Sparks Fly
Sixty Nine.
Brook
Another few days had come and gone but there was still no sign of Alex waking up and it got harder and harder to remain optimistic. The hardest day so far had been when the one year anniversary of the day Alex and I met past. I still found it so hard to believe how much he was able to turn my life upside down in just a year.
I’d been running on practically no sleep for days. Any time I’d manage to get myself comfortable enough in the hard, plastic chair that sat next to Alex’s hospital bed Alex to fall asleep, I only wake up soon after from an awful nightmare.
The most recent and worst one so far starred me finally leaving the hospital for a few hours with Rian. When we came back, Alex’s room was empty and I was told he had passed away while I was gone.
Being in that room alone was rough. I tried to pass the time with the TV in the room but basic cable programming got old and I hated watching the news. I also tried to pass the time fielding text messages and phone calls from friends and family members who weren’t still at the hospital with us but that too got old. After a while there was only so many times and different ways I could explain there was no change in Alex’s condition. Having no one to talk to but Alex’s unconscious body quickly got to me so I started to collect magazines from the waiting room to read.
Early one morning I had been in the middle of a random issue of Seventeen Magazine with Selena Gomez on the cover when I heard rustling in the bed next to me. I immediately stopped reading, unsure if I’d imagined it. After the whole hand squeezing thing, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Once I heard the rustling again, I slowly brought the magazine down from my face and almost fell off the chair when I saw Alex’s big brown eyes looking over at me.
“Oh my God,” I mumbled to myself, quickly jumping up from my seat, letting the magazine fall to the floor.
“Hi…” Alex said, confused.
“Alex, hi…” I replied, immediately choking back tears. I had so many emotions coursing through my body at the moment that it was hard to keep it together.
“I’m- I’m sorry,” Alex said, fidgeting with the oxygen tube in his nose. “Do I know you?”
I froze and stared at him. It suddenly felt like me and everything around me had gained two hundred pounds. Everything around me felt heavy and it was hard to focus.
I tried to convince myself that Alex was just being a jerk because he was still mad at me over the whole break-up thing but deep down I knew what was really going on. The doctors had warned us of this. Alex had lost his memory.
“I-I’m Brook,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. I did not want to freak him out.
He shrugged. My name didn’t seem to ring any bells.
“Okay. Just give me a second. I need to find a nurse or a doctor or someone. I’ll be right back,” I said quickly as I backed towards the door. “Stay here,” I said as I left the room, shaking my head at what a stupid thing that was to say.
I ran down the hall to the nurses’ station. I was met with a handful of familiar faces. Out of breath, I told them that Alex was awake. I didn’t get a chance to tell them that he didn’t know who I was. Within a few minutes a few doctors and nurses were filing in and out of Alex’s room. I stood out in the hall and out of the way while I waited for Alex’s parents and the rest of the guys to come back from the hotel.
“What happened?” Rian asked as soon as he saw me.
Alex’s parents had run straight into the room to see Alex and the doctors. Rian was able to sneak in with them while everyone else was in the waiting room.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I was just sitting there, reading a magazine and I heard him moving around. He looked right at me and asked who I was…"
Rian quickly pulled me into a hug and I started to cry into his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay,” he assured me. “He’s awake. That’s the most important thing now, right?”
I nodded, pulling back from his hug. “I guess,” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. “But what good is it if he doesn’t remember anyone? It must be so scary for him.”
Rian placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes as he spoke. “Brook, relax. Let’s wait and see what the doctors say now. Don’t panic just yet.”
I shook my head, taking a deep breath. “What if it’s only me he doesn’t remember? What if he was so mad... the accident... maybe he just wiped me from his memory completely,” I was starting to spiral.
Rian shook his head and squeezed my shoulders. “Stop. You are the last person Alex would ever want to forget no matter how bad things were the last time you spoke. Trust me.”
I took a deep breath again, trying my hardest to calm down. I had done a somewhat good job holding it together up until today. I couldn’t completely fall apart. Not now. I just had to continue to stay positive. Alex was awake and I had to believe that everything was going to be okay.
“Okay,” I nodded slowly.
Rian gave my shoulders one last squeeze before he let his arms drop to his side. “We’re going to have to be strong for him now more than ever. Do you think you can handle that?”
I nodded again. “I think so.”
***
Another few days had come and gone but there was still no sign of Alex waking up and it got harder and harder to remain optimistic. The hardest day so far had been when the one year anniversary of the day Alex and I met past. I still found it so hard to believe how much he was able to turn my life upside down in just a year.
I’d been running on practically no sleep for days. Any time I’d manage to get myself comfortable enough in the hard, plastic chair that sat next to Alex’s hospital bed Alex to fall asleep, I only wake up soon after from an awful nightmare.
The most recent and worst one so far starred me finally leaving the hospital for a few hours with Rian. When we came back, Alex’s room was empty and I was told he had passed away while I was gone.
Being in that room alone was rough. I tried to pass the time with the TV in the room but basic cable programming got old and I hated watching the news. I also tried to pass the time fielding text messages and phone calls from friends and family members who weren’t still at the hospital with us but that too got old. After a while there was only so many times and different ways I could explain there was no change in Alex’s condition. Having no one to talk to but Alex’s unconscious body quickly got to me so I started to collect magazines from the waiting room to read.
Early one morning I had been in the middle of a random issue of Seventeen Magazine with Selena Gomez on the cover when I heard rustling in the bed next to me. I immediately stopped reading, unsure if I’d imagined it. After the whole hand squeezing thing, I didn’t want to get my hopes up. Once I heard the rustling again, I slowly brought the magazine down from my face and almost fell off the chair when I saw Alex’s big brown eyes looking over at me.
“Oh my God,” I mumbled to myself, quickly jumping up from my seat, letting the magazine fall to the floor.
“Hi…” Alex said, confused.
“Alex, hi…” I replied, immediately choking back tears. I had so many emotions coursing through my body at the moment that it was hard to keep it together.
“I’m- I’m sorry,” Alex said, fidgeting with the oxygen tube in his nose. “Do I know you?”
I froze and stared at him. It suddenly felt like me and everything around me had gained two hundred pounds. Everything around me felt heavy and it was hard to focus.
I tried to convince myself that Alex was just being a jerk because he was still mad at me over the whole break-up thing but deep down I knew what was really going on. The doctors had warned us of this. Alex had lost his memory.
“I-I’m Brook,” I said, trying to keep my voice even. I did not want to freak him out.
He shrugged. My name didn’t seem to ring any bells.
“Okay. Just give me a second. I need to find a nurse or a doctor or someone. I’ll be right back,” I said quickly as I backed towards the door. “Stay here,” I said as I left the room, shaking my head at what a stupid thing that was to say.
I ran down the hall to the nurses’ station. I was met with a handful of familiar faces. Out of breath, I told them that Alex was awake. I didn’t get a chance to tell them that he didn’t know who I was. Within a few minutes a few doctors and nurses were filing in and out of Alex’s room. I stood out in the hall and out of the way while I waited for Alex’s parents and the rest of the guys to come back from the hotel.
“What happened?” Rian asked as soon as he saw me.
Alex’s parents had run straight into the room to see Alex and the doctors. Rian was able to sneak in with them while everyone else was in the waiting room.
“I don’t know,” I shrugged. “I was just sitting there, reading a magazine and I heard him moving around. He looked right at me and asked who I was…"
Rian quickly pulled me into a hug and I started to cry into his shoulder. “It’s going to be okay,” he assured me. “He’s awake. That’s the most important thing now, right?”
I nodded, pulling back from his hug. “I guess,” I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand. “But what good is it if he doesn’t remember anyone? It must be so scary for him.”
Rian placed his hands on my shoulders and looked me in the eyes as he spoke. “Brook, relax. Let’s wait and see what the doctors say now. Don’t panic just yet.”
I shook my head, taking a deep breath. “What if it’s only me he doesn’t remember? What if he was so mad... the accident... maybe he just wiped me from his memory completely,” I was starting to spiral.
Rian shook his head and squeezed my shoulders. “Stop. You are the last person Alex would ever want to forget no matter how bad things were the last time you spoke. Trust me.”
I took a deep breath again, trying my hardest to calm down. I had done a somewhat good job holding it together up until today. I couldn’t completely fall apart. Not now. I just had to continue to stay positive. Alex was awake and I had to believe that everything was going to be okay.
“Okay,” I nodded slowly.
Rian gave my shoulders one last squeeze before he let his arms drop to his side. “We’re going to have to be strong for him now more than ever. Do you think you can handle that?”
I nodded again. “I think so.”
***
Notes
Story Title: Taylor Swift - Sparks Fly
Chapter Title: All Time Low - Cinderblock Garden
Hi...
I hope you come back to this story and update again. I miss it!
1/9/19