Highschool Dreams - a danisnotonfire fanfic

Chapter 9 - Amnesia

Ann's POV

   I wake up in a quiet room. My eyelids are heavy and tired, but I force them to open more. The back of my head hurts, as well as my left lower abdomen. My hand travels down my body, and it stops at my heavily bandaged hip. I look down, and I slowly begin to notice my surroundings. I am alone in the room, and I am hooked up to an IV. The wheeled tray next to me holds numerous "Get Well Soon" cards. I find one from a girl named Penny, and I open it.

   Dearest Ann,

     I hope you get better soon! Be sure to keep that bullet as a souveneir - not many people our age can say they've survived that! I'll talk to you again later.

                                                                 Love,

                                                                     Penelope (Penny)

   I put the card down, and my mom comes in to the room. She smiles and gasps when she sees I'm awake.

   "Sweetie pie! You're awake!" she squeals as she bear hugs me.

   "Mom...can't...breathe..." I choke out.

   "Oh, sorry! I don't know my own strength sometimes. How are you, honey?" she asks.

   "I'm feeling okay. My wound hurts and my head hurts, but I'm fine," I tell her, "Oh, and who's Penelope?"

   "She's your best friend! You don't remember her?" my mom seems worried.

   "She is? I don't remember..." I trail off, confused.

   "You lost your memory," my mom whispers to herself. "I'm going to go talk to a doctor." She then walks out of the room.

   This is bizarre. Penny? I don't remember her. I now desperately want to, but I can't; that must be why my head's hurting...I really hope it's not permanent. I remember a few people - my immediate family, and my old best friend (from Texas), Kyle.

   I am reading another card when a boy comes into the room. He sees me awake, and he immedaitely hugs me for the longest time. I don't hug back, since I don't think I know him.

   "Hey Ann. How are you feeling? Are you okay?" he asks.

   "I'm sorry, but, who are you?" I ask of the boy.

   "Are you serious or are you joking?" he questions, offended.

   "I'm sorry but I don't remember much," I explain sorrowfully.

   "Oh. Well, I'm Dan. Your friend that you've kissed," he shys away.

   "We've kissed?" I wonder aloud.

   "Yeah, we did. You also beat up the kid that beats me up, and I saved you from getting raped by that same kid," he informs me quietly.

   "I didn't know that," I sigh. We talk for about another ten minutes - Dan tells me everything about what we've done together. I am very relieved to find out that sex isn't one of them. But he seems nice, and someone get some ice on this kid because he's hot! I don't tell him that, though. I don't know what the extent of our relationship is, if we have one. Then, Dan leaves before my mother ever knew he was here.

   

   The next day, I am released from the hospital. I can't really walk with my hip being damaged from being shot, so I have to push myself around in a wheelchair for the next month. Great.

   My mom helps me out of the car and in to my wheelchair. I situate myself so I'm comfortable, but my left hip starts to hurt again from the staples and stitches the doctors had to put in my skin to keep my wound closed. I try not to look pained. When my mom wheels me through the door, I look up the stairs and frown.

   "How will I make it to my room?" I ask.

   "I'm not sure if you'd be able to," my mom answers worriedly.

   "I am not going to sleep on the couch for a month!" I automatically protest.

   "Hold your horses! We'll figure it out. Please, just give me a moment. I need to speak to your father," my mom haults me.

   "Mom?" I ask as she walks to the kitchen to use the phone.

   "Hmm?" she responds.

   "When will I get my memory back?" I ask her.

   "Well, the doctor said in maybe a week or less. We'll have to see," she replies sympathetically. I nod my head, and I wipe away a tear that I didn't know was there. I guess it's because of the stress of not being able to walk for now, and not being able to remember anything. Then, my mom goes into the kitchen to have a presumably multi-hour conversation with my father over the phone, since that's generally how things work for my parents. I decide to wheel myself inside the living room. I breathe in the scent of oranges from the automatic air freshener in the corner of the room, atop the bookcase.

   I then get up out of the wheelchair for a brief moment, so I can lay down on the couch. It hurts, but I make it there okay. In less than a minute, I'm asleep.

   When I wake up, there is the faint glow of the sun in the late afternoon twilight streaming through the windows. I move my neck from side to side, ridding myself of stiffness. My mom comes into the room when she hears the sofa squeak from me sitting up.

   "Did you have a nice nap?" she asks me.

   "Yeah," I answer.

   "I got off the phone with your dad a few minutes ago," she informs me.

   "Yeah? What did he say?" I wonder aloud.

   

   My mom takes a deep breath. "He said we'll be moving again."