Almost yours

The first thing I heard when I opened my eyes was the annoying beep of a machine. Beep. Beep. Beep. For a few seconds, I just stared at the white ceiling above me. My head felt heavy. My left arm hurt, and there was something uncomfortable attached to my hand. Then everything came back to me. The rain. The road. The sudden headlights. The sound of brakes. And then… nothing. I slowly turned my head to the side. Hospital. Of course. Great. Just great. I tried to move, but pain shot through my shoulder. “Ah…” A nurse immediately walked toward me. “You’re awake.” She sounded relieved. I blinked at her. “How long was I out?” “Almost a day.” A day? I frowned. Before I could ask anything else, the door suddenly opened. And there he was. My boyfriend. He almost ran inside. Behind him was my best friend. The moment I saw both of them, I felt a strange sense of relief. Maybe getting into an accident really changes your priorities, because seeing my boyfriend’s stupid face had never made me this happy before. He stopped beside my bed. “God, you scared me.” He grabbed my hand. “You have any idea what I went through?” I stared at him. His hair was messy. His shirt was wrinkled. He actually looked worried. For one second, my heart softened. Aww. Look at him. Maybe he really does love me. My best friend stood beside him with tears in her eyes. “I thought you were going to die.” “Wow,” I whispered. “Such positive thinking.” She laughed through her tears. That was when an idea came into my head. A stupid idea. A very stupid idea. And I blame the painkillers. I slowly pulled my hand away from my boyfriend and stared at him with a blank expression. He frowned. “What?” I looked at my best friend. Then back at him. And asked calmly, “Who are you?” Silence. Absolute silence. My best friend’s mouth fell open. My boyfriend froze. Even the nurse looked at me. I had to bite the inside of my cheek to stop myself from laughing. Oh my God. Their faces. This was already worth it. “What?” my boyfriend asked. I blinked innocently. “Who are you?” His face went pale. My best friend immediately leaned toward me. “You don’t remember him?” I slowly shook my head. “No.” Inside, I was screaming. Of course I remembered him. Unfortunately. I had been dating this i***t for almost three years. There was no way I could forget him just because a car hit me. Okay, maybe technically there was a way. But it didn’t happen. I was fine. Mostly. I just wanted to scare him for a few minutes. That was it. A tiny prank. I wanted to see how worried he would get. Maybe he would hold my hand and say something dramatic like, “I’m your boyfriend. I love you. You have to remember me.” Then I would laugh. He would probably get angry. My best friend would hit me with a pillow. End of prank. Simple. At least, that was the plan. The nurse stepped closer. “You remember your name?” I looked at her. “Of course. Why wouldn’t I?” Everyone relaxed a little. “What about your parents?” “Yes.” “Your college?” “Yes.” My boyfriend frowned harder. “So you remember everything except me?” I looked at him seriously. “I’m sorry. Should I remember you?” His expression changed. Not fear. Not sadness. Something else. Something I couldn’t understand. He looked at my best friend. And she looked back at him. It lasted less than two seconds. But I noticed it. That look. Why are you two looking at each other? My amusement faded a little. Then my boyfriend slowly let go of my hand. “No,” he said. I stared at him. No? He forced a smile. “You don’t really need to remember me.” I almost broke character. Excuse me? My best friend looked surprised too. “What are you saying?” He glanced at her again. Then he looked at me. “I’m just… your boyfriend’s friend.” For a moment, I honestly thought I had heard him wrong. My boyfriend’s friend? I looked at him. Then at the ceiling. Then back at him. Maybe the accident damaged my ears. “I’m sorry?” I asked. He cleared his throat. “I said I’m your boyfriend’s friend.” My fingers tightened around the hospital blanket. The prank was no longer funny. Not even a little. I searched his face for some sign that he was joking. Nothing. He looked completely serious. My best friend stared at him too. I could tell even she hadn’t expected that answer. Then something changed in her expression. Just for a second. And suddenly I felt uneasy. Fine. Maybe he was trying to prank me back. That had to be it. Good one. Very funny. Let’s see where this goes. I tilted my head. “Then where is my boyfriend?” My boyfriend opened his mouth. Then stopped. He looked toward the door. “Actually…” Actually? I narrowed my eyes. He was thinking. Making something up. Right in front of me. My best friend shifted beside him. I looked at her. “What about you?” She blinked. “What about me?” “Who are you?” Her face immediately changed. That was cruel. But I was already committed. She pressed a hand to her chest. “I’m your best friend.” I smiled weakly. “Oh.” She looked genuinely hurt. For a second I almost felt bad. Almost. Then I saw my boyfriend look at her again. That same strange look. My stomach tightened. What exactly is going on here? The nurse finally spoke. “Memory loss can sometimes be selective after trauma. But we shouldn’t assume anything yet. The doctor will examine her again.” My boyfriend nodded quickly. “Right.” Too quickly. I watched him. He didn’t look worried anymore. He looked… Relieved. Why would he be relieved? The nurse left the room. My best friend sat beside me. “You really don’t remember us?” I shook my head. “No.” She squeezed my hand. “It’s okay. Don’t force yourself.” I stared at her face. She looked concerned. Normal. Like always. So why did something suddenly feel wrong? My boyfriend stepped away from the bed. “I’ll make a call.” “To my boyfriend?” I asked. He stopped. His back stiffened. I almost smiled. Got you. He slowly turned. “Yeah.” “Tell him to come quickly.” He gave a strange laugh. “Sure.” Then he walked out. I watched the door close behind him. The moment he disappeared, I looked at my best friend. She was staring at the door too. Not at me. At him. Interesting. Very interesting. I wanted to sit up, but my shoulder protested. She immediately helped me. “Careful.” “Thanks.” “You should rest.” I nodded. But my mind was no longer tired. It was wide awake. My prank was supposed to last five minutes. Maybe ten. Instead, my boyfriend had just looked me in the eyes and denied our entire relationship. Why? There were only two possibilities. One, he was planning some stupid revenge prank. Two… No. I refused to think about the second possibility. Not yet. I forced myself to relax. Fine. If he wanted to play, I could play too. I wasn’t going to tell him the truth now. Not until I understood what he was doing. My best friend’s phone suddenly vibrated. She looked at the screen. And for the first time since she came into the room, she looked nervous. She quickly turned the phone over. Too quickly. “What happened?” I asked. “Nothing.” “Who was it?” “No one important.” I stared at her. She smiled. I smiled back. Inside, something cold settled in my chest. Maybe the accident hadn’t changed anything. Maybe it had simply made me notice things I had ignored before. A few minutes later, the door opened again. My boyfriend walked inside. But this time, he wasn’t alone. Someone stood behind him. A tall guy in a black shirt. Broad shoulders. Cold expression. And eyes that looked like they were already annoyed just by seeing me alive. I knew him. Of course I knew him. Everyone did. My boyfriend’s best friend. The one person who had never liked me. Not once. We had argued at birthdays. At parties. At college events. Even once over a parking space. He always acted like my existence personally offended him. I stared at him. He stared back. His expression changed the moment he saw the bandage on my head. Only for a second. Something sharp flashed in his eyes. Concern? No way. Impossible. Then his face went blank again. My boyfriend walked closer to the bed. I looked at him innocently. “So?” He hesitated. Then pointed toward his best friend. “This is your boyfriend.” For the second time that day, I forgot how to breathe. His best friend’s head snapped toward him. “What?” My best friend froze. And I just stared. First at my actual boyfriend. Then at the man he had just called my boyfriend. The man who supposedly couldn’t stand me. For one wild second, I almost laughed. This had to be the worst joke in human history. But then I saw my boyfriend’s face. He wasn’t joking. He was serious. Completely serious. And that was the moment my little prank ended. Not out loud. Not for them. Only inside my head. I slowly looked at the man beside him. He looked furious. Confused. And strangely tense. Then I turned back to my boyfriend. My real boyfriend. The man I had trusted for three years. He had just handed me over to his best friend like our relationship meant nothing. Fine. If this was the game he wanted to play… I would play. And this time, I wouldn’t stop after five minutes. I gave them my sweetest smile. Then I looked at my new “boyfriend.” “Oh.” I paused. “Then why are you standing so far away?” His eyes widened. My actual boyfriend almost choked. And for the first time since waking up in that hospital bed, I knew one thing for sure. Someone in this room was lying. Maybe more than one person. And I was going to find out exactly how far they were willing to take it.