I thought I was smart ..
I thought i knew about the hints coincidences left for me and made precautions from being slapped on the face by fate.
But I was wrong this time.
Maybe they were already there but I turned a blind eye on them.
His handwriting ..
His forgetfulness ..
But I still wanted more answers .
That's why I drove again to his place.
"Hi .. " I say and look at the two guards.
"Arthur isn't here miss " one of them replies.
"I'm not here for him " I reply .
"Where is Damon the guard who used to send me letters ?" I ask hurriedly.
The guard takes out his walkie-talkie and calls out for his name.
After a minute he gets out of the gate and approached me.
"Miss Bella " he acknowledges.
"I need answers " I dryly say.
"Please come inside and I'll explain "he sighs and guides me in.
I enter Arthur's home, as Damon guided me to the place where guards usually sit in.
It was a room that was connected to the garage , it had a table in the middle of the room and cupboards at the sides.
I sit in front of him and asked him.
"What's wrong with Arthur ?"
He takes a breath out , surprised by my straightforwardness.
"He was completely normal , until this year."
"Earlier this year he went motorcycling alone resulting in a nasty accident " he rustles.
"It happened before he met you dear " he says trying to find my eyes .
"Slowly he started to forget daily things.
At first I thought it was normal but it got worse. It developed to the extent he forgot his past experiences, like his brother's accident and him writing you letters . I was even shocked that he seemed completely Taken aback when I told him about what happened" he says looking at his hands while explaining.
"Thankfully that's the only two things he forgot ,no one knows what else he might forget or even forgot" he declares.
I know what I was about to ask was wrong and completely out of line but I had to ask.
I had to know.
"Can you give me his current medical record ,that confirms his state ?" I beg.
"I don't know if I can do that miss " he rejects .
"I'll return it back to you I swear. I just need to understand better from a doctor please . " I negotiate.
"I'm sorry really I can't do that"
I thanked him for at least talking with me.
I had to make one last trip to the hospital. I know he must have went there to know what was wrong .
What I was doing was wrong but I didn't care I had to fully know what is happening , I can't let go of him like that.
While climbing to the neurology department I met Jason on my way.
"Bella hey" he smiles.
"Jason I need your help " I request.
"I can't do that Jason , it's invading the patient's privacy " the doctor admits .
I brought Jason with me to convince him ,to show me Arthur's medical record and to explain it to me in detail .
"I'm his girlfriend it's not like I will do him any harm.. please " I plead.
"Yes he was here , Arthur king ." He sighs and begins.
"Can you please explain to me what he has?" I ask and sit on the chair in front of him , and Jason takes a seat too.
The doctor shows us The brain X rays and the CT scans of the brain.
"As you can see here , his episodic memory is damaged , which is the main cause of his disorder . I can say that his anphantasia which he already has is also related to the disorder " he says pointing at his brain.
"He has SDAM , it's a rare disorder. Doctors still didn't quite figure it out. It differs from one person to another , and it can be caused by many things, like Depression , anxiety or a brain damage caused by an accident and from what I can conclude it's caused by an accident " he pauses and takes a seat in front of us.
"It makes the person forget about his past memories or experiences , some people can only remember bits and pieces , others remember it from a third person point of view furthermore others just can't recall it's details "
"It's like having a folder on your computer , you already know it's name but when you click to open it so you can look at the details you'll find nothing " he says fixing his eyeglasses.
"Is it possible for him to forget people?" I ask fearful.
"No I don't think it's possible , because what he forgets are past memories and events but not the people he knows yes he will be ignorant to the strings that made him attached to them but he won't forget who they are to him" he explains further.
He lied .. he told me he will forget me .. he lied about that.
"Is there a cure?" I exhale.
"There's no official cure yet, but I can prescribe things to help like having a journal , taking memory vitamins like B-12, and herbal supplements such as ginkgo biloba, and omega-3 fatty acids and of course keeping track of his daily routine " he speaks.
"Thank you Owen I owe you" Jason says grateful for him for doing a favor .
"You owe me big time " he replies.
"Thank you again and I'm sorry for putting you in such position " I say apologetic.
He nods understandingly.
Jason and I got out of the room and were stopped by Art and his dad .
I froze in my tracks like I was caught red handed.
His dad was taller than I expected , he had black hair on the sides of his head as it was surrounding his boldness that was in the middle of his head , he was wearing glasses. He had wrinkles that were visible on his face , indicating he was old . His eyes were framed by thick black eyebrows and he had white hair on his stubbled chin.
"Art.. " I say nervously.
"Can I talk with you privately ?" He asks and held my arm and guided me away from Jason and his dad.
He gets inside the janitors closet , my back was behind the wall and he was in front of me flaring.
"What were you doing in there!" He shouts .
"I-I needed answers " I murmur shamefully.
"This is too far bella , you're invading my privacy " he says in anger.
"I'm sorry but I wanted to help by understanding your current state more " I say and swallow the lump that was in my throat .
"I told you to let me go , why are you making it worse ?" he disagree.
"I'm sorry I was trying to help" I say weakly.
"You're oblivious to other people's feelings , did you think that I'll love the fact that you were snooping behind my back ?" He admits.
"Snooping?" I say heartbroken.
"I did it for you " I cry pitying myself now.
"I told you not to and you insisted thinking it's the right thing to do , but you can't be always right "
"I told you to let me go .. you never did listen" he blames.
"Focus on yourself . I just told you that my brother is the cause of your father's death and my father is a ruthless guy who just payed money to keep my brother's identity classified so you can't file a lawsuit .. wake up please and stop being idealistic! believing everything is going to be okay if you pushed it away with your someday concept because it won't be okay ! and it will only make you a coward " he finishes .
"What about you huh? You lied ! The doctor said nothing about you forgetting people ! " I shout.
"What's the difference ? You'll be a stranger to me either way , I'll have no memories with you .. you'll just be somebody I know " he says miserable.
I take a breath out and tried to think straight to reply to what he was saying.
" I was only trying to help you , and I don't find what I did a monstrous thing . "
Earning a grief stricken laugh from him.
"Can you see in the far future you and your mom on the same table having dinner with my dad ?" He says patiently.
"If you do please tell me because I can't imagine it happening " he continues.
"Oh and keep in mind I don't know if I'll even remember if it happened "
"Though I can't imagine , but I know what's wrong and what's right .. what can be acceptable and what can't be forgiven " he claims.
" you're an asshole .. " I say with tears in my eyes.
"I should decide what to do regarding your brother and dad , it's my decision to make not yours ! " I argue.
"Why are you taking all the blame !" I ask in frustration.
"And it's my decision to make , regarding my illness .. cant you see how serious this is ? And how your life will be with me ? " he fires back.
"This was all wrong I'm sorry " he says sorrowfully.
I get out and walk away , his father was still standing looking at me like I was some kind of cheap obstacle tossed in front of him.
"With all due respect , enjoy your position while it lasts .. because people like you who think money will solve anything are the ones who will lose everything in the end " I seethe .
"Watch what you're saying young lady or-" I interrupt him saying.
"Or what? "
He stops not knowing what to say.
"A simple apology would be sufficient, we wouldn't have asked for more " I announce and leave before he speaks.
I walk away not knowing where I was going , just walking away from the chaos that was behind me .
I didn't want to be here so I climbed to the rooftops to breathe some fresh air.
I closed my eyes and take deep breaths.