Differences | Demi Lovato

7

Demi

"What happened?" I demanded, when I got to Wilmer's floor and the doctors were waiting for me.

"Through the night, something changed. We don't know why or how, but Mr. Valderrama woke up and became distressed..." He trailed off and another doctor finished for him.

"He's lost his memory."

There was a stunned silence for a few moments.

"What?" It sounded like I was choking.

"Your husband currently has significant retrograde amnesia. We're unable to determine which point his memory begins to fade, but it's clear he has no memory of you... or your children."

"Oh my God." I whispered, putting my head in my hands. "At all? Maybe if he saw me...?"

The doctor cleared his throat. "At this time, it's not likely he will make a spontaneous recovery. However, it's good news that he did remember you at first, it gives him a better chance of having a full recovery."

"Can I see him?"

The doctor nodded and stepped out of the way. "We had to give him a sedative, so he's asleep right now. He'll stay that way for the next six hours."

I swallowed hard and nodded, wiping the tears that had escaped. "Okay."

I walked into Wilmer's room and felt more tears slipping down my cheeks. Nothing was different about him, but his mind had hidden our entire lives together somewhere deep inside his conscious. I perched on the edge of the bed and ran my hand over his cheek, feeling the slight stubble that had grown. I glanced at the door and pulled my legs up, careful not to hit any wires as I laid down next to him, curling into his side. Tears came quickly, and I rested my head on his shoulder, letting them drip down my cheeks as I stared at his face.

~*~

"Mrs. Lovato." I opened my eyes and lifted my head off of Wilmer's shoulder to see a nurse standing there with a sympathetic smile. "You should know he's due to wake up within the hour, the doctors recommend that you're not in the room until they can explain the situation."

I nodded and she touched my arm, then walked out. I pushed myself into a sitting position and ran my hand down Wilmer's chest, leaning down to press my lips against his unresponsive ones, knowing I wouldn't be kissing him for a long time. After a moment I stood up and walked out, taking a seat in the private waiting room.

~*~

"Mrs. Lovato?" About an hour later, a doctor came into the waiting room. "He's awake, and we've explained what happened to him."

"Can I go see him?"

"Yes... Just try not to overwhelm him. His mood may swing without notice. We don't know if other brain structures could have been affected.

"Okay."

I walked into Wilmer's room, trying hard not to completely break down. He looked up when I came in the room, and instantly looked wary.

"Who are you?"

I forced myself to swallow the lump in my throat and smile. "My name is Demi."

His expression flickered with recognition, but he still looked cautious. "The one who's supposed to be my wife?"

I looked down and nodded. "Yes, we're married... Do you mind if I sit?" Wilmer shrugged, and I slowly sank into the chair next to his bed. "I know this must be confusing for you."

"That's an understatement."

My heart ached for a moment. He truly spoke to me like I was a stranger, no love or care in his tone. "Can you tell me the last thing you remember?"

Wilmer closed his eyes and slowly opened them. "I don't remember anything... Dammit! I can't think of anything!"

"Calm down." I murmured, reaching out to touch his hand. Wilmer yanked it away and I bit my lip. "Sorry... it's habit."

He just looked out the window. "How long have we been married?"

"Fifteen years." I smiled and bit my lip. "We have two kids, Luca and Mia."

Wilmer nodded his brow furrowing in an expression that I knew well as his focus-face. Whenever I saw this expression on him I would press the line between his eyebrows flat and tease him about wrinkling young, then get him to tell me what was wrong.

"How old are they?"

"Luca's fifteen, and Mia is four."

He nodded slowly, processing through it. "I can't remember anything."

"That's okay... your body has been through a lot."

"So why are you here?"

I was surprised by the hostility in his voice. "What?"

"Why are you here? I don't remember you, you have no reason to be here."

I shook my head, the pit in my stomach growing. "I'm your wife, I love you."

"I don't remember."

"I don't care." I leaned forward so I could stare into his face. "I promised you before you went into surgery that I wouldn't leave and I'm not going to leave now."

Wilmer glanced out the window. "I think I want to sleep now."

I nodded, taking the hint and standing up. "I'll go get some coffee and make some calls." I gave him a soft smile. "See you when you wake up."

"Bye."

I went into the hallway and leaned against the wall, taking deep breath as I slid down to the floor and put my head in my hands. I finally let go of the hold I had on my emotions, a sob leaving my mouth. I sat there crying for about twenty minutes, then I pulled out my phone to call my mom.

"Demi?" She answered sleepily. "What's wrong?"

I thought I was done crying, but another sob left my lips before I could answer. "He doesn't remember." I whispered, pinching the bridge of my nose. "He woke up and couldn't remember anything."

"Oh my God." I heard her wake up Eddie and then put the phone to her ear again. "He doesn't remember anything at all? How could this happen?"

"I don't know, something about his brain hiding memories because of the trauma. But mom, he's so different. It's like he's a completely different person." I wiped my face and shook my head. "The kids can't see him like this."

"We'll go over there now. Do you want Eddie to stay with the kids and me to come to the hospital?"

"No." I shook my head and looked up at the ceiling. "The less people here the better. They said not to overwhelm him."

"Okay baby... How are you holding up?"

"Not good." I whispered. "To him I'm a stranger. To him, the past twenty years never happened. Twenty years of memories, fifteen years of marriage, gone. Our kids, we brought children into this and he can't remember anything."

"Just be patient with him Demi."

"I'm trying. I'll see you later, mom. I'll let you know if anything changes."

"Okay, bye baby. I love you."

"I love you too."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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-Rachel