Endless Summer/ ✔️

I'm Sorry (Daniel)

"She has to wake up, Jack. She has to," I cried. There was nothing I could do at this moment except wait for Maya to open her eyes and speak to me. "it's my fault," I whispered. I flinched when Jonah laid a hand on my shoulder.

"Nothing is your fault. It was the other driver's fault, Daniel. Don't feel like that, okay?" Jonah assured.

"Neither of us had been watching the road and if we had, then I would have seen it. I would have seen the dam car that ruined my life!" I shouted. I couldn't feel anything at the moment but my entire body trembling. My fist was clenched so tight, I could feel my nails digging into my own skin. Maya always said that was the worst habit I had because I tended to leave myself scars. "You don't get that everything here is my fault, Jonah. You and Corbyn and Jack and everyone else knows it as well as I do!"

"Okay, you need to calm down," Corbyn says, standing up. "Now. You think this is good for Maya? Having you yelling and shouting at every little thing? That's enough!" Corbyn was shaking like a volcano was about to erupt.

"This needs to stop! You need to get over yourself and admit the fact that this is happening! I don't mean to be rude, Daniel, but this is what you need to see. Do you see her? Lying in this bed and clinging to the last thing she has! I don't know how else to say this man, but if you don't do this, then there is no way that is helping Maya or that little girl that is sitting out there in the waiting room!"

I took a step back to let all of that sink in. I had never seen it that way. It had been two weeks since we first arrived at the hospital. Maya was in a terrible condition, her body deteriorating quick. But how could they all sit there and do nothing? Maya had a long road in front of her and I just couldn't stop thinking about the little girl in the waiting room that was about to change our lives. She needed me more than anything right now, and here I was, getting furious at myself and everyone else. This wasn't right.

Without saying a word, I exited the room and headed for the lobby. There, Lauren and Zach sat in the uncomfortable chairs. Beside them, sat the little girl I was going to protect with my life "Hi baby," I whispered as I picked her from the car seat. The little girl felt so weightless in my hands, I had to be extremely careful. I didn't want to break her before Maya got a chance to know everything. "I'm gonna take her for a little walk, okay?" Zach gave me a weary eye. I'm sure he heard everything that happened in the room.

I strolled along the hallways and the elevators until I found the place I was looking for. "You were born here," I said as I looked out into the sea of babies. Before I could say anything, I felt a hand on my shoulder. This time, it was Logan.

"They wanted me to come find you because they knew you would listen to me," he started. I felt my eyebrows knit together. Listen to what? "What I am about to tell you, is not something you're going to take lightly." I felt my heart falter. What was going on?

Logan motioned for me to hand over the baby and there was no way I was hesitating to do it. What if he was about to say something that would drive me over the edge? I would lose it and I didn't want to risk hurting the little girl in my arms. "Okay, good. Now, Daniel. Maya woke up a few seconds ago. She-"  I didn't need to hear anymore of the story. Maya was alive and awake and I missed it. She must be wondering where I am and why I wasn't by her side. "Daniel, stop!" Logan ordered.

When I turned around, I could barely see him due to the tears in my eyes. What was so important that he needed to keep me at the moment? My life had just been thrown into a whirlpool. "She doesn't remember anything," he paused.

"What do you mean?" I asked, taking a step closer. My fists automatically went into a ball and I began to shake lightly. "Logan?" He pursed his lips, probably debating on whether or not to continue on with the story.

"The only thing she remembers, is -" I felt my heart shatter in that exact moment he finished his sentence. Maya doesn't remember anyone.

***

"What do you mean she doesn't remember? What happened to her in this accident?" I pushed. Dr. Ramirez moved uncomfortably in his seat. He had nothing to worry about. We were the ones who had to worry about getting her to remember everything and everyone.

"The accident was not an easy one. When we brought her in, she had extensive injuries. She was impaled in the stomach by a section of the car. Her head had been cut open in many different places, and one was too deep. It must have hit a nerve in her brain or something. I won't know until I get a better look at it in the morning. There is one important thing I should tell you guys."

At the moment, every soul that had been with us that night, two weeks ago, was sitting in the office. We had been called in here after Maya had come back from the dead and had no memory of what was going on. Dr. Ramirez pulled his coat closer to his body and sighed. "There was so much irreversible damage to her organs, I had to remove some of them."

"Are you kidding me? She'll live right?" Lauren asked, putting both hands over her heart. "I don't even care what you had to do, just as long as she will go back to normal soon. I just had a baby and I need her. She has this little girl to take-" Lauren was cut off by Dr. Ramirez's hand. It was his turn to talk now.

"I had to remove her reproductive system," he said plainly. That was when I lost it.

"You did what?!" I shouted. I didn't say anything else. In the corner, one of the babies began to cry and I wasn't going to do anything about it. As horrible as it sounded, I was focused on Maya and the news that just ruined our lives. "Her ability to have children, you took that away from us?" I whispered. I didn't yell. I didn't cry. I was frozen in my place in front of the door.

Without thinking, I ripped the door open and headed straight for Maya's room. Logan was sitting in one of the chairs, nurses stood around the bed doing whatever they needed and her father was in the corner. I looked at him, my nostrils flaming. "Daniel?" I heard. Quickly, I snapped my head towards the bed. Had she just-? "Why are you so mad?"

Maya was talking to me! She was thriving and remembering who I was! "Maya? I was so worried," I said as I made my way to the bed. "The doctor said you wouldn't remember anything until  he took a closer look at your brain. When did your memory come back?" I asked.

"It's still a but fuzzy but I woke up and I could hear you shouting and the next thing I know, nurses were swarming me and asking a bunch of questions. Daniel," she stated. I wiped away the tears and hoped to be able to look at her a few seconds before they came back. "Do you know who the people in the other car were? What happened to them?"

I paused. I couldn't bear to tell her this because I know it would kill her. But she had to know in order to know the steps that came next. I had to tell her, her life was changing in a big way and she couldn't reverse any of it.

"Maya... It was Peter and Gabriela," I whispered. I felt my world come down all at once.