Just an old friend

Chapter 1

It was like waking up from a nap. The kind of nap that leaves you confused with what year it is and where you are. My eyes opened for a split second allowing a bright light to flood and blind all my other senses. I felt my face scrunch up in an attempt to protect me from it.
"Shes awake, call the doctor Rob, get a doctor in here now!" A familiar voice spoke without pausing for a breath. "Riley sweetheart, its me mum, im here darling." She reached for my arm as i began to push myself to sit up. "No darling, don't try to do anything until the doctor gets here." A doctor. Well that settles the question of where the hell i am.
As if on cue a small middle aged man swung into the room, the light bouncing off his bald head as he approached my bedside.

"Okay Riley you're probably wondering what on earth is going on but don't panic. We have a few routine procedures that we'd like to perform and then I'll answer all of your questions." He rolled up the sleeves to his white over coat and pushed his glasses further up his nose. I nodded in reply and watched as he scribbled something down on his clipboard. I took the opportunity to take in my surroundings. The room was rather simple, white walls, minimal furniture. I looked to the table on the left side of my bed where it was full of cards and flowers and teddies. All things you get for someone when they are really sick. Was i sick?
"Riley?" The same familiar voice broke me out of my trance, her voice quieter now, barely above a whisper. My head turned towards the voice. It belonged to a woman who looked like my mum but just...older. Her hair was faded and her skin was creased, the eyes looked tired and worn. But she was my mum. She opened her mouth to say something else but was interrupted before she even started.

"Right, lets start then shall we" my head snapped to look at the doctor standing over me. "We're just going to sit you up nice and comfy." Two nurses ,who i hadn't even seen enter the room, came to stand either side of me. They held my arms and supported my head, gently pulling me upright. It was as if i were a toddler learning to walk, as if I couldn't do it for myself.
The doctor asked me some questions about how i was feeling, I answered each one without taking my eyes off of the woman sitting in the plastic chair a few feet away from my bed. She looked straight back at me with eyes that told me they had been through a lot. I couldn't quite work out why my mum had aged so much in what i could only assume was a couple of days that I hadn't seen her.
"Do you feel any pain at all?" He asked peering at me through his glasses balanced on the end of his nose.
"Nope" i kept it short and sweet.
"Any dizziness?"
"Nope"
"Are you feeling anything out of the ordinary"
"I feel absolutely fine doctor..." I paused while my eyes swivelled down to his name badge "Doctor Wheeler."
He frowned at his clipboard and then looked up at me with a puzzled look.
"Do you know why you're here."
"No, but i sure as hell would like to know because you don't just put people in hospital for no reason. Am i sick?" I was turning my head between Doctor Wheeler and my mum, searching for some kind of reaction to give me a clue. Doctor Wheeler took a deep breath through his nose and pulled a chair up next to my bed.
"Nurse Jenson, nurse Perez, could you check on the patient in room 4b?" He spoke to the nurses tidying the room and straightening my bed sheets, who both nodded and left the room. Doctor Wheeler took off his glasses and whipped out a handkerchief from his pocket to clean the lenses with.
"How old are you?"
"Im 13, why are you " he butted in before i could finish my sentence.
"Riley im going to explain everything to you including why you're here so listen carefully and try to stay calm."
I was getting frustrated by this point because it felt like everyone was being over dramatic seeing as i was fine. If anything i was a little hungry which was probably another factor to why i was agitated.
Doctor Wheeler rotated his chair so that he could face both me and my mother.
"Riley you had an accident 9 days ago which brought you to this hospital. You had fallen from a tree and hit your head, its a miracle that you didn't break any bones."
"I almost had a heart attack when i got the call, don't even think about climbing another tree ever..."
"Miss Mason" the doctor held up his hand gesturing for her to stop babbling. She folded her hands in her lap and sat up straight, doctor Wheeler continued.
"You came to us unconscious but we had to put you in an induced coma so we could check for any brain damage. You've been 'sleeping' ever since." He put air quotations on the word 'sleeping'.
"So im absolutely fine now, i had a lucky escape?" I asked waiting for him to agree.
"Well it appeared that way 20 minutes ago but..." His eyes diverted between me and my mum before he let out a sigh.
"With any brain injury its always a risk of damage to the memory. It seems that the accident has triggered a condition called retrograde amnesia. Riley you said you were 13 years old, but in reality you are now 15." I didn't hear the rest of what he said. My brain was still processing the information that Doctor Wheeler had just given me. Had I really just forgotten 2 years of my life? Was that even possible?
"Riley, it's important that you listen to what I'm about to say." The mention of my name drew my attention, although I could feel my face still in shock clearly not over the news.
"This is only temporary. You will eventually start to remember segments of memories from the last 2 years, however your brain is likely to have trouble putting them in chronological order."
"So her memory is going to come back? When? How long will it take?" My mothers voice had jumped a pitch or two and quickened in pace. It showed how anxious and scared she was. Her eyes were glassy and I felt a pang in my chest just noticing it.
"The next few weeks or months are going to be a fragile time for Riley and people around her. You must know that in some previous cases we've known these memories to come back in episodes, these can be very stressful for patients."
"But not all cases? So I might not have these episodes?" I asked with slight attitude, because I knew this information was going to worry my mum more than it would me.
"Not all. But I want to prepare you for what may come. However, seeing as your physically healthy, no injuries or symptoms of sickness, you can expect to be home within the next few days." He peered through his glasses and into my soul. Deep, I know, but hey he gave me the creeps.
"Why that long? She's fine, you said so yourself." Mum said with a hint of frustration that no doubt Doctor Wheeler caught on to.
"It's just a few tests we need to carry out for her files before we release her. Nothing to worry about, we just need to be 100% sure that you are mentally stable to go back into the world with this condition."
"You make it sound like I'm crazy" I mumbled but I saw the corners of his mouth curl into a grin which indicated that he had heard my comment. Im glad someone finds this funny I thought and mentally rolled my eyes. Who can blame a person for going crazy after waking up in a dull ass place like this.

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Hey
Hope you enjoyed this chapter, I'm hoping to publish a chapter a week so if you like it comment some ideas, constructive criticism (I'm open to advice) or just to say hi. In the next few chapters I'll be introducing a mystery guy and I'd really love it if some of you could help me create his construct. So yeah feel free to drop some ideas in my inbox :)

-el