Secrecy (Hosie)

Part 100: Klaus

Continued from Part 99 Preview...

"What do you remember?"

Hope tries to think back, think hard.

Elena watches as her eyebrows furrow, almost panicked, and for a moment, the doctor thinks she remembers the fight.

Hope's breathing picks up as she thinks.

"Nothing..." Hope shakes her head, "I can't remember anything."

"Hey, that's okay, that's completely normal—"

"Please," Hope interrupts, beginning to panic further, "tell me...Who am I?"

Hope is still very groggy, hardly able to hold her eyes open, but her heart rate is skyrocketing, "Hope, you were involved in an incident about two months ago, when you sustained several serious injuries. I need you to try to steady your breathing, okay?"

"Two months ago?!" Hope shakes her head in disbelief, before a thought crosses her mind, "Was anyone else hurt?"

"I—"

"Hope." Elena is cut off by Josie, who freezes near the door at the sight of her fiancé's perfectly blue eyes, finally after two months meeting her own. It feels as if time stops. Relief washes over her and Freya.

Only, there's something in those blue eyes she's never seen before, something she can't quite put her finger on. Something not quite as relieving.

Hope knows this woman looks familiar. They all do. Their voices sound vaguely familiar, too. But she just doesn't know who they are. It doesn't seem like the two who just entered the doorway are her nurses. But who are they?

"Hope?" Josie repeats. She expected Hope to need time to adjust and process everything, but the look in her eyes now has her worried.

Elena immediately turns to Josie and Freya, stepping closer to them and bringing her voice down, "We need to talk. Outside."

Josie is about to say 'hell no,' but several nurses suddenly enter the room, and Elena's look is pleading, urgent, "We need to let the nurses do their jobs for now. You can see her in a few minutes, I promise."

———————

"You said she was recovering well!" Josie shouts frustratedly.

"She is, Josie. But injuries that cause swelling in the brain can be unpredictable. The swelling can cause some impairments—"

"Impairments?! Aunt Elena, she doesn't remember me! I'm her fiancé! I'm having her baby! And yet she has no clue who I am! That's more than just a fucking impairment—!"

"Josie," Freya holds her shoulders, trying to calm her down, "You need to breathe. This isn't good for you or the baby."

Josie tries to calm down, regretting her yelling, "I'm sorry," she closes her eyes, pinching the brindle of her nose, "I know this isn't your fault," She says to her aunt, "I just don't know what to do."

She becomes more aware of the tears streaming down her cheeks.

Her voice cracks as she shakes her head, "I didn't expect for her to look at me like...like we're strangers."