The Dumped Club

1- Memory

I slept under a demon's blanket for a days. Twenty-four hours of no light, no stars, no hope; only oblivion. It was on the second day that light tore itself across the canvas of blackness and I felt my heavy eyelids lift. The antiseptic smell hit me and I groaned at the extreme volume of all colours and sound. I must've been under the curse of oblivion for a long time because everything felt foreign and I felt vulnerable just being there, with barely any idea how to function. I was numb of all feeling and thought.

"MUM! She's awake!"

I willed my head to move to the side, staring at the girl sitting next to me. Her hair was all shades of blonde, her eyes a brilliant green and her chin was pointed. Only a second later did I realise that it was my older sister and I wanted to mentally slap myself.

"Amy? What am I doing here? What happened?"

I flinched at the sound of my own voice. My sister's chin wobbled and the bandage of her cheek stretched. I was starting to get more worried. I had gone to bed in my house. I had been preparing for my second maths paper and talking to my friends. Why was I suddenly in hospital?

"Oh Hopie, you don't know how difficult the past two days have been. We were returning back from Dad's and this drunk bloke hit our car. Mum broke her arm, Martin only sprained his ankle and I've got a few cuts and bruises. You were knocked out for a whole day and we were going out of our minds!"

The door creaked open and all of a sudden, familiar faces entered the room. I stayed still, observing everyone because I had no idea what else to do. I was slowly recalling names when a woman rushed to hug me. Her left arm was in a sling and she looked slightly shabby; her makeup had dried on her face and her blonde hair was scraped in a topknot. But the smell was still the same. Mum.

I wrapped my arms around her as her shoulders shook and she later let me go. A man in his early forties had a small, blonde boy on his shoulders. I felt my lips quirk into a small smile, probably a grimace, and the man set down my brother on my bed.

"How are you doing Martin?" I stroked his uninjured leg, trying to not cringe at the sound of my voice.

As for the man, I didn't recognise him. He wasn't my dad; his hair was fair instead of brown and his hazel eyes were not the blue ones I inherited from my father. He smiled at me and I tried smiling back but my lips hurt. We had a few minutes of silence before everyone left the room when two nurses entered.

"Hope Febland?" they asked. "Good morning. Take it easy; you had a big hit and you'll later see the therapist that will conclude the diagnosis you need. We suspect it's Retrograde amnesia."

"How much memory have I lost? When will I regain it?"

"About four months to half a year. However, if you really focus on therapy, we can help you remember in a matter of weeks."

I closed my eyes so I could absorb the information without having my first meltdown since the accident. An average of five months' worth of memories. Gone. Wiped. Nowhere to be seen until I search for them.

The door clicked once again and Amy entered. She held my hand for a few seconds before she opened her mouth.

"Listen, I've never been the motivator but I know that you'll get through this. Once you leave this hospital room, you are probably going to have a handful of meltdowns and the such but you've got to put in the work in order to be back up."

"Thanks," I croaked, squeezing her hand for a single second before relaxing. "Can you tell me the date? I feel like I've woken up at the end of Year 8 and it doesn't look too sunny outside."

It was pouring with rain, nothing like the sunny June day that I left.

"The 28th December. You'll be fourteen in a few days!" she tried to sound enthusiastic. "The doctor said you can go home tomorrow and you'll probably be able to meet Alice, Savannah and Jarrett before school starts. I've sent them all a text to tell them about what happened. Now go back to sleep!"