Conflicted

➸thirty-six

Six weeks.

I received a text from Lia, telling me that Skylar just got out of surgery and I feel sick. I really hope she's okay. Why did Lia get notified before me? My thoughts wandered to the countless hours I spent next to Skylar in that hospital bed, talking to her. I wonder if she remembers any of that stuff.

The doctor warned us that if the surgery doesn't work she can become brain dead. It's worth the risk if there's a greater chance of the surgery bringing her out of the coma. There was a possibility of memory loss but that was based on the severity of the injury. It's been two months. Two whole months. I've never felt so empty before. She made everything better. I haven't always done right by her but I've done what I could. I'm not perfect.

Her being in this coma has given me so much to think about. I hadn't realized before just how much she's impacted my life. Life without her is boring, dull, and slow. It makes me think back to how my life was before she became a part of it. All I did was work. I only cared about becoming the most successful businessman that I haven't even lived. I'm 24 and I've accomplished more in the past four years than my father's accomplished in 24 years.

I sat in my office, drumming my fingers along the desk. I need to finish what I'm doing but there's no way in the world I'll be able to get anything done with Skylar being out of surgery. I gathered the paperwork that I needed to fill out and turned off my computer, standing and heading towards the door. "Leaving early sir?" Samantha asked, bringing me back to reality.

"Reschedule the rest of my meetings to tomorrow. If something extremely important comes up, call me. If there's something you would just like to inform me of, then email me."

"Yes sir." She replied, focusing her attention back on her computer.

"Please finish filing all of the documents then you're free to leave."

She opened her mouth to talk but decided not to, instead nodding and typing away on her computer. The elevator doors opened and I took a step inside, thinking about the first thing I'm going to do when I see Sky. I made it to my car, anxiously wishing I was already there.

After searching for a parking space for over twenty minutes, I finally made my way inside the hospital and into Skylar's room.

When I walked in, I was a little surprised that she was awake. She and Lia were talking. Skylar fixed her eyes on me, causing Lia to turn around. "I'll give you two a few minutes." She smiled, walking towards me. She engulfed me in a hug and whispered, "One step at a time." I was confused but I let it go. I rushed to Skylar's side taking a seat on the bed. "Skylar, I've missed you so much." I said, reaching for her hand.

"Who are you?" She asked, wide eyed.

"W-what?"

"Why are you in my room?"

"Sky quit joking."

"I don't know you." She yelled, beginning to panic. The machine attached to her body began to beep loudly and Skylar was struggling to breathe. A nurse rushed in, injecting a liquid through the tube attached through Skylar's arm.

Lia ran in, watching as Skylar's body began to calm, and her eyes filled with tears. "I'm going to have to ask you to leave." The nurse said, touching my arm.

"I-I can't leave. She's just waking up." I stammered.

"She's in recovery. You're upsetting her."

"Why doesn't she remember anything?" I asked angrily.

"Memory loss is very common within these situations." She informed me.

"You said she would be fine. She's not fine. She doesn't remember me." I yelled, tears spilling down my face.