Regina touched him on the shoulder, and pointed in the direction of Bay's room. "You go," she signed emotionally.
He walked slowly to the room, and pushed open the door. He stood at the foot of the bed, just staring at her, so silent, so still, so wrong for someone who usually so full of life. He moved closer to her and took her hand.
Then, for the first time in 8 years, Emmett spoke aloud. "Don't leave me, Bay."
Emmett stayed in with Bay for another two minutes, just holding her hand, before he left. When he stepped into the hallway, Regina and Daphne looked at him, but he avoided their gaze. Ty was still out there, too, but Emmett was too distracted to think much about him. He walked down the hallway and out of the building, breathing in the fresh air before mounting his bike and heading home.
His mother was sitting at the kitchen table drinking a cup of coffee when he arrived. She stood up when she saw him and approached him.
"What happened? What's wrong?" she questioned, concerned by the look on his face. "Emmett, tell me what's wrong!"
"Bay's in the hospital," he responded, his movements short and stilted.
Melody's eyebrows shot up. "How? What happened?" she asked, repeating her earlier refrain.
"She was hit by a car." Emmett wasn't in the mood to elaborate and explain how she got hit by the car, so he was making his responses as short as possible, hoping his mother would get the point.
She did. "Oh, Emmett," she said, and then drew him close to her and embraced him.
He let himself be slightly comforted for a few seconds before gently withdrawing. "I'm going to my room."
After he shut the door to his room, he collapsed on his bed, shoes and all, reflecting on the day.
It started out so perfectly. The weather, school, spending time with Bay. Then Ty came and messed everything up, as usual. Emmett's thoughts jumped. Ty was still at the hospital when I left, waiting to see Bay probably. Ty can go into her room and talk to her like people say you're supposed to without worrying about how his voice sounds or whether hearing and deaf people are just too dissimilar to mix.
Emmett's thoughts were whirling. Even though he had spoken to Bay in her hospital room, it was weird for him because he hadn't spoken in so long. It also made him think about their relationship. For so long, he'd been so sure that hearing and deaf people couldn't mix, couldn't date or become serious about each other, and then he'd met Bay. She was so full of life, so funny, so beautiful, that he just couldn't help falling for her. He decided to rethink his views on deaf-hearing relationships and was happy he had done so, because Bay was amazing. Bay was the one who knew how to make him smile when he'd had a tough day or had argued with his mom. Bay was the one who knew what he was thinking practically before he knew he had thought it.
No, it doesn't matter whether Bay is hearing or deaf; we have more important things in common. We connect on so many levels together that sometimes it seems like the rest of life just falls by the wayside, Emmett determined. I won't leave her in this difficult time, no matter what I have to do.
And with those semi-reassuring thoughts settled, Emmett fell into an uneasy sleep filled with a yelling girl with hurt feelings.
In school the next day, Emmett felt like he had forgotten something, but he couldn't figure out what. He figured he'd go visit Bay after school today, although he wasn't sure what he'd do when he was there. Would he just hold her hand? Would he talk to her? That last option wasn't his ideal. It felt weird, and it seemed rather futile since Bay hadn't actually heard his voice when she was awake, so it's not like she could recognize it when she was in a coma.
Daphne wasn't in school, though. He figured that Regina or one of the Kennishes would've called the school and explained the situation, thereby letting her hang out at the hospital. Sure enough, Daphne texted him right after lunch. At hospital w Bay & fam. Waiting for news. Emmett had anticipated a text like that and was reassured when he received it…at least until he read the last line of the text. Thought you should know, Ty's here.
Ah, there we go. That's what had been niggling at Emmett. Ty didn't have school to attend. He could be with Bay all day long, while Emmett was holed up in Mr. Tandir's English class talking about Shakespeare.
Forget this, Emmett thought. I'm not staying here. I'll explain to Mom later. Emmett picked up his bag, walked out like normal, but instead of heading to his next class, he went into the parking lot, got on his bike, and headed toward the hospital. He was at a red light when he got another text from Daphne. What's it going to say this time? he wondered. Ty was caught trying to kiss Bay while she's comatose? Wouldn't put it past the jerk, he thought resentfully, once again ignoring the fact that he (Emmett) really had liked the guy before he (Ty) left and then came back, trying to resume his relationship with the girl he left behind, who happened to be Emmett's current girlfriend.
When Emmett actually opened the text though, it was much better news. Bay woke up, Daphne had texted. Upon reading the text, happiness welled up in Emmett. It felt like it started somewhere in his stomach, and then quickly spread upward to his heart. It was like a heartbeat of happiness that pulsed through him, energizing him to get to the hospital faster.
When he arrived, he ran into the hospital, eagerly anticipating seeing Bay awake and being able to reassure himself that she was going to be okay. He skidded to a stop outside her hospital room, though, when he saw her family gathered there, along with Ty.
Daphne approached him, concern- and was that fear?- etched on her face.
"Emmett," she said, putting a hand on his arm. "There's something-"
"Can I see her?" he wanted to know, figuring whatever Daphne wanted to say could wait. Right after he said that, he saw Toby exit her room, and Emmett took the opportunity to enter.
Bay was sitting elevated in bed, some of the color back in her cheeks. Obviously she still looked worn-out and like, well, like she'd been hit by a car, but Emmett was positive he had never seen a sight as beautiful as Bay's eyes open and looking at him.
"Hi… Emmett," she spoke slowly.
Emmett grinned at her. "Hi," he mouthed, and waved. He came around to the side of her bed and leaned down to give her a kiss, but she moved away. He looked at her and saw confusion marring her features.
He gave her a questioning look that said What's wrong? Why don't you want me to kiss you? The look she gave him back though was anything but reassuring.
"What are you doing?" she exclaimed.
He smiled uncertainly at her, not sure whether she was still upset at him about the revelation of his former feelings for Daphne or whether her head was too sore for him to even get near.
"Sorry," he signed quickly. "Does your head hurt?"
"What are you saying? Why are you here? You're Daphne's friend. I don't understand," Bay babbled. "And where's Ty? Why'd he leave before? Can you tell him to come back in? I want to see Ty!"
"Why do you want to see Ty?" Emmett signed, slower this time, but very flustered.
"I want to see my boyfriend!" Bay exclaimed, and then sunk back against the pillows, clearly fatigued by the excitement. "Please," she spoke, softly.
Emmett felt the joy that had been in his heart since Daphne's last text fly out of him, and, as if that joy was the thing keeping his heart light and afloat, he felt his heart sink down to his stomach.
Emmett strode out of the room, went up to Daphne and started signing furiously, "What's going on? Why is she asking to see Ty? Why did she call him her boyfriend? What's going on?" His movements became jerkier with each question.
Daphne sighed. "This is what I was trying to tell you before. Something happened to her memory when she hit her head on the pavement after the car hit her." Emmett looked at Daphne impatiently, waiting to hear more. "The doctor called it retrograde amnesia." Daphne fingerspelled the last phrase.
"What the heck does that mean?" Emmett didn't like where this was going, but he wanted to know what was going on now.
Regina cut into their conversation at that point, putting a reassuring hand on Emmett's shoulder. He shrugged it off, not in the mood for any coddling. "It means," Regina signed, "that because of the head injury that Bay got when she hit the ground, she doesn't remember events that happened before her injury."
"How long before her injury?" Emmett asked, filled with trepidation.
"Dr. Langhorn, Bay's doctor, says that it can vary for each patient. Bay, it seems, though, can't remember most of the last 7 months," Regina explained, fearful of Emmett's reaction. Her fears were well-founded, for when Emmett finally understood what Regina had just signed to him, he exploded.
"You mean that Bay can't remember anything of our relationship?" Emmett's hands were flying through the air, his movements large and filled with emotion. "How long is this going to last?"
"The doctor says-" Regina started, but Emmett interrupted her.
"'The doctor says, the doctor says,'" Emmett burst out in frustration. "Who is this doctor? And what does he know?"
Daphne, who had been watching the interaction silently until now, decided to interrupt. "Let me talk to him now, Mom," she said to Regina, pulling Emmett gently along with her to a place further down the hall, further away from Bay's room.
"Emmett, the doctor says that this type of amnesia varies in how long it lasts. The doctor says we're lucky that this wasn't coupled with anterograde amnesia because that would've been much worse," Daphne explained calmly.
"Retrograde? Anterograde?" Emmett fingerspelled. "Who the heck cares about these names? I just want to know when my girlfriend will remember that I'm her boyfriend, and not the jerk who left her and then came back, expecting her to have waited for him!"
Anger is a funny thing. Often it's something that humans use as a shield, as it protects them from having to really accept reality and give in to the devastating or hurtful emotions that can sometimes be associated with that reality.
That is what was definitely happening with Emmett. Daphne could see this, and wished she could help her friend, but wasn't sure how. How do you comfort your friend whose girlfriend doesn't remember him? She hugged him, but he pulled away after a few seconds.
"I have to go," he signed quickly and loped off down the hall, out of the hospital. He got on his bike, revved his engine, and was off, the wind in his face and hair cooling his tempestuous thoughts and emotions.
When he got to his house, he stomped inside, storming past his mother without even acknowledging her. Melody, fortunately, had spoken to Regina shortly before Emmett arrived, so she knew some of what had happened and wisely decided to let Emmett cool off before attempting to talk to him.
Emmett slammed the door to his room closed, and although he couldn't hear the noise associated with the action, he felt the resulting vibrations, and that was satisfactory in itself.
He walked around his room, looking at the pictures of Bay and of him with Bay that were plastered on his wall. There were photos of them laughing, photos of them giving each other bunny ears, photos of them making crazy faces, photos of them kissing, and photos of them smiling…and in every picture, the happiness that he and Bay both felt from being together was visible.
He lay down horizontally on his bed, so he was perpendicular to his pillow, his head and feet hanging over different sides of the bed.
What am I going to do now? He thought. He had never felt so uncertain in his life. He had always been self-assured, knew what he was doing, knew who he was, even though others might think he should feel self-conscious because of his deafness. That wasn't the way it was at all for him, though. Deaf people have their own culture, their own language, their own jokes, and Emmett rarely ever felt an inkling of resentment that he couldn't hear. It was a part of who he was, and he was fine with that. That was one of the factors that had made him so anti deaf-hearing relationships. He figured that a hearing person couldn't possibly understand that he didn't mind not hearing, that he was totally fine with who he was. Then he met Bay, and she was fine with who he was right away…more than fine, if he did say so himself. She interacted with him like she would've with a hearing boyfriend, only she had to learn a different language to interact with him. But she caught on quickly and was eager to learn, and he was eager to teach. The more she knew, the easier it became for them to communicate and converse, and the better they got to know each other, and the deeper their relationship got.
How do I get that back with Bay? Emmett wondered. How am I supposed to make her remember what we had- what we have, when the reason we became so close so fast was because Ty was out of the picture? Except now he's back, and he's in the picture, and he's not leaving, and I'm at a disadvantage. Emmett didn't like the feeling of being at a disadvantage; it felt so contrary to who he was. How am I going to teach Bay sign language a second time? What if she's not so motivated to learn? After all, she thinks her "boyfriend" is a hearing guy!
The despairing feelings were starting to weigh Emmett down even more, and he really didn't want them to. He sat up, his eye catching the picture near his bed. Things sure have changed, he thought. A few months ago, I never would have guessed that I'd be sitting here, thinking about my girlfriend this way…thinking about how to get her to remember me…or rather, remember us.
But as Emmett looked at the picture some more, his determination grew. He cared too much for Bay to let this setback tear them apart forever. He wouldn't just sit by lazily, waiting to see if she ever remembered her relationship with him. He was going to be proactive, make things happen. You'll see, Bay, he thought, sending her the message telepathically, you'll remember us again soon.
A.N. Hey, everyone! I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I know the idea might be rather cliché, but the reason I wanted to use it is because it has a couple of advantages: a) as I said in a previous A.N., I love angst, so this was a good way to insert some of that, and b) this is the real reason why I wanted to use this idea in this story…it's not just a typical "someone wakes up, doesn't remember stuff" story…the difference is, it's another language that became a part of the person (Bay's) life, and how/if she's going to relearn that language…and how Emmett is going to help her relearn that language. You see, it's not like in other stories where he can just bring her somewhere and say, "hey, remember when we were here and I kissed you for the first time?" because he's using another language when he interacts with her, a language that she's forgotten. Plus, I'm not going to have Emmett just start speaking all the time in this story, because then it's not Bay getting to know Emmett again because that's not who he is (at least for the purposes of this story). So I hope you're okay with the ideas (and if not, sorry!) and that you enjoy the way I relate the plotlines. Please review! They make me happy!