The Apartment
13: WTF
SAM! SAM!
It was hazy, grey to black, then back again. She sensed rather than felt small taps on her cheeks interspersed with her name.
SAM! SAM!
A brownish, pinkish blob filled her vision. All the while she heard her name punctuated with the light taps on the side of her face.
SAM! SAM!
Pain… her head throbbed. Her vision cleared, she reached up to stop his subtle slaps.
She nodded.
He gathered her up into his lap while she was waking. She couldn't focus again, blur turned to black.
She was in a car, strapped into the passenger seat.
Off white rooms, bright lights… drowsy sleep. She was confused, and visiting someone in a hospital. But… why was she in the bed? Who was this sitting in a chair near the bed? A woman with grey hair was standing over her, staring at her.
"Mr. Benson, she's coming around" She heard. She felt a soothing cool dampness on her forehead, and then noticed a hand in front of her face, snapping fingers, and then moving the hand from side to side while snapping the fingers again.
"What are you doing?" The male asked from the other side of the bed.
"Testing… see how her eyes follow the sound of my snaps and your voice. That's a very good sign. Samantha, can you see us?"
"Samantha? Yes…" She croaked.
The nurse pushed a button on the wall, and asked Fred to hand her the pitcher of ice water, a cup and a straw. The grey haired woman continued snapping her fingers while pulling up the skin above Sam's eyes, examining them.
The nurse poured half a cup full of ice water, put the straw in the cup and placed the straw gently between Sam's lips. This was the best tasting thing she could remember. She sucked down most of the cup. Two women wearing green scrubs, and a man wearing blue came in the room…
The rest of the day was a whirlwind of tests and waiting. Finally, after about seven hours, a doctor came into the waiting room to speak to Fred. Sam had sustained a mild concussion…
"…however, the worst is her amnesia…" The green gowned doctor stated while reading from a clipboard.
"AMNESIA?" Fred exclaimed.
"Does she… I mean, is she aware…" Fred stammered.
"No, she doesn't realize she has amnesia. She's not quite sure what she's doing here or what she's here for, for that matter. She's from Seattle, correct?" The doctor asked them while reading from his clipboard.
"Yes, she is." Fred replied. The doctor nodded and scribbled something on his paper.
The doctor checked his watch; "It's late… we have some more tests to run tomorrow morning, but they should be done by around eleven, then she may be released. Amnesia isn't uncommon with this type of injury… and reading the Neurologists initial report indicates to me she is missing portions of time, but is aware of herself and her surroundings. She knows who she is in other words. She can read, write… comprehension is above average… we'll know more tomorrow. You should go home and get some rest. You can see your friend if you wish, but she is sleeping now, and it would be best to let her sleep."
"So, she remembers me, right?" Fred asked.
"Oh, yes… it mentions here that she kept asking for her boyfriend… that's you then?"
"Yes, and thank you, doctor… can I go in to see her without waking her?" Fred replied.
"Of course you can. She's been moved to… 512B, two floors up." The doctor said checking his paperwork while walking out the door.
Fred made his way to the elevators, and to the fifth floor. Opening the door, he saw her. Sam was indeed asleep under tousled sheets. It wrenched his heart to see her like this, but standing at the foot of her bed, he couldn't help feeling some joy… she had been asking for him… and he'd be there for her.
He walked around to the side of the bed, and lightly clasped her left hand lying next to her face on the pillow. He bent down, smiled, and gave her a light kiss on her forehead. Her hand tightened around his. He stood there admiring her for a few moments before untangling her sheets and pulling a light blanket up over her.
He realized it was already happening. He was falling in love with her.
Making his way back to his car, he felt his pockets for his cell phone. He was alarmed until he suddenly remembered he'd left it in the kitchen, at home. He reached his car, got in and drove home.
He felt exhausted.
Pulling into his driveway he pressed the garage door button clipped to his sun visor and parked his car in the garage. Entering his house, he noticed their coffee cups from this morning… now yesterday morning - as it was just after midnight, on the kitchen table. He gathered them up and rinsed them out in the sink. Their phones were side by side on the kitchen counter: his had eleven missed calls from his mother – he was supposed to have sent her this address, but he had forgotten. Her phone showed no missed calls.
He was exhausted.
Stripping his clothes off and dropping them on the floor as he made his way into the bedroom, he stopped suddenly, smiled ruefully, went back and picked up his discarded clothing. Taking a slight detour into the bathroom closet, he dropped them in the dirty clothes hamper. A moment later, he crawled into bed, and nearly immediately fell asleep.
He woke, and reached across the bed to give Sam a hug… then remembered why she wasn't there. Sitting up slightly, he glanced at the bedside table… no phone in the cradle, no clock. Pulling back the covers, he sat up the rest of the way, and then got up. It was a bit chilly. Fred spoke the commands for house to raise the temperature as he slipped into his thick robe and padded his way into the kitchen. His phone said it was 7:17 AM. He nearly called the hospital, but decided against it. He dropped both phones into his robe pocket.
He filled the coffee pot with water, ground the beans and started the coffee maker. Back in his bedroom, he found her phone charger on top of the chest of drawers, plugged it in and connected her phone. Dropping his into his cradle / alarm clock, he turned and made his way into the bathroom.
His mind flooded with recent memories, of them in the shower and on the vanity counter. He smiled. He spoke the commands to start the shower…
It was just after eight as he walked back into the kitchen, dressed and ready to go. He poured himself a cup of coffee in a travel mug and turned off the coffee maker. Traffic was slightly heavy, but not bad. He made it to the hospital in less than half an hour, parked and made his way inside. Stepping out of the elevator on the fifth floor, he walked the short way to Sam's room.
The bed was stripped.
'Tests…' he mumbled to himself, and returned to the nursing station. Seeing a nurse seated in front of a computer, he asked her when Sam might be expected.
"…who?" The nurse asked, looking up.
"Sam, Samantha Puckett… she's in 512… 512B." Fred stated.
"Oh, her… she checked herself out at a little after six this morning." The nurse said nonchalantly.
"Huh? Checked out?" Fred said, stunned.
"Yeah, the doctor wasn't too happy about it, but she seemed lucid enough. Her boyfriend came to get her."
"Her boy… boyfriend?" Fred stuttered.
"Yep, she called him about two this morning and he came and got her. Anyway, my shift is about over. I have to finish this paperwork, so…" The nurse said, turning back to her computer.
"Do you know her boyfriends name? Where they went?" Fred mumbled, obviously confused.
"No… wait. Um… she called him Jake… yeah, Jake. Where ever he was, it took him about four hours to get here from when she called him." The nurse responded while flipping through some papers.
"So…" Fred began to ask a question when the nurse turned back to him.
"Look mister, I've told you too much already. She is an adult and isn't a danger to herself or others. She checked herself out, okay?"
"But…" Fred began, only to be cut off once more.
"I'm busy! You'll need to leave now. You seem like a nice guy, don't make me call security, okay?"
Fred nodded, and stepped away from the counter. He turned to look back, shook his head and made his way back out to his car. Standing beside it, he suddenly began to be pelted with rain. He looked up at the sky, noticed the dark clouds, and thought it was fitting weather. Opening the car door, he slid in, started the engine and turned the heat up.
'Now what' he thought… 'And who the hell is Jake?'
-xxx-
Told you I'd be back to finish this! The next chapter will be brimming with excitement and… well, just wait and see! Also, I hope to have it up in a more timely fashion… I hope. No promises though! :pig~
=Required reading=
Anything by these fine authors:
KingxLeon21
BaalRules
Dwyn Arthur
Moviepal
TheWrtrInMe
WhiteKnightro
-x-