Page 66 of Game Changer

A fucking coma?

How the hell?

***

“Call me Cindy and this is my husband, Art. How’s he doing?”

Mom? Is that you? Mom, why are you here? I’m sorry. You’re probably so damn worried. I’m so sorry. I don’t even know what happened. But I know I’m in a coma and you’re here now.

Stay calm, you know it tires you out more when you get worked up. Try and stay calm. Just be here.

Who’s that she’s talking to? I don’t know anyone Irish. Do I?

UGH! Why can’t I remember?

***

“I have one for you.”

Brad? You’re here? How long have you been here?

“Pim was learning this song. He said it was on a list you gave him ages ago. It seemed like a good tune, so I learned it too.”

That’s a song from Lisa’s favorite movie.

Lisa.

I just want her to hold me. She’ll make everything feel ok.

***

“What if he doesn’t remember me?” he heard her sob against some kind of fabric.

Tissue? Shoulder? Something’s definitely making her voice mumbled.

“The doctors said his memory would likely be fragmented. They said it’s going to take time for his brain to piece everything back together again. They even said that in some moments he may remember people and then forget them, the next. Until his brain figures shit out and heals we don’t know for sure what’s permanent and what’s not. Please try not to worry too much about something that hasn’t happened – and may not, for that matter. Stay positive, Lis. We’re here for you as much as we are for him and thingswillget better. If he doesn’t remember you, hell, if he doesn’t remember me, or Ana, or Britt, or his mom, we will figure that out when we get there. But for now, we just gotta keep willing him to wake up.”

He heard her thank Jeremy for keeping her grounded before he fell back to sleep.

***

“I think he twitched, or flinched or something earlier.”

I did! I DID! Did you really see that, whoever you are? Or feel it? Thank God for that! You felt me move? I can’t believe it! Maybe hope isn’t lost after all.

The relief he felt was overwhelming. He knew it was a small victory, but, in the grand scheme of things, it was huge. He didn’t know how long he’d been lying there; he just knew that nothing he tried had been working. He felt lonely, frustrated and terrified. He felt hopeless. The fact that whoever the voice belonged to had felt his attempts at moving – even if they left him exhausted and unconscious – meant something. It was progress. Hope soared in his chest.

I’m not giving up on this.

***

“I can’t lose you, AJ.”

Britt spoke so quietly that he could barely hear her voice over the background noise of the hospital. His head was constantly aching from the noise. Everything just seemedlouder,somehow.

“You can’t forget,” she whispered. “I need you to remember.”

There was an edge to her voice that he couldn’t quite place.

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