Twice The Trouble Book 2 of 2: Twice The Love

Chapter 52: This Means War

Stacy

"You'll wake up soon, won't you?"

I stared at Bryce's sleeping face.He had a wound on the side of his face and a bruise on his left cheek. His left hand was swollen.And he'd been unconscious in the hospital for hours. All because of me.

Who am I for him to protect with his life? Who am I for him to love so much?

"Ace." My thoughts were suddenly interrupted by Sophia.

"Sop," I said in between sobs. She wrapped me in a comforting hug and I could feel her sobbing, too. "I'm so--"

"Shh.." She pointed to a girl who suddenly walked in and went straight to Bryce. "Isn't that.."

Shock and anger enveloped me. "Felicia?"

The intruder chose to ignore me and talked to Sophia instead. "What happened to Bryce?"

Ever the polite girl, Sophia answered her. "Hit and run."

Felicia then looked at me and said: "You. You do nothing but hurt other people."

I was feeling guilty about Bryce, yes, but how dare this person talk to me this way! "Shut up, Aquino," I told her. "You don't know anything."

She fake laughed. "I do know that you're nothing but trash."

"Stop fighting," Sophia said. "Bryce is awake! I'll try to contact his mother, father, Jeff, and Mick." Her words left me bewildered. Did my twin have correspondence with Brent De Los Reyes? More importantly, did she have means of communication with Lilian De Los Reyes? How and why?

I looked at Bryce. He seemed disoriented.I was about to go to him but Felicia beat me to it.This girl! She's not even friends with Bryce and yet she's acting as though they're very close! I thought, frustrated.

"Hi, Bryce," she said,touching his forehead. Bryce recoiled at her touch; I nearly laughed. Unfazed, Felicia kept caressing his face. "Does anything hurt?"

Bryce looked at her with the same flummoxed expression. "Who are you? Where am I?"

Felicia's face registered hurt. "I'm Felicia," she said. "You're here in the hospital. You had an accident."

"What? When? Why don't I remember anything?!"

I wanted to badly to go to Bryce. But I couldn't. I was ashamed of the part I had played in his accident. I blamed myself, and I was afraid that everyone else blamed me, too.

"Who are you?" Bryce asked Felicia again. "Why don't I remember you?"

"She's nob--" I began to say but Felicia interrupted me.

"I'm your girlfriend, Bryce," she told him. "Felicia Aquino."

What? The nerve of this girl!

"What did you say?" Bryce asked, seemingly finding the information hard to process. "Since when?"

"Last night," she answered. Then she turned to me, malice in her crystal eyes."You were there, remember?"

"You bitch!" I said. She yelled back at me and the next thing I knew, we were shouting at and slapping each other.

"A-A-A-A-A-AH!" Bryce screamed, clearly in pain. I immediately called the doctor. Fortunately the doctor, along with Jeff and Mick, Bryce's closest friends, were already on their way; I bumped into them in the hallway.

"Bryce!" I said, sobbing. "He's in pain!"

We all quickly went inside his room. After checking on him, the doctor said: "He's fine. No damaged organs. Just some cuts and minor fractures."

"Thank God," Jeff said. "Thank you, doc." The doctor then asked about Bryce's parents, and nobody answered until Sophia arrived, her face and aura melancholic.

"I couldn't contact his parents," said Sophia. When she caught me staring at her, she shook her head, looking dejected.

"I doubt they'll be coming," Jeff intoned coldly. "Bryce often complained about his parents."

"Jeff's right," Mick agreed, nodding his head. "Neither of them is going to visit him."

Sophia and I glanced at Jeff and Mick cautiously. They knew more than we did, and why shouldn't they? My sister and I have only met the De Los Reyes brothers less than two years ago while Mick and Jeff have probably known them since childhood.

I was trying to gather enough courage to approach Bryce when he looked at me and asked: "Doc, who is she?"

My heart sank.

"You've got to be kidding me," I said, smiling through my tears.

The doctor left for a few minutes, then came back with the result of Bryce's MRI. "I'm sorry, everyone," he said. "I know I said Bryce sustained only minor injuries, but I just got the result of his MRI and it shows here that he's suffering from post-traumatic amnesia"-I gasped- "But post-traumatic amnesia is transient. Sooner or later, he'll remember everything."

"How soon is soon?" I asked, trembling.

"Only God knows," said the doctor. "In the meantime, spend a lot of time with him. It will help him remember."

Bryce can't remember me. It's my fault. If it weren't for me, he wouldn't have been hit by that stupid car.

Sophia gave me a hug. "Don't worry," she said. "Bryce will remember you. Just trust him, okay? You do know he's head over heels in love with you, right?"

I laughed. Sophia always knew how to cheer me up. "Thanks, Sop," I said, hugging her back. "I have another problem, though.."

"I know. We're twins, remember?" she said.

When Jeff, Mick, and Sophia left, Bryce leaned towards Felicia. "What's your name again?"

"Felicia Aquino," replied Felicia timidly.

When visiting hours were over and Felicia and I were out of earshot, I pulled her aside. "What the hell are you doing?" I demanded her.

"Stop harassing me!" she complained.

"I said, what the hell are you doing?" I reiterated.

"Fine!" she yielded. "I like Bryce, okay? And I think that's enough reason to make him my boyfriend."

My eyes grew wide. The sense of self-entitlement of this girl!

"Bryce isn't yours," I said. "From the moment he told me he loves me--and he's said it a lot--he's been mine."

"Bryce is no one's property," said Felicia obstinately. "I can claim him if I want."

"So stubborn, just like your brother," I said. "If you want war, I'll give you war."

"Bring it on, bitch." Then she left.

Damn! Why do I need to put up with another diva?