Rescue Me

Rescue Me | Chapter Twenty-Seven

Jared's POV

I arrived home, completely drained from the past two weeks. Still sitting in the driveway, I slumped over placing my forehead on the steering wheel while I debated reclining the seat and sleeping in my truck.

Hearing a knock on the widow, I rotated my head to the left to see my big brother staring through the glass at me. Opening the door, he reached in and grabbed my arm, pulling me from the truck.

"Come on, little brother, let's get you inside." He flung my arm up over his shoulder and wrapped his arm around my waist, "You look like shit, when is the last time you slept?"

Walking into my home, Shannon gently tossed me onto the couch, "I've taken short naps here and there, but I've been too afraid to sleep. I wanted to be awake when she opened her eyes again."

Shannon nodded, sitting down beside me, "How is she?"

Leaning forward, I rubbed my tired eyes and sighed, "She knows who I am, but she doesn't remember us." Anger suddenly flooded through me at everything I had lost when she woke up, I slammed my fist down in frustration, "She doesn't fucking remember me Shannon!" The glass coffee table below me shattered as my fist made contact, slicing my skin open. I didn't realize I had injured myself until I saw the blood staining the carpet under my feet.

Shannon jumped up and ran into the kitchen as I sat there watching the blood trickle down my forearm, staining the long sleeve of my white shirt. He returned and wrapped a dishtowel around my left hand and wrist, applying pressure with one hand while opening the first aid kit with the other.

"What do you mean she doesn't remember you?"

My eyes floated from my injured hand up to his, "All I am to her is one of her favorite artists. She told the doctor it was February of 2013 when she woke up."

Shannon's expressive eyebrows shot up into his hairline as he wrapped my injured hand in gauze, "Fuck. She has amnesia?"

I nodded, "Apparently so. The doctor called it Retrograde Amnesia." I chuckled sarcastically, "Well, actually, Andrea diagnosed herself."

"So... wow." Shannon said, "What's her expected recovery?" he asked.

"I'm not sure actually, I didn't stick around for that part of the discussion. I couldn't stand the way she kept looking at me. Like I'm some kind of stranger to her. I held her hand for a moment and it was almost like one of our silent conversations until she pulled away. She actually flinched when I touched her knee!"

"You left her?" He asked incredulously.

"You should have seen the way she looked at me! She didn't want me there."

"Were we at the same wedding? You know.. the one where you promised to stand by her side no matter what? The one where your wife sweetly told you how you've helped her from a valley to a peak.. where she told you you are her greatest love.. ring any bells?"

I nodded and sighed. The past two weeks without a doubt have been the worst I've ever lived. Doubt and fear constantly plaguing my mind. I was so relieved when she finally opened her beautiful eyes, and then she completely obliterated what was left of my heart after getting that terrifying phone call.

"I shouldn't have left her." Resting my head on my uninjured palm, "I didn't leave that room the entire time she was asleep... but I .. she.." unable to maintain my brave appearance, a sob escaped me.

Shannon pulled me into one of his hugs, "It's ok, you guys will get back to where you were. She obviously loves you, she married you! Just make her fall in love with you again, little brother. You two belong together.