AMNESIA Page 2

  Max smiles at Pixie. The same smile he always has for Pixie. I’ve always wondered why those two never got together. I questioned Pixie on it one day and she looked at me like I was crazy. She had said, “Ugh, that would be like incest or something. So gross.” Apparently they had always treated each other like brother and sister. Never had either one been attracted to the other. I guess just being friends with the opposite sex can work in some cases.

  “I’ve been better,” he jokes. “I’m just tired, I guess. And a little confused. I’m glad you’re all here, though.” He then fixes his eyes on me and like always, I suck in a breath, waiting for him to insult me as always. All of a sudden a frown forms on his face. “And who is this beautiful lady? Are you my own personal nurse? Come here,” he orders, motioning with his hand for me to come to him.

  At first I’m rooted to the spot. There must be some mistake. Or maybe it’s simply that he just wants to grab my head, place it under the cover, and fart. He’s done that to me once before when we all drank too much and everyone slept over at mine and Pixie’s place. I swore never to do that again.

  I sense the moment everyone places their eyes on me. All are just as confused as the others as to why he’s asked who I am. I’m normally no one. The girl who sits in the back and observes. I’m happy observing. This must be some kind of joke. Surely it is.

  When I don’t move, Max starts waving his hand for me to come. “What’s the hold-up? Come on, pretty lady. I’ve been waiting for someone like you all day.”

  My eyes widen. First at the fact he called me pretty lady. He’s never called me that before. Second of all he’s been waiting to see me all day? Nuh-uh, something’s definitely up. I need to be careful. It must be a trap.

  Slowly but surely, I place one foot in front of the other until I’m at the head of the bed. His hand rises, gesturing me to come closer. I nervously swallow, but let him take my hand. When he does, he pulls me down to him, cups the back of my head, and pulls me in for a kiss. One long peck on the lips that leaves me gasping. My eyes widen and the shock forces me to break the kiss shorter than it seemed he anticipated.

  “I was so frightened when the accident happened. All I could think about was you and if I’d ever see your beautiful face again,” he responds once I break away.

  “What the …”

  “Fuck,” Pixie blurts from behind me.

  “This is what I was talking about,” Chester pipes up.

  “Not this fucking shit again,” Max responds, looking annoyed at Chester.

  It’s like I’m in the Twilight zone. I’m totally confused. On one hand Max is asking who I am, and in the other he’s stating that he was worried he’d never see my beautiful face again.

  “I don’t believe this,” Sophie says. All I can do is stand there rooted to the spot.

  Looking at Max, I frown. It’s possible that his eyes are glassy from medication. If that’s the case it would explain his strange behaviour.

  “This is not a cool joke, man,” Brett grunts. “You need to cut this shit out.”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Max spits towards Brett. “Do you really think I’d be joking in my situation? Look at me!” he shouts, making all of us jump. It’s not like Max to get angry. He’s normally so calm and collected.

  “Shit, I’m sorry, man,” Brett responds. “I thought … I just thought. Shit!”

  “Okay, everyone calm down.” Pixie lays her hands out to everyone before closing in on Max and me. She looks from his confused face to mine before she focuses her attention completely on Max. “Max, what do you remember about Lucy?”

  Good question. One I should have asked, but my tongue seems to be cemented to the roof of my mouth.

  Max laughs—not the I think this is actually funny laugh, but a laugh that denotes quite the opposite. Yeah, he’s definitely high on something. “Okay, now. Who’s Lucy?” He fixes Pixie with a confused stare. It’s actually very childlike for Max.

  I don’t know why, but right there is when a foreign emotion towards Max surfaces. Sympathy.

  Cautiously, I sit myself down on the edge of the bed and grab his hand again. When I do he looks up to me and that’s when I smile at Max for the first time since we’ve known each other. I mean, a real, genuine smile that doesn’t mean I’m about to swap all your socks in your sock drawer for mousetraps kind of smile.

  “I’m Lucy. Don’t you remember me?”

  My smile remains, but this time it’s an encouraging smile. He locks his eyes on mine, searching my face. I can tell he’s confused and maybe a little bit miffed at the situation. I want to know what’s going on in that head of his, but I also realise this needs a softly, softly approach. I had read that people with head injuries can suffer confusion and even bouts of violence. The last thing anyone needs is Max lashing out at any one of us.

  At first I wonder if I’ve done the right thing asking, but then a small smirk creeps up on his face. “I’d think I would remember an angel like you, baby.” He then looks into my eyes. “Yeah, I would definitely remember the baby blues you have. Beautiful.”

  Unable to hide my shock, I look up at the others, who are just as shocked as I am. He not only doesn’t remember me, but he’s also referring to my eyes as beautiful?!

  “Actually, come to think of it you do look kind of familiar.”

  I jerk my head back towards Max, wondering if this is the punch line.

  “Did we go to school together, or something?”

  I let out a breath I’m holding. This is so strange. In one sense I’m glad he hasn’t made some kind of arsehole remark, but in another it seems he doesn’t remember me at all.

  Eventually, I shake my head. “No, Max. We never went to school together.”

  He turns his head away then, kicking out his leg under the sheets in frustration.

  Oh shit. Have I said something I shouldn’t have? I quickly look up at the others, but I know I’m not going to get any help from them on this one.

  I turn back, squeezing his hand again. “Max, you and I... we’ve known each other for three years. I came into your group later than everyone else. We’ve been friends since.”

  Well, that’s a complete lie, more like frenemies. I’m certainly not going to give him ammunition to start treating me like shit again. That’s if he ever would. I wouldn’t put it past him.

  I know when Max smiles, squeezing my hand back that he’s okay again. His eyes glass over. He’s definitely high on something. I guess with the leg and arm fracture he’s in a lot of pain.

  “Have we ever... you know... done it?”

  My cheeks reddening, I look up towards everyone who’s now laughing. Great, thanks a lot, you guys!

  “No, we’ve never.”

  My answer makes him frown. He cocks his head to the side, scrutinising me before saying, “Why the hell not?”

  The others are just as flabbergasted as me. Brett shrugs his shoulders. Sophie bites her lip. Chester just stands there staring, and Pixie looks … lost.

  I turn back with a deep breath. I’m about to tell him the truth when the door opens.

  “Who let you all in here?”

  I jump, looking up to find a very pissed off doctor.

  “Visiting hours were over a long time ago.”

  “We know,” Sophie says, smiling. “He’s our best friend. We just wanted to see how he was doing.”

  The doctor’s face softens a little as he walks up towards Max’s bed. “Well, you must get going. Max needs his rest.”

  I get up and when I do, Max squeezes my hand, making me look his way. “Come visit me tomorrow? Visiting hours are between nine and eleven. Right, Doc?”

  The doctor, picking up his chart, nods his head my way. “Yes, that’s right. Who are you to Max?”

  I’m about to answer when Max says, “She’s my girlfriend.” He beams at me, but all I can do is stare. My mouth becomes dry and I can’t seem to move my legs. These drugs they have him on must be powerful.

  “Okay, that’s fine,” the doctor answers. “Your father called and he’s on his way in now.”

  I notice Max cringe and I know why. Although I don’t know Max too well, I know him well enough to know that he and his father don’t get on. I believe it’s because his dad’s rich and is paying Max’s way for him through his studies. The problem being is his dad never seems to let him forget that.

  “I’ll see you tomorrow,” I say softly towards him.

  He offers me a smile, but this time it’s rather tight. I know he’s still thinking about his dad and how much he can’t be looking forward to his visit.

  One by one we all say our swift goodbyes and head out the door. Once the door shuts and Max is out of earshot, I release a deep breath.

  “Can someone tell me what the fuck just happened in there?” Brett asks, but I don’t look at him. I’m too busy trying to steady my breathing.

  Pixie’s arm comes around me and she bends forward to look at my face. “Are you okay, hon?”

  I shake my head. “No, not really. I can’t understand what’s going on. How can he not remember me and everything he’s done?”

  She rubs my arm slightly and I’m grateful for the comfort. “It’s all a mystery,” Pixie answers.

  “What shall I do? Do I visit him tomorrow? What if by then he gets his memory back and he starts asking me why I’m there?”

  Pixie leans towards my ear so the others can’t hear her. “Maybe it’s a good thing. If he does then you can have that chat we discussed earlier. It’s time, Lucy. This is your chance.”

  I turn my head to face Pixie and nod. Maybe through this tragic event something good can come. “You’re right. It’s time to face my fears,” I whisper back, smiling.

  “That was just so fucking weird,” Brett pipes in. “We normally see you and Max at each other’s throats, not holding hands.” He starts laughing, but all this does is make my head hurt.

  “I want to go home.”

  Pixie squeezes my arm. “Good idea. Let’s get back and run you a nice bath. I’ll order pizza and we can veg out in front of the TV. How does that sound?”

  Pixie, my godsend. “That sounds perfect.”

  “What do you want to be when you leave school?”

  I look up at Theo, smiling. We’re sitting on a park bench, Theo shaking his leg up and down as I hold a daisy we picked out from the park. Theo gets fidgety when he sits for too long—hence the leg shaking.

  “I don’t know,” I say, shrugging my shoulders. “As you know I’m really into biology, so maybe a lab technician or something.”

  He nudges me, a smirk on his face. “I reckon you’d look good in a white coat and goggles.”

  I go off into a fit of giggles, making Theo laugh along with me. I like his laugh. It’s nice.

  “What do you want to be?” I ask back.

  He looks off into the distance like he’s searching for something. “I always wanted to be a mechanic. I like tinkering with cars. I do it a lot around the three my dad has. I even fixed one for him once.”

  He looks sad when he says it and I wonder why. “Why does it seem like you can’t somehow?” I ask, smiling at him. He smiles back, but it looks off.

  “Well, my parents certainly don’t think it’s a worthy pursuit. They want me to be a big shot business man or something.” He kicks imaginary dirt on the floor in frustration. My heart aches for him.

  I take a deep breath, wondering how to answer. “I think you should pursue a career in something else, but also try and fulfil your dream. At least if one fails, you have the other to fall back on. Not that I’m saying you’ll fail. I think you’d be great at anything...” I’m about to waffle on when I hear him chuckle. “What?” I ask, a frown forming on my face.

  “You’re just adorable when you start digging a hole to get out of.”

  I gasp. “What are you talking about? I’m in no holes, thank you very much.”

  This makes Theo laugh even harder. Once he catches his breath, he says, “You’re still adorable.”

  This makes me blush. Theo has the knack of making me blush. His fingers brush my arm. “Hey, want to come hang out at my place later? We can study together. Just think three more years until our GCSE exams.”

  Despite only being twelve this makes my stomach flutter. In two months’ time I will be thirteen and in a year’s time I will be into my first year of two that will be some of the most important years of my life.

  “Are you okay? You look pale.”

  I flit my eyes to Theo. “It’s just you mentioning exams.”

  He chuckles, nudging my elbow. “Oh, come on, Lucy-Lou. You have another whole year of freedom before getting serious about exams. Live a little.” Suddenly, he gets up, holding out his hand to me. “Come on. I’ll buy you ice cream on the way home.”

  My eyes open and I snap upright in my bed. It’s only when I realise I’m in my room and that was all just a dream that I let out a breath.

  Shit, that was weird.

  I check the time. It’s eight-fifteen. I suppose I better get up so I can visit Max in the hospital. As I throw the covers off myself, I shake my head. I can’t believe I’m actually saying that in my head. Who would have thought? So many memories flit through my mind of all the bad situations I’ve ended up in with Max. Of all the times he’s been a real shit to me. Once he tried to hit on me, excusing his behaviour as being so drunk that even having sex with me sounded like a good idea. That had been the first and only time I had slapped him.

  As I stretch and inhale, I smell the distinct aroma of coffee coming from down the stairs. Despite it being Friday, both Pixie and I are off studying today. We both want to become pharmacists and have often talked about opening our own pharmacy one day. Well, that is the dream. I still have quite a bit of money left over from my dad, plus his house. At the moment it’s left empty ticking over until I can find what to do with it next. Pixie and I have spoken about that too. The best idea we had is that we move in and save together in order to get our own practice going. One day hopefully. One day.

  Grabbing a towel, I quickly shower and once dressed in a pair of jeans that Pixie bought me a couple of days ago—jeans I would normally never wear as they’re rather tight—I make my way down the stairs for some coffee and toast.

  She takes one perusal of my V-neck red T-shirt and jeans and smiles. “I knew they would look great on you. You have such a nice bum, Luce. I don’t know why you don’t show it off more often.”

  I shake my head as I sit down and immediately she places a cup of coffee in front of me. I say thanks and start thinking about the dream I had.

  “What’s wrong? You seem out of sorts. Is it because you’re meeting Max today?”

  I shrug, noticing she’s taking a seat opposite me. “I guess I am out of sorts because of that, but also because I had a weird dream last night.”

  Her eyes light up. “Was it saucy?”

  I raise my eyebrow at her. I think since meeting me she knows I’m not that kind of girl. I never date. In fact, I have never had a real boyfriend. I don’t know why. It’s just not something I think about.

  “No, it was nothing like that. Although, it was about a boy. A boy called Theo who sat in the park with me. We were both nearly thirteen.”

  “You never told me about this Theo. Was he your boyfriend in school?”

  I snort. “No, and the reason is he doesn’t exist. I’ve never met any Theo's.” I frown because although some parts of the dream were true, much bigger parts weren’t. For instance I mentioned I like biology, which is true. I eventually got into the pharmaceutical side of it, though, and not the biometric or lab side of science. I didn’t want to end up in a lab. I wanted to be out in the world meeting people—trying to help people. I knew I didn’t want to be a doctor, but a pharmacist can still try and aid people who are ill. Deep down, I think I’ve always cared for people and their well-being.

  Apart from one person, normally.

  Well, that sounds harsh, I know. And despite shit like that I think it still doesn’t stop the fact that when I heard Max had been involved in an accident I worried for him. Max is a douchebag, but I would never, ever wish ill on him.

  “Well, what did he look like? Was he at least hot?”

  I try and think about the dream, but everything apart from what was said and our surroundings draws a blank. “It’s weird, because I know in the dream that it was me, but ask me how this Theo looked and I draw a blank. It’s almost like he’s faceless.”

  Pixie sits back in her chair and takes a sip of her coffee. “Hmm, a faceless boy named Theo. What a mystery. Maybe recently you heard the name from someone and your subconscious stuck it in the back of your mind somewhere. They normally say that dreams stem from your everyday life. Things that you, or other people do, and say. Maybe a Theo was called out and you don’t recall because your conscious brain never stored it in your head.”

  Pixie’s explanation sounds plausible. “You must be right,” I answer. I sigh before looking back at her. “Anyway, what are your plans for today?”

  She groans. “I don’t know. I keep meaning to go through all the shit in the attic, but I keep finding things to put it off. I may end up doing some studying and meet up with Sophie for lunch.” She then taps my arm. “Hey, let me know once you’re finished at the hospital and if I’m out and about by then we’ll meet up. Maybe we can all go for lunch.”

  I smile, thinking I will need it after my visit with Max. “That sounds great. I’ll text you when I’m leaving.”

  She scrapes her chair and gets up. “Toast should be ready. Make sure you at least eat a little something before you leave.”

  She offers a small smile of encouragement before leaving me to it. I check my watch. It’s already ten to nine and I haven’t even left yet. The hospital’s luckily only three stops away by bus, but I need to at least stop by the shop and get him something before I go in. That’s going to take some time.

  Sighing, I get up from the chair and butter my toast. I sit back down and eat it as I stare at the yellow kitchen walls. Our two-bed top floor apartment in Chelsea is very chic, but also very expensive. Luckily for me, Pixie’s parents pay for the apartment, so I get to live here only paying a minimal amount in rent. I work three nights a week at a trendy bar only five minutes’ walk from here, and the tips sometimes alone on that helps pay my way. I have my dad’s money that he left me, but I’m loathed to touch that unless I really have to.