Again, thanks for all the nice reviews! They make me happy! :)
Oh btw, if you haven't already, you should go check out the story I posted this last weekend, The Beautiful Kind of Butterflies! If you loved The Bad Roommate (because of Tandre) then I think you'll love this one ;)
Hehe, okay here's the next chapter! Enjoy!
Andre's POV
I was lying in my uncomfortable hospital bed, trying to ignore the pain in my knee, when I heard a knock on my door. "Come in,"
The door opened and in walked my mom. "Hey honey,"
"Oh, hi, Mom," I said and turned off the TV. I sat up in bed. "What's up?"
"Well, I just talked to the doctor and you'll be good to go home tomorrow." she said. "You'll be having follow up appointments for your knee and to take out those stitches on your head, but you'll be out of here tomorrow."
"That's awesome!" I said with a smile. "But…until then, do you think I could change out of this uncomfortable gown? It's itchy and too big on me."
She giggled and held up my overnight bag. "That's why I brought this for you,"
"Aww, thanks, Mama, you're the best."
She walked over to me and gave me a kiss on the top of my head. "I know," she said jokingly. "Anyway, here's your bag. Your pajamas are right on top. Do you need help putting them on?"
I slowly smiled at her. "Mom, I'm seventeen, almost eighteen. I think I can change myself."
"I know, but with your hurt knee, I wasn't sure if you needed help or not."
"That's very sweet, Mom, but I can manage." I told her.
She nodded and smiled. Then she crossed her arms and looked out the window. I know my mom and I know when she was trying to avoid something and right now, she was trying to avoid something. I got her to look at me and I said, "Everything okay?"
She gave me a fake smile. "Yeah, everything's great,"
I cocked my head to one side. "Mom, I know you. I can tell something's wrong. Just tell me what it is."
She sighed. "I just don't know how you're gonna take it."
I gave her a knowing smile. "Come on, Mom…you're talking to the boy who walked with torn ligaments in one knee." I didn't bother to say that I did a lot of screaming in the short few moments I was walking though. "I can take anything."
"Yeah, we'll see if you can take this." she mumbled and then sighed. "So…as I was walking through the hallways of the hospital…I passed by Mrs. Vega and she updated me on how Tori's doing."
All I knew about Tori was that she had a bad concussion and that she was unconscious. I hoped I was about to hear some good news, like she was awake or something. "Oh, my God, really?" I asked and she nodded. "How is she?"
"Well…she's awake." she said slowly. "So…that's a plus."
I nodded, but I still wasn't able to let out a sigh of relief. I could tell she was holding something back. "There's something else. I can tell there is."
"Andre, you don't know how hard this is to tell you." she said. "Tori is your weakness and giving you any kind of bad news that involves her hurts me."
I immediately began to protest. "Mom, Tori isn't my weakness. Where…where would you get a wacky idea like that?"
"Mhmm," She crossed her arms. "If she isn't your weakness, then why do you always talk about her and why is it that when a guy hurts her, you get really angry?"
I figured there was no point in lying. My mom knew too much. "Fine. She's my weakness. So what?" I sighed. "Now just get to the point, Mom. What's wrong with her?"
"Okay, well…about an hour ago, Mrs. Vega was in Tori's room." she began. "And then…she started to wake up. All she said was that she was tired and that she had a headache, which is understandable."
"Of course," I whispered.
"Anyway…they continued talking and…Mrs. Vega could tell that Tori was…very confused."
I looked at her weird. "Confused how?"
"Like…she didn't remember the crash and when Mrs. Vega asked her what's the last thing she remembered in general, she just said 'I don't know.'"
I nodded, still confused as heck though. "So… what does this mean?"
My mom smiled matter-of-factly. "Andre, Tori has amnesia." My eyes widened and I gasped. "She doesn't know who she is or who anyone else is."
No. This can't be true. It can't be. Tori…my Tori…had amnesia. This can't be happening. "But…no," I said. "No, it can't be true. Without her memory…" I couldn't even finish my sentence.
"She's still Tori, Andre." said Mom. "Mrs. Vega said that Tori feels three things: tired, headache, and confused. She's trying so hard to remember anything, but with no luck. And the more she thinks, said Mrs. Vega, the more her head hurts. Right now, she's got her parents and sister in there with her and they're talking to her and trying to keep her relaxed."
I gulped. I still couldn't believe this. "Um…" I rubbed my forehead, making sure to miss where I had my stitches. "Is the…amnesia permanent?" I hated that word.
"They don't know for sure." she said. "There's a fifty/fifty chance that her memory will either come back or be gone forever. But there is a plus side."
"How is that even possible?" I asked with a shake of my head.
"Well…Tori can't remember anything about her past." she said. "But she can remember new things. So if by some chance it is permanent, new memories will be created."
I sighed and leaned back against my pillow. "But it wouldn't be the same," My eyes filled up with tears. "She wouldn't the same Tori." I was thinking about the moment we had in the car yesterday, literally just seconds before our lives changed forever. When we were simply smiling at each other. Talking with our eyes. Saying more than every word in the dictionary combined. Now, it would just be a memory only I would remember. Even if she did happen to get her memory back, I doubt she would remember that moment between us. And that was a moment that I knew I would treasure forever. And you can't replay it. Life doesn't work that way. It's just not fair. One second, everything was perfect and the next…we were hit head on by a stupid drunk driver. I didn't know the guy that hit us, but I still hated him. My hatred for him just grew stronger from hearing that Tori had amnesia. Good thing he was in jail and not in the hospital. It's sad that Tori and I were the ones hurt while he barely had a scratch on him.
What felt like hours later, but was just in fact seconds later, I looked up at my mom. "When can I see her? I know she doesn't know who I am…" That thought made me blink my eyes a few times. Unbelievable. She is my best friend and I am her best friend. Well…I was her best friend. "But…I have to see her."
"She's with her family right now." said my mom gently. "I'm so sorry, baby."
I bit my lip before saying, "Well…could you stand outside her door and then come get me whenever they leave?"
She slightly smiled and said, "Andre, I can't spy on them twenty-four/seven. And besides, you shouldn't be moving that knee around so much. It needs to stay propped up, just like it is right now. You need to stay right here and rest."
I groaned and leaned back. "I've been resting for over fifteen hours in this stupid uncomfortable hospital bed. I'd probably feel better if I got up and walked around."
"Andre, you can't walk." he said. "The next best thing you can do is hop on crutches. And you still haven't gotten used to them yet."
I glanced to my right and saw my crutches leaned against the wall. They were fitted for me and would be mine for up to two months. I had a medial collateral ligament tear and that's the ligament that controls flexibility. And lucky me, I had Grade 3 severity, which meant it would take forever to heal up. I would need a lot of rehabilitation and would also need surgery. My doctor said the quicker I could start walking on my knee, the better, but it hurt too much to walk on. He told me that when I did start walking on it, it would feel like it was giving out. "Well…I gotta get used to them sometime." I told her.
"But not today, okay?" she said. "You can visit her tomorrow." Then she changed the subject by saying, "Is your knee propped up enough or do you need it up more?"
"No, it's fine," I told her. "And before you ask, no, the icepack is fine; I don't need it replaced." I was forced to keep it propped up and with ice on it to reduce the swelling.
"Well, okay then," she said. "I'm about to run home. Is there anything else you need?"
I crossed my arms. "I need to see Tori."
She softly smiled and then walked up to me and kissed my forehead. "You can see her tomorrow. I'm gonna run home for a little bit, but I'll be back later this evening to see how you're doing, okay?"
"Okay," I said, because there was no point in arguing. I already had nurses checking on me every hour or so.
"Alright, I'll see you then." she said. "Bye sweetie,"
"Bye,"
She smiled and then left.
I let out a long sigh and then unzipped my bag. I pulled my pajamas out, which was just a t-shirt and pajama pants, and then laid the bag on the ground. Then I took the covers off and carefully moved my knee so I could take off the gown. Then I put my shirt on and very carefully put my pants on. This was so much more comfortable than that gown. Then I got back under the covers and propped up my knee like I was supposed to and put the icepack back on it. I grabbed a ponytail from the bag and pulled my dreads back. Then I turned the TV back on and leaned against my pillows.
About an hour and a half later, I heard a knock on my door. I sighed and said, "Come in,"
The door opened and, to my surprise, Mrs. Vega walked in. She smiled at me. "Hi Andre,"
"Mrs. Vega," I said and turned the TV off. "Hi,"
"Hello," she said. "How's your knee?"
"Fine for now," I told her. "Did you need me for something?"
"No, but…I just came to see if you'd like to visit Tori."
I sat up more in bed. "Are you serious?"
"Yes," she told me. "David and Trina just left and I was on my way out, but before I left, I thought I might come and see how you were doing and if you wanted to see Tori."
"Yeah, I'd love to see her." I said with a smile.
"Okay," she said. "But you do know that she has amnesia, right? Did your mom talk to you?"
"Yes," I said. "My mom told me. Like…how bad is it?"
"She just doesn't know who she is or who anyone else is." she said. "So when you walk in, be prepared for her to not recognize you. But I promise you; she's still Tori."
"I can't believe this." I said while shaking my head. "Tori and I have been best friends for almost two years. It's crazy to think she wouldn't know who I am."
"I know exactly how you feel." she said. "She didn't even know who I am. It was heartbreaking for her to not recognize me. But hopefully, she'll regain her memory and not even remember that this happened."
"I hope so."
She nodded and then said, "So…do you need help getting out of bed?"
"Um…no, I think I can manage." I said as I pulled the covers off of me. "I just need to get to my knee brace on, get my crutches situated, and I'll be good to go."
"Alright," she said. "I'll just stand back here." She stood close to the door. "Let me know if you need help."
I smiled and took the ice off of my knee and then sat on the edge of the bed. I grabbed my knee immobilizer from the bedside table, pulled my pant leg up, and put the brace on. It kind of hurt putting the brace on, but it wasn't too bad. I put my pant leg back down and said, "Um, do you think you could hand me my crutches?"
"Of course," she said and grabbed my crutches and held them out right in front of me.
I smiled. "Thanks," I stood up, putting all of my weight on my left leg, and grabbed the crutches. I positioned them and then looked up at Mrs. Vega. "Good to go,"
She shook her head. "Man, Andre, I still can't believe you managed to walk with that hurt knee after the crash yesterday."
I shrugged. "I didn't really have a choice."
"Still," she said. "Thank you for that. You saved her life."
I smiled. "You're welcome,"
"Alright, let's go," She turned around and headed out the door with me right behind her. As she walked along, I hopped along. It was kind of embarrassing to be walking through the halls while hopping, but no one gave me a second glance. I guess being hurt while in the hospital isn't an out of the ordinary thing.
Just as we were about to approach Tori's room, Mrs. Vega turned to me. "Okay, when we go in there, I'll introduce you to her. Something she asked while we were in there was if anyone else was in the car with her. We said yes and that's when we told her about you. So she knows your name, but…not your face."
I sighed heavily and nodded. This was just insane.
"Are you ready?" she asked and I nodded again. She smiled. "Okay, here we go…" She turned towards the door and stepped inside with me close behind her. "Hi Tori,"
When I saw Tori, she was looking off into space. But when she heard her mom's voice, she looked at her. She softly smiled. "Hi," It was crazy to think she didn't know any of us. "I thought you were leaving."
Mrs. Vega glanced at me. "I was, but I thought I would bring a friend to you. Tori, this is Andre Harris."
Tori looked at me and her eyes lit up. For a second, I got excited. But then she said, "Oh, you're the boy I was in the car wreck with, right?"
The boy she was in the car wreck with. That's how she knew me.
Even though I wanted to cry, I managed to say, "That's me."
"I'll leave you guys to it." said Mrs. Vega and walked out.
"Well…" started off Tori. I glanced at her. "Do you, um…wanna come sit?"
I nodded and then hopped over to her. I put my crutches against the wall and then grabbed a chair and hopped over next to the bed. I sat in the chair and said, "Uh, do you think it would be okay if I propped my leg up on the bed?"
"Oh, yeah, of course," she said and smiled. "Do whatever you need to do."
Even without her memory, Tori was still such a sweet girl. "Thanks," I said and propped it up. That was when I could finally sit back and take a good look at her. She looked exactly the same, except for the bandage around her head. It basically just looked like she was wearing a white headband, except the straps were going around her whole head. I didn't know what to say, so I said, "Um…is that bandage around your head uncomfortable?"
"No, not really," she said. "It's my head itself that's bothering me."
I nodded and just stayed silent. I didn't know what to say. This was so weird for me. It's like she was here, but she wasn't. In a way, I was feeling kind of shy. That thought just made me shake my head. Suddenly, Tori spoke up. "What?"
"What do you mean?"
"You just shook your head." she said. "Is everything okay?"
"Oh, um…it's fine." I said shakily. "Just…got a lot of things on my mind,"
"You know, Andre…it's Andre, right?" I nodded. "You don't have to put up this act."
I gulped. "What act?"
"Look…I'm sorry," she said, sounding generally sorry, but I didn't know why. "I know this must be hard for you. My…mom told me that you and I have been best friends for a long time."
"Almost two years,"
She nodded. "Yeah," She cleared her throat. "I hate that I don't know who you are. I just spent the last two hours with my parents and sister and they were sharing personal stories with me and I have no idea who the heck they are. I hate to say it since they're my family, but it's the truth. I'm trying so hard to remember their faces, but…I just can't. Just like how I can't remember your face," Those words were like a tug on my heart. "It's just…this is such a weird feeling. It's like…I know I should know these people. But…I look at their faces and it's like I've never seen them before in my life." She sighed. "And the funny thing is that, besides the people I've seen today, I can't picture anybody's faces. I just…I don't know." She rubbed her hands over her face. I could tell she was genuinely frustrated. "I don't know anything and I hate that I'm causing all this pain."
I bit my lip. I didn't know what to say for a moment. But then I finally thought of something to say. "You don't have to answer this question, but…just out of curiosity…what did you and your family talk about over the last two hours?"
She shrugged. "Nothing huge. I just asked them questions about my past and they shared stories with me. The majority of them were from when I was younger. It was nice to hear all those stories."
"I bet it was." I said with a smile.
She nodded and then looked the ground. She twiddled her thumbs in her lap for a few minutes. It was just this comfortable silence between us. I could literally see her brain working hard. Then out of nowhere, she sighed heavily and said, "Can we just do what my family and I did? I ask you questions and you tell me stories?"
"Of course we can," I cleared my throat. "Ask away,"
We spent the next three hours talking and laughing and sharing stories. I contemplated telling her stories involving the rest of the gang, but I didn't wanna stress her out with anymore names. I simply told her that she and I were in a group of four other friends and she nodded and asked questions not having to do with them. It seemed like she had the same thought I did. She already had enough on her mind. I didn't wanna make it worse.
