The Hatred of a Killer

2

I wake up to a bright and blinding light. I can't see at first but when my eyes adjust, there's three people sleeping in chairs in front of me. I see Andrew, Mark and Emma.

Emma?

'How do I know her?' I ask myself, struggling to remember. I see her smile when she notices I'm awake, quickly shaking the boys who are asleep in chairs next to her. Emma wasn't asleep though. Emma had been watching me.

That's when I noticed where I was. I looked around to find myself in a hospital bed. Before I could even think about how I might have wound up here. Mark and Andrew quickly bounced up to their feet.

"Oh my god! Jessie!" Andrew exclaimed, quickly running over to wrap me in a hug. Mark got up and did the same as Emma watched smiling in her chair.

"How are you feeling?" Mark asks.

"Fine." I shrug. "Just have a bit of a headache."

"Do you remember anything?" Mark asks me.

I try, but I come up empty. I remember nothing. At least not at first. But suddenly my headache grows worse and with it, comes a flood of half baked memories.

I remember sitting at the bar with Emma, laughing. She's telling me a story about a job interview she had. I remember I was supposed to be getting drinks for Mark and Andrew but I had gotten distracted and had little interest in following through. But then...nothing. Just black. No other dots to connect.

I watch as Emma stands up finally and moves to stand next to my bed.

"You probably don't know who I am." Emma starts. "But we met at the bar at Club Freako. You had a seizure tonight."

I feel my heart drop. My face turns bright red.

"What? A seizure?"

"Don't worry." Mark cuts in. "Emma was there to help you. She knew exactly what to do bringing you down to the ground and protecting your head. The doctor said had she not been there it could have resulted in a bad head injury but she really helped. Even found the two of us somehow."

I look to Emma and notice she seems shy in her moment of praise.

"Thank you." I whisper.

Emma look up and our eyes meet. There's something inside of her that I try to read but I can't quite seem to understand. It's like she has some sort of a secret message for me but I can't quite crack the code to where it's hidden. I search and I search but I can't find it and the silence has dragged on too long. Thankfully she notices too and breaks the quiet.

"It was no problem; really. I felt we were starting to become friends and well, I didn't want a new friend to get hurt."

"Still. You found Mark and Andrew. You came to the hospital. You even waited here until I woke up. You must let me repay you somehow. Please."

"I'm afraid I can't let you do that. At least not with anything monetary. However, I do want you to have my number. If you really are so desperate to make it up to me, the only thing I ask is that you take me to the waterfall you were telling me about at the bar. I'm sure you don't remember but you said it was the best view in town and well, I think I'd really like to see it."

I'm surprised by her request. We must have really bonded for me to have even brought up the waterfall. It's one of my secret spots and Mark and Andrew are the only two people I've ever taken there to see it. Either way I like the idea. If this is the only way Emma will let me repay her for possibly saving my life, it will have to do. Besides, I'm now very interested in the possibility of spending more time with her.

I smile and nod my head.

"You have a deal, Emma."

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10 Months Later
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"So," Paula asks, "what did the doctor say caused the seizure?"

"They thought it might be some kind of weird interaction between some medications I was on at the time. I talked with a neurologist and a psychiatrist and was able to switch up what I would take going forward. Got some new drugs known not to have any issues mixing. It was actually the first seizure I've ever had in my life. The neurologist said I didn't have to worry about chronic epilepsy or anything yet. Said everyone pretty much gets a free pass on their first seizure but if it happened again to come back and do a full work up. She offered me the option of doing an MRI of my head but I'm not sure why, I just never really got around to it."

"Why?"

"I'm not sure." I shrugged. "I was in denial I guess. I knew there was a chance it wasn't the meds I was on but I didn't want to do the full work up. Besides, it's much easier to ignore a problem if you can't remember it."

"I understand." Paula agrees. "Ignorance is bliss."

"Yeah." I nod. "Until it stabs you in the back."

There's a pause. Paula is thinking. It's like she knows her next question for me but isn't quite sure if she should ask it.

"What about Emma? Did you ever take her to the waterfall? I'm impressed she stayed at your bedside until you woke up."

"I did." I smile.

Memories flood my mind of that afternoon. I remember the sun shining a warm glow down on my face. The fresh smells of the grass and the wildflowers. And the way Emma's hair blew gently in the wind.

"And how was that?" Paula asks me.

"Good." I reply. "It was really good."