The Ghost That Saved Me

I hated feeling so confused. And I also hated not being able to recall what happened to me. It must have been really bad; my whole body was stiff and full of pain.

My mom and dad stayed with me during the night. I had to stay over at the hospital again because the doctors wanted to observe me and make sure that my scans and tests remained normal.

Dr. Benson told me that I was really lucky to be alive- I could have died. Which I interpreted as I should have died. I nearly broke my arm, sprained my wrist, and suffered a brain contusion on top of many cuts, scrapes, bruises and a slight form of amnesia. My head injury was the worst, unfortunately. But my brain was functioning as it should except for the fact that I blocked out what happened to me; that’s what the doctors say anyway.

Panic quickly set in as I realized I hadn’t seen my brother in a full 24 hours. He must have been with me; and he was probably in worse condition than I was if he couldn’t even visit.

“Mom, dad…where’s Marek?” I asked, as my phone started to vibrate on my side-table.

I leaned over and winced as I picked up my phone. It was my alarm going off for school. But I didn’t think I’d be going for a while. Especially looking like a mess. I didn’t know what I looked like, my mom refused to let me see myself in a mirror, she said it would be too much.

My mom bit her lip and her usually bright eyes looked so tired and drained. She probably looked like more of a mess than I did. My poor mother.

“Rayne, sweetie. You really need to focus on your recovery and try to regain your memory. It’s very important. The doctors say that you can’t have any stress or you might have problems. I’m sorry but I can’t tell you where your brother is.”

My heart started to race and I saw that the monitor was altered drastically by it.

“That means something bad, mom. Something awful happened to him, right? He’s in surgery? H- He’s in a coma? What happened mom you have to tell me!”

“Sweetie please settle. I can’t say. I want you to get better. I want to tell you, it’s tearing me apart not being able to. But I have to be strong for you, Rayne.”

I tucked in my lip as I felt my face get hot. I didn’t want to cry. All I wanted was my brother.

“Daddy,” I said as I looked at him. “Please…where’s Mar? Let me see him, please.”

My dad looked at my mother and walked closer to my bedside. He held onto my hand gently and looked into my eyes.

“You know the answer, baby girl. You know all the answers. I’m sorry. I am so terribly sorry that you feel this way. You’re confused and scared and in so much pain. But I can’t risk you never remembering by telling you. Memories will come back, Rayne. The only way they will is if you relax and rest.”

I could tell that it took everything; every fiber in my dad’s body to say those words to me.

I tried to do as my dad said, by taking deep breaths and closing my eyes. Marek was fine. He was probably in jail or something embarrassing that they just didn’t want to say. They thought I would be ashamed. Whatever the case was, I would figure it out eventually.

“We’re going to leave you to rest now. We’re going to go home and bring you some clothes you can change into when you’re released okay?”

I nodded and waved to them goodbye.

No matter how much I tried to clear my head and sleep, I couldn’t. I just lied there, unable to move. Unable to do anything. There was so much I wanted to do but just couldn’t. I didn’t have the strength; I was way too weak.

But then Liam came again. I was hoping he would.

“Hey there. I hear you’re leaving today. I‘m so glad you‘re on your way to recovery.” He said with such sincerity.

“Thanks. I have a question for you,” I said and tried to sit up. “How come you said you were my nurse?”

He laughed. “I said I was a nurse, not your nurse. I’m one of those nurses who pop in and visit patients. It’s not as creepy as it sounds. Most people are alone here, I like to sit with them and talk. You didn’t do much of talking for a while, but that’s besides the point.”

I wanted to laugh, but I was too confused to.

“What do you mean?”

He sat down in the chair in the corner of the room and folded his arms.

“They…didn’t tell you? Oh. Oh wow. I’m sorry.”

I shook my head even though it killed me to do so. “They haven’t told me anything! All I was told was the extent of my injuries. That’s it.”

Liam nodded. “That’s common for your situation I’m afraid. I’m sure they told you that you need to remember on your own. See, if they just tell you, you’ll be so overwhelmed and even more confused than you already were. That could cause complications with your recovery. Also, it could mess with you mentally. And you don’t want that.”

“I know. How long does it take usually…for memories to come back?”

Liam bit his lip in the sexiest way; even though he was totally not trying to be sexy at all.

“It depends. I don’t want to discourage you, but sometimes it takes a really long time. But others regain thoughts by a simple sound, smell, or picture- it’s very interesting.”

“Well it’s not interesting to me. Because it kind of sucks. But I’m going to do what I have to do to remember.”

He smiled and stood up, reaching into his shirt pocket for something. I gave him a look of envy when I saw it was chocolate. I had to endure the nastiest hospital food ever imaginable and I almost threw it up.

“Here,” he said and handed me a Hershey’s kiss. “You probably haven’t had real food in a while.”

I took it and smiled. “Thanks so much. My favorite is Snickers. But I love these a lot too. I like any kind of chocolate really.”

“I haven’t had candy in a while. I don’t have a sweet tooth. Only sometimes,” he said sweetly. “Anyways I have rounds to do. But if I don’t see you, goodbye. And good luck. You will remember what you want to. You’ve been so tough, Rayne. You have a wonderful life ahead of you.”

I didn’t want him to go. I mean I liked looking at him, but I also liked talking to him. He was so refreshing, and he was nice and caring.
I wanted to give him my number so badly, but I knew he didn’t want it. I was being stupid.

“Thanks for everything, Liam. I hope I do see you before I leave.”