Remember Me

by Roxanne Tully

  Oh yeah. They needed to talk again. And this time, in the privacy of their own home. He was going to make it very clear that this hadn’t been what he signed up for.

  He picked up the phone and dialed. A few seconds later, they all turned to a vibrating sound in the room.

  Still holding his phone against his ear, Matt reached for Liz’s phone which was lying on the coffee table.

  Chapter 4

  LIZ

  “I’m glad you came out with me,” Liz admitted to Megan on their drive back home. She glanced at the clock. 4:58. She’d be back at the house in time to help Francis with dinner, as she’d promised. Her heart started racing as she realized she’d have to brave dinner with the family.

  “Don’t act like you didn’t notice that look that Francis gave me.”

  “You know what I love about you Meg,” Liz knew Megan hated being called Meg, so she only did it when she hoped to irritate her. “How honest you are. Here I am trying to thank you for doing something nice and you don’t know when to just play along,” Liz croaked out, concealing the growing panic of going back to the house. They didn’t talk much while shopping, but now Liz was trying to match Megan’s carefree personality. It was only natural when around someone like her.

  Megan gave Liz a genuine smile with a wink. “She didn’t have to twist my arm.”

  Liz smiled back and turned back to the road. They were a few minutes from the house. Liz’s heart sank again, landing in the pit of her stomach. She dreaded going back. She’d stopped at every store at the mall, ordered a three-course meal for lunch, which she was now regretting. All to avoid going back to the house and facing Matt again. She wasn’t sure if she could handle it. The cold, emotionally absent stare…there was nothing left in him…she knew it was over. She didn’t even see the hurt in his eyes anymore. He must have made up his mind after he left their room last night. She took a silent, deep breath, pushing down the heaviness in her heart. She needed to make it through the night. Megan had been considerably quiet most of the day. Normally, Megan would be too into her work no matter where she was and easily irritable at random details. But the past six hours were strange. Megan was careful and patient with whatever Liz had wanted. Megan wasn’t the warmest person, nor the friendliest, but she was very understanding to human emotion. And though her sympathy wasn’t always obvious, you knew she cared.

  “So we’re in a safe space, you can say it now,” Liz pressed.

  “Say what?” Megan squinted at the road.

  Liz shot her a look.

  “I don’t know, Liz,” she started. “I’m sorry but I have nothing encouraging or reassuring to say.”

  Liz understood that. Heck, she probably wouldn’t have believed her if she had.

  Megan took a deep breath. “Remember when Ben talked to you after he’d told me about that night?”

  Liz blinked hard and nodded. “He said I should do the same, and soon,” she admitted quietly.

  “And then you came and talked to me, to make sure ‘we were cool’.”

  Liz laughed. “Did I really say that?”

  “Those aren’t my words,” Megan replied with a shake of her head. Then looked thoughtfully at Liz. “Can I tell you something?”

  Liz glanced at her in response.

  “It would have been a lot easier to talk to Matt that night instead of me,” Megan reached over, awkwardly patting Liz’s knee.

  Liz’s heart sank again. “You think?”

  “I think,” Megan insisted.

  “You told me so that night,” Liz recalled.

  “Not exactly. I told you that secrets almost always come out. So if you were going to do this, then you should be prepared.”

  Liz let a tear fall, as she faced the road.

  “Liz,” she started gently, “you don’t look prepared.”

  Liz nodded. “Thanks, that’s good advice.” she joked with a laugh, and more tears fell.

  Megan sighed. “Oh, honey, I’m sorry. I should be more encouraging, shouldn’t I?”

  “So glad I brought you along! Hey, I think we just passed an old lady trying to cross the street, maybe you wanna go give her a good push?”

  Megan laughed harder, shifting in her seat and facing her passenger window. “I really hope Matt does forgive you, I can’t imagine having this much fun with anyone else.”

  Anyone else.

  Liz hadn’t considered the thought of Matt moving on if their marriage was over. There would eventually be someone else in his life. There was a new kind of pain she hadn’t imagined. Megan must have picked up on Liz’s disappointment and fear.

  “Oh, I didn’t mean—”

  “I know. Let’s just get back so I can get this evening over with.”

  “Oh let me call Ben and tell him we’re on our way.” She reached for her purse. “Oh no, the battery is dead. Hey, where’s yours?”

  “I realized earlier I left it back at the house.” That wasn’t entirely true. Liz purposely didn’t grab her phone on the way out. She knew she’d be secretly waiting and hoping to get a call or message from Matt. So to save herself the disappointment, she took the option off the table. It didn’t matter at this point. Now she had a new kind of fear and a whole new level of anxiety was starting. She was able to calm her earlier panic attack with her first purchase at the Center. Now she was going back to see Matt again with this new vision in her head that she couldn’t shake.

  Fresh tears welled up but she was determined to fight them. She couldn’t go back to the house a mess and was going to use everything she had to keep them from falling. She started blinking them away, only for them to spread evenly. A mixture of bright yellow and red light reflected through the white blotches in her eyes. She quickly wiped them away.

  “Oh no, Liz watch out!” Megan cried.

  Liz hit the brakes, the movement seemingly slowed to a heart stopping-moment in time. Loud screeching was followed by an even more deafening crash. The impact to the left side of her head was agonizing, the pain blinding until the peacefulness of quiet and blackness finally consumed her.

  Chapter 5

  MATT

  Francis had joined Matt in the family room with a basket of clean laundry. Normally she preferred to fold in the basement where the washer and dryer were but he knew she was just as anxious to hear from the girls. It wasn’t like they had a reason to worry. Technically, the sun wouldn’t be setting for another two hours.

  “I tried Megan, but it went straight to voicemail.” Ben returned from the kitchen. “Her battery must have died.”

  “Yeah, because they’ve been gone almost all day.” Matt barked. Raking his fingers through his hair.

  “Hold on, she may have taken her business phone too. I’ll check.” Ben left the room.

  Matt settled into the chair again. He absently stared at the space in the kitchen where Liz had been standing that morning, by the counter. Something happened in the few minutes that they all stood there, before breakfast. “Mom, did Liz seem, a little…I don’t know…shaky, earlier?”

  “How do you mean?” Francis asked calmly. Matt had an idea that she knew exactly what he meant.

  He held his thumb and index fingers over his eyes squeezing them shut. “She just, she seemed…like it looked like…” He took a deep breath and looked at his mother. “I think she may have been having a panic attack,” Matt blurted, uneasy.

  Francis froze. She looked at him squarely and gave a slight raise of her eyebrow before finally answering. “That’s not possible,” she said hauntingly and turned back to her laundry.

  Now he was irritated. “Why not?”

  “Because, Matthew, if your wife was having a panic attack in front of your eyes, I am absolutely certain that you would not have given her the keys to your car,” she answered, holding an intense gaze on him.

  Matt swallowed, turning away. He shook his head slightly. His mother’s support had always been overwhelming.

  Ben appeared out from the corridor. “I found her ot
her phone in her duffle bag,” Ben announced, disappointed.

  It bothered Matt for Ben to be acting like nothing had happened. Like he hadn’t done the most horrendous thing you could do to your brother and then have the nerve to stand beside him on his wedding day, handing him the bands that would forever bind him with the woman Ben knew betrayed him.

  “Look, it doesn’t matter, okay. I know Liz wanted to leave today so I’m going to go pack, and—” He saw his mother open her mouth in protest before holding his hand up. “And after dinner, we’re going to head back.”

  His mother gave him that square look again. “And then what?” She asked.

  Matt considered what she was asking, then glanced at Ben. “I don’t think it would be right to discuss anything with you before I talk to my wife,” he retorted.

  His mother nodded. She picked up the basket of folded laundry and started to walk out before Matt’s cell phone rang. He hadn’t even looked at the caller ID before answering. The unfamiliar official female voice quickly brought him out of his irate state of mind. “I… I’m sorry, could you repeat that?”

  Chapter 6

  LIZ

  She woke up with a blinding headache. Mostly on her left side. Eyes still closed, she went to touch it, but it was wrapped. Why was her head wrapped? She blinked her eyes open, only to realize that had been a big mistake. The overly bright room had intensified the ache by about a thousand times. She quickly shut them again.

  She moaned and shifted in discomfort. She hadn’t intended on it, and in fact, wished she would stop. But her erratic movement was almost involuntary. There seemed to be an endless number of thin blankets over her, and she just wanted them off. She began blinking rapidly until her eyes adjusted to the light and observing the small, bright room. A single square florescent light was flush with the ceiling above her. A worn, pink two-seater sofa rested to her right, by the enormous window framing the dark night outside.

  There were several murmured voices in the room. She was able to pick them out through her own humming and shoving of fabric laying over her. One of the male murmurs she heard was clearly directed at her. As he came closer, his voice became clear. He gently placed his hands on both her legs calming their restlessness.

  As her vision sharpened, she was finally able to make out the hazy images around her.

  “Okay, it’s okay, we’ll take care of that.” The middle-aged man in the pale green scrubs and matching cap said gently. He wore a white coat over it and a gold name tag was pinned near his breast. She was unable to make it out since she couldn’t get herself to stop fussing over the wires and material that covered her from head to toe.

  “What?” she asked, confused. And suddenly very cautious of this man.

  He lifted her arm. A needle resting inside her skin under a few layers of scotch tape. She suddenly realized what he was doing and yanked her arm away.

  To her relief, he instantly let go.

  Another man, younger and dressed in plain clothes rushed to her side. He’d been talking to the nurse by the door. He wore blue jeans, and a light gray, long-sleeved t-shirt. He had a strong build, short dark hair, chiseled features and was much better looking than the other doctor.

  “Lizzy, it’s okay, Dr. Harmon is just giving you something to calm you down.” He looked right into her eyes, gently taking her hand. She held his gaze for a moment. The man’s eyes were filled with genuine concern. Though his warmth was somewhat comforting to her, she frowned at him. Why would this man think she should take his word for anything? She slowly pulled away and realized that her involuntary fidgeting had stopped, and her body much more relaxed than before. She spun her head to her left, where the doctor had been standing. This time he was facing away, discarding the sharp object.

  “What did you do? What was that?” she shouted, feeling a lot more panicky than her soft voice made it sound. Whatever they gave her was taking effect quickly. She looked back at the second man who held her hand while the first one had injected her and glared at him. “You tricked me,” she accused angrily.

  “What? Lizzy, no... I—”

  “Why are you calling me that?” He flinched, and she ignored the hurt in his eyes. “Nurse, please get these doctors out of here.” She saw the men exchange looks and chose to ignore that too. “And get these things off me,” she gritted, pulling at the translucent wires.

  The nurse quickly ran to her bedside as the doctor in the scrubs stepped aside.

  “Hun, if you don’t stop, we’ll need to give you something stronger. This one just went into your IV so it’s a slower release,” the woman warned.

  Her head still pounding, she struggled to look behind her bed to confirm the IV had indeed been feeding into her arm. She observed the men once again. The first man, who she now understood to be Dr. Harmon, had been hastily scanning through a chart. The other man, sitting beside her, searched her eyes—or hoped that she would find something in his.

  She avoided the strange man and focused on the nurse adjusting the adhesives on her arms. “What happened? Where am I?” she asked, unable to control the shakiness in her voice.

  “My name is Bridget, I’m your RN. This is Dr. Steven Harmon. Everything is going to be ok,” the nurse reassured with a smile. “Just let the doctor ask you some questions.” The nurse gave the man sitting next to her a sympathetic look as she walked back to the clipboard at the end of the bed.

  “Liz, can you tell us who this man is?” Dr. Harmon asked, pointing to the man sitting beside her.

  She stared in confusion at the man speaking to her, the one who, she’ll admit, was less intimidating. The man in pale green scrubs, who looked as though he was in his early fifties, had warm grey eyes with a professional level of concern. While the man sitting practically on top of her made her all sorts of uncomfortable. Though handsome, his expressions were rough and demanding. But his eyes…though she was afraid to turn back to them at the moment, his green eyes had incredible depth in them. “No…he’s not with the hospital?”

  “What’s going on? Why doesn’t she know who I am?” The man in question demanded.

  Dr. Harmon ignored him and kept his attention on his patient. “Can you tell us who you are?” the doctor asked as if it were a prepared follow up to the first question.

  She stared blankly at the doctor, desperately searching her brain for the answer. Terror struck her, sharp pain seizing her chest as the realization set in that she was unable to answer his question. Rapidly, she was becoming very agitated in her own skin and finding it nearly impossible to breathe. Her lungs were grasping for air. She was nowhere near water, so why did she feel like she was drowning?

  “She’s hyperventilating,” the nurse reacted, rushing to her side.

  “Elizabeth,” she heard the doctor refer to her. “You need to try to breathe only from your nose, in order to control your breathing. Can you do that?”

  “Get…away…from…me!” she warned through a deep voice as she gasped for air. Her head was turning in all directions. She pulled at the needle stuck in her inner arm, yanking it out. She screamed out in pain. The other man snapped out of his frozen, anguished look and dashed to her side, holding her arms. She kept pushing him aside, focusing on the nurse and doctor. They had quickly stepped aside, discussing something. She wasn’t sure what they were planning, but knew she needed to get out of there before they got a chance to do it. Sharp pain in her head made her scream out again, throwing her head back.

  “Liz, baby, it’s okay, these people are going to take care of you,” the stranger reassured.

  She heard the doctor on the phone, this time there was no attempt in lowering his voice. He made his message very clear. “Head trauma patient in three twelve, signs of possible PTA. Need to bring her in for a CT-Scan stat.”

  “I have to get out of here,” she managed to say, raspy and out of breath. She pulled her arm away from the man. Then felt cold hands grasp her legs. The nurse stood in front of her and gave her a look that said she had n
o intention of letting go. She felt something cold on her left inner arm and realized the doctor had been at her side again. He disposed of the alcohol pad and positioned a thin, sharp needle. Her eyes widened in fear as she backed away in her bed, knowing there was no way out of this nightmare.

  “Wait. Stop. Hold on!” The man next to her grabbed the doctor’s arm, in a fierce hold.

  “Mr. Owen, this will calm her down. We can’t run the necessary tests or have her pulling out her IVs. She’s in shock because she doesn’t remember her own name or who you are.” He relaxed his tone, “We need to give her something to calm her.”

  “No one is giving her anything without my permission. I am her husband. And I won’t allow anyone attacking her with needles and restraints.” He yelled and shot a warning look at the nurse, who slowly backed away.

  His proclamation left her speechless. She watched the doctor put away the needle and step beside the nurse at a distance that she felt more comfortable with. Her shoulders slowly relaxed.

  She cautiously stared at the man, who was now turning to face her. He leaned in and lightly placed his hand on the side of her face. “Liz, you need to stop fighting. I don’t want them restraining you.” He lowered his voice to a soft whisper. “I know you don’t remember me, but I’m on your side. You can trust me.”

  She stared into his eyes trying desperately to remember this man. But every remarkable feature about him was unfamiliar to her. How was she not able to remember those green eyes?

  “I promise, I won’t let anyone hurt you,” he reassured, before sliding his hand off her face and standing.

  She was still breathing hard but forced herself to find a slower, even pattern.

  The man looked at the doctor. “Please put that away,” he asked calmly, but there was a hint of warning in his tone. “She’s fine now.”

  She watched the doctor put the syringe away and then turned back to the man that was the closest person she trusted.