A Twist of Fate SERIES (Pentatonix)

(5) Somebody That I Used to Know

( SCOTT )

After my visit with Mitch, I decided to go home and try to get some sleep. I think I got about an hour in total after lying on the couch for four, too weak to go upstairs to my bedroom. I painfully drank a glass of water and ate a granola bar before taking the longest and hottest shower in history, imagining that the hundred-degree water could strip the past few days and years. Maybe make me forget everything. Once I got out, I put on a pair of sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt, haphazardly brushing my hair and teeth.

Now, I stand outside Kirstie's room at Arlington Medical Center—despite my better judgement. But my OCD is back and I haven't called my doctor to get my prescription renewed, so here I am. Wondering my ass off if she's okay.

Well, I mean she's obviously doing better than Mitch right now, so I guess that says something. Right?

To my surprise, the door suddenly opens, revealing Angelica, and I jump back. She looks just as surprised—yet relieved, even—to see me, her eyes glassy and her hair thrown up in a messy bun.

She opens her mouth to speak, but instead I hear her daughter from inside the room. "Oh, there you are, Scott. I didn't know where you had run off to, and my mom was saying some weird thing about you having left years ago or something, but I told her she was being ridiculous."

I feel my heart drop from my chest, to my stomach, to my feet, through the floor, and all the way down into the building's foundation. My face goes slack, and I feel my breath leave me.

Kirstie looks...fine. She's sitting up in her bed, a container of Jell-O on the tray in front of her. The bandages that cover her body seem to not even faze her, yet the bright bruise across her forehead begs to differ.

Angelica gives me a pained smile, and then turns around to say to her daughter, "Scott and I are just going to talk for a moment, okay, baby?" She doesn't wait for Kirstie's answer before pulling the door closed, and pressing her fingertips to either of her temples. "Why are you here?" she asks softly. "How are you here? I...I don't understand."

I can't seem to figure out how to answer her question, and so instead I ask, "What happened to her?"

Angelica wrings out her hands, then cautiously looks around the semi-vacant hallway. "Kirstie, uh...she has post-traumatic amnesia. The doctor said it isn't too bad, but she doesn't remember anything of the last seven years. The last thing she remembers is the final show of your world tour."

Now it feels like someone has taken a knife and is slowly, painfully, stabbing it and twisting it in my torso. All of my insides knot together, and my chest feels tight as I somehow manage to squeak out, "What?"

Angelica just shakes her head. "They said her memory might come back in a few days, a week maybe. They said it's gone because of the shock of the whole accident." She pauses, anxiously wringing out her hands. "I...I heard Mitch was in the other car. Is he all right?"

My look must say it all, because a small sob escapes her throat, and tears start to slide down her face. I uncomfortably shift my weight, hugging my arms to my chest, not wanting to say anything else.

Mitch is on Death's doorstep, and Kirstie doesn't even know why she's here in the first place. I squeeze my eyes shut, and turn my head towards the floor, suddenly hearing Kirstie yell from inside the room.

Angelica opens up the door, and I hear Kirstie say, "Why are you guys talking for so long? Scott's my friend, Mom. Can't we talk?"

I open my eyes and look over at mother and daughter at this question. Angelica hesitates, but then she brushes her tears away and pushes the door open further, saying to me quietly, "See if you can try and bring my Kirstie back, Scott. Please. I'm going to go find the doctor."