Starting Over

Chapter 2 - Jason

I rushed into the hospital looking for Amelia's parents. Unfortunately, once the ambulance and police came, I had to stay behind to answer questions about the accident so I wasn't able to go to the hospital right away. Sean had already texted me Amelia's room number, so I ran past the reception desk and into the elevators. I ran a hand through my dark hair nervously, watching at the number at the top of the door change as the elevator rose ever so slowly. As soon as the doors opened, I ran down the hallway looking for Amelia's room. I rounded a corner but stopped when I saw Amelia's family coming out of her room. Mrs. Parker was crying and the rest of the Parkers looked very solemn as they stepped out of the room. I walked over and went up to Sean.

"Hey, what's going on? Is Amelia okay?" Sean shook his head.

"Amelia has permanent memory loss. The doctor said there's a slim chance that she'll remember anything, but that chance is very small and highly unlikely." Sean's eyes teared up, surprising me because Sean Parker rarely cried. In fact, I had never actually seen Sean cry, not even when Sean broke his leg in the seventh grade.

"So she doesn't remember anything?" I asked softly. Sean pulled me away from his parents and down the hall.

"Only who she is and how old she is. But aside from that, she remembers nothing. Her life, her friends, her family, even me and you." Sean's voice cracked at the end of the sentence. I just couldn't believe it. Amelia had no idea who she was. She doesn't remember our first date, our first kiss, nothing.

"Dr. Ryan said we just have to help her remember. Tell her about her life and ease her back into it. They're hoping that us reminding her of who she was and what her life was like will trigger something and that she'll remember, even if the chances might be slim. I just want her to remember..." Sean trailed off as his voice caught from the lump in his throat. I pulled him in for a hug. I might not have been family but I was still close to Amelia and especially Sean. Sean and I had been best friends since the second grade when we both started playing football together. Him, Amelia, and I had spent countless afternoons at each other's houses. I had a pretty good idea how Sean was feeling. I was close to Amelia, we were good friends before we starting dating, but her and Sean were insanely close, even if they didn't always seem like it.

"I'm sorry Sean. I really hope she'll remember too. I'm sure she will. We'll all do this together. Although this sounds kind of sick, part of me doesn't want her to remember cause then she'll remember our breakup..." I slowly stopped talking as connections formed in my head. Amelia can't remember anything, which means she won't remember our fight and our break-up. I had the opportunity to undo what had been done. This was a second chance in disguise.

"Woah, back up. What fight?" Sean narrowed his eyes. Dammit. For a second, I forgot that no one knew about our fight.

"Uh, Amelia and I got in a fight and she broke up with me and when she stormed out of my house, that's when she got hit by the car..." I trailed off not really knowing how or needing to explain the accident to Sean. I didn't want to relive that awful moment. I regretted bringing it up though, because as soon as it sunk in, Sean's green eyes grew dark with anger.

"So you're the reason my sister is in the hospital?" He almost yelled.

"Sean, calm down-" "Don't tell me to calm down!" Sean bellowed causing people in the hallway to look over.

"Okay," I said quietly as I held up my hands. "Just hear me out though. Please." I waited till Sean grunted, signaling to me he would listen.

"She was going to leave and I offered her a ride because it was dark and pouring out and I knew it was unsafe for her to be walking home in this weather. But she refused and before I could stop her, she ran out towards the street. She went to cross the road and that's when I saw the car come out of nowhere, and really fast, might I add. I started running at her, yelling her name, so she could get out of the way but she didn't listen to me or see the car. And it hit her before I could get close enough to push her out of the way." 

I took a deep breath and looked up at the ceiling as I tried to fight away the tears brimming in my eyes. 

"Sean, you and I both know that I would have never let that car hit your sister if I had any control over it. Hell, I even tried to get in the way, but that car was speeding and I just couldn't get there in time. Now she doesn't even remember me, but I think this is a blessing in disguise." 

Sean raised an eyebrow at me and scowled as if to say 'How in the world could this be a good thing??'. I held up a finger to let Sean know I was going to explain. 

"If she can't remember our fight, it gives me a chance to start over. I get a chance to do it all over again, and the right way! Please Sean, I need this. It's the closest thing to a second chance I'll get, and I want to take it. I will do whatever it takes, and I'm not afraid to try to get through you to do it." I stared intensely into his eyes as I finished. I was so desperate and thankfully, I think Sean could tell. He looked off to the side and bit his lip before looking back towards me.

"Fine. But if you hurt her again, you're going to be the one in that hospital bed."

"Thanks man." I felt so relieved inside. Sean was the big obstacle that stood between Amelia and I. Now that that was over, I had to move onto the next obstacle: their parents.

 I was pretty confident that with Sean on my side, I could win them over as well. I patted Sean on the back and we walked over to Sean's parents.

I explained to Mr. and Mrs. Parker about mine and Amelia's fight and my plan. Although it took a little convincing, they finally agreed to it after a bit of pestering and assurance from Sean.

"Oh and I'll need to go onto Amelia's Facebook and delete all posts, pictures, anything of us that looks like we've been in a relationship. I want to start out as just friends." I added.

"That's fine. Sean can take you back to our house and you can do so after you say hi to Amelia." Mrs. Parker said.

"Ready to see her?" Sean looked over towards me.

"As ready as I'll ever be." I sucked in a breath as Sean opened the door.

"Hey Amelia. One of your friends is here to visit." Sean walked in first and I followed closely, closing the door behind me.