Harry Who? Book One (Completed)

Harry Who? Part 2

"Harry who?" She asked and looked over my face carefully, and I felt like I'd been shot. I wanted to hold her in my arms, tell her everything would be okay. I touched her hand and tried to hold it, but she pulled away. I blinked away a few tears and tried to be strong for her, even if she didn't know who I was.

"One year ago, I came into your bookstore because I was lonely," I looked into her eyes for some kind of recognition. "You gave me 'Anne of Green Gables' to read, except this version had-"

"Vampires," she said quietly, remembering our inside joke.

My heart fluttered as if were beating for the first time, and warmth spread through veins. The paramedic looked confused, but I ignored her and smiled, wiping a tear off my cheek. "Yes, vampires. You said Gilbert Blythe turned her, but I never read that far in the book."

She smiled, and I could see the damaged cogs in her brain trying to function and piece the puzzle back together. "You're the cute boy with the long hair and the dimple."

"Yes," I laughed, so relieved that she remembered. "Yes I am."

"But your hair?" She asked, realizing it was short.

"I had to cut it, you were there," my smile started to fade.

"Mr. Styles, I'm sorry, but I think she needs to rest," the paramedic said, and I leaned back, Ellie's confused eyes following me. We arrived at the hospital a moment later and she was wheeled out of the ambulance. I tried to follow, but they instructed me to go to the waiting room and contact her family.

First, Gemma and mum arrived, and by that evening Scott and her parents had joined us. It seemed like hours before the doctor had any news. No broken bones, but she had, as the paramedic suggested, suffered a concussion. He said it was made worse by the fact she had not waited for her previous concussion to heal completely before playing hockey again.

Her parents shook their heads, and Scott said something like, "I knew she wasn't ready."

"She had another concussion?" I asked Scott.

"She didn't tell you? It was a few weeks ago, and it was very minor. She'd bumped her head at practice and took a few games off. She came back a week later and said she felt fine, but I thought she was rushing it." He explained. "You know how stubborn Ellie can be..." he kind of smiled, but I could tell he felt guilty for not insisting she take more time to heal.

But it wasn't his fault; if anyone is to blame, it's me. I bet she didn't tell me she was hurt because she didn't want me to worry. The last time I saw her, she said she had been going to the gym more, really pushing herself, because she had 'more free time', as she put it. Free time, meaning I wasn't around to keep her company. Perhaps I was just spiraling now, but I pictured her sitting at home, doing nothing as she waited for that first concussion to heal. Perhaps she really did feel better, or maybe she was impatient to get back to practice because she couldn't stand being at home, alone, doing nothing.

Mum and Gemma sat with me in the waiting room a while longer, until it was nearly midnight. Scott came out to tell us Ellie was resting, and we should get some rest. He said the doctor was keeping her overnight for observation, and possibly longer, and he would have a better idea of the scope of her memory loss after more tests.

If she couldn't remember who I was, I might as well go home to sleep. Mum and Gem were already falling asleep by the time we got back to my apartment. I sat in my room, which smelled like Ellie, and stared at the ceiling wondering what the fuck I was going to do.

I'd barely slept, and the next morning Gemma insisted we get breakfast together. I told her what had happened in the ambulance, how Ellie didn't remember who I was at first, then she didn't know why I had short hair. "What am I going to do if she doesn't remember everything?" I asked her.