He moved around the table to her. “I knoweverythingabout you.” At least he thought he did.
She looked up at him and held his gaze without a blink, then stood and went around the kitchen island to pull a large duffle bag from the floor. “Then why aren’t you telling me, why aren’t you showing me? Something doesn’t feel right. And I’m not sitting back and living this non-existent life with you.” She threw the strap over her shoulder and headed into the living room.
Matt leaped and caught up to her by the door. He spun her around, knocking the bag off her shoulder. He caught it before it could fall on her foot.
“Where are you going?” he practically scoffed.
Liz lifted her chin to face him. “I’m checking back into the hospital.”
Matt felt himself turning red with anger and took a deep breath to control it. “Thisis your home. Liz, this has all been hard on me too, I just—I need time.”
Liz shrugged. “Take all the time you need. I’m going back to see Dr. Tai and see if he can help me.” She turned to pull the door open.
Matt had all but one second to calm his anger and frustration so that when he pulled on her arm, it wouldn’t be forceful. “Wait, there is something we can do.”
Nearly one hour later, they sat in the waiting room outside of the neurology wing of the hospital. It wasn’t the same floor Liz had been staying on. It was more open, with a rounded reception desk in the middle of the floor. Each glass door leading to another division of the neuro center. Doctors and nurses raced past each other in a scurry. Well, not exactly the nurses. They mostly appeared to be handling busy work in anI’ve got all dayslog, or commenting on each other’s new hairdo and what they’d had for breakfast. The doctors, on the other hand, raced door through door, stopping at the reception for only a second to check where they were going next. Every minute counting for their next round of bills. Matt sat back in the chair, waiting for Dr. Tai to emerge from one of the glass doors. He hoped it would be soon, before he changed his mind about this whole thing.
“What are we doing here?” Liz finally asked when it seemed she was going to fall out of her seat with impatience.
Some things seemed to stay with her.
“Waiting for Dr. Tai.”
“Why?”
Ignoring his wife’s soon to be answered question, Matt stood as Dr. Tai approached the half-moon shaped reception desk then turn to his unexpected visitors.
“Mr. and Mrs. Owen,” he stated. The tall man taking large steps toward them. He glanced at Liz and gave her a once over. “What brings you here this morning?”
“Dr. Tai, thank you. I apologize, I realize we didn’t have an appointment. But I thought we could try the option we had discussed last week.” Matt lowered his head at the doctor, who glared slightly before giving a single nod.
“Please follow me.”
He led them to a door at the near end of the hall and leaned in to one of the nurses in the area to mutter something too low to hear. The staff member nodded and walked away.
“Right through here, please.” Dr. Tai motioned to a single door that led to a small dark room. The lights flickered on through the sense of motion. A small single bed table lay in the middle, surrounded by monitors, machines, a small wooden desk and a few rolling stools. The room couldn’t have been much bigger than an average sized walk-in closet, yet somehow, they all fit.
“I apologize for the small space, unfortunately my usual consult room is occupied and I don’t want to be interrupted.
Liz looked uncertain and confused. He was surprised she hadn’t asked many questions since they got here.
“Liz,” Matt started, taking her hands. “I came to see Dr. Tai a few days ago and he suggested something I was thoroughly against because…well because I thought it would be unfair to put you through this—especially against…” he trailed off.
“What is…this?” Liz questioned.
“Dr. Tai had proposed something that could possibly help you get your—or part—of your memories back.”
“Liz,” Dr. Tai impatiently interjected. “How much do you know about hypnosis?”
Liz frowned. “Hypnosis? I know what it is, but I don’t know how it can help me.”
“There are a few factors that go into long or short-term memory loss that doesn’t fix itself in a matter of days or hours of the trauma. Since you’ve yet to have even the faintest memory of who you are or anything about your surroundings, it may be time to consider other obstacles or barricades that are preventing you from recollecting any memories.” He paused for a short second and eyed them. “Hypnosis has long been used to help in recalling memories. And it may help guide your mind to discover and confront any barriers, ultimately helping you overcome them. Which has shown to be very effective in getting all if not most memories back.”
“You think I am keeping myself from remembering… because of some recent event?”
Matt stiffened in his seat.
“How is that possible? Why would I purposely keep myself from remembering?”
