Chapter Seven: Remember Nothing
In a matter of thirty minutes or so, Brittany's hospital room was bombarded with family. Her mother, Miss Miller, and her two sisters cried tears of happiness.
Miss Miller was the first to embrace her. "My baby," she said, holding onto her. "How are you feeling, sweetie?"
"I'm alright," she said. She just noticed her sisters were in the room. Both of them had tears in their eyes. "I'm sorry I worried you."
"Don't worry about it," Jeanette said, drying the tears from her eyes.
"Brittany, what happened?" Eleanor said. "The front of your car was smashed. Did you hit a tree or something?"
"I don't know," she said. Her sisters looked confused. "I can't remember anything about the accident. After I left the gas station in Austin, the next thing I remember was waking up in the hospital."
"Well, you're back with us now," Miss Miller said, kissing her forehead.
At that moment the doctor came in. "Brittany, nice to have you back," Doctor Stanley said.
"Yes, it is," she said.
"I'm sorry to disturb the reunion, but we need to take Brittany for some tests."
Brittany groaned at the thought. "Don't worry, honey," Miss Miller said. "We'll be here when they bring you back up."
"Do I have to?" she asked Doctor Stanley.
"I'm afraid so," he said.
Her mother and sisters headed for the door, but Alvin lingered by her bedside. She looked at him. "Be here when I get back?"
"You know it," he said and kissed her. "You'll have to literally kick me out before I'll leave." He turned to leave but didn't take his eyes off her. She waved to him as he exited the room.
Alvin went out into the waiting area. He found Dave and his brothers waiting for him. "How is she?" Dave asked.
"She's fine," he said. "A little confused, but other than that..."
"I just wish she could remember what happened," Miss Miller said.
"Yea," Eleanor said. "Something's not right about this whole thing."
"What do you mean?" Jeanette asked. "It's not strange that she can't remember. Her head injury can attest to that. It could have been a lot worse. She could have..."
"Jeanette, don't think about that," Simon said, putting his arms around her. "She's alive, and she's going to recover. That's all the matters."
Alvin sat down on one of the chairs, suddenly feeling drained.
"Hey," Dave said. "You look like you need some rest. Why don't I drive you home...?"
"No, Dave, I'm not leaving her."
"Alvin, I'm just saying..."
"No," Alvin said, cutting his father off. "You didn't see how scared she was when she woke up. She didn't even know where she was. She could barely talk, besides I promised her I'd be here when they brought her back up."
"Okay," Dave said. "I thought you would say that. Why don't you give me a list of things you need, and I'll bring them to you."
"Alright," he said. "Maybe some clothes and some hygiene stuff."
"Anything else?" Dave asked.
"That red book on my nightstand and something to write with." That was his special book where he wrote all those songs about Brittany. From the time they were kids he wrote in that book periodically.
"Is that it?" Dave asked.
"That's all I can think of for now."
Dave and his brothers left. He waited patiently for the doctors to bring her back up. He took the opportunity to get a bite to eat. Hospital food wasn't very appetizing, but he wasn't about to go too far from Brittany. He scarfed down a ham and cheese sandwich and washed it down with a sofa and headed back to Brittany's room. As he got there the nurses were bringing her back up.
He entered her room again. She smiled at him, but she looked so exhausted. "Hey, baby, how are you feeling?"
"Like hell," she said, putting the covers over herself. "But I finally persuaded my mom and sister to go home and get some rest."
"And how about you?" he asked. "Are you tired?"
"Yea, I guess so," she said.
"Then why don't you close your eyes and go to sleep."
"I know I should, but I don't want to. I'd rather be here talking to you." She rubbed her eyes with her hands, trying to keep the sleep away.
"Hey, you are tired," he said. He climbed into bed with her. She laid her head on his chest as he stroked her hair. "How do you feel now?" he asked.
"I feel good," she said, snuggling close to him. "Do me a favor?" she asked.
"I'll do anything you want," he said, still stoking her hair.
"Sing to me," she said and closed her eyes.
He sang Good Morning, Sunshine to her. By the time he was done she was fast asleep. He held her tight, until he fell asleep himself.
Brittany was content in her dream state, until a dark cloud came into her mind. She saw herself driving down a highway. Darkness took over her mind again, until she saw a pair of hands come towards her. One of the hands grabbed her by the throat and started choking her.
Her breathing became heavy and she started to thrash around in her sleep. She started to wake up when she heard Alvin's voice. "Britt, you alright?"
She was sweating badly and she was shaking. "What happened?"
"You must have had a nightmare," he said. "Do you remember anything?"
"No," she said. She tried to sit up in bed, but she became suddenly dizzy. She felt the room start to spin around and her vision became dim.
"Brittany, baby," Alvin said, getting off the bed. "You better lie down."
"I'm fine," she said, but she shook her head several times, trying desperately to focus her eyes.
"You're not fine," Alvin said. "Please, just lie down and rest."
"Okay," she said and laid back down.
She closed her eyes and tried to go back to sleep. He stroked her hair to smooth her and within a minute she was sleeping again. One of the nurses came in.
"She just went back to sleep," Alvin said.
"I understand that, but I must take her vitals. I need you to leave. Just for a minutes, besides you look like you need something to eat."
Alvin left the room, but not before giving Brittany a light kiss on the forehead. She started to stir again as the nurse began to take her blood pressure.
"Where's Alvin?" she asked.
"I persuaded him to get something to eat," the nurse said. Brittany attempted to sit up in bed. It was hard, but she managed to sit up half way. "Are you in any pain?"
"Just a little," Brittany said. "My head is throbbing, but other than that I think I'm okay."
"Don't worry," the nurse said. "I can give you something for that, but it might make you drowsy."
"I don't care, just as long as the pain stops."
The nurse handed her a pill and a small cup of water. She laid back down and soon became sleepy again. She didn't notice that the nurse had left.
She woke up a little while later. She thought she heard someone in her room. "Alvin?" She reached over to turned on the light and gasped.
"Miss, are you alright?" a young gentleman said.
"Who are you?" Brittany asked. "What are you going in my room?"
"My name's Cal," he said. "I'm an orderly here. It looked like you were having a bad dream, so I thought I'd come in and check on you. Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm fine." She looked down and saw a ring on his finger. Something stirred inside her brain. She knew she had seen that ring before. "Do I know you?" she asked.
"No, I don't think so," he said, but he looked as if he was trying to hide his face. "Well, if you're alright, I'll go now. Feel better."
The young man left, but it left Brittany with an uneasy feeling. A few minutes later Alvin came back in. Brittany felt well enough to sit up in bed. The throbbing in her head had gone away, but she was still a little confused.
He sat down next to her, smiling at her. "It looks like you're feeling better."
"I am," she said. "But I still wish I could remember what happened."
"Don't worry about that," Alvin said. "You will. You just need rest right now."
She was still obviously upset be the situation and Alvin got up and sat on the edge of her bed. He put his arms around her to comfort her. He was also worried that she had blocked out the accident, but he wouldn't let her know that. All that really mattered to him is that she was alive, and she was getting better.
Okay, that ends another chapter. Let me know what you thought. I love hearing your feedback. See you next chapter.