I was standing in front of Gabby and everything around me went silent. I didn't hear the monitors being, I didn't hear Alex trying to explain what was going on. Nothing. Just...silence.

Alex moved to stand in front of me and shook me by the shoulders. His voice slowly came back into hearing range and I heard, "-said it's temporary. It can come back."

I never took my eyes off of Gabby when I asked Alex, "What? Explain it to me."

"The doctor said she did have swelling around the brain. They had to do minor surgery. He said that temporary amnesia is a part of it and her memory should come back."

"Should? SHOULD! I- I can't- what if?" I can't fucking breathe.

Alex tried to keep a gentle tone. "Hayden, you need to calm down. This is going to make it harder for her. She knows who I am, now let's try to remind her of who you are. Okay?"

He was right. She probably thought I was some crazy stalker. "Yeah, okay."

Alex turned around, sitting on the side of her bed.

"Alex," she said in a small voice, "what's going on? Who is that? And what happened to me?"

Alex gave me a glance before taking her hand and explaining, "That's Hayden, amd I'm pretty sure, he's the love of your life."

Her eyes got as wide as saucers as she looked at me. "He's my...But, what about dad? I would never-"

"That's a little harder to explain, " Alex interrupted. "All you need to know right now, is that you're safe and Hayden loves you. He won't hurt you."

She looked at me and I could tell she was trying to remember me. Her expression was one of severe concentration, like she was willing the memories to come back.

"I'm going to get some food. I'll give you guys a few minutes," Alex said before he kissed his sister on the forehead and left the room.

We both remained quiet before she finally said, "Please, sit. Maybe you can help me remember what I'm clearly forgetting."

She had a friendly smile and I hated it. It wasn't my Gabby. It was the smile you give to the barista making your coffee when she tells you to "have a good day". But it wasn't her fault. None of this was.

I pulled a chair up to the bed and rested my elbows on my knees. "What would you like to know?"

Her response was automatic, "How did we meet? How long have we been together? Are we serious?"

I laughed a little at her avalanche of questions. "Well, I'll start at the beginning. We met at the beginning of the school year. Your brother got kicked off of the football team unfairly, and I tried to help him get back on it."

"My brother was on the football team? That's weird," she said with a laugh.

"Yeah, he was pretty good, too. Anyway, you thought that I had some vendetta against him and was going to haze him. But, my interest was strictly for you."

She smiled and glanced away. It was hard to look at her and not touch her. She was so bruised and banged up, my chest ached for her.

"How are you feeling," I asked.

"Eh, okay, I guess. They have me on some strong pain meds. Hopefully, it keeps working." She paused before adding, "Alex said you found me like this? At my house?"

"Yes," I replied roughly, the image of her unconscious body on the floor was like a punch to the gut, and it was seared into my brain for the rest of my life.

Her eyes teared up a little before she said, "Please, tell me more about us."

Yeah, I didn't want to think about the bad memories right now either. Maybe the good ones would help bring back some memories, or at least make her feel a little better.

I gave her a smile and said, "How about I give you the "best of" highlights of our relationship? Maybe it will jog something."

She sat further up on the bed, clearly getting excited at the idea. "Okay."

I leaned back in my chair and smiled back to her. "Okay, where to start? Well, we were actually in this same situation when we met. Just reversed."

"Oh?" She asked with a giggle. "You were in a hospital bed with amnesia and I was sitting next to you?"

"Actually, I had a knee injury, and I guilted you into coming to the hospital during my recovery so I could get to know you."

"How did you guilt me?"

"Let's just say that, the injury happened because I was defending your honor."

"My hero," she said with a wide smile.

My heart tightened in my chest at that. "You came to visit like you promised, although you kept your nose in a book with headphones on. Would barely speak to me. I believe your words were 'we don't mesh'."

"I see. I was pretty standoff-ish, wasn't I?"

"That's an understatement. I ended up throwing your headphones in a pitcher of water."

She scoffed, "I was probably pissed."

"Oh, yeah. Very. But, in my defense, I felt like I as in a hospital jail cell and all I wanted to do was talk to you."

"What happened next," she asked.

"Well, that day you were so pissed at me you left. The next time you came back, I had a lot on my mind and my therapy appointment was canceled. You went to get a soda, lifted the ID badge off my doctor, and snuck me into the rehab center so we could do my rehab in the pool."

She covered her mouth and laughed at the memory. I couldn't help but smile as her eyes lit up. That sound was...pure Gabby.

"You know," I added, "we kissed in that pool."

I definitely got her attention now. "Was that our first kiss?"

"No, our first kiss was at a bonfire party. You were a little...intoxicated."

"Oh, no," she said with a grown as she buried her face in her hands.

I laughed at that. "It's okay. It was...perfect."

She looked up at me and something unknown passed between us.

I cleared my throat and continued the story. "Anyway, we got caught in the pool and got kicked out. You took off after that. Actually, every time we kissed, you bolted."

She had an odd expression on her face. "Yeah, I think I know why. My father, right?"

I met her gaze when I answered her. "Yes. I didn't know it then, but you kept pushing me away because you were scared that he was going to find out. When I got released from the hospital, I went by your house to check on you and Alex answered."

I saw the worried expression on her face and continued. "I didn't tell him why I was there. Your father didn't know. You asked to meet me back where we first kissed and that's when you told me about your father and that you couldn't see me anymore."

She gave me a crooked smile. "I'm guessing that didn't stick, did it?"

I felt my eyebrows furrow as I started getting lost in that memory. "I remember that day so clearly. You said that our relationship would be a temporary fix to the real problems we had. Then I said, 'Gabby, a lot has changed over the summer. I've changed. I don't know why or how, but I started seeing things differently. I started feeling things differently. I know we both have some fucked up shit going on in our lives right now, but don't we deserve a little happiness?'"

She smiled at me and I reached for her hand. She pulled hers away and my chest ached as I sat back against the chair.

"I'm sorry," she said, "I don't know why I did that."

"It's okay. You've been through a lot." I stood from my chair and headed for the door. "I'm going to go check on my father. I'll come back later."

"Your father?"

"He's here in the hospital. Heart attack."

I started for the door when she said, "Wait, Hayden?" I stopped, turning to see what she was going to say. "Can you come back later? Maybe you can tell me the rest of the story?"

I would never say no to her. "Of course, I will. Get some rest."

I left her room in a daze. She was Gabby, but she wasn't. She had no idea who I was. On the plus side, the doctor said it should be temporary, which means she may come back to me. And I was willing to wait, no matter how long it took.

***

Gabby

When I watched Hayden leave my room, I felt this...longing to follow him. I wish I could remember him, and our time together. I believed every word he said to me about our relationship. I had to know more. I needed to remember more.

Alex barely gave me any details about how I ended up here. Only that it had to do with our father. What the hell happened? My mind was all jumbled. I remembered my mom passing, I remembered Alex, I remembered my dad was an abusive alcoholic...but no other details in between.

When Alex gets back, I'm going to grill him for information. I sighed as I looked at my leg. The doctor said it was fractured from the fall I took down the stairs. It was going to be a long recovery, especially with these memory problems.

If I didn't get my memory back soon...well, I don't know what I would do. Maybe the doctor can give me some suggestions. The sliding door drew my attention when Alex came inside.

"Where did Hayden go?" he asked.

"He went to go check on his father." Alex handed me some food he got from the cafeteria. I took it and asked, "Alex, was what happened to us my fault? For being with Hayden?"

He sat down in the seat Hayden was in and gave me a stern look. "No. We didn't deserve this. It wasn't your fault, my fault, or Hayden's fault."

I picked at the crust of the PB&J. "I want to remember him. I want to remember everything."

"You will, in time. The doctor said it will take a little while."

I tried to accept that, but unfortunately, I was being impatient. I know I never would have allowed myself to have a boyfriend, so I must really care about Hayden. Then a thought occurred to me. "What does my face look like? Hayden had this weird look on his face when he saw me. Is it bad?"

"No, Gabby. You're fine. You're healing."

Yeah, right. "Get me a mirror."

"Gabby,-"

"Now! Or I'm hopping to the bathroom."

Alex got me a mirror and reluctantly handed it to me. I took a deep breath before lifting it in front of me.

"Oh, my God," I breathed.

"Gabby, it's okay. You're going to heal."

I couldn't speak as I stared at myself. There was gauze wrapped around my head like a headband. But, that wasn't what held me transfixed. It was the busted lip, the eye that was almost swollen shut, not to mention, the black and blue bruises that covered 80% of my face.

A sob escaped me, and Alex took the mirror. When he reached down to hug me, I welcomed it. Even though my two broken ribs, hurt like a motherfucker.