Please Remember Me

I sat there in a state of numbness. Checking my phone, I saw it was 4:30 in the morning. I nudged Tyler awake.

“Hmm, yea wha- I’m up.” Tyler grumbled as he sat up in his seat and looked at me, “Have you slept at all?” He asked clearly concerned.

“Yea just woke up, why?” I lied.

“I’m taking you home.” Tyler said grabbing up his bag.

“No, I need to be here.” I stated crossing my arms over my chest.

Tyler raised an eyebrow at me obviously not too pleased with my stubborn outburst.

“I mean it Ty.” I said sternly.

Within seconds, Tyler had me over his shoulders and was walking me out of the hospital as I gave it my effort to get free. I growled exasperated by my efforts. Why the fuck did I even wake him up? He stuck me in the car and went to buckle me in when I grabbed the buckle from his hand.

“I can handle it.” I said irritation clear in my voice.

It wasn’t that I was trying to be a bitch; I just was so overwhelmed by everything and I was lashing out on the only person I could. I would need to remember to apologize to Tyler after I woke up.

~~~~

“GABS! WAKE UP!”

I freaked out as I finally came to and swung.

“Fuck!” I heard Tyler say as I looked around my room for him. I found him lying on the floor holding his nose. Tears instantly came streaming down my cheeks.

“I- I” I couldn’t speak as sobs poured out of my body. I got out of the bed and kneeled next to Tyler as I tried to help him.

“Are you alright?” He asked cracking his nose back into place. When I didn’t answer, he lifted me up off the floor and layed me back down on the bed beside him. “Try to calm down.” He said as he rubbed my back.

I tried to remember how I had calmed down after my night tremors before. I focused on my breathing trying to gain control. I hadn’t had a nightmare like this in months. It was the same one I always had, the crash. It upset me to no end that out of all the things I could remember this was always the clearest memory I had. Finally, I stopped shaking and my breathing equaled out.

I tried to speak as silent tears continued to stream down my cheeks, “I’m sorry I punched you.” I whispered.

I could feel Tyler’s chest shake as I heard him laugh softly, “I wish I could say I’ve been hit harder.” I turned and smiled at him, but remained silent. “There’s that smile.” He said wiping away the tears from my cheeks. “Are you gonna tell me what all of this just was now?”

“Night tremors. I had them after the accident, but I thought they were under control.” I said sitting up in the bed.

“Maybe you should go get reevaluated by your doctor.” Tyler suggested.

I knew he was trying to of some help, but he had no idea what he was talking about. “There isn’t anything they can do about it.” I said getting off the bed and putting together a bag of clothes, “It’s because he’s not here.”

Tyler followed me out of the bedroom like a puppy. I knew he was dying to help me, but there was nothing he could do for me.

I turned around at the door, “You need to rest up for your game, go ahead and crash here there’s food in the fridge. I’m heading back to the hospital.” I didn’t wait for a response I just left.

~~~~

I walked back to the waiting room that had practically become home these last two days and took a seat. Dr.Ontario walked up to me in a hurry.

“Where have you been? He’s been asking for you.” He said as he rushed over to me. “The stunt we put in last night has relieved a lot of the swelling, but he is still confused about a lot of things.”

“Things?” I asked nervously as we walked the short distance to his room.

“His brain is between two realities right now. The one it created to allow the brain to heal and the real deal.” The doctor said as we walked into the room.

I looked around and breathed a sigh of relief as I realized it was just he and I there. Attentively Patrice watched me enter the room. A warm smile passed over his face. “I missed you.” He said with love clear in his words.

Before I could respond Stephanie came bolting passed me, “I missed you too.” She said as he took her hand in his.

I fought back the tears now building in my eyes as the rejection set in. The doctor rubbed my back and said in a quiet tone so that only I could hear, “Don’t give up on him.” Before leaving the room.

Patrice looked at me confused, “What are you doing here?” He asked.

“Just dropping off some clothes for you.” I said softly as I placed the bag full of things from the apartment at the foot of his bed. “You look good today.” Said taking a seat by his bed ignoring the dirty looks from Stephanie.

I noticed as he let go of her hand and smiled at me, “You’ve looked better.” He said laughing gently.

I laughed too realizing that he was most definitely right, “The nightmares are back.” I said shuddering at the memory of this morning’s fiasco.

As if a switch had been turned on Patrice sat up in the bed and looked me in the eyes, “Did the breathing work? Did you call the doctor Gabs?”

I stood and helped him relax back into his bed softly pulling up his covers and fluffing his pillows as I talked, “I’m alright.” I said smiling at him.

He took my hand and brought it to his face, I felt how scratchy his cheeks had gotten from not shaving as he spoke, “You can be honest with me.”

I had to look away so I wouldn’t cry, “I’m trying.” I said as my voice cracked. I felt his grip on my hand grow stronger.

“Patty, what’s going on?” Stephanie asked in a mock scared voice.

Instantly he let go of my hand, the confusion running across his face as he turned to her, “I don’t know babe.” He said rubbing her arm as he tried to comfort her. He turned and looked at me as if he had just noticed I was in the room, “Who are you?” He asked partially startled.

“I’m your fiancé,” I said looking deeply into his eyes, “Please remember Pat.” I begged as tears trickled down my cheeks. “I can’t take much more of this; you know deep down something isn’t right. She is what’s wrong. I know you. I know you can feel it.”

I watched as he held his head in his hands obviously confused by all of this. I watched as he struggled within himself until finally he let out a holler, “Both of you out!”

I had never witnessed him yell in the entire time I had known him. I wasn’t sure I liked this side of Patrice. I quickly exited the room and went to find a nurse.

~~~~

Patrice sat there in his room confused with everything racing around his head. There were little flicks of things here and there that he couldn’t quite piece together. Nothing that Stephanie had said to him the last two days seemed to make any sense at all. Then again neither did the things Gabriella said to him, but there was something about her that stuck with him. Her words were too sincere to be faked. Patrice eventually emptied his mind of everything going on and just laid there in the bed trying to rest, but something wasn’t sitting right with him.

Pat reached at his feet for the bag Gabriella had dropped off for him. How did she get my things if I live with Stephanie? Opening it up, he saw an IPhone on top with a sticky note with the words Proof written on it.

He slid the screen and typed in the combo to unlock it. As he did, he received a text.

That combo you just put in is my birthday. Explain to me how else you would have that for a password. If that’s not enough, look through your pictures. Just know that I love you and am waiting for you out here in the hall. Take your time Love.

Patrice sat there dumbfounded as he tried to rack his brains for answers. Why can’t I remember? He was becoming frustrated as he sat there thinking. He decided it best to see what she was talking about and opened up his images. He found hundreds of him and Gabriella all over Boston posing here and there. There was one that stuck out with him for sure. It was a picture of her standing in front of an apartment. Suddenly everything hit him like a ton of bricks. Memories came flooding back to him and all the puzzles in his head sorted themselves out. As overwhelmed as he felt he was overcome with such a joy.

~~~~

“Gabriella.” I heard him call out as I waited in the hallway.

I came walking in to see him there smiling widely at me, “I love you.” He said softly.

I walked over to his bed, placed a long awaited, and needed kiss to his lips before answering back, “I love you more.”

He pulled me down into the bed beside him so he could wrap his arms tightly around me. “I’m so sorry I put you through all of this.” He said pain obvious in his voice as he placed a kiss to the top of my head.

“I would go through this and more all again if it meant in the end I would have you.” I said pulling him in tighter to me. Close just couldn’t be close enough at this point. I wanted to feel a closeness that I couldn’t receive at the hospital.

“When do I get to go home?” Patrice said winking at me.

I giggled quietly as I placed a long kiss on his lips, “Not soon enough baby.”

“Don’t leave me.” Patrice said his voice slightly breaking and sounding vulnerable.

I went to turn and look at him but he held me there so that I couldn’t. I pulled his arms off me and forced him to let me face him. When I did, I was taken back by the few tears flowing down his cheeks.

“Baby,” I said in a hushed whisper as I kissed each of his tears away, “I will never leave you; you don’t ever have to worry about that.”

I looked deep into his eyes as his hands involuntarily rested on my stomach. I placed my hands on top of his gently as he caressed my belly obviously thinking about our baby I was carrying. I laid there silently with him as we both took in the moment.

“How are you feeling?” Dr. Ontario said coming in and breaking up our moment.

Pat took his hands off me as he straightened in the bed, “Feeling great. No more confusion just the regular nausea and headaches that come with a concussion.”

“Well let’s run a few tests and see if we can’t get you home tonight.” The doctor said checking all of the monitors in the room and writing everything down.

He shined a series of lights in Patrice’s eyes before taking him off for another scan of his brain. I took this as my chance to see where Stephanie had run off. I looked down the hall and into the waiting room to find it completely empty. When I asked the nurse, she said she left hours ago. I felt so confused as to why she would even bother coming here at all In the first place. Before I could put much thought into any of it, Patrice came walking down the hall to me holding his few bags. I took them from his unwilling grasp.

“Doc says I’m cleared to go home, just have to sign some papers at the front desk.” Patrice said smiling widely at me.

“I’ll bring the car around then.” I said giving him a quick peck before walking away.

~~~~

We walked into my apartment and went straight to the bedroom. Everything I had been feeling these past two days needed a release and I knew he was thinking the exact same thing. I yearned to be close to him in the most intimate ways. He laid me back down on the bed as he started to undress me. Slowly he left a kiss on each newly exposed piece of skin. I carefully pulled his shirt up over his head, and started to caress his sculpted body. Slowly we made out absorbing each other’s bodies for all we were worth.

He tugged the rest of my clothes off as he hovered over me raking his eyes over my body. If it was anyone else I would feel the need to be insecure, but the love and adoration he showed me with his eyes was something I had never felt before. I quickly pushed his sweats down and he kicked them the rest of the way off.

Finally, we were skin to skin. He leaned over me and started to kiss my neck as he slowly pushed into me. He kept our pace slow as he trusted deeper. This was one of the most emotional acts I had ever experienced. We kissed slowly and softly as we invented what was making love. Patrice put his arms underneath me as he held us as close together as was physically possible. I clenched around him as I reached my peak bringing him over the edge with me. He gave me one of the most passionate kisses I had ever felt. We poured out every emotion we were feeling or had been feeling to each other. The pure rawness I was feeling as we both laid their basking in our personal bliss.

He turned over so that I was laying on his chest and he on his back. I listened as his breathing eased to a soft rhythm that was slowly drifting me off to sleep.

“I love you.” I whispered into the silence. “So much.”

“I love you too.” He said wrapping an arm around me as we layed there with each other. He placed a tender kiss to my forehead. “When are we going to tell people about our baby?” He asked out of nowhere.

I thought about it for a moment before responding, “We should probably wait at least until I’m out of my first trimester to tell everyone just in case, but you can tell a few people. I told Tyler.” I said as I softly let my hands glide up his toned arms.

“You did?” He asked a little shocked.

“I was having a bit of a moment, and he’s one of my best friends Pat. So yea I did. Is that okay?” I asked nervously.

“Yea, I mean just out of everyone I thought you would tell I didn’t think Tyler would be second.”

“Oh,” I said understanding what he meant, “Who are you gonna tell?”

“Well I think we should wait until my parents come down for thanksgiving to tell them and they’re the first ones I want to tell so them and then probably my brother and then the team later on.” He said finally.

“Alright.” I said content with his answer.

“So you aren’t planning on telling your parents?” He asked being careful of how he worded his question.

“I don’t know yet.” I said kind of sad. “We aren’t exactly talking I mean they didn’t even come see me after my accident Pat. I don’t know if I want them involved in our baby’s life.”

“Hey,” He said looking at me, “You don’t have to, you know that.”

“We’ll figure it out along the way, I guess.” I said snuggling into his warm embrace and falling asleep.