It took Linda a long time to calm down. It had been long enough for Danny to insist on getting her water and then tea. The water for hydration and the tea for its calming effects. She held her mug as Danny wiped the blood off her forehead.
"There. See? It's not so bad," he'd never know if he said that to her or to himself. "Nothing that a bandaid can't fix." So he put one on her forehead then kissed it.
She closed her eyes, feeling calmer than the tea was making her. She didn't say anything to him, though, just stared into her tea.
"Linda, talk to me. Why do you think I'm sick and tired of you?"
It was stupid. It was so stupid. She said those things because she jumped to a stupid conclusion all because of her stupid mood swings.
"I'm not going to be mad," he promised. "I just... I want to know what I've done so I don't do it again and upset you."
Bless his heart, she thought as she took a sip to steel her nerves. "I'm sorry. You haven't done anything. You've been nothing but amazing."
He wanted to interject and ask his questions, but that would get Linda agitated again, and he didn't want that. So he waited patiently.
"I don't really think any of that. I was... having a damn mood swing."
"What caused it?"
"You talking to Doc. I thought- I thought that if you needed to talk to him you were.... You were tired of dealing with me by yourself."
"Linda, I'll never be tired of you. And I called Doc because... I need to talk to him. I, um, I need to get some things sorta."
She sniffed because that didn't sound good. "What things?"
He sighed, "Linda, I gotta be honest with you. I'm three seconds away from losing my shit."
She looked into her tea again, "this is a little overwhelming."
"A little," he scoffed. Then he sling an arm around her shoulders, "it's got nothing to do with you. Okay?"
"Okay," she nodded, smiling when he kissed her cheek.
*********
"I was surprised you called me," Doc started.
"Yeah, I was surprised too."
"Tell me what's going on."
"Well... back in September, Linda was in a car accident. It was bad, she was in a coma for six months. She's home now, and she's.... Adjusting."
"Is she okay?"
"Okay as she can be, I guess. I mean, she has a really good outlook on this. It's just.... She's got amnesia, and she's freaking out and remembering things she'd rather forget and.... I'm just worried when she remembers the crash. Because it was a f***ing hit and run. And it's not solved yet."
"Why are you worried about her remembering?"
"I just... I don't want her to hurt herself. She had a flashback in the hospital, and just freaked out. I don't want her to hurt herself."
Doc studied Danny for a minute, "there's more."
Danny sighed, "I'm just... so overwhelmed. I don't even know who the hit and run driver is, and if I'd just..."
"Just what? What was Linda doing when she was hit?"
"Coming back from work."
"You had nothing to do with that, Danny."
Was it bad that his therapist knew him that well? Or was it good?
"You can't blame yourself for things out of your control."
Danny cut him off, "I need to be there for Linda, but I need to be there for the kids too, and I have to work, and I have to act like none of this bothers me."
"You don't have to act that way."
"If I get upset, then Linda will be upset, and she can't be right now. It's imperative that she stays calm."
"You can't blame yourself for any of this, and you can't put all that pressure on yourself. It's not healthy, not for you and not for Linda. And Linda will understand."
"I don't want to... overwhelm her. She just woke up from a coma for Pete's sake!"
"I understand that, and she'll understand that you're overwhelmed."
She would; she was very understanding.
"You just need to talk with her. And maybe make a monthly appointment."
That sounded good, so he nodded, "okay."
********
"I wanted to take you out tonight," Danny started once he was back home. "But I don't feel like going out anymore. Are you okay with pizza and wings?"
"As long as I don't have to cook," Linda answered, leaning back on the couch. "Besides, I like pizza and wings."
She looked at her wedding rings, glad they survived everything. She knew they were just diamonds and gold (and to this day she wondered how a guy in the Marines was able to afford the rock above the gold band), but they were her most prized possession. "Did you have a good session with Doc?"
"Yeah... he says I need to talk to you."
"You talk to me all the time," she said, possibly stubbornly.
"About what's going on with me."
She turned to face him, scared, "are you okay? You're not like... dying or anything?"
"No," he answered slowly, grabbing her left hand. "You remember early when you said things were a little scary?"
She nodded.
"Well... I agree with you. I don't know what's happening, what I'm doing. I don't know how to help you, make sure you're okay, and... be me at the same time."
"I didn't know those things were mutually exclusive."
"They're not. It's just... hell, I don't know. I kind of feel like I'm stretched between everything going on right now."
Linda licked her lips, not knowing what to say to that. "I'm okay. And so are you. I don't... I don't think you have to be so... worried about me."
"You're my wife. It's a tall order."
"You can talk to me about anything. You know that, right?"
He nodded, "I just don't want to be a burden to you."
"You'll never be a burden to me, Danny. Ever."
"Why?" He asked, and he wasn't quite sure why.
"Because I love you. I love you so damn much. And people who love each other are never burdens to one another."
He kissed her passionately, forgetting about the pizza and wings.
YOU ARE READING
I Don't Remember
Fanfiction"You have amnesia. It seems as though the last three years have been wiped from your memory. We won't know how serious it is until we do some tests."
