Forget Me Not

Chapter 5: On My Mind

Back at the hospital, Doug grabbed a visitor's pass and went down to room 1649. With his backpack, he planned to do homework and sit with Evie again. Knocking on the door, a nurse came to open it. He stepped inside the room and the nurse from the previous day was checking Evie's vitals and making sure things were still as they should be. The nurses regularly checked on Evie to ensure that she was potentially making progress or that she stayed at a controlled level of low activity.

"Hey there. Coming everyday?" the nurse asked. Doug nodded his head, taking a seat in the same chair near the hospital bed. The nurse finished taking note of her heart rate, blood pressure and oxygen levels. The nurses both left the room as Doug put in his earbuds. Taking out his laptop and textbook he began his 'history of the Isle' reading, followed by staring his paper on King Arthur and his Knights in French.

Three quarters through his paper, there was a knock at the door. He took out his earbuds and answered. "Um, come in?" He said with a question in his voice. He peeked around the curtain and in came the same doctor who had helped Evie two nights ago. Doug stood up and moved to the bench near the window so the doctor could do what he came to do.

Peering out of the window, moving the curtain slightly, the sky was turning a deeper blue and the sun seemed to wan. Checking the time on his laptop, it was a little past seven pm. In a rush, Doug packed up his things. Having sat by Evie while he did his assignments like he used to had brought back a calming feeling. Standing up and grabbing his backpack, the nurse glanced over. The doctor was still standing around Evie and reading a set of papers on his clipboard.

"Going?" She inquired.

"Yes, it's later than I thought. I'll be back tomorrow though."

"Good. Some say that being near to a friend can help the patient in comatose," she replied, tending to the doctor's gesture to come near. Just as he crossed the doorframe, out of sight, the doctor spoke.

"She's responding to touch?" He asked the nurse who nodded her head. "Interesting. When we took a look at her brain activity, it seems as though she has a worse brain injury than we thought. Evie's memory is deteriorating slowly."

Doug cocked his head and as he heard the man's footsteps get higher in pitch, Doug quickly left the door frame and rushed away to the parking lot.

There, he unlocked his car.

Deteriorating? Doug thought.

Pulling out his cell phone and texting Carlos he asked for the number to the school's counselor. It was about time that he talked to someone beside his friends who were also hurting and his busy parents. After the message sent, he drove in silence back to the campus and there, avoided passing by Mal and Ben in the plaza and went straight to his dorm.

***

Answering on the first ring, there was a simple hello.

"Hi, My name is Douglas White. I am a senior. Can I make an appointment?"

"Sure, can I have our birthday?"

"January first nineteen ninety nine," he answered.

"Okay, is this the number you'd like to keep on file?"

"Sure."

"Okay Douglas, I will send you a questionnaire through text and please bring it to our first meeting. How does tomorrow at 11:000 sound?" Waiting for a moment to answer to eliminate that he'd be in class, Doug realized he'd only be at lunch.

"That works."

"Great. I will meet with you tomorrow at 11:00am. I will add this to your schedule so that Fairy Godmother is aware of your whereabouts. My office is in the front near the campus police," the woman said ensuring that Doug was familiar with her office location. Though he'd never needed to really talk to her, he was a student council member and of course knew of every place on campus.

Hanging up with cordial goodbyes, Doug set his phone down and closed his eyes. In his dorm room, the curtains were shut and the lights were off except for the dim lantern on his nightstand. He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about the doctor's words. At the same time, his phone pinged with a message from the counselor verifying his appointment, but also a message from Carlos.

Hey, sign up for an appointment?

Yeah, just did.

Cool. She's nice to talk to and really listens.

How was seeing Evie again?

Kind of weird.

Dr. Thomas said she's losing her memory.

Wait, really?

Yes. At least that is what he analyzed.

Her heart beats faster when I hold her hand.

Same for me, Jay and Mal.

I wonder if she'll forget us.

Or stop recognizing our touch.

I doubt it.

Evie forgetting all of us?

Yeah, its unlikely. 

I mean imagine her forgetting you of all people.

Her own boyfriend.

I can't fathom that.

I'm going to wash this feeling off with a shower.

G'night.

Night, dude.

Shutting the screen off his phone, Doug tossed it on the cushioned bed. He grabbed his flannel pajamas and went to turn on the shower. Trying to stop thinking of the words Carlos texted him was difficult. To think of how her memory was erasing was scary. Let alone potentially what her brain was erasing. 

He supposed that the longer she was in a deep critical condition, the less she was going to remember. And if it got far enough to where she erased him, her best friends, everything, Doug couldn't think of a more devastating event. Stuck in his fear, he didn't bother to hear Chad who unlocked the door and entered the dorm, his athletic wear still on.

"Doug, hey!" The blonde prince greeted his roommate. Chad turned his head into the open bathroom where Doug was staring into the mirror. Chad walked inside, chuckling.

"Hmm, well look who's admiring themself in the mirror," he teased. Doug didn't respond nor did he acknowledge his roommate.

"Hey, dude. You okay?" Chad said poking Doug's shoulder. His eyes widened and he squirted his water bottle in Doug's face. Moving suddenly and wiping his face rapidly, Doug turned to Chad.

"What was that for?!"

"Well don't scare me like that, then. You were being weird. I was talking and you didn't respond. I think you need to relax a little and talk to someone," Chad suggested, leaving the bathroom. He threw his duffle down at the edge of his bed.

"I know, I'm going tomorrow. But why couldn't you have used sink water?" Doug questioned, grabbing a small wool to wash his face multiple times with soap. "Or even slapped me? Anything but backwash."

Chad popped back into the bathroom for a moment. He crossed his arm and laughed. "Glad the normal Doug is back."