Damaged

Chapter 2

"Luke woke up." I was woken by my oldest brother with the best news I've heard in awhile.

2 months. That's how long Luke has been in a coma. During that time, I've felt like I've lost myself. Luke and I have never really been apart longer than a few days to a week at a time, so this was really taking its toll on me. I was just happy that my twin brother was finally awake.

-
"Luke!" I couldn't help but scream when I finally saw my twin brother sitting up in his hospital bed. There was a doctor in the room doing routine checks, but he turned and glared at me when I walked in.

"I take it that you two are Luke's brothers." He stated, and it was only then that I noticed Beau standing behind me.

"Sorry about my little brother." Beau apologized, placing his hands on my shoulders. "It's just they're twins and they've never really been apart for this long before."

"I'm not blind, Mr. Brooks. I can obviously tell by their faces." The doctor scoffed. "Anyways, do you care if we step out of the room for a moment? I need to tell you the extent of your brother's injuries."

"Sure thing, doc!" Beau smiled, before turning to me. "Jai, why don't you go say hi to Luke. We'll just be a second."

I nodded my head becor e walking up to my twin brother at last. He had a goofy grin on his face and his eyes had a far away look in them. I chuckled at the sight. I was just so happy that he was okay. I sat down next to him and placed a hand on his shoulder, causing him to jump.

"Jai-Jai!" Luke screeched, before wrapping me up in a tight hug. "Where have you been? I've been worried sick about you!" My twin brother scolded me, confusing me slightly.

"What do you mean Lukey? I'm the one who should be worried. You've been in a coma for two months." I explained slowly. Luke frowned and shook his head at me.

"That's not a very funny joke, Jai." He huffed. I was confused. There was just something about Luke that seemed...off.

"Not joking. Trust me. I don't know how I even survived that long without you there to keep me out of trouble." I laughed. I looked at Luke only to realize he wasn't paying attention to me at all. Suddenly, he turned to me with a question that honestly scared me.

"Jai, I don't know where I am..." Luke started to cry slightly and several of the machines he was connected to started to beep wildly. I reached down and pressed the button to call a nurse as Luke fell backwards and started having what looked like a possible seizure. I was frozen in shock as doctors and nurses flooded into the room. I felt someone pull me back, but I was too scared to even comprehend what was going on.

"Jai, you need to calm down." I heard Beau's voice order. I hadn't even realized I was hyperventilating until he had said something to me about it.

"Beau! Beau, what's happening? Is Luke going to be okay? Am I going to lose my twin brother again?" I rushed out as my eyes filled with tears.

"Luke's going to be fine, Jai. I promise." Beau paused and chewed on his lip for a second. "I didn't want to tell you this soon, but Luke has brain damage. There's an 80% chance that it's permanent, but-"

"Brain damage!" I cut Beau off. "What do you mean brain damage?"

"They're not sure exactly what his brain is doing, but they think it's either an extremely rare form of frontal lobe damage where his ability to reason and connect basic information together is compromised or...." Beau trailed off.

"What's the or, Beau?" I was beyond terrified at his unspoken words.

"Total mental retardation from the damage his brain received. He could never be the person you remember ever again."

"So I've basically lost Luke forever..." I trailed off. Beau wrapped me up in a hug and pressed a kiss into my cheek, trying to comfort me. He just wasn't Luke, though.

"No, there's still hope, but it's up to Luke to decide if he wants to get better or not. At least that's how the doctor explained Luke's chances of recovering if it's the first thing."

"How likely is it that it is the first thing?" I asked out of hopeful curiosity.

"About 2%..." Beau whispered. I felt a fresh wave of tears hit me. There was a 98% chance that I was never getting my brother back. "Actually there's a 20% chance he has that and then an 18% that he'll never recover if it is that one."

I knew that Beau was only trying to cheer me up, but he was only making things worse.

I needed my Lukey back...