bed, can you switch on the heating. I can't feel my hands"
He laughed and accompanied her to the main room. He went to the thermostat that was near the door and raised a couple of degrees the heating. Then he went to the room that lately had been his and got changed for bed.
She was in the bed seated in her side waiting for him.
"Jesus, that's hot in here! Do you mind if I rip off the shirt? I will melt with all the blankets"
"I don't mind. Get comfortable, Jasper"
He smiled and went back to his bathroom taking off the shirt to brush his teeth.
When he came back, she looked up from the magazine she was reading and let out a scream.
Jasper remained petrified in the door without knowing very well what to do. Yes, the gym was building his body nicely, but he didn't mean to scare her to death and she was pale as if she had seen a ghost.
"Abby … what's up?"
"Jasper … your hip … you… you have the tattoo… it was your tattoo… It was you… this sentence…"I'm lost"... the tattoo..."
Jasper looked at her and then he turned to look at the tattoo that was in his left hip.
He had this tattoo done years ago, before even meeting her. What was the news? It looked as if suddenly it had started bleeding… or revealing itself… or something worst…
She was looking at it, with a hand covering her mouth, while tears were running freely down her cheeks making her tremble like a leaf.
"Abby… Now you are scaring me, darling... Talk to me, sugar... What's the matter?", he said in a hushed voice.
Jasper approached the bed slowly and sat down opposite her hugging her against his naked chest.
She started to cry more loudly when she heard his heartbeat. That was like a bomb and what made her memory come back like a flash.
Without stopping sobbing, she told him about the dream. Those dreams that made her feel guilty for wanting it to be true.
Jasper was trembling. She was starting remembering him.
"I don't know what to think… you have somebody in your life… and apparently, that night, in which almost you die, I was the one that was there, and not her… but you lost this person nonetheless and she was who completed you… and then I almost died too..."
Jasper took her shoulders and he looked at her eyes. Both had them full of tears. He approached her and kissed her. Strongly, allowing his tongue to explore her mouth. He had wanted to do it since the first day they came back home because this was their house and not a bachelor's apartment.
When they needed to breathe again, they separated. Looking at each other's eyes smiling.
"Abby, you don't understand it, don't you? You cannot see it. We are not best friends… I'm not your best friend… don't look at me this way, please… Don't be afraid… God, how can I explain this to you? … How on earth do you tell someone that she's your other half… that… that… Abby... God, Abby… It was YOU… you are "her"… You are my only one, what was completing me and still completes me… you made me go back to work… you gave me my life back when you opened your eyes and looked at me for the first time in weeks… you are the one that makes me fight for me and for you… I would give my life just to see you smile again… I was so happy when I knew you were back with me… and every night I prayed for you to remember something more or even me… I prayed for the day you could look at me and say to me what you always said…"
She looked at him and without thinking they said together: "You are mine".
He started to cry again. As a small child that the day of Christmas runs downstairs to the Christmas tree and discovers that he had received everything he had asked for. His chest was so full of love and relief he thought it was going to explode.
Her breathing was labored from the sobs. He stopped weeping and raising from the bed he went to the room next door the fastest his legs let him do it without breaking a bone.
When he returned he carried in his hands a tiny box enveloped in red velvet and a bouquet of 12 red roses.
"My life… my love… when they took you to the hospital, all they returned to me were your clothes and the last bits of our wedding ring… it was broken as was my heart. I took both rings to the jeweler's shop where I buy them and I asked to fuse them together and to re-do them again. I meant to give it to you as if it was new. But I thought that the day would never come… And then, you opened your eyes!"
He took her hand and deposited the box there. She opened the box and found two carved alliances of white gold. Inside them, in tiny letters they could read: "I was lost but you found your way back to me. You are mine". Next to that phrase there wasn't their wedding's date. There was another date.
She looked at it amazed. He took her left hand and placed the ring in her finger. Then she took the other one and he extended his left hand and in his ring finger beyond the scar of the accident there was a mark as hers. That was the mark of the ring of their wedding.
"You were mine… what's the meaning of the date? Is it our anniversary?"
"I've always been yours … No, it's not the date of our anniversary. It is the day after the accident. When the doctors said that you would live. It was like being born again. I knew that you were going to be by my side, that we weren't going to be apart again. And I swore to God that I would never leave you, that I would never ever allow something like that accident happen again. And I knew that it was a sign, a sign to know that I need you. And to know how lost I am without you."
"Jay … ", she looked at him and she smiled with her eyes full of tears and kissed him. "I love you".
"I love you more, darling. You don't know how much I love you".
She grabed the bouquet of red roses. 11 were real, but the last one was made of wood. Then she grabed the little envelope that was crimped and she opened it. Inside the envelope, there was a card and in Jasper's handwriting she read: "I will love you till the last one dies. Jay." She looked up at him smiling and caresed his cheek.
Without another word, he kissed her slowly. Knowing that the next morning she will be laying beside him… and the next one… and the next one… and this way until the end of their days.
He loved her like he never thought he was going to be able to love her again.
After all this hell, finally the nightmare was over. They had each other again and they were swearing silently to never let go the other one.
A few hours later the thick blankets covered their naked bodies close to each other while they slept peacefully.
In the darkness of the night, a sigh was heard full of relief and the trembling voice of Jasper with a hint of emotion saying: "Thanks, Sultan, man".
~*~*~*~ T H E E N D ~*~*~*~