Amnesia [cake 5SOS] ✔

3.

Hey guys. I know it's going quite slow but I wanna set the scene before jumping into cake.

Enjoy! 

Kimmy xx

Chapter 3

Luke

"Fuck."

Ashton grabbed hold of my hands, which were shaking like never before. My vision became blurred all too quickly. Michael leant in for a hug, grabbing me tightly and stroking my back. "Luke, at least he's still alive," he reassured. What was the point of him being alive, if he didn't remember us?

The doctor closed his clipboard notes and looked at us. "Let's go to a private room. I'll tell you more about the symptoms of PTA."

"So it doesn't last that long?" Ashton repeated.

"That's right. Symptoms usually continue for a few days, maybe a few weeks but at most a few months. At this particular moment, we don't know how long Calum will have PTA. I understand it's difficult to take in but I promise you, he'll come back to his senses."

I was sat sandwiched between Ashton and Michael on the modern, orange leather couch, still shaking. "Does he just forget about us? Will he remember what happened before? Will he still remember things from now on?"

The doc checked his watch as if in a hurry. "Here. Take a look in these pamphlets; I need to go and treat other patients. If you'd like to, you can wait with Calum in his room. He hasn't gained consciousness yet, but it might help his amnesia if you're all there when he does."

He passed out simple looking folded pieces of paper with clear, large writing inside.

Post-traumatic Amnesia

Why does my loved one have PTA?

Post-traumatic amnesia, also known as PTA, affects a person after they suffer a brain injury.

What are the symptoms of PTA?

It can leave them feeling confused, distressed, and anxious; have the tendency to wander; yield uncharacteristic behaviours such as aggression; and most infamously, have difficulty recognising faces. These symptoms can last from a matter of hours to several weeks.

Is there anything I can do to help?

Be calm and patient with your loved one, as this is an undoubtedly a hard time for them too.

I closed the leaflet without finishing and discarded it on the coffee table, leaning my head on Ashton's shoulder floppily. "Shall we go?" Michael asked rhetorically whilst standing up and also putting his leaflet on the table. He reached a hand out in order to help me up, and I let him pull. He did the same for Ashton and we left the air conditioned room to the buzz of the waiting room. My nurse from earlier found us and showed us to Calum's room.

"I advise you to be quiet whilst entering, because we don't want to shock him or exert any pressure in his cranium," she instructed, pushing the door handle down. She then gestured with her hand for us to go in.

The atmosphere inside was really quite different. It was dark and we could hear the heart monitor beeping, telling us that his heart was still beating and he was still alive. He was connected to all these machines, and one of his legs had been put in a cast. The slow rising and falling of his chest made my eyes sting.

I walked over to a chair that had been put there already, and sat down facing him. "Calum," I began in a soft whisper, clasping his right hand. "Calum I want you to know that even if you wake up a changed man, I'll still like you. You're my little puppy, aren't you? I'm sorry for not saving you, it should've been me that fell first. Why do I get the feeling you purposely shoved me aside so I'd fall on top of you? God, if that's the case then I hate you. What's more, you didn't even finish the joke. I mean, you always finish the joke. If you don't this time, then it won't be funny. I won't laugh. Do you understand now? You have to wake up and tell me the answer."