You and Me, Always.

Jo

Aljaž stormed out of the room, shoving the double doors sending them swinging forward and back. His fists were clench as he ran, trying to find a place to release all his pent up anger. How could she not remember him? Angry tears began to stream down his face as he navigated his way through the hospital, slowly waking up after a long night. It was his fault. He should have gone with her and Jo, then she would be fine right now. He would be hurt, not her. Jo. He remembered her, and decided to head to reception to ask about her. In all the chaos of Janette's condition, he hadn't even given Jo a second thought. Where was she? Was she okay? He took a left turn and arrived at the same desk her had been at a few weeks prior, when he had first been informed of the accident. Wiping the tears off his face, he cleared his throat and began. "Excuse me, do you know which room Joanne Clifton is in?" Confusion was written all over the receptionist's face, who replied, "There is no Joanne Clifton on this ward." Aljaž shook his head in disagreement, "There has to be. She was in the accident too!" His palms had become clammy, what had happened to Jo? Checking the records on her computer once again, the receptionist shook her head, before confirming that there was in fact no Joanne Clifton in the ward. "Could you check to see which ward she is in?" Aljaž replied, angst in his voice. He saw the receptionist scanning the screen, clicking occasionally. Her face grew more baffled with each click. "I'm sorry, there doesn't appear to be a Joanne Clifton in the hospital at all. Are you sure you got the name right?" Aljaž was now a pasty white colour. He gulped, and nodded. Strain in his voice, he answered bluntly, "Yes. Thanks anyway." He then turned away from the desk, whipped out his phone and keyed in Kevin's phone number. As it dialled, he made his way to the nearest way out, and waited. Beep. Beep. Beep. He didn't like the sound, it reminded him of the sound of the heart monitors that Janette was on. It gave him the shivers, reminding him of how fragile her life was currently.
Kevin picked up, silent for a good ten seconds or so, before mumbling "Hello?" Something didn't seem right, his voice seemed monotonous, unlike how he was usually. "Aljaž? Hi mate, how is Janette?" He replied, followed by a large sigh. "She woke up." Aljaž informed him. No embellishments, no happiness, just straight up. "Wow, that's great! We're so happy for..." Kevin answered, before he was cut off by Aljaž, "She forgot me." There was silence on both ends of the line. Aljaž was leaning his head on the wall, and Kevin could be heard breathing down the phone. "I'm... I don't know what to say. I'm so sorry mate." Kevin answered, after one minute. "You know what," Aljaž replied, "There is a way round this. I will find a way to make her remember even if it's the last thing I do." He assured Kevin, a new confidence in his voice. "That's brill, mate. Just call us for anything you need. We're here for you." said Kevin. "Thanks." Aljaž added, before starting again,
"Anyway, I was calling you about something else," Aljaž said, and then explained the whole receptionist palaver. "So basically, where is Jo?" He finished, hoping more than anything to hear her voice appear at the end of the phone. Silence.
Kevin exhaled loudly, before whispering into the phone, pain in his voice, "Jo is dead."

Aljaž couldn't take it. Jo? Dead? Not possible. He listened as Kevin told him what had happened, gradually sinking further and further down the wall until he was in an awkward squat-crouch position. Why was this happening to him? In the space of a few weeks, the love of his life had been stuck in a coma, taking so many turns for the worse, woken up and forgotten him, and then one of his best friends had passed away and he hadn't even known, not been there to comfort his other best friends who were mourning the less of a sister and sister in law. It all seemed to be going wrong, one bad event after another, after another. When would he get out of
this nightmare he was trapped in?
When would the pain stop? When would he have Janette back? He sat, head between his knees as the rest of the world continued, trying to get his head around Jo's passing.

*Flash Forward*

"Are you okay bučka?" Aljaž whispered into Janette's ear as sh stood, staring at the polished gravestone. The tip of her nose was red and she had fluff from a tissue she had crumpled all over her coat. Nodding in response to Aljaž's question, she bent down and carefully places the bouquet of flowers in front of the headstone marked 'Joanne Kirsty Clifton' Aljaž then removed the wilted flowers from before, and clutched Janette's hand in the other.
A little girl was clinging to Janette's legs, bundled up in a hat scarf and gloves. She was holding a singular rose, which she assembled delicately beside the flowers her parents had just put down. Janette and Aljaž both crouched down to her, their daughter, and Janette explained, "This is where your Auntie Jo is resting." She paused, brushing away a tear. "She was a wonderful woman; one of my best friends. I'll never forget her." Janette finished, wiping away the tears that were now steadily flowing down her face. "She loves you very much, even you can't see her." Aljaž told the girl, who was gazing at the name on the headstone with wide eyes. "Look, it's your middle name on the stone," Aljaž pointed at the gold engraving. "Joanne. That way, she'll always be with you, wherever you go."
The little girl looked up at the sky, and whispered "I love you, Jo."

*End of Flash Forward*