The Summer of a Lifetime

chapter 33

"Who are you?"

The words echoed in my head over and over.

He doesn't remember us I thought, my ears ringing.

"We're you're best friends," I said, gesturing to all of us, "d-don't you remember?"

I bit my lip and choked back tears. He looked at us thoughtfully, then looked disappointed.

"I'm sorry, I don't know who any of you are."

"The amnesia was a side effect of his concussion. The doctor said it should be gone pretty soon, but there's no way to be sure. Until then, we just need to act like we normally do around him, and do things that he is familiar with," his mom said with a small sad smile.

"Let's take him to the diner to get his favorite ice cream," Connor suggested and we all nodded our heads silently.

We walked out the door and I lagged behind the group, staring sadly at the ground as I attempted not to cry.

He means the world to me, and he doesn't even know who I am, I thought sadly as I bit my lip.

"Are you okay?" Andrew asked from beside me.

I glanced up with glossy eyes, and he was looking back, but not like he usually did. He didn't have that same sparkle in his eye, and he just stared blankly, but what did I expect? I'm a stranger.

"I'm fine," I muttered softly, turning back away.

"No you're not. This is because I don't remember you isn't it? I'm sorry, I really am. I'm trying to remember, I just...can't," he said frustratedly.

"Its okay," I muttered, a lump forming in my throat and choking me up, "you'll remember eventually," I was trying to comfort him, and maybe myself too.

"Why are you so disappointed that I don't remember you?" He asked, looking curiously at me, "are you my...girlfriend or something?"

"No," I muttered, "honestly, were complicated I guess."

Luckily, he nodded silently, left it at that and we finally arrived at the diner.

When we arrived there, everyone was talking to Andrew, trying to get him to remember something, anything.

But he didn't.

I sighed, staring at him. He looked over and politely smiled back, but it wasn't real. He had no idea who I was, and that hurt. A lot. You never really know how much someone cares about you until they stop caring, and I realized, that sparkle in his eyes was because of us.

"I'm gonna go," I murmured, choking back tears.

They all gave me worried looks.

"Ollie, are you okay?" Kris asked, a sympathetic look on her face.

"No, honestly I'm not," I muttered, wiping my eyes and sniffling quietly.

I walked out of the diner, and I heard footsteps running behind me. Xavier fell into step beside me.

"Ollie?" He said as I stared at the ground.

"Please Xavier, I just want to be alone right now," I mumbled, tears attempting to pour out of my eyes as my lip trembled.

"I'm like your brother," he said, rolling his eyes, "you seriously think I'd leave you alone at a time like this?"

I sighed, a few tears rolling down my cheeks.

"He's gonna get better, Ollie," he said gently.

"And what if he doesn't? What if he never gets his memory back, huh? He doesn't know who I am anymore. And I know what the doctor said, but there's always a chance it won't go back to the way it was," I stared up at him with glossy eyes.

"He will, alright? He's gonna be okay, and he'll get his memory back and everything is gonna be okay again," he said, but he sounded like he was trying to convince himself just as much as me.

He pulled me into a hug and I cried for a long time, until we all decided to head home.

"You sure you're gonna be alright?" Paige asked me softly as I began to walk into my house, along with Alexia and Lucas.

"I'll be fine," I muttered, sniffling slightly as I started walking inside.

"Hey," I heard someone call from behind me.

I turned around to see Andrew standing there sadly.

"Hey AJ," I said softly.

"Wait, I thought my name was Andrew," he said confusedly.

Suddenly, I felt like bursting into tears again.

"Sorry, AJ was my nickname for you," I muttered, wiping the tears that threatened to escape my eyes.

He walked towards me and we both sat on the front steps of my house.

"I'm so sorry. I'm really trying to remember you. It sounds like you were really special to me, but I can't remember anything," he muttered sadly.

"It's not your fault," I muttered, beginning to stand up, "you should just go home and get some rest," I said softly, turning around to walk through the door.

"Goodnight Andrew," I mumbled.

"Goodnight..." he hesitated slightly.

"Olivia," I finished the sentence, tears stinging my eyes.

"Oh yeah," he mumbled, and he walked away.