Remind Me

Chapter Fifty-Three

Two weeks in the hospital fly by all at once. It's a blur of visitors and get-well's, sometimes from complete strangers. I have a table full of cards, chocolates, balloons, animals, all sorts of things.

Parker, Drake, Ben, Phill, and Jake all came to visit me. I was glad to see them all since I know now that none of them were trying to brutally murder me. They all told me how sorry they were about Ian. They said that they had no idea about his motives.

Owen never leaves my side. Clarin was right. He doesn't go home anytime. He sits in that chair. Sometimes lays next to me in my hospital bed. Sometimes he sits right at the edge of the bed. But he never goes away. He stays right with me every single day of those two weeks.

With all my free time, which there's a lot of, I tell Owen all my stories I've recently discovered that I remember.

I tell him about us as kids, about those awkward teenage years, about any little moments I can find. It makes him happy. I don't know if that's because the memories are coming from my mouth and from my head, or if it's because he remembers the same ones. It makes me happy as well. I will never ignore the advantage of my full memory again.

Joey's been here every day too. He has the amazing ability to lift my mood in this depressing hospital by just walking through that door. He and Owen have their usual pointless arguments and it makes me happy that things are normal between them.

"You're free to leave," Dr. West says, smiling happily at me. "We've been so pleased to have you."

And then we're on our way back to Owen's parents' house. It's dark outside, almost a violety black color. I am so glad that my eyes are functioning enough for me to appreciate the colors.

I had never been to the Michaels' before the accident, but I can recall Owen telling me all sorts of stories about his time there as a kid. All the days his dad taught him to swim in the ocean. When he kicked a hole in the kitchen wall trying to do a cartwheel. His painted shell collection.

Owen helps me out of the car and then shuts the door before Joey can exit.

"Hey!" Joey yells through the closed car door. "You open this right now!"

Owen crosses his arms with an amused look on his face. "Why don't you open it?"

"I'm trying!" Joey lets out a grunt, yanking on the handle with all his might. "What did you do to this?"

"I don't know," Owen shrugs. "I mean, you're acting a little childish if I do say so myself.

"You don't-" Understanding crosses over Joey's face. "This door is child locked isn't it?"

Owen shrugs again.

Joey switches his focus to me now. "Please open this door for me, B! Best friend! Please!"

I tap my chin with my pointer finger. "Hm. Let me think about that for a few minutes..."

"But in a few minutes I'll be dead! There's limited air supply!" Joey exclaims dramatically.

"Really?" Owen looks at me with a grin on his face and I know he's noticing the same thing I am. "Because I think you're getting plenty of fresh air right now."

"What? No! Really, open this door right now-"

"Joey, you idiot, look behind you," I roll my eyes.

He does so, finding the other door across from his hanging wide open. Clarin left it like that for him and he didn't even notice. Brilliant. Once he's climbed out of it, using a plethora of colorful vocabulary, he punches Owen's shoulder.