forum Shattered Memories // oxo // closed, stalkers welcome

Started February 22, 2020 by @maddie-the-unknown

tune

Grace’s heart instantly broke. It was a rough pain in her chest, striking through and causing her eyes to begin to water. She wasn’t one to cry. Ever. But…
But it’s not like Megan would know that, now.
Grace gripped the girl’s hand tighter on accident, unaware she was even doing so. Her eyes watered and she looked broken, but she gave a smile. The kind that holds melancholy to every extent.
She let go of the other girl’s hand, and instead held out her own, as to shake Megan’s hand.
“I-I’m Grace,” she coughed, her voice extremely shaky. “It’s-It’s n-nice to meet you. I’m… I-I’m your best f-friend.”

Megan smiled softly. She hated to see Grace like this… darn her brain! Why did it have to do this to her? Why? Those were the questions she asked over and over, wracking her brain to find the answers that would never come to her. "It's… nice to meet you too, Grace…"

Just then, a nurse with a warm smile and teal scrubs walked in. "How is Megan doing? I'm surprised she woke up after this long… I won't be long, I'll just be in to check her vitals…" she grinned at Megan, not noticing the heartbroken expression on Grace's face. The nurse walked over to the other side of her bed, only then seeing Grace's expression. "Oh- what's wrong dearie?" she asked in a concerned voice while she set up the materials she needed.

Grace drifted her glazed eyes to the nurse, holding that same absolutely broken smile.
She didn’t want to speak it. Then, it might be real. It couldn’t be. This was just a prank, right? That’s what friends did, right? It’s just a joke.
“A-amnesia,” Grace finally managed to stutter out. She glanced from the nurse to Megan, her hands now at her sides.
She looked down, shadow covering the top of her face. From beneath, tears began to fall onto the bed below. The spots dotted her large glasses, and she took them off, shoving them in her pocket. She lifted a sleeved hand, wiping at her eyes. The bright sleeve was splotched with the tears, causing the light pink to deepen.
“B-but that’s okay,” she said after a brief moment. “That just leaves room for new memories… r-right?”
She drifted her gaze back to Megan, the juvenile twinkle in them long gone. “We’ll get you back. If not better. D-Deal?”

The nurse paused for a moment, falling silent, and then proceeded to do what she had intended to do. When she was done, she looked up at Grace. "I'll order a CT scan, and I'll be back in a bit to see how she's doing."

"Am… amneee… amneshi… amnesia, what's that?" Megan asked, confused. She understood why Grace was sad, but did this 'amnesia' have something to do with her memory loss? It was then that the understanding set in. "It has something to do with my memory, doesn't it?" Her voice was no longer confused. She understood most of it now. Something had happened, and that had triggered her memory loss.

“A-Amnesia,” Grace repeated. “It’s… the loss of memory after an accident.”
Her voice trembled again at the mention of the situation. Her hand on the side of the bed curled into a defiant fist. Inside, she still denied what had happened. She had wanted to kill Jacob. The man who hit Megan. She had grown this fire within her, up to the point where she couldn’t even mention the man’s name.
Grace had stopped her crying now, but still held that broken posture. She wanted to be strong. She wanted to tell Megan it was okay.
But she didn’t know how she could, when she didn’t even believe it herself.

"Accident…" Megan murmured to herself. So she had been right. Her heart ached for Grace, she wanted to tell her that she was fine, that it was okay. She'd be fine, and they could be friends again. And Grace could help her recover lost memories! Amnesia wasn't permanent, was it? She didn't think it was… But she knew nothing she could say at the moment would help. "Grace…" Megan started, looking up into Grace's eyes. "What happened?"

Grace’s heart broke the second Megan said her name. She said it carefully, like she perhaps didn’t know how she used to pronounce it. Which… which she didn’t.
Grace looked off, away from the girl’s bed. Her eyes traced the lining of the barren steril room. Her clenched fist held onto the bedsheets tighter.
“Are you sure…,” Grace began. “Are you sure you want to know?”

"I want to know," Megan said. Her eyes softened, and though she couldn't see Grace's face anymore, she could still see the hurt practically emanating off of her body.

"I want to know," she repeated again. "I want the truth. Please, Grace…" Megan didn't want to evoke further hurt in her former friend, but she had to. She knew that life would never leave the subject alone, if she didn't ask now.

“You we’re heading home,” Grace began. “And got hit by a drunk driver. It was h-his fault, not y-yours.”
Her voice was rough and hard, almost piercing through the air. She spoke of Jacob like every word was a threat. Which, in her case, it was.
At the mention of the driver, her hand clenched even tighter than one would have thought could be possible. Her nails dug into the bedsheets, and it was clear her arm was shaking. Well, not just her arm— her entire being. Heart and soul alike.
She explained the length of the situation, being as truthful as she could with ever part she knew.

Megan closed her eyes, taking in every detail. So it had been serious. She whispered a soft apology and reached out a hand to cover Grace's. "It's okay… I'm okay… you don't need to worry about me anymore…"

Grace stifled a laugh, her bottom lip quivering slightly as she gave a smile.
“Are you kidding?” she said, her voice still a bit shaky. “I’ll always worry.”
She shook her head, closing her eyes slightly. “And that’s what I’ve been doing the past… however long? Doesn’t matter. At least you’re okay.”

However long, the words echoed in her head. How long had she been out, then? How long had she been sleeping, hiding from the real world? "Grace…?" Megan started. "…how long was I out?"

Grace grew terribly still, her eyes locked on the side of the bed below, but they weren’t trained. She looked distant… that kind of glazed over look that people get when they would daydream. It was a far-off look, like a hundred-yard stare.
“A year and a half,” she mumbled quietly.

"A… a year…" Megan echoed, not quite sure how to process this. She had been out for a year and a half? How had she been out that long? How? She squeezed Grace's hand softly.

Grace kept her eyes from the girl, instead surveying the room. She focused all of her attention on the girl’s hand holding her own. How much she had missed her…
“It’s okay,” she mumbled. “You’re awake now. That’s all that matters, right? You can come home soon.”

"Yeah…" Megan whispered softly. And that's when it all hit her. She had been in a coma for a whole year and a half. A year. And a half. She didn't know how to quite process this, and froze up, all of her brain power focused on processing this information that didn't seem real yet.

“Don’t worry about taking it all in,” Grace said quickly, noticing the girl’s change in tone.
She glanced over, closing her eyes with a long, much-needed sigh.
“You have time now,” she said, trying to mold her tone to fit a slightly happier expectation. It did little to lift the mood. Though what else could she do?
“I’ll be by your side to help you along the way. We’ll get you back. I can promise you that.”