�Fuck. Why couldn�t I sleep for another three weeks? Now I have to pretend that my lying in this hospital bed isn�t some insane mystery that every person wants to figure out. Play mute. Be strong Flynn�
�Miss Flynn, I�m so happy to see you awake. The doctor has been eager to ask you some questions,� a busty nurse with overly perm-ed hair told her as random machines bleeped and blurped around her.
�Damn light,� she mumbled trying to open her eyes against the harsh glow. Or at least she tried to mumble the curse, but the plastic oxygen mask prevented the sound.
�What the�? Just end me now�
�Oh, here�s Dr. Ryan now,� the nurse announced as if his sudden appearance were like Christmas morning.
�Hello Leslie. How are you feeling this afternoon?� he asked way to jovial for working in a place that smelled like ammonia and blood. �I�m glad you�re awake. I have a lot of questions about the cause of your injuries.�
He checked her pulse and her heart before removing the facemask, allowing a wave of normal polluted oxygen to fill her sensitive lungs. Leslie began to gasp and cough until she became used to the everyday air.
�Either turn the fuckin� lights off or shut the damn curtains,� she croaked when she caught her breath.
Taken aback by the obscene language, it took him a moment to compose himself before he gestured to the nurse to dim the lights and close the curtains before she left.
�Is that better?�
Leslie studied the ceiling tiles above her head, trying to devise a lie as it dawned on her that silence wasn�t going to work.
�A car accident.�
�Excuse me?�
�I was in a car accident and I refused to go to the hospital until I got home. The car�s totaled. The dumbass hit my side so I got the worst of it. Now could you fuckin� put me back to sleep?�
The doctor nodded thoughtfully before adding something to her IV.
�When you decide to tell me what really happened to you, we�ll let you go home because last time I checked, car wrecks didn�t leave handprints on their victim�s arms.�
�Bastard� she thought as she fell back to sleep.
*
Nick stirred in his sleep, not used to the bumpy foam eggshell padding that pressed into his back. His inability to find comfort in the otherwise rock-hard bed led him to open his eyes to a dimly lit room. Unsure of his location, he cut his eyes across the immaculate, hardly furnished room until he caught a glimpse of a dark haired, skinny male dozing in a chair near the window.
�A.J.?� he questioned, surprised at the abrasive noise his voice made compared to the pristine silence.
�Hmm�� his friend responded, beginning to wake up. �Oh, man, Nick, you�re awake. How are you feeling?�
Nick took a moment to consider the question, which A.J. misunderstood as a rejection of his presence. He immediately rushed to Nick�s side.
�Nick, you have to understand, I�m so sorry. That wasn�t me. I know I need to stay away from alco��
�What are you talking about? Why am I in the hospital?�
�Huh? You don�t remember?�
Nick hesitated. �I�m having a hard time thinking. My brain feels like it�s trying to break out of my skull.� He looked around the room. �Where�s Brian?�
A.J.�s face drained of blood and he ran towards the opened door. Frantic, A.J. searched the bustling hallway while Nick repeatedly tried to get his attention.
�A.J., man, what�s going on? What�s the matter?� he called from his bed. �Are you looking for Brian?�
�Kevin!� A.J. yelled, seeing him and Howie conversing with Nick�s doctor a little ways down the hall.
At the sound of the name, all three hurried towards the hospital room, stopping only when A.J. blocked their path into the room with his outstretched arms.
�Is he awake?� Kevin asked.
A.J. nodded, but continued to stand in their way despite the doctor�s urging to let her into the room.
�You need to move Mr. McLean. I need to make sure he still has good vital signs,� Dr. Walker commanded.
Ignoring the petite woman, A.J. turned to his two friends. �He�s asking to see Brian. He doesn�t have a clue why he�s here or anything that�s gone on in the past few weeks.�
�What?!� Kevin exclaimed, pushing the smaller man out of the way and dashed to Nick�s bedside. �Nick, do you not remember what happened?�
Before he was given a chance to answer, Dr. Walker explained, �The anesthesia tends to create temporary amnesia that will affect his short-term memory, especially after traumatic events. You should be able to mention a few things that have happened in the past few days and Nick will be able to pick up the rest. But right now, I need to check him over.� Turning to Nick, she asked, �How are you feeling Mr. Carter?�
�Cloudy,� he replied trying to smile. �My head is all light.�
�Ah. That�s the morphine we have you on��
~
~Meanwhile~
Kevin, A.J., and Howie congregated outside Nick�s room, each trying to devise the easiest way to re-inform their friend of the disastrous last two weeks.
�I can�t believe he forgot about Brian,� Howie mumbled to himself. �I can�t even think about telling him again. He�ll fall apart all over again.�
�We don�t have much choice though,� Kevin replied, distraught.
�But maybe if we just mention Brian collapsing, he�ll remember,� A.J. answered thoughtfully. The morose look that crossed Kevin�s face made him feel even guiltier than before. �This is all my fault. I should have to be the one to tell him.�
All three men looked up as the doctor entered the hallway.
�He looks good. No damage at all to his motor skills. You should be able to take him home in another day or two.�
�Thank you Doctor,� Kevin replied.
She nodded curtly and walked away, leaving them to face breaking their little brother�s heart all over again. Pushing past the others, A.J. entered the room first.
�Hey Nick,� he said quietly.
�Hey guys,� Nick replied brightly, smiling beneath the bruises. �Where�s Frick?�
Kevin bit his lip. �You don�t remember anything that�s happened, do you?�
Nick�s face grew somber. �What�s wrong? What happened to Brian? Why am I here?�
Taking a deep breath, A.J. tried to remain composed as he asked, �Do you not remember Brian collapsing?�
Silence built, suffocating with emotions, as Nick murmured what A.J. had said back to himself.
�The fight?� A.J. tried carefully. �Going in and out of consciousness in your hotel room because you refused to go to the hospital?�
More silence as Nick scrunched his face in thought. A.J. studied his friend carefully, trying to figure out the right words to return his memory, when his eyes landed on his hair.
�You don�t remember dying your hair?�
As Nick went through the list of things A.J. had said, creating a mantra of questions, Howie cleared his throat.
�Angel?�
Nick�s face blanked.
*
Why couldn�t he remember? He was lying in a bed, hooked up to morphine, battered and clueless. Every word A.J. said was another question in the blank void of his mind. He repeated everything in hopes to remind himself of something because, obviously, something important had happened.
�You don�t remember dying your hair?� A.J. asked fear underlying each word.
Instantly a picture flashed in his head. A small girl with brown hair and green eyes, giggling uncontrollably, as he pushed his body against hers on the cold tile floor. As soon as the memory came, it disappeared. He fought to get it back, to add something more to it. Who was she? Why was he filled with indescribable passion from the glimpse of a memory? Was it a past dream?
He fought with the morphine and residue of potent drugs that taunted him with his inability to think. Demonic laughter ricocheted from every angle of his confused head.
Then he heard Howie say in a voice barely above a whisper, �Angel?�
His heart stopped.
A vacuum sucked the fog and laughter away.
His mind surged as image after image penetrated his memory.
He couldn�t breathe.
He saw her, bleeding, unconscious, battered, innocent, beautiful, magical.
And Brian. In his coffin. Pale and not breathing. Dead.
Each image lasted only an instant before another crueler one took its place. He began to feel the walls constrict against him as he gasped for breath. Tearing at the sheets that meant to strangle him, he was unable to see his panic-stricken friends trying to hold him down.
�Get the doctor,� he heard Kevin yell, a picture of a beautiful girl staring at her naked, broken body in a bathroom mirror flashing before his eyes.
�Nick. Nick? Listen to me. You have to calm down.�
�I can� can�t breathe,� Nick gasped, tears storming from his sky blue eyes. Sitting up, he began to blindly claw at Kevin, who fought to keep him on the bed.
�Nick, please calm down,� he begged, crying at the sight of Nick�s distress.
�Kevin, move. I�ll give him something to calm him down,� an unfamiliar female voice screamed above the pandemonium.
�No! You�re not putting him under again! He�s going to have to deal with all this some time!�
Voices began to argue and the hands that had constrained him left, allowing him to climb from the bed. Standing, the images slowed and then stopped, replaced by vertigo that propelled him to his knees as those around him continued to yell.
Then there was silence, followed by a rush of people to Nick�s side. Nick, unaware of his surroundings, sobbed uncontrollably as A.J. wrapped him in his arms.
�Nick, I know it�s hard. I�m so sorry,� he whispered to his friend.
�Brian� he�s� he�s dead.�
��Yea.�
His tears stopped abruptly as he pulled away from A.J. as another image, one of a manic madman holding Angel over a balcony railing.
�And you!� he accused. �You� you beat Angel. Where is she?� He looked around the room desperately until his eyes landed on Kevin. �Where is she?� he whispered, still kneeling in the floor.
Kevin swallowed the lump in his throat. �Nick, please get back into bed. You need to rest.�
�Where is she, Kevin? I know she was all right. She was bandaging herself up again when I woke up. I watched her! She told me to go back to sleep and I did. And now I�m here. Where is she?!� he yelled as Kevin helped him back into bed.
�She�s gone Nick.�
�What? Is she in another room? Can I go see her?� he asked hopefully.
�Nick, listen to me. She left. I tried to get her to stay, to come to the hospital with you, but she refused to. She went back home. I took her to the airport myself,� Kevin told him, dying at the site of Nick�s eyes filling with more tears.
�Gone?�
All three of them nodded slowly. Nick looked from face to face until his gaze landed on the doctor, his expression blanking and his voice growing monotone.
�Give me something to sleep. The pain is coming back.�
~
Dr. Ryan requested the Flynn family to meet him in his office in hopes to discuss Leslie�s condition. At their arrival, he was surprised to find that a dramatic change had overtaken them all. Mrs. Flynn looked angrier than upset, Mr. Flynn, rather than continue to grieve, looked numb, and their son appeared to be taking things pretty well considering.
�I asked you to meet me here to discuss Leslie. I wished to inform you of recent discoveries. I assume your son told you about our earlier conversation?� he said soon after formal introductions had been made.
�Yes, we did. Have you found more injuries?� Mr. Flynn asked worriedly.
�Oh no sir. Actually she�s healing quiet nicely. The swelling of her internal organs has reacted well to the antibiotics we�ve put her on.�
�Well, what is it?� Mrs. Flynn questioned.
�Well, as I told your son, all evidence shows that Leslie has been in some sort of fight or accident where she was badly beaten. After a brief conversation with her��
�She woke up and you didn�t tell us?� Mrs. Flynn exclaimed.
�At the time, you were unavailable.�
�I told you we shouldn�t have gone to change,� she snapped at her husband.
�Mom, shut up. Let the doctor talk,� Charlie demanded, looking at Dr. Ryan suspiciously.
Mrs. Flynn threw herself back into the chair and glared at the doctor, who hesitated before continuing.
�I have ample evidence that suggests your daughter is trying to protect whomever did this to her.�
�Why do you say that?� Charlie asked, shocked at the suggestion.
�She said she�d been in a car accident.�
�Well, maybe she was. How do you know?� Mr. Flynn demanded.
�Sir, she has bruises in the shape of handprints up and down both of her arms, and last I checked, cars didn�t have hands.�
�Are you calling my daughter a liar?� Mrs. Flynn accused.
Before the doctor could reply, Mr. Flynn began to rationalize. �Maybe those happened afterwards when someone was pulling her out of the wreckage. Or maybe someone had been holding on to her when the car crashed.�
�Both situations are quite possible, but I honestly believe she�s trying to hide something. She was very hostile when I talked to her and demanded I put her back to sleep.� He paused. �You wouldn�t know anything about who might have done this?�
�I don�t even know where my daughter has been for the past week! Is that what you wanted to hear? That I�m a terrible mother? I really don�t appreciate you patronizing me or my family.� Standing up, Mrs. Flynn glared menacingly at Dr. Ryan. �And when my daughter wakes up again, you better well tell me before you put her back to sleep.�
Watching as the woman stormed out, soon followed by her husband and son, Dr. Ryan leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes.
�That went well.�