A Mess of Youthful Innocence

~*Patrick's POV*~

I woke up in an uncomfortable bed, my head pounding. Where am I? I thought, sitting up. I tried to stand up, but a sharp pain shot through my left leg and there was something holding me back by my arm. I looked down. My leg was covered in a thick white cast and an IV was attached to my arm. I looked down at my hospital bed and found the remote, pressing the red button to call the nurse in.

"What's wrong?" A nurse asked frantically, looking at me. She noticed I was sitting up. "No, no, no, you need to lie back down. You were in a bad car accident – the result of a drunk driver. You have a broken leg and you're all cut up." I started to remember the night of the accident. Prom. That was an amazing night. Wait...

"Where is Rosalyn?" I asked, panicked. The nurse looked confused for a moment, and then recognition dawned on her face.

"The passenger of your car?" She asked. I nodded quickly. She hesitated before speaking again. "After you heal a little more, I'll let you see her." I looked at her, furrowing my eyebrows.

"She's my girlfriend. If you don't let me see her right now, I will rip this IV out of my arm and find her myself. I don't care if my leg is broken. I need to know what happened to her," I told her, determination flowing through my veins. She looked at me for a few seconds.

"I'll go get a wheelchair," She gave in, sighing. I smiled at her.

"Thank you," I said. She walked out of the room and, after a few minutes, came back in with a wheelchair. She walked up to me.

"This might hurt a bit," She told me, referring to the IV needle. I nodded and braced myself. She yanked it out quickly and I yelped, rubbing my arm. I hopped over to the wheelchair on my unbroken leg and sat down. The nurse pushed me out of the door and down the hall. She checked her clipboard for something. "Rosalyn Heder, is it?" She asked me. I nodded. She rolled me further down the hall and then entered a door at the end of the hall. As soon as we entered the room, I was in pure shock. I couldn't breathe. There was Rosalyn, lying on the bed and looking as peaceful as ever. Except, her face was covered in scratches, her arm was twisted in ways it shouldn't be, and her leg was covered in scratches and blood as well. She had white bandages wrapped around her head a few times, and I could see blood seeping through them. I covered my mouth with my hand and stared at her for a while. I got out of my chair and stood up, quickly walking over to Rosalyn and ignoring the shooting pains in my leg.

"Rosalyn... Rosalyn, please wake up," I whispered, shaking her lightly. Tears were welling up in my eyes.

"I'm sorry," The nurse said. I turned around and looked at her, terrified of her next words. The tears were getting harder to hold back. She glanced at me and then back at Rosalyn. "She has had severe damage done to her brain. She may never wake up. If she does, there is a strong possibility that she will not remember you or anyone else. I'm sorry, sir. But you may come back to visit her at any time. Visiting hours are from noon to eight in the evening." I couldn't help but to let out a small sob at the information. She looked at me one last time, sadness etched into her features, before turning and walking out the door. I sat down in the chair beside her bed and stared at her face. I grabbed her hand with both of mine and leaned my elbows on the bed. I closed my eyes and leaned my head on our hands.

"Please wake up, Rosalyn. You have to wake up. I don't know if I can live knowing that this was my fault. I should've kept my eyes on the road," I whispered to her, tears rolling down my cheeks. I let go of her hands and opened my eyes, roughly pounding my fist on her bed in anger. I held my head in my hands as I repeated, "Please, wake up. You have to wake up." I couldn't believe what had happened. Why did it have to be her? Why did that person in the other car have to be drunk? God damn it, this can't be happening. Please, God, tell me this isn't happening, I prayed in my head. I wiped the tears from my face and held her hand again, listening to the steady beat of the heart monitor. "I'm sorry, Rosalyn," I told her quietly.

~Rosalyn's POV, five months later...~

I slowly opened my eyes, taking in my surroundings. A white room, a large TV hanging from the wall, a slow but steady beep, beep, beep.

What in the world happened? I thought before slowly sitting up in my bed. I rubbed my eyes and looked around for someone to help me. Suddenly, someone walked into the room. Her eyes grew wide as she saw me.

"Oh, thank goodness you're awake," She said, relieved, "Would you like something to eat?" I nodded quickly. I was starving. She nodded and turned away.

"Um, miss?" I called quickly before she walked out the door. She turned back to me and smiled.

"What is it, dear?" She asked sweetly.

"Can you tell me what happened?" I asked timidly. She smiled at me sadly.

"You were in a car accident. The other driver was drunk, and couldn't see where he was going. You had a broken arm and severe brain damage. You were in a coma for five months," She told me. My eyes widened and my mouth fell open in shock.

"Do you remember your name and where you were headed to that night?" I thought for a few minutes, then shook my head, frowning.

"I don't remember anything," I said sadly, furrowing my eyebrows in deep thought. The nurse looked at me remorsefully.

"Well, don't worry," She said, trying to lighten the situation up a bit, "I'm sure you'll start to remember within a month or so." I gaped at her.

"A month? I have to go a month without knowing anything about myself or anybody I used to know?" I whispered in disbelief.

"I'm sorry, dear. There's nothing I can do for you. The doctor will run some tests today to make sure everything else is okay. You'll be able to go home tomorrow afternoon," The nurse told me. She smiled sadly at me before turning and walking out the door.

A month, I thought, a month before I'll remember anything. What if it takes longer than that? What if I never remember? My mind was racing with all these pessimistic thoughts and I couldn't help but look on the dark side of things.

"Honey!" I heard a feminine voice cry as she ran to my room. As she rounded the corner to come into the room, she looked right at me and let out a small yelp of pure happiness. She hurried over to me and enveloped me in a hug. I patted her back awkwardly and furrowed my eyebrows.

"Ummm... Hello?" I said in a questioning voice. She quickly let me go and stood to her full height, looking at me with tears in her eyes.

"Honey... Don't you remember me?" She asked quietly, smiling sadly at me. "I'm your mother, silly." I thought for a moment, then shook my head.

"I'm sorry. I don't remember anything at all. I don't even remember my name," I mumbled miserably. She frowned and a tear rolled down her cheek.

"Your name is Rosalyn, honey. You're nineteen years old now. Your birthday passed while you were..." She trailed off, trying to think of a better word, "incapacitated. You were in a car accident coming home from prom with Patrick. Drunk driving." She explained sadly. The name Patrick rang a tiny bell in my mind. I couldn't place a face to the name, but I knew that I knew him. I just couldn't tell if it was in a good way or a bad way.

"So, the person I was driving with – Patrick – was drunk?" My mother let out a small chuckle.

"Oh, of course not, honey. Patrick would never drink and drive. He's a very nice boy. In fact, I think he was telling me about how you had just gotten together when you guys had crashed," She told me amusedly, tears still in her eyes.

"Together, as in... I was his girlfriend?" I asked quietly. She nodded slowly.

"Yes, honey. You have no idea how much he would come in to visit you, or how miserable he has been for the past five months. He cares for you very much. He'll be heartbroken when he learns you can't remember him," She said. I looked down at my hands, my eyes welling up with tears. I felt so guilty. I knew it wasn't my fault, but I was breaking these peoples' hearts. I didn't know what to do.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, barely audible. She smiled sadly.

"Oh, Rose, it's not your fault. You couldn't help what happened. I'm just glad you're okay." She enveloped me in another huge embrace. This time, I hugged back fiercely, happy for the comforting touch. She sat on the edge of my bed after we had let go of each other and gently patted my knee.

"I'm going to stay overnight, sweetie. I'll take you home in the morning," She told me, grinning at me, "I'll call Patrick and tell him you're awake."

"But... Momma, I don't want to see him heartbroken," I admitted quietly, frowning. She looked at me.

"Honey, I'm sure he'll be okay. I'll talk to him before he comes in. Hopefully, he'll be prepared when he walks into the room," She reassured me. I nodded. "I'll be right back, Rosalyn." She stood up, getting her phone out of her back pocket as she walked out of the room. I leaned my head back and thought about what was happening.

I really hope he'll be okay, I thought nervously. I know, I don't even know him. Well, I did know him. I just didn't remember him. I couldn't help but feel bad for what I was doing to these people. They loved me, and I was letting them down. I must've fallen asleep, because ten minutes later, I was being shaken by somebody.

"Rosalyn?" It was an unfamiliar voice. My eyes opened and I was greeted with the sight of two moss green ones and a hopeful smile.