“No sense in putting it off, I guess.” She turned back to the window.
With that, he let go of her and walked out the door. Closing it lightly behind him.
Chapter 8
LIZ
Liz really did have a headache. But not physically. Thankfully the pain subsided drastically overnight. What she was feeling now was an overwhelming attack on her brain. She tried desperately to block out all the visions of faces that were flowing in her head. The forceful trauma doctor, the overly hospitable nurses that surrounded her…She’d been hearing them whisper. Liz had not only learned that this type of trauma hadn’t been common for them, but also that the nurses in the hospital must have assumed she’d lost her hearing as well.
Liz shrugged all that off. She didn’t know if she would be the type of person to care what people were saying about her. She didn’t know if she were any kind of person, for that matter. All she knew was her name, age, occupation, a spectacular health history, and based on opinions from more than one of the nurses, a ‘hunk’ of a husband.
Matt was, although intimidating at first, as tender and compassionate as…well, she didn’t know exactly. She wasn’t sure if she could trust him at first. He could be anyone. An imposter posing as someone who knew her, and the thought had crossed her mind when she’d first met him. But then she saw the hurt in his eyes when she admitted she didn’t recognize him. It was too real. Somewhere, bone deep, she felt his disappointment. It startled her to feel anything toward him, but just as quickly, her heart almost broke with his.
An hour later she woke up after dozing off for a while. She wondered if she’d missed the doctor that Matt had said would stop in. Tired of laying in bed all morning, she got up to stretch her legs. She struggled with the strings of her hospital gown in front of her. The flimsy pale pink cloth that had four or five loose strings on either side, which made no sense at all to her.
Are they all like this?
Liz didn’t bother looking up when she heard the knock on the door. She assumed it was one of the nurses again, forcing more pain medication down her throat.
“Come in,” she called, finally pulling on two strings that looked like they would go together.
“Hi, Oh I’m s..sorry. Umm, I’ll come back.”
Liz shot her head up at a vaguely familiar voice. A voice that sounded much like Matt’s but…different. She flushed and quickly wrapped the sides of the damn thing around her.
It hadn’t been her husband or a nurse, or anyone else for that matter that could see her front exposed the way it was. This was a new face. Similar features to Matt, taller, with shorter hair. He wore a black t-shirt and faded jeans.
“I…I think you have the wrong room,” Liz said quickly reaching for her robe and tossing it around herself.
“No. I uh…I don’t Liz. I’m Matt’s brother. Ben.”
Liz stared at him. She wasn’t sure why she was waiting for a memory of him to come but it was probably only natural that she would. “I…I’m sorry I don’t—”
“Remember. I know,” he finished. “I hope it’s ok, it felt strange sitting out there and not coming in to check on you.”
That was odd. “How long have you been sitting out there?”
“I came back early this morning, they wouldn’t let me stay the night.”
This was getting stranger. “Why would you need to spend the night?”
“Well they let Matt stay with you, I don’t know what the difference would be with me.”
I could name a few, she thought silently again.
“Okay, I might have lost my memory, but this goes beyond that.” She stepped back and raised her voice. “Why would you be spending the night with me?”
She saw Ben’s face turn beet red. “What? No, not with you. With Megan. She’s two rooms down from yours.”
“Who’s Megan?” Now she was practically screaming. Who were all these people and why were they all acting so strange? And why couldn’t they just say things instead of talking around them?
Ben held his hands up defensively as if to calm her. Which irritated her more. Like she was some child having a tantrum. “Megan is my wife. She was in the car accident with you,” he explained cautiously. Then he gave her a look as if surprised that she didn’t know.
Liz’s jaw dropped. “Oh.” Liz knew she was driving the car and that she’d hit a truck. Heat flushed up her neck, more with anger than embarrassment. Her breathing accelerated as she reached for something behind her to grab onto and found the credenza by the window. “Is…is she okay?”
Ben took a few steps towards her. “She’s fine. Just a few scrapes and burns, a broken wrist, but she’ll recover in a few weeks.”
Liz was sure she looked as horrified as she felt. She was suddenly uncomfortable as this man had most likely been blaming her for the accident his wife was suffering the effects of. Her hand flew over her mouth. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry,” she said breathlessly, as her eyes burned once again.
