Chapter Eight:
Confusion
I rushed down the hallway, or as fast as I could on crutches. Geoff and Brandon followed closely behind me with Rosie following behind them.
I couldn't think straight, I couldn't see straight, and I couldn't stop shaking. Michael was awake. He isn't dead.
When we made it to the room I noticed Michael's parents, two doctors and a nurse surrounding him. I made my way over there, shoving my way to the front of the group, not caring if I pissed people off.
Michael stretched slightly and made a quiet moan as he did so. I smiled at him, cooing at his adorableness. His eyes slowly blinked open, squinting against the bright light above him.
Michael is awake.
"Well, isn't it nice to see you awake," The older doctor said, writing things on a chart.
"What?" Michael croaked in a cracked, high pitched voice.
"Anyway, could you tell me what your name is?" The doctor said, ignoring Michael's previous question.
Michael sat there for a long moment, thinking. I felt fear and worry rise inside me as I wondered if the head injury he suffered was worse than I thought.
"Michael," He said after a moment.
"Okay. What about your last name?" The doctor continued.
This took him an even longer time. He searched around the room, as if looking for the answer on one of us. He shook his head and stared back at the doctor.
"Jones," He told him.
"Correct. Could you tell me what today's date is?" The doctor asked.
Michael looked at him like he was crazy for asking that question. I gulped back a sob as he shook his head and stared blankly at the doctor.
"I don't remember," He told him.
"Alright, that's understandable. If you think you remember go ahead and tell me," The doctor told him.
And so on the questions went. The doctor asked Michael his age, who he worked for, what he did when he worked, what his parents names were, and so on. After a little while, Michael was beginning to get his bearings. He were then able to tell him what had occurred, helping him understand why he was in the hospital.
Then he asked a question that made my heart drop.
"Where's Lindsay?" He asked.
"What do you mean?" Geoff asked him, moving forward a bit.
"Well, I don't know. I guess I just expected my girlfriend to be here," He told us.
I tugged on Geoff's sleeve and had him look at me. Geoff nodded and turned to the doctor.
"Um, is it possible he could have memory loss?" Geoff asked him. The doctor immediately nodded his head.
"Memory loss is to be expected with cases like this. How much do you think he lost?" The doctor asked us.
"Well, Lindsay and him broke up a couple months ago-," Geoff started.
"What?" Michael asked, throughly shocked.
"Hang in there, buddy. I'll explain in a minute," Geoff told him, resting a hand on his arm.
"But they dated for about four years," Geoff finished. The doctor nodded and wrote things in his chart.
"Michael, what's the last thing you can remember?" The doctor asked him.
Michael thought for a moment. I watched him, hoping it wasn't too long ago so we wouldn't have to catch him up on a lot.
"Gavin getting released from the hospital after he woke up from a coma," Michael said.
I let out a silent sigh of relief. That was only about two months ago. It wasn't too long, not too much to remember.
Well, it wasn't until I thought over all the things that happened within those two months. My near suicide attempt by jumping off a bridge, Michael and Lindsay calling off the engagement, Michael and I beginning our relationship, my progress in my depression, moving into Michael's apartment, and Rosie beginning to work for RoosterTeeth.
That was a lot for him to take in right now. He was having trouble remembering his own name, let alone a whole two months of complicated transitions.
I tried not to break down crying in frustration and sadness right there. What if Michael refused to accept the fact that we were together now?
A few minutes after that, the doctor shooed us all away, saying he had to run tests on Michael. Everyone stepped back and allowed the doctor space. I watched helplessly as he pulled the curtain back so I could no longer see my beloved boyfriend.
...
It was around ten at night. The hospital was oddly quiet.
Perfect for sneaking out.
I grabbed my crutches and got up, limping to the door. I opened it best I could before finally making my way out and beginning the journey back to Michael's room.
When I finally made it there, I gently opened the door, and somehow managed to sneak in somewhat quietly. I limped over to a chair and immediately sat down, feeling winded from my quick walk to Michael's room.
He always looked so peaceful whenever he slept.
I gently slipped my hand into Michael's, clutching onto it desperately. I felt a tiny grip back and smiled, knowing he was awake.
"Michael?" I whispered quietly.
Michael blinked open his eyes, staring almost blindly at me. It took him a moment to realize who I was and when he realized I was holding his hand, he awkwardly slipped his hand out of my grasp. I felt my heart break in two at that.
"How are you feeling?" I asked gently, trying to relieve him of the awkwardness.
"Tired. And really, really confused," Michael told me.
"Yeah, I expected that much," I told him.
"Can you explain what the hell happened? I mean, the doctors tried to explain it but it didn't seem right hearing it from them," Michael requested. I nodded almost immediately, straightening up.
"Of course. Where do you want me to start?" I asked him.
"How about when you went home from the coma," Michael asked.
"Okay, so after that I was incredibly depressed. I stayed in bed most of the day, I didn't go to work, I didn't do anything. The high points of my days were when you came to Geoff's to see me, you know, like give me news of the day. I remember the day you told me about your engagement to Lindsay. I was so jealous and depressed after that. In fact, the day after your engagement I admitted my love for you and tried to commit suicide after when I thought you didn't accept my feelings. You found me though, and admitted that you felt the same way and I guess we kinda started our relationship there," I started. Michael kinda stared at me, as if registering all this new information.
"After that, I started to recover from my depression. I started to be more cooperative in therapy and I made an effort to actually get over the depression. Of course, this was all because of you," I told him. He still looked as though he was having a rough time taking in everything.
"Then, about a month after my near suicide attempt, I moved into your apartment with you. After that Rosie, the new intern for Achievement Hunter that took over Lindsay's spot since she quit her spot there after you guys called off the engagement, and you became pretty good friends. However, I thought this was because you liked her and I kinda made the realization that you may be about finished with me. But, Rosie recently told me that that wasn't the case at all. You asked her to become friends with me so she could help me with my depression since she also suffered from it a little while ago," I continued.
"Anyway, back to the first part about Rosie. I hated her since I thought she was taking you away from me and I eventually had a mental breakdown moment one day which was resolved with you grabbing me and holding me until I stopped crying. You were taking me home, which resulted in the car accident and now here we are," I explained, finishing my analysis of the last two months.
...
Michael nodded his head slowly, looking away. When he looked back he had a confused and calculating look on his face.
"That's... A lot in just two months," He muttered, mostly to himself.
"I know. If you had to lose any two months in your life that would probably be the worst to lose," I told him. Michael nodded, staying quiet for a moment.
"Look, I know you're probably not on board with the whole... Dating me thing so, I won't force anything on you. Right now, I really just want you to get better. So... I guess just forget about the relationship," I muttered.
Just hearing those words from my own mouth broke my heart. I never thought I'd be saying that to Michael out of all people.
"Wait... You're breaking up with me?" Michael asked.
"I... I guess I am. I mean... What's the point in continuing when you can't even remember starting it, you know?" I asked him, standing and preparing to leave. I suddenly felt as though I couldn't be in there anymore.
"But, Gavin... I... I don't want to lose you," Michael said before I left.
I stopped in my tracks and looked back at him.
"I may not remember starting the relationship but it's obvious it makes you happy. I do have these feelings towards you... I can't really explain them. But, Gavin, I really want to stay with you... Cause... I think... I think I do like you," Michael told me.
I smiled and nodded slowly. I slowly went back over to him and smiled a little more at him, making him smile as well.
"So... We're still a couple?" I asked him.
"Well, I think so," Michael whispered.
I smiled more, bending down and almost kissing him, until I realized how weird that'd be for him. But that didn't stop him from kissing me gently on cheek and blushing.
Maybe this would be okay.
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So, I apologize if this chapter is kinda boring and repetitive (especially with the last book). I was trying to prolong the chapter cause with this story I've been making an effort to have longer chapters so... Yeah.
I hope you guys are enjoying. If you are, please leave me a comment telling me! It means a lot to see every one of your comments, no matter how simple or elaborate.
So, I'd also like to mention that the When All Else Fails has almost 3k reads!!! Guys, this means the world to me. Everyday, I watch that book become more and more popular and it brings me so much joy so thank you so much for this.
Thanks for reading!
PS ~
I'm thinking about writing a short story, I'll give you guys a few details on it if you want it (although not too much since I want it to be kinda plot twisty and stuff) Let me know what you guys think!