Spring Break (Janoskians)

Chapter 35

D a n i e l
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"The surgery went well." The nurse, Linda, tells us. She gives us a room number so we can see how Bella is doing.

"Who wants to go first?" Beau asks.

"I think Daniel should." Lauren says.

"Really?"

"Yeah, she is your girlfriend after all." She tells me. I quietly thank her and make my way toward the room.

I walk through the door and see Bella lying on the bed. She looks so peaceful even with the cuts and bruises on her face.

"Bella." I say while pulling a chair closer to the bed. I sit down on the bed and grab her hand. I expect to see it move, like in most books in movies, but it doesn't. My girlfriend is lying there motionless. I want to tell her that everything will be okay, but I can't even get myself to believe that. I don't even know if she is still my girlfriend at this point.

"Bella, please wake up. I get that you're mad, but please don't hurt the others in this way. I want you to tell me everything will be okay again, that you forgive me, that you love me. Remember our last day in Pennsylvania when we drove around for hours and you told me every little detail about your childhood? You told me everything from your first memory, all the way up to your last of that place. You told me about how you used to pretend you had a little sister whose hair you could do and who you could dress up. You told me about how you used to have so much fun with your parents. You told me how you used to pretend you had an older brother who would protect you no matter what. Well, Bella, I'm going to pretend that you're still here. That you're still mine." I say. I squeeze my eyes shut to try and hold back the tears but it doesn't work.

"I love you." I say while kissing her on her forehead before giving Lauren her turn.

"She's all yours, Lauren." I tell her. She nods her head and thanks me.

I run into Linda on my way to find Beau, so I decide to ask her about when they found Bella.

"I was just wondering, do you know where Bella's car was when they found her?" I ask her.

"Actually, I do. It was close to the mall. Did anything significant happen there that would make her want to go back?" She answers. I nod my head yes and tell her that's the place I asked her to be my girlfriend.

"You're lucky she survived this time. They ran some tests and found severe brain damage. She's going to have to have many weeks of physical therapy. We still haven't discovered if she will remember everything or not, the best case scenario is that she will not remember anything from her childhood. We aren't sure how that is possible that it's not events closer to now, but she won't remember her name, home town, parents, or any events from school or sports." Linda tells me.

"How can I help her remember?" I ask Linda.

"Take her to where she's lived most of her life." Linda tells me. She hands me Bella's medical report. I start to flip through it. It's everything since the day she was born, even before she was adopted.

I make my way to the waiting room and take a seat beside Beau. "Look at all this stuff," I tell him. "When she was eight she had a concussion, when she was ten she broke her leg." I say pointing out things I never knew about her, she must have left these details out when she told me everything in Pennsylvania.

"Wait, what's that?" Beau asks looking at the first page.

"I think these are her birth parents." I tell him.

"And what's that?" He asks again.

"That says she was born in Australia." I tell him, both of us are now in awe.