What She Forgot

Chapter Thirteen

It's been months. Three months to be exact. And she's still not awake. 

There's a little part of me that's still optimistic. A part of me still believes that Ariana will wake up. It'll happen any day. She'll wake up. She's strong, she'll overcome this. I just have to wait. We all have to wait. Because all good things to those who wait. Right?

But there's a bigger part of me that knows she isn't waking up. It's been three months. If she was going to wake up, she should've waken up a while ago. The surgeries she's gone through would've saved her. But here we are. She's still asleep.

Ariana Brooks may as well already be gone. 

Her parents arrived last month. They weren't able to take Ariana's little brothers over immediately, due to complications with school and their own work, but they're here now. I haven't spoken with any of them, but I've watched them. I watched the way her mom had collapsed into her husband's arms. I heard the way her mom had sobbed heartbrokenly. I watched as her father held his wife as she sobbed, silently crying as well. I watched as her eight year old twin brothers tried so hard to fight their own tears. I watched was her eight year old twin brothers, Jake and Jacob, put on a brave face. Whether it was for their parents or to convince themselves they were brave, I admired the twins for it anyway. 

I rearranged the hospital chairs outside of Ariana's ICU room to make a makeshift bed for me. I was hardly ever home anymore. This was the best I could do to get some rest. I refused to leave her. There was still the hope that she would wake up and I wanted, needed, to be there when she did. 

If she did. 

Just as I was about to lay down onto the makeshift bed, I heard a voice say, "Son."

I turned to see Ariana's mom smile at me. Her eyes were tired. "Me?" 

"Yes. I'm Ariana's mother. Call me Ava, none of that Mrs. Brooks business," She said, introducing herself. 

I shook her hand. "Nice to meet you, ma'am. I'm Sam."

Ava nodded her head. "Jai's told me about you," She said. 

Has Ariana?

"Good things I hope," I joked. It was a lame attempt, but it was needed. 

"Sam, may I ask you a question?" I nodded and gestured for her to ask away. "Do you have feelings for my daughter?"

"What?" I burst. 

She smiled kindly at me. "Sam, I've noticed that you stay here as often as my family. More often than Jai and Peyton, her best friends," She said. "I've seen the way you look at her and cry when you think no one is looking. You look at her with more emotion than Shawn, honey."

I put my head in my hands. "I didn't realize I was so obvious." 

"I'm happy that someone cares for my daughter the way you do, Sam," Ava admits. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone care for her the way you do except one person."

"Let me guess. It was Seth Hutchings," I said bitterly. The bitterness I held for that boy surprised me. I had already realized that I didn't like him because Ariana had been in love with him. But I was more jealous of him than I realized.

"It was," Ava nodded. "If you end up dating my daughter, Sam, I only have one request. Don't hurt her like Seth did."

I nodded. "I won't," I promised.

"That's enough for me. You have me and my husband's blessing," Ava says. Speaking of her husband, he calls her name and beckons her back into the ICU room. Ava gives me a smile before leaving. 

I had Ariana's parent's blessing to pursue her. This should've made me happy out of my mind. There was still two things on my mind. One was thoughts about Seth. Did Seth make her happier than I made her? Did a part of her still want him? Would she go back to Australia after senior year, and would they reunite? Or would Ariana even wake up? She was living off of life support. What if more months passed and her parents took her off and she died? What if she died right now? 

I lay down onto the makeshift bed. As I shut my eyes, I pushed the thoughts away from my head.

I just needed to stop thinking.