“That may be true, too, but it was at my hands.”
“We’ve been down this road, Deuce, and we’re not going back. The only thing that you need to focus on now is helping that woman get her life back.”
“What life, Frost? I snatched that right out of her hands.”
“And yet, that’s why she needs you—to help her build a new life. No one knows what that looks like except for her, but you’re a key component in helping make that happen. If what her friend said is true, she has no one but you and that young lady to help her. Besides, I did some digging and found out that Waverleigh Collins is engaged. She’s about to have her hands full the next year with wedding planning. Sounds like the only person that this Sevyn chick has in her corner is you.”
“Her friend is a good girl. She wouldn’t leave her high and dry like that.” I walked away from Sevyn’s room and headedtoward the double doors where the waiting room for this floor was at.
“I’m sure that she won’t. People have great intentions, Deuce. Life happens, and if she’s about to get married, she will be pulled in two different directions. I don’t know about most men, but I know me and how I am about Wynter. You’re a lot like me, little cuz. We’re not about to let anything in our women’s lives be more important than we are. I’m sure her fiancé will be supportive of her role in her best friend’s healing, but I doubt he’s trying to put his life on hold either. Besides, you said she's running in and out of town trying to take care of her mama. She doesn’t have a lot of time on her hands.”
“What’s your point?”
“Buckle in. You’ve got some soul-searching to do. That woman needs you.”
“That’s what I’m afraid of.” I peered into the window of the doors that led back to the patient rooms. Seeing no one leave her room, I turned around and faced the other way again.
“What?”
“Getting in too deep. Catching feelings for her. I was walking a very fine line with Lena. You know that I don’t believe in adultery.”
“Neither do I, but your circumstances are different.”
“Yeah, I know, but it still doesn’t make it right. If anyone had found out about Lena and me, we could have been kicked off the force, definitely separated. Not only were we committing adultery and sneaking around behind our lieutenant’s back, but we were having a child.”
“Sounds like you’ve got regrets, son.”
“No regrets. I could never regret my child, and I didn’t regret the woman I loved. She loved me with everything she had, and she risked her life for that love.” I turned back and stared through the window again.
“Now it’s time for you to figure out what’s next, Deuce. I can’t even imagine what you’re feeling, but you can’t even mourn the woman you love openly. You’ve got some things to figure out is all I’m saying, and maybe Sevyn is the key to that.”
“Yeah, well, maybe she is and maybe she isn’t. Problem is I tend to care too deeply. I don't have room in my heart for anyone else at this point. I’ve got a few things to figure out along the road. Not just what to do about Sevyn, but other things as well.” I peered through the door again and saw Doctors Kim and Davenport conferring outside of her room.
“You do that. But don’t drag yourself over the coals, Deuce. We’re all human. You’re not infallible. We’re flawed, and the reality of that is we’re gonna fuck up.”
“Yeah, I know. Listen, I gotta go.”
“A’ight. Hit me up if you need me, kid.”
I ended the call and rushed back down the hall as the doctors were parting. “Is everything okay?” I asked, approaching Dr. Kim.
“She’s going to be fine. We will have to take things slow, and everyone will need to exercise some patience with her, but I predict that she’s going to be fine in the long run. I’m going to order some tests now so that I can see what we’re dealing with. I don’t like jumping the gun, but it’s looking like dissociative amnesia.”
“What’s that?”
“In simple terms, she cannot recall important personal information. There are gaps in her memory that I believe were created to block the trauma of losing her husband and grandmother on the same day.”
“She doesn’t remember that?”
“I’m afraid not, nor the accident that led her here. We told her the first time we pulled her out, but her reaction didn't gowell. It endangered her health and recovery, which is why we placed her back in a coma. She doesn't recall any of that.”
“Should we tell her?”
“No. I don’t want to force the memories on her. That’s why I mentioned that we would have to be patient. We will allow her to retrieve her memories through a natural process, though we may guide her. But forcing memories upon her could be as traumatic as the accident itself.”
“Okay, thank you.”
“And she doesn’t recall who you are either. Just make sure that as you familiarize her with you, make sure that it’s not traumatizing, too blunt, or too much at one time. Go slow.”
