You're Mine, Cowboy

Chapter 16

~ Derek ~

Anna turned and said something to Layla, who nodded, before Anna walked over to me and took the wheelchair’s handles from Xander. “Let me,” she requested. Xander nodded and stepped back as Anna wheeled me out of the room and to the chairs a couple feet away before parking the chair and sitting down in a plastic chair next to me.

“Please, Anna,” I whispered, broken. “Explain.” She sighed and ran a hand over her face.

“The doctors say that physically, she’s fine; a bit scraped up and bruised, but fine. But she has retrograde amnesia, meaning that the memories she had for a while before the accident more than likely won’t be recovered. It’s cranial trauma, and although she remembers who you are, she doesn’t remember falling in love with you or that you two are together,” Anna informed me apologetically. “I’m really sorry, Derek. The doctors say that over time, she might remember some things, but it’s highly unlikely that all of her memories will be restored.” I was ready to cry, honestly.

“What about the guys?” I asked her. “Xander, Marcus and Damon seemed okay around her; she didn’t seem to forget who they were to her,” I bit out almost accusingly, frustrated and confused. Anna shook her head.

“They came over to check on her while you were asleep. She woke up and we explained why they were there; she seemed okay with it. She’d probably be okay with you being there, too, but only as a friend. It’s not recommended that you burst back in there telling her that you’re in love and you two have been together for a little over a month now. All you can do right now is to be there for her. Maybe some feelings will come back, but it’s hard to tell so early. You can’t give up, though; not if you really love her,” she said, her voice edged with slight suspicion.

I knew that it took a while for Anna to warm up to me, because she thought I was going to just use Layla and treat her like I used to treat other girls. Even when I told Layla I loved her, Anna was still unsure whether or not I cared about her as much as I said I did.

“I love her more than you know,” I snapped at Anna, feeling bad afterwards; she was taken aback. “Sorry,” I apologized quietly. “I’m just frustrated,” I admitted, running a hand through my hair. She nodded and patted my other hand awkwardly.

“I know,” she replied. I took a deep breath and held it for a few seconds before blowing it out slowly.

“Let’s go back in.” Anna nodded before standing up and walking to the back of the wheelchair, unlocking the brakes before we went back to Layla’s room.

*          *          *          *

~ Anna ~

It was awful seeing how torn up Derek was over the situation. I had my doubts about how much he really, honestly cared about Layla, but seeing him the way I did in the hallway – broken, defeated and crushed – made me realize he was being sincere. It was terrible; there was nothing anyone could do. Layla seemed to realize that he was a big part of her life, though, because she wasn’t pushing him away and treating him like a villain like I would have expected.

I hoped for Derek’s sake that Anna realized how much she cared for that boy; he was her other half, and they were perfect for each other; I could see that now. I debated taking her aside sometime and explaining things, but I didn’t want her to feel pressured to remember or sway her into feeling a certain way; it was all up to her.

*          *          *          *

~ Layla ~

I laughed; I couldn’t help it; Derek was really funny. I hadn’t realized that before, at least not that I remembered. I felt bad that I couldn’t remember anything for the month before the accident. Derek looked happy when I laughed; I wondered why.