Chapter 2: Isaac...
Then he listens to my pulse and rattles off numbers. As he does that, my mind
races, but I'm too tired to try to chase the thoughts around.
Holden speaks to the nurse. "Patient has started to present bruising
around her face so we'll need to take updated photos prior to discharge.
I'd
also like to order another MRI just to verify the swelling from both injuries is
abating."
"How bad are the bruises?" I ask.
"Nothing too bad. They should be healed in a week or two."
I nod. "Okay. What about the head injury?"
"We'll know more after the tests and the second MRI. We can go over the
results after, okay?"
"Can you tell me why I'm here or what's going on?"
"As I said, we'll go over all our findings once we finish the exam part."
We go through a ton of questions, all the while my mind is swimming. I
keep waiting for my brother to come through the door and tell Holden where
to shove his medical assessments.
Once I'm done answering those, he puts down his tablet. "What was the
first image I showed you?"
I take a deep breath, and then my mind blanks. "I . . . it was a . . ." I lean
my head back and try to think. I know it. "A cup!" I say triumphantly.
"Good. Do you remember the second image?"
"Yes, it was keys."
He smiles, and the nurse nods.
"Excellent, Brielle. Now, do you remember the last image?"
do I . . . know it. I try to recall him showing me the pictures, but my
thoughts are slow and muddled. "I do, but I'm so tired."
His hand moves to my arm. "You're doing great."
I don't feel so great.
"Why don't you tell me about the last thing you remember?"
stare down at my hands, twisting the ring my father gave me as I try to
think. I start with my childhood, remembering holidays, birthdays, and
vacations. My brother and I were always causing mischief, but poor Isaac
was always the one who got in trouble. My father could never punish me, and
I took full advantage of that.
I recall my high school graduation, the lavender dress I wore under my
gown, and how my father died two days later.
The funeral is a haze of tears and sadness, but I clearly remember Isaac being the rock that held my mother up as she fell apart.
Then I remember meeting Henry. I was a sophomore in college, and he
was in my math class. God, he was so cute and funny. At the end of our first
date, he kissed me outside my dorm, and I swore my lips tingled for an hour
after.
It was magical.
More dates. More memories of us falling in love and us graduating with
our undergrads.
We'd been so excited as we opened our acceptance letters to
the same grad school in Oregon. I recall the apartment we moved into, ready
to start our lives as we pursued our career paths. Two years and another
graduation later, we were no longer so excited because we were no longer
Kids in school and were forced to make adult choices.
Like when I chose to move back to Rose Canyon while Henry stayed in
Portland, working for his family to take over the business. That was a few
months ago.
When I pull my eyes away from my ring, I find Holden watching me,
Waiting for my answer.
"I graduated grad school about six months ago. I have been living with
Addison and Isaac while I was interviewing for a job."
Holden writes something down. "Good. Anything else?"
"I . . . I know that Isaac and Addy got married. I came home for it. Henry
and I were—" I pause as I struggle to think about what we were. I don't know
that's right, but I think it is. "We fought. It was so stupid because he kept
asking me to move to Portland when he knew I didn't want to.
Oh! I got the
job I was interviewing for, and I am going to be moving out of my brother's
house." My eyes widen as I remember that I just got a job here. In Rose
Canyon.
"What do you do?"
"I'm a social worker, but I'm working at a new youth center. I started
there a few weeks ago." I smile, feeling like I can breathe a little. I
remembered.
Holden doesn't share my enthusiasm though. "You seem excited about
it."
"Yeah, I really am. It's a great place, and . . . Jenna was there . . ."
He writes that down. "Can you tell me anything else? Maybe about your
coworkers or some of the kids you've met?"
I frown. "Not really. I mean, it's still really new, and I'm getting to know "Being new is hard."
Holden smiles. "What about why you're in the
hospital? Do you recall anything or anyone who should be here with your
family?"
I go over the people who were here when I woke up. It's clear he isn't
looking for me to say my brother's name since he's probably at the school
anyway. So, I run my hand over my face before asking, "Henry?"
"What about Henry?"
My heart starts to race, and I lean forward, confused as to why every
muscle in my body aches when Holden only mentioned a head injury.
"He
should be here but he isn't. Is he okay? Has anyone called him?"
"As far as I know, he's fine, and I'm sure your mother has called him."
Thank God he's okay and isn't in a room next to me. "He should be here
soon. I'm sure he'll be here. Maybe he just got tied up at work."
"What do you mean?"
I sigh. "Henry . . . if he isn't here, he will be. That's all. We're working
on things." At least, we're trying to work on them. Things have been difficult
the last few months for us. He doesn't want to move to Rose Canyon, and I
don't want to live in the city. I love this town, and I want to be close to my
brother and sister-in-law.
Addy wants kids, and I am going to be the best aunt
who ever existed.
"Brielle, why are you in the hospital?"
I close my eyes, pushing through the blackness in my mind. I can't see
anything.
There's nothing but a heavy fog, preventing me from remembering
anything.
I'm lost. I can't see.
My heart is racing, and I try so hard to see anything around me, but
everything is dark and something is squeezing my chest.
The panic threatens to overwhelm me.
Immediately, my lids open, and I turn frantic eyes to my brother's best
friend as I struggle to draw in air.
Oh God. Something is wrong with me.
"Take a deep breath, in your nose and out your mouth," he says, the calm
voice trying to soothe me, but I can't.
"Wh-what don't I know? Why am I here?"
Holden's jaw clenches as though he's trying to keep from saying something. The sound of the beeping behind me quickens. "Was I in an
accident?"
"Not an accident, but something did happen. I need you to calm down,
Brielle. Focus on my voice and breathing."
A new anxiety swirls in my stomach. If it wasn't an accident, then what?
I can't calm down. I can't stop this intense panic that is building with each
second. "What happened?"
"Brie, stop," Holden tries to say again. "You have to relax or I am going
to have to give you something."
. "No, no, because . . . I don't remember why I am." That leaves me with
more questions and possibilities. If it wasn't an accident, then someone did
this to me. Someone hurt me. I just want to know who and why. I start to
shake, knowing that the tears I saw on my mother and sister-in-law's faces
are an answer to a question I don't want to ask. Addy loves me, I know she
does, but her reaction when I . . . when I said my brother's name—
The machines monitoring me start to beep even faster.
I know Holden is
talking to me, but his words are swept away by the sound of my ragged
breathing and the thunder of my pulse in my ears.
Isaac.
I said his name, and Addy shattered.
Something is really wrong.
Oh, God.
I can't. I need to know. I look to Holden again, my heart pounding in my
chest as I force out the single word. "Isaac?"
"Brielle"—Holden grips both arms, staring at me—"try to focus on me
and take a slow breath. It's okay."
I'm It's not okay. I can't remember why I'm here. I don't know what
happened, and the harder I try to remember, the more frantic that beeping
gets. My vision starts to fade a little, and Holden barks something at the
nurse.
I'm too caught up in the spiral of thoughts and desperate need to fill lungs
that refuse to work to pay attention to what he's shouting.
Then, after a minute, calmness floods my veins and I close my eyes,
drifting off to sleep.
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