Remembering You by Sandi Lynn

Chapter 7

Icould hear the beeping sounds of a monitor as I looked around and saw myself lying in a hospital bed hooked up to a ventilator. I didn’t recognize me. My head was wrapped up in white bandages and there were multiple contusions on my face.

Was I dead?How could I stand here and stare at myself?

Corinne was kneeling at my bedside, holding my hand and crying. I felt somewhat sorry for her. Harry was pacing back and forth across the room, running his hands through his hair. The pained look on his face tore me apart. How did I get here? What happened? Suddenly, the door opened and a man in a white coat entered.

“Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, Claire has suffered severe trauma to her head. We had to go in and stop the bleeding on her brain.”

Corinne grabbed onto Harry as if she was going to pass out.

“Claire’s brain is severely swollen right now and we had to put her in a medically induced coma until the swelling subsides. We needed to remove her spleen and stop the internal bleeding. A few of her ribs are shattered, and her left arm is broken. To be honest with you, Mr. and Mrs. Montgomery, it’s a miracle your daughter is alive.”

Harry could barely speak. “What are Claire’s chances, doctor?”

“We aren’t sure at this point. The next forty-eight to seventy-two hours are the most critical. I’m sorry, but that’s all I can give you for now.”

The doctor walked out of the room, and Corinne and Harry cried in each other’s arms. I walked over to where I was lying on the bed and stared at myself. I needed to find Sam. Where was he? I needed to make sure he was okay. If anything happened to him, I would let go because there would be no place in this world for me without him. I walked out of my room and heard the crying sounds of a woman down the hall. I followed the sound that led me to Sam’s room. I stood there and stared at the love of my life, who lay there helplessly, hooked up to the same monitor and ventilator as I was. His head was wrapped in white bandages and his face was swollen, I barely recognized him. I walked over to his mom who was holding his hand to her face as she cried and begged him to wake up. I reached out to touch her, but my hand went right through her. I looked at my hand in confusion. What the hell was happening? I leaned down close to Sam’s face and whispered to him.

“You have to wake up, Sam. I need you.”

As I went to kiss his head, I found that I couldn’t. I couldn’t touch him. I was startled and, as I turned to run back to my room, I found myself standing in the middle of the most beautiful garden. The sun was shining down on me, filling my skin and body with a comforting warmth. I could smell the fragrance from each flower in the garden. It was the most beautiful smell I had ever encountered. I looked around for someone or something. I felt so much love and peace here that I didn’t want to leave.

“Claire,” I heard a voice whisper. I turned my head in the direction it came from, but no one was there. When I turned back around, I saw a woman dressed in white standing barefoot across the garden from me. She was thin and pale. Her hair was pure white and fell down to her waist.

“Claire, it’s not your time. You cannot stay here,” she spoke softly.

“I don’t want to leave.”

The woman smiled. “I know you don’t, but you have to. The road to recovery will be hard, but you will get through it, I promise.”

“Sam, where is Sam?” I asked.

“Your beloved is not here, Claire. His road to recovery will be long and hard as well. If your love is true and eternal, you will find each other again.”

She started to fade, and it felt like someone was pulling me away.

“Wait! What do you mean by that?” I screamed as I held out my hand to reach her. I was fighting to stay in the garden, but the force that was pulling me back was much stronger.

I opened my eyes and looked around the room. My head was pounding, and everything was blurry. The slow and steady beeping sound of the monitor was not helping. A girl that was sitting in the chair next to my bed jumped up and screamed, “Mom, wake up! Claire’s awake!”

The woman on the other side of the bed lifted her head and started crying.

“My baby. You came back to us.”

The girl ran out of the room, yelling for the doctor. The doctor came into the room with the nurse and both of them ran over to me.

“Good afternoon. I’m Dr. Georgeson. Can you tell me your name?”

I looked at him and blinked a few times. Then I looked at the nurse, who was smiling at me.

“Can you tell me your name?” he asked once more.

I looked at him and whispered, “I think my name is Claire.”

The woman broke down and started crying as the girl held her. The doctor took a small flashlight from his pocket and shined it in both my eyes.

“Do you remember what happened to you?” he asked.

I was assuming there was an accident since I was all bandaged up and lying in a hospital bed.

“Accident?” I whispered.

“That’s right. You were in a very bad car accident. It’s a miracle you’re here with us.”

The woman grabbed my hand. “Welcome back, Claire,” she cried.

The doctor continued to examine me. “Claire, do you know what year it is?”

I had no clue.

“Do you know where you live?”

I had no clue.

“Do you know how old you are?”

I whispered, “I’m not sure.”

“Eighteen, baby, you’re eighteen now,” Corinne cried.

The doctor continued. “Do you remember these people, Claire?”

I slowly shook my head as I stared at them. The woman’s eyes widened, and a horrified look crossed her face.

“Mrs. Montgomery, Claire is suffering amnesia due to the head trauma from the accident. She can remember very little about her life right now, if anything at all.”

“How long will this last? When will she start remembering things?” she asked. “When will she remember us?”

“I don’t know. It’s hard to tell. It could take a few days, a few months, a few years or there is the possibility that she may never regain her full memory back,” he said. “Make her comfortable and try to help her remember. Her recovery will be long and painful, and she will need your support,” he said as he turned and walked out of the room.

* * *

Ispent six weeks lying in a hospital bed recovering. My mom spent every day with me, and my dad came and stayed with me after he got off from work. My friends Rachel and Ally came by to see me on the last day before I was discharged. They visited me frequently, and even though I didn’t remember who they were, they seemed really nice. I sat in a wheelchair as Rachel pushed me down the hallway and out to the courtyard. It was a beautiful summer day as the sun was shining, and the birds were softly chirping. I stayed in my wheelchair as my friends sat down on the bench.

“I brought you some lunch.” Ally smiled as she handed me a little brown wicker basket with a cloth napkin covering the top. I smiled back and removed the napkin.

“It’s the lunches we used to eat at school,” Rachel said.

Tucked inside the basket was a turkey sandwich with cheese and lettuce on wheat, a bag of baked Lays potato chips, a can of Coke, and a chocolate chip cookie.

“Thank you. It looks great.”

“I thought maybe it would trigger some memories,” Ally said.

Rachel took out her phone. “I want to show you some pictures. Maybe it will help you remember.”

I looked at her and then down at her phone. She had so many pictures of the three of us at school, at a dance, and in a bedroom that I assumed was mine, but I wasn’t sure.

“Here. You can scroll through them yourself,” she said as she handed me her phone.

I dragged my finger along the screen, hoping that one of these pictures would trigger a memory. I stopped at a picture of me and some guy. A black flash went off in my mind, followed by a bright light. I jumped and the phone fell into my lap.

“Claire, what is it?”

I didn’t know what had just happened, but it hurt. I picked up the phone from my lap and showed them the picture.

“Who am I with?”

They turned and looked at each other, and I could tell something was up.

“Umm, that’s my cousin, Riley,” Ally said as she took the phone from me.

I cocked my head to the side. “Were we a couple or something? It looks like we were.”

Rachel lightly tapped my arm. “Don’t be silly. You two were good friends, and besides, he’s gay.”

Something didn’t sit right with their answers. If we were such good friends, then why didn’t he come visit me in the hospital? I felt something that I couldn’t explain when I saw that picture.