A Part of My Memory

Elliot

The ambulance finally arrived.

The EMTs and paramedics hurriedly filed out of the car and only paused slightly as they took in the sight of the wreckage and Zara lying in a pool of her blood. They quickly gained their composure and one of them bent down and gently placed two fingers on Zara's neck, checking for a pulse.

"She's got a pulse," as soon as those words left the paramedic's mouth they all tended to her simultaneously. "It's very faint, I almost didn't feel it," the paramedic informed the others, then glanced at me, concerned and pitiful.

It wasn't long until they got Zara onto a stretcher and led her into the ambulance. I followed after them, and just before they closed the doors I caught sight of Reed being tended to and heard the sirens of an approaching fire truck.

Once the doors closed and the ambulance took off at a rapid speed, all of my focus shifted to Zara.

She was alive.

That thought repeated in my mind over and over again, and I should have been relieved, should have been happy for her but I couldn't stop myself from breaking into tears, mourning for her. She was alive but she had just lost everyone she cared about. They were all gone and that was going to grieve Zara once she woke up. She was going to be alone, and the thought of her hurting broke me from the inside out.

****

5 hours.

I had been waiting in the hospital for 5 hours, constantly pacing, sitting and worrying as I waited for the doctors to bring me news about Zara's condition. When I finally managed to get a hold of Reed, I told him that I was at the hospital and that I didn't know how long I was going to be there. The entire time, I could hear how broken and hopeless he was, could hear the pain in his words and voice. He had started to fall hard for Serena, and just like that their budding romance was snatched away from them. It wasn't fair, not of it was.

Without my permission, memories of the accident flashed through my mind: the way Zara was hurled through the air, the way blood kept pouring from her head, the way—

No, I cut my thoughts short. Don't think about it, I urged myself. Don't.

But I still did.

****

"Mr Elliot?" a faint voice called. "Mr Elliot."

I was startled awake and as soon as I saw the doctor holding a binder before me, I shot to my feet.

"Is she okay?" I asked. "Is she alive?"

"She's alive," the doctor told me, and only when those words left his mouth did I realise just how afraid I had been for her. I released a breath I didn't know I was holding.

"Is she okay though?" I asked tentatively.

The doctor took in a breath and placed the binder between his arm and rib cage. "Well, she sustained many injuries, as I'm sure you can imagine, lost a lot of blood, but we've been able to deal with the brunt of it. However," the doctor continued. "After we brought her in she went through a brain haemorrhage which is a type of stroke and we're afraid that because of that—linked with the impact of the fall and the concussion she got from that—there is a high chance that she has lost her memory."

Everything paused at that moment, and it took me a moment to find my words, but even then I only breathed, "Lost her memory?"

The doctor nodded and continued, "we are going to have to run a background check on her to contact her family, but other than that everything else seems normal."

I nodded, painfully absorbing the information. Zara was never close to her parents, but it would be better if she woke up and saw them rather than me, that was if she even knew who I was anymore. "Can I see her?"

The doctor led me to the door of the room and then left me to go inside. I moved quietly even though I knew that Zara was still unconscious and stood by the edge of her bed, looking down at her.

"Hi," I said softly, moving a strand of her dark and kinky hair from her face. I took a seat in the chair beside the bed and adjusted the blanket to make sure every inch of her was covered. "I know you probably can't hear me, but I'm glad you're alive. Thanks for not dying."

****

Every day from then I visited Zara, but she never showed any signs of waking up.

I hadn't gone back home yet because it was several miles away and I wanted to make sure I was here when Zara eventually woke up. The doctors had managed to contact her parents but they didn't seem inclined to come to visit her, though they offered to pay for whatever bills needed to be paid. They weren't treating her like their child, but more like a liability, and at this rate, the only person Zara had left was me.

****

Another day passed but Zara was still unconscious and unresponsive.

It had almost been a week, and I knew that I couldn't stay here forever. I had taken five days off of work already, and my family—my fiancé in particular—wanted me back as soon as possible.

"How's it looking?" I asked the nurse who came to check on Zara.

"Her heart rate is steady and her vitals are looking good," the nurse informed me. "She's doing quite well."

"And how long do you think she's going to be in a coma?"

"I can't say for sure," the nurse told me. "But coma's rarely last more than 2 to 4 weeks."

I nodded then requested, "would it be possible to transfer her to another hospital?"

"May I know why?"

"I don't live here and I need to get back to work, but I also want to be able to check on her."

The nurse considered this, "the only problem is that you aren't her guardian, so that might be difficult, but I will enquire for you."

"Thank you, I appreciate it."

The nurse nodded before exiting. I glanced at Zara once more before exiting too.

****

My request was denied.

No matter how much I begged them to move Zara, they declined. I may not have been her guardian or been related to her in any way, but I was the only one who visited her, I was the only one she had left. But still, the doctors refused to see sense, and because of that reason, I was about to be miles away from Zara. I stayed with her for an extra two days, longing for her to wake up but leaving disappointed every time she didn't, and this time I wasn't going to be back to see her the next day.

Halfway through my car ride back home I got a call from the hospital and my heart dropped.

There were three possible reasons why they could be calling me:

1. To tell me they finally saw sense and that they were going to transfer Zara.

2. To tell me that Zara had woken up.

3. To tell me that Zara had died.