“I loved you. Took a huge chance on you. I’d have given you everything, and you shit on me because my opinion and feelings didn’t count. Well, now you don’t matter. Stay the fuck away.”
“Allegra, I’ll contact lawyers. If there’s a kid, I’ve got rights. Selfishly keeping them from me isn’t right or fair. My lawyer will be in touch,” he spat back.
I stared. “If there were a child, you’d abandon it like me.”
“You can’t believe that!” Shotgun yelled.
“Why not? You’ve proved Hellfire, and strangers come before your family. Nothing I just said made the slightest difference. God, you’re a total cunt.”
On that note, I climbed into the car and sped off. Fuck Shotgun, fuck everyone. I’d be booking the earliest flight out.
???
The first sound I became aware of was beeps. Steady, short ones, a monitor of some kind. My head felt heavy and woolly, and I raised a hand and found a bandage on it. Did that mean I’d had an accident? The next thing was the chilled air, not cold but not warm. There was murmuring nearby, as if people didn’t wish to disturb me.
Wincing, I forced my eyes open and blinked into the dim light. Even that hurt.
Um, interesting, I was in a hospital room; I recognised that much. A woman in a white coat and an older man dressed in jeans and a button-down stood at the end of my bed talking.
“Hey,” I croaked and tried licking my lips. God, my mouth was so dry.
“Honey, you’re awake!” the guy cried, moving towards me.
I flinched away. Who was he?
The lady reached out and stopped him.
“Hi there. I’m Doctor Rose. How are you feeling?”
“Confused, dizzy, muzzy-headed. Did something happen?”
“You were in a car accident. You had a serious head injury and were placed in a medically induced coma for two days.”
“Don’t remember.”
“That’s not unusual. Don’t force the memory,” Dr Rose said. The guy handed me a glass of water, and I sipped carefully.
“Are you another doctor?” I asked. He didn’t look like one and wasn’t wearing a coat. Shocked, he reared back.
“It’s me, Gramps,” he exclaimed.
“Who?”
Dr Rose looked concerned. “What’s your name?”
I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. Where my name should have been was a blank space.
“No!” I cried as panic built. I racked my brains further. There was nothing: no name, address, age, or any sense of who I was.
“Allegra!” the man called as darkness encroached.
I happily fled back into it.
???
“So, you’re my brother?” I asked a day later.
Thatcher looked pained. “Yes. Don’t you remember anything? None of us?” Thatch sounded incredulous.
