I smile at her. “Whoa, what’s all the fuss about? I was only resting, cutie—no need for tears. Though, why did they give me an IV. I must have been sleeping pretty hard for them to do that.”
She and Lily exchange an odd look as Lily sits down on the other side of the bed. Lily hesitates before saying, “Eli… you’ve been unconscious for two weeks.”
“What are you talking about? I just got here…. They were about to release me.” They must be trying to pull one over on me.
“Eli, you’ve been in a coma. We’ve all been scared out of our minds with no clue when you’d wake up,” Lily answers while Cici continues shedding tears next to me.
I laugh. “This is a joke, right? Did Sebastian put you up to it to try and scare me out of racing?”
The doctor walks in then, halting the conversation. After greeting everyone, he runs through some routine checks, then reviews a file, reciting the results of the last scans they did when I was apparentlyunconscious.
Sebastian enters hurriedly, like he ran to get here, and is more ruffled than I’ve seen him in ages, probably playing along with the ruse.
I smirk and address the doctor. “So these guys are trying to tell me I’ve been here for two weeks. Supposedly in a coma. You must be in on this too?” I chuckle.
“I wish that were the case, but sadly, they’re telling you the truth. How about you tell me the last thing you remember,” the doctor suggests.
Hold up. I couldn’t seriously have been out cold for two weeks, could I?
“My car was clipped, spun out of control, and I was admitted for a concussion. Sebastian left while I was waiting to be released after biting my head off.” I scoff at Sebastian, who stands next to the doctor at the end of the bed. “Cici was on her way to take me home. That’s when I closed my eyes to rest and must have passed out.” Maybe it wasn’t a simple concussion after all.
“What day was it?” Sebastian asks suspiciously.
“Damn, our birthday. I guess I missed the party, huh?” Sebastian’s really gonna read me the riot act now.
Instead, his eyes go wide, while Cici and Lily gasp on either side of me, looking at each other in shock. The doctor flips a few pages, seems to find what he’s looking for, and is about to speak when a woman rushes into the room.
“Oh my God, Eli, you’re awake,” she exclaims, rushing toward me and practically shoving Lily out of the way to take her place. She leans down to hug me, and I’m too shocked to push her off. I recognize her from Cici’s office and the one time at the club.
“Does someone want to tell me what the fuck is going on?” I yell, frustrated at waking to a clusterfuck and a woman who I barely know throwing herself at me.
The woman, who I remember as Rebecca, leaps back abruptly and stares at me in shock.
“I’d like everyone to leave the room but the patient and Mr. Dubree so we can discuss the prognosis,” the doctor interrupts sternly.
Lily hugs Sebastian while whispering something in his ear and then comes around to the side of the bed where Cici sits. “I’m so glad you’re awake, Eli. We’ll be back in soon.” Cici rises behind her and starts walking to the door when something catches my eye.
“Wait! Cici, turn around,” I demand, causing everyone to freeze.
Time slows as she pivots, and I see the full picture of a very pregnant Cici.
“What the fuck? Someone better start speaking. I thought you said I was only out for two weeks. That doesn’t happen in two weeks. What the hell is going on?”
The doctor intervenes. “Again, I’m going to ask you all to leave so I can have a moment with the Dubree brothers.”
I’m closing my eyes tightly, trying to remember how the fuck Cici is having a baby, when another vision comes to mind. Not Cici but Rebecca informing me that she’s pregnant. My eyes pop open, and I point to Rebecca accusingly. “Hold up. Why would I rememberyoutelling me you’re pregnant? None of this makes sense.” I shake my head, trying to clear the fog.
“Brenda, please escort Eli’s guests to the waiting room. I’ll be out shortly to speak with everyone. Thank you,” the doctor instructs the nurse who entered the room since he’s been ignored so far.
When the door shuts, I shout, “Mind telling me what the hell is going on? If this is some kind of joke, I’m fucking over it.” I’m getting angrier by the second.
“Eli, the best thing you can do is calm down. This probably feels overwhelming, but it’s better for a full recovery to stay calm. You said it was your birthday the last you remember, correct?” the doctor asks.
“Yeah. So what’s the deal? Have I been out for longer than two weeks?”
“No, what you’re experiencing is called retrograde amnesia. Your birthday was eight months ago, and since you were admitted for a concussion that day, it makes sense that your mind went back to that moment. Memory loss varies per case, as does recovery time. Your memories could come back to you at any moment between now and months from now. They may come back all at once or in pieces. The most important thing you can do is take it easy and not overwhelm yourself with facts and details. Don’t try to force it, as your memory should naturally come back on its own when your brain is ready. There are rare cases where it doesn’t return, but that would be irregular with your age and overall health.”
“You’re telling me I’m missing everything from the last eight months of my life?”
