Book 4: Remembering Scars {BoyxBoy}

Chapter 11

"Casey, stop pacing, you're gonna make everyone freak out," Cal insisted, tapping his foot as he watched Casey walk back in forth in the hospital waiting room, chewing his nails with an arm wrapped around his stomach.

"I-I can't help it, I'm so nervous, I can't believe it."

In order to somehow calm him down, Lex stepped forward and pulled him into his arms, hugging him tightly and rubbing his shoulders, his piercing eyes moving between the doors to the ICU and where Brad was standing. He wasn't okay with him being there, and he didn't care how much he'd changed the past three years. Showing up with Cal and Casey had every protective nerve Lex had burning on overdrive. Not to mention how Sam may react seeing him there.

Casey melted into his arms, lying his head against his shoulder with a sigh, twisting the ring on his left finger, "It's been so long."

"I know, I can't wait to see him!" Annabelle was bouncing on her feet beside Cal, her eyes glowing as she too watched the hospital doors, and she took a few steps closer so she was beside Lex and Casey when it opened and Sam stepped out.

His ragged appearance had everyone frowning, and Sam didn't even try to smile when he saw them. Instead he just stopped, staring at the floor for a moment before speaking, "He doesn't remember me..."

Another lapse of silence as Casey lifted his hands to cover his mouth, and Annabelle gave a weak laugh, "Wh-what?"

"Or you," Sam added looking up, "He doesn't remember any of us."

Cal wrapped his arms around Annabelle from behind, and Seth swallowed thickly as he spoke, "Explain."

"Amnesia," Sam started, "Marin called it regressive amnesia. He has no memory of high school, it's like his brain reset to just before he started freshman year," he stopped, chewing on his lip a moment so he wouldn't start crying again, "Marin doesn't know why it happened, or the extent of his memory loss. He said there were two possibilities for why it happened. The bullet took out those pieces of his memory when it hit his brain, or he unconsciously locked away the memories, repressed them, because of the trauma."

"W-will he remember?"

Sam shook his head, "There's no way to know for sure. We don't understand the human brain as much as we could, it's too complex. There's no way to guess that his memories will come back, cuz we don't know if those parts have been just repressed or destroyed completely," his voice choked, and he pressed his lips together, "He didn't recognize me at all..."

"Oh my god," Annabelle buried her face in her hands, and Casey turned around in Lex's arms.

"M-maybe this is a good thing?" he suggested, and everyone looked at him, "No one can survive that much mental trauma, I should know. Maybe forgetting about it is a good thing! He can start over now! He can be happy!"

"He was happy," Sam hissed, but it was obvious he wasn't angry at Casey, "He was..."

"Casey's right!" Annabelle added, trying to ease Sam's sorrow, "Think about it, how many times have you wished to re-meet someone?" she forced out a laugh, "And this time there's nothing to hold him back! No fear, no pain, no trauma! H-he can meet us all again... maybe he'll smile this time."

"And everything we've been through?" Sam asked desperately, "He doesn't remember any of it! He doesn't remember meeting you, he doesn't remember how you all helped him! He doesn't remember me!" the tears were finally falling, "Do you know how hard it was to finally get through to him?! How long it took for him to... to say he loved me back?" he bowed his head, "Now... it's like he never did. I never existed... never."

"Sam," Seth choked out his name, and Sam lifted his eyes to him, "I'm sorry-."

"Why the fuck," Sam hissed out, "is he here?"