-Leah-
"Now, tell me all of the people you recognize, and how you recognize them, okay, sweetheart?" Katie, my nurse, handed me a bunch of photographs. I nodded, picking up the photos and shuffling through then.
"I-I remember her," I said, picking up a photo of a smiling girl with very short blonde hair. "That's...Casey?" I asked, not trusting myself. "She's-my best friend. Yeah. I remember her."
"Very good! Yes, that is Casey. Anyone else?"
"Um, this is Michael. And that's Dad," I said, pointing to two more of the photos. "But I don't remember much about Dad," I said, frustrated.
"Anybody else?" Katie said gently, pushing a photo of a smiling woman towards me.
"That's Mom. But I don't know her. I don't remember her." I began searching my brain for any traces of the woman they had told me was my mother. "I don't remember her I don't remember her I don't know her!" I screamed, frantically pushing all of the pictures away except the one of Michael. I clutched that photo, rocking back and forth and trying not to cry.
"Leah, I'm going to need you to give me that photo back," Katie said, gentle but stern, rubbing my back, calming me down. I shook my head, like I was a two year old.
"Michael," I whispered softly, and Katie stood up.
"Do you want us to call him in here? So you can talk?" I nodded, holding the picture of Michael even closer before drifting off into a dreamless sleep.
-Michael-
It took me about two seconds to agree to come when they said I could see Leah.
"Try to get her to talk about memories. Anything she remembers. We need to jump start the connection in that part of her brain. And-" the nurse, Katie, said, clapping me on the back, "good luck, Michael." Nervously, I walked into the room.
"Hey, Leah," I said, and her face brightened.
"Michael!" I laughed softly at the happy expression on her face, coming over to sit on the bed next to her. "Please don't ask me how I'm doing. Everybody asks me that. I'm tired of it.
"Okay. Let's play a game then," I suggested, leaning back on the pillow.
"Okay. What is it?" she said, leaning back and resting her head on the pillow next to mine.
"I'll tell you something I remember, and you tell me a memory. Deal?"
"Deal." She said softly. "I wanna go first, though."
"Okay," I said gently, reaching for her hand.
"They told me I got in a car crash. I don't remember that. But I remember before that. I remember ice cream and walking along the river. I remember that. And I remember the ambulance ride. They told me they lost me twice in the ambulance ride, but I swear I remember every second of it. And then it all goes black until when you showed up. They said they lost me twice more before the first surgery." I felt her begin to shake next to me. "I was dead. My heart stopped, Michael. I remember that."
"Shh. It's okay. It's all okay. I know it's weird. But you'll figure it all out," I whispered, pulling her close and running my fingers through her hair. "I'm here to help." She stopped shaking, but what she said next made my heart drop straight into my stomach.
"Sometimes, I think I should still be dead."
YOU ARE READING
One More Summer
Fanfic"I'm so afraid to lose you that I can't love you." Also: this was crappy 13 year old me trying to write this is not good and I'm just un-privating it so that people can read it and think "wow okay I'm not actually so bad at writing"
