Remember me || Patrick Stump

Chapter twenty three

"W-what?" The words escaped my mouth in a whisper. I laughed nervously.
"It's me," I said gesturing to myself.
"Patrick, can I speak to you please?"
Brendon was now pushing himself up from the chair, and walking toward me. What could be so important that he couldn't say infront of anyone else?
Still, I reluctantly followed, waiting impatiently as he firmly shut the door.
"What's going on?" I asked, all hints of happiness had disappeared from my voice. If brendon thought this was some kind of practical joke, then he was fucking stupid.
He lazily ran his hand through his hair, and leaned in a little closer to me. His awkward closeness made me realize the dark circles under his eyes, and the red blotches all over his face. Earlier, I hadn't noticed it, but now, I realized, brendon looked like shit. I'd been too caught up in my own bullshit, that I wasn't aware of His. Brendon had, after all, stayed at the hospital with Annabel all this time. While I was off doing what? Being a coward? Slitting my wrists? But I pushes my thoughts away as brendon started speaking.
"When the accident happened," he continued, "she passed out not from trauma to her body, but to her head.. She hit her head off the ground when she fell and it caused things to get a little mixed up." He stopped and I looked at him cluelessly.
"So..?"
"So, patrick," he said a little annoyed, "she's lost her memory. Amnesia. Can't remember a thing"
For a second I just stood there, not sure of what to say.
"She what?" My voice was raw and broken, but I didn't cry. I wouldn't let Myself cry.
"She's fine patrick... She's not herself. She can't even remember her own family. They visited her the other day, and they couldn't even stay an hour. They left again. But I know you. You and her have a bond. Something special. I just thought maybe if you tried to.."
He wiped a tear away from his eye and I stood there speechless.
"The greenes have asked you to watch over her, help her. She knew you, patrick, and she can't forget that, right?"
Brendon gestured for me to go inside.
What did he think was going to happen? I was going to tell her who I was and we'd live together happily ever after? No. We didn't even stand a chance anymore. The reason we were do special together, the reason we were in love, was because we knew each other. Like nobody else knew us, like nobody else could ever imagine. So how was this to work if she didn't even know my first name?
Brendon sat down on the bed and gestured a hand at me.
He turned to Annabel and began to speak.
"This is patrick. Your b-"
"Best friend."
I interrupted him with out meaning to. I don't know why I did it, but I just knew I couldn't let him say it.
Brendon looked at me, scared, but then simply nodded his head at me. He began to tell Annabel that she would be staying with me at my house, and she just looked at him, glassy eyed and clueless. But as he was done explaining, Annabel squeezed his hand and he quietly said "it'll be okay. Trust me." And she nodded. She trusted him. More, probably, than she trusted me. Hell, she didn't even know me.

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We excited the hospital, and the first thing Annabel said was "I'm cold". I held back a laugh, because I remembered how she always used to complain about being cold. "We could be in the desert and you'd still think it was cold." I'd say. But still, if always hand her my jacket, and se heart it even though it was numerous sizes too big for her. But now, brendon slid off his letter and jacket and handed it to her.
"Thank you." She said, in a voice so small it was almost a whisper.
We rode to her house in silence, with the occasional questions from Annabel .
When we got to the house, she asked, "why would anyone make their house out of glass?"
With out thinking, I answered "you always used to hate that. Said it was too revealing, that you liked to keep things to yourself."
Brendon glared at me, but Annabel have me a weak smile.
Just as I was about to shut the door, he stopped me.
"Try, please? Try to make her remember." I nodded, ybc outraged, shit the door, and locked it.
As I turned around, I saw Annabel just standing there, staring.
"I don't remember it." She said, her voice was scratchy nd broken, and I could tell she was crying.
"I don't remember anything. Not a single thing."
And she turned around and hugged me, her tears leaking through my shirt.
And I hugged her back. But not in the way I used to. I didn't hug her tightly, taking in her smell, running my hands through her hair. I hugged her lightly, worrying that if I squeezed too hard, she might break.
When she let go, I could see the pain in the confusion in her eyes, and all I wanted t do was grab her and kiss her and tell get it would be Okay. But I couldn't, and I nines that.
So instead, I walked to the counter with her, and made her a cup of tea. We sat at the kitchen island for a while in silence.
"How long have we been Friends?" She asked, suddenly.
"Fourteen years" , I said, smiling a little.
"So we were four?"
I nodded.
"So we really are best friends, huh?" She said, and I nodded again.
But we aren't really. We are in love.
Or are we?