“Peter, get the doctor,” the woman ordered. “Now, please.” Hastily, he left the room. When he left, she turned back to Piper. What do you mean you don’t know who we are? You don’t remember our names, or you don’t remember us, period?” “I don’t know who you are at all. Any of you. I don’t even know who I am.” The woman looked over her shoulder at the boy, who regarded them cautiously. Jake, you knew about this? she asked. Jake shrugged, but his eyes betrayed him. He was definitely worried. I wondered. She didnt know who you were when she woke up. Why didnt you say anything? His frown deepened. I wasnt sure. I figured until I was, I would wait to see if she would tell you herself. Im sorry, Alex. Ms. Harper. Alex pursed her lips. I see. Then she dismissed him completely and turned back to her daughter. “Your name is Piper Marie Fitzpatrick. You are my daughter. While her face had gone pale, her voice didn’t waiver. Piper respected her strength. “You are my daughter,” Alex continued. “My only daughter. My full name is Alexandria Anne Harper. Most people just call me Alex. You,” she lightly touched Piper’s nose, “just call me Mom. Your dad’s name is Peter. We split up when you were just a kid. You mainly live with me because Pete’s job has him traveling a lot, so its not uncommon for you to spend two to three weeks at his house when he’s in town. You don’t get to see him that often. You’re nearly seventeen. Your birthday is October 27, which is in about three weeks. You like to read and you’re an amazing artist. I have no idea where you got your talent. Definitely not from me. You were brought here from Alton Baker Park by a boy who wouldn’t leave his name. He said he found you. You’ve been here about a week. We put up missing persons fliers when you didn’t come home last week, called the police. We searched for you everywhere. We would have found you sooner, but there was some confusion about your ID that, of course, you couldn’t clarify because you were unconscious. “You have a lot of bruises and some slight head trauma, but you’re doing okay. They managed to stop the bleeding with surgery. Your face is pretty banged up and you had a broken nose, but nothing that can’t be fixed with time. The doctors promise me you’ll heal beautifully and will barely even have a scar. Since the bleeding was in your brain, the incision will be covered by your hair anyway.” Alex said the last part gently as Piper’s eyes had gotten huge. Quietly, Piper touched a hand to her face. The skin was tender. She flinched involuntarily when she touched her nose. “Oh, baby.” Alex started to reach for Piper, but reluctantly pulled her hand back. “Why don’t I go down and get us something to eat? It’s been a while since we did more than pick at our food, and I for one, am starving.” Piper only nodded. Ill grab your dad on the way out. Jake, would you like something? No, maam. Thank you, though. All right then. Ill be back soon, she said to Piper and left them alone. Getting to his feet, Jake stood silently against the wall, his hands tucked into the pockets of his grey hoodie, a thoughtful expression on his face. “How long was I under?” Piper wanted to know. “A couple days, I guess. They said you came to on Monday, but you’ve been pretty hopped up on pain pills the last few days and not real coherent.” “Okay.” She wanted to see what she looked like, but there was no way she was walking to the bathroom in a backless hospital gown. She started looking for something to cover herself up. “There’s a robe right there,” he told her, pointing to a blue bath robe hanging on a chair. “I picked it up on the way here. Thought you might want it.” “Thanks,” Piper muttered, reaching for the robe. When he turned away, she slipped from the stiff hospital sheets and eased her battered body into the plush material. The fabric was soft on her skin. Piper snuggled in, inhaling the light scent of fabric softener. “You can look now.” She waited until he met her eyes. Why are you here? How do I know you and who is Quinn? Jake sighed, but a hint of a smile played on his lips at her demanding tone. Well arent you something else? Quinn is my sister. Shes also one of your best friends. And shes missing. She disappeared the same night you did, so Im here to find out what you know. Which is not much, apparently. He frowned again. Beyond that, Im a friend. I see, she said, effectively echoing Alex. Carefully, she got up and walked into the bathroom carting her IV, leaving the heavy door open behind her. She was scared to look in the mirror. How much damage would she see? Piper squeezed her eyes shut and took a deep breath. Then she opened them. She inhaled sharply and tentatively touched her face. Her skin was the greenish yellow of healing bruises and painful to the touch. Her nose though, was a deep purple and slightly swollen. “Your nose was broken,” Jake told her softly, causing Piper to jump. She hadn’t heard him come up behind her. “They said they fixed it. You should look like yourself again in a couple weeks. Piper nodded meekly and studied her reflection. She had dark brown mocha-colored hair that fell past her shoulders and hung down the middle of her back. Her bangs brushed her forehead, the sides framing rounded cheekbones. Her face was small and somewhat heart-shaped, and her eyes, with their long dark lashes, were a startlingly vibrant shade of green. Piper wanted to cry. She couldn’t see herself. Not really. It wasn’t even that she didn’t know who she was. That she could deal with. But she couldn’t see herself. Her features were too discolored, her bottom lip busted and scabbed over, and her left eye was puffy where a fist had so obviously smashed into it. Jake gently touched her shoulder, unsure how to comfort her. Piper’s breath caught in surprise and then suddenly she was bawling in his arms. “Hush now,” Jake soothed, running a hand through her hair. He held her tight against him, a shelter from her emotional storm. “It’s okay,” he murmured. “You’re safe now. It’s all right.” Even through the pain and tears, the fear and confusion, Piper believed him. Where everything else was new and strange, he seemed familiar. With a renewed sense of sorrow, she poured it all out as she buried her face in his chest, vaguely noting the hard defined muscles beneath the grey cotton of his sweatshirt. She cried for a solid ten minutes before she finally settled into a low moan. Piper wiped a stray tear from her cheek. “What happened to me?” “The police think you were mugged. The only thing left in your wallet was your drivers license.” Mugged. She had been mugged? Why? She wasn’t rich. Was she? She was a teenage girl, for crying out loud. She didn’t have anything a random mugger would want. Did she? “Why me?” Piper managed to ask. “What is so special about me?” “I don’t know,” Jake said, frowning slightly. “Something.” Startled, Piper looked up at him. His bright blue eyes were staring intently down at her, captivating her gaze. Just then, the door to the main room opened and her parents joined them, followed by a doctor and a nurse. Jake and Piper quickly went to meet them. “Hello, Piper.” The doctor smiled. “I’m Dr. Wendell. Glad to see you’re up and moving. That’s quite a feat. How are you doing?” “Fine. Sore.” He chuckled. “Yes, that is to be expected. You took quite a beating.” Serious now, he reached out and examined her bruises. “Looks good, looks good,” he muttered to himself. Piper had no idea how he thought she looked good. She didn’t even know if he could see an inch of normal skin. It was all sickly and gross-looking. “You seem to be healing at a remarkable rate.” Dr. Wendell’s look turned quizzical. “To tell you the truth, I’ve never seen someone heal at quite this speed. It really is impressive.” Piper just stared at him. What was she supposed to say to that? “So,” he continued when the nurse handed him her chart. He flipped through it briefly. “I understand you’re having some memory problems?” He looked to Jake for confirmation. Jake nodded, but his eyes were on Piper. They offered her the encouragement she so desperately needed. “I don’t know who I am,” she said simply. For the next few hours, Piper was tested. The doctors and nurses bombarded her with questions. They wanted her to recall shapes, numbers, letters, even tell them what their conversations were two hours before. It was tedious, depressing work that seemed to go on for ages without any definite solution emerging from the recesses of her mind. The same questions over and over and over. Piper thought she was going to lose it. All the while, her parents watched with worried eyes. Her father kept butting in, trying to answer questions for her, and after about twenty minutes of this, the doctor requested he step from the room. Alex agreed to go with him, mostly, Piper thought, to make sure he stayed out there as he was told. Alex gave her a quick kiss on the forehead followed by a few murmured encouragements and a stern look at Jake, then escorted her ex-husband from the room, amidst much protesting from Peter. Jake was allowed to stay with her through the entire process. He sat quietly by her side, sometimes holding her hand, but mostly just a comforting shoulder. Piper had never been so grateful to anyone in her entire life. After four grueling hours, Dr. Wendell finally closed Piper’s chart with a snap. The nurse brought her parents back into the room. “Well, Miss Fitzpatrick,” he started when everyone was assembled, “it seems like you’re suffering from amnesia, although your short-term memory is still in tact. I’ve looked at your CAT scan, and I don’t see anything we should be concerned about. Medically speaking, that is. It looks like your memories are just gone.” “How is that possible?” Peter wanted to know. “Well, sometimes it is the mind’s way of protecting itself, blocking the memories to shield the person from a traumatic or painful experience. In Piper’s case, I’m not really surprised.” “Is it fixable?” The doctor looked at Piper sympathetically. “There’s really no way to tell. Sometimes the memories come back slowly; sometimes all at once, depending on the trigger and the brain’s coping mechanisms. Other times, well, they may not come back at all.” Peter inhaled sharply and reached for Alex’s hand. He gripped it tightly until she squeezed back, offering reassurance. “Is that common?” Alex asked. Dr. Wendell thought for a moment before he answered. “In my experience, no. Most of the amnesia patients I have encountered have recovered most or all of their memories. It just takes time. In all likelihood, Piper will recover what she’s lost, though I can’t guarantee a time line. That being said, I do need you to be aware of the possibility that she will never recover those memories, if only as a worst case scenario.” Her parents thanked the doctor and followed the nurse to her computer. Another nurse quickly and efficiently unhooked her IV. Piper scrubbed the bump on her hand with her other palm. When the room emptied, Jake took a forest green sweatshirt and a pair of jeans from a bag, along with a shirt and undergarments. He handed them to Piper. “Your mom thought you might want these. Your others got ruined.” Piper took the clothes and cradled them to her chest. “Thank you.” “Sure. There’s some clothes to sleep in and another outfit for tomorrow in there as well.” He suddenly looked shy. Jake? Thank you for staying with me through all of that. She managed a small smile. “That was really nice of you.” “What can I say? I’m a nice guy.” Cocking his head to the side, Jake softly swiped another tear from her cheek. She hadn’t even known she was crying. The vision hit her like a brick, playing like a movie inside her mind. She saw herself at night, running down an unfamiliar street. Someone grabbed her arm and she turned to see Jake, eyes lit with emotion. He yanked her hard against him, and crushed his mouth to hers, drowning her in sensation and longing. Piper was so startled when the vision faded and she was once again facing reality that she dropped the clothes. “Oh!” She reached to retrieve them at the same time Jake bent down. Their heads smacked together. Hard. “Ow,” Jake grumbled, rubbing his forehead. “That hurt.” Piper flushed, stammered an apology then ran into the bathroom, leaving Jake confused and scowling behind her.
Posted on: Mon, 26 Jan 2015 05:43:46 +0000
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