Chapter 3
1113 Words
When I finally pried my eyes open, I was already lying on a stiff hospital bed.
The sharp stench of disinfectant snaked straight into my nose, burning so badly that I could not hold back a coughing fit.
I pressed a hand to my throbbing head, and my mind went completely blank.
I could not remember a single thing that had happened before I blacked out.
A doctor stepped in for his rounds. Seeing me sitting up in bed, he asked, "You're awake? How are you feeling?"
He hurried over to insert an IV needle into my arm and hook me up to a drip.
"I'm not dead yet," I replied, parting my cracked, dry lips to speak.
"Where is your next of kin?" the doctor asked, flipping through my medical chart.
"Dead," I answered, my face completely blank.
The doctor paused for a moment, then turned to look at me.
"Ms. Reed, you are already aware you have amnesia, correct?" he said.
I stared out the window in silence, then nodded irritably.
"I ordered a CT scan while you were unconscious," the doctor continued. "Your condition has progressed. Without treatment, you'll eventually lose all of your memories."
"Oh." I paused for a moment before asking, "How long are we talking?"
The doctor seemed not to expect that response from me. He hesitated for a beat before answering.
"If you give up active treatment, you have a month at most," he said.
"Got it, thanks," I said, closing my eyes and done with talking for now.
Everything in my past was too painful. Forgetting it all might actually be a blessing in disguise.
The doctor heaved a heavy sigh and walked out of the ward.
I rested with my eyes closed, and just as I was drifting off to sleep, I heard a flurry of hurried footsteps outside the door.
The steps were fast and heavy. Even mixed with all the chaotic noise in the hallway, I could clearly tell it was Jasper's walking habit.
The next second, the hospital room door was shoved open hard.
Jasper burst inside, still damp from the rain, fury rolling off him in waves.
He stormed to my bedside and roared right in my face, "Iris! What the hell are you playing at now? Posting that garbage on your social media feed, then vanishing off the face of the earth?"
I dragged my eyes open slowly. I stared at the sweat-soaked strands of hair glued to his forehead, and suddenly, the whole thing felt absurd.
My silence must have gotten under his skin, because his temper flared even hotter, and he started spouting whatever cruel nonsense popped into his head.
"If you are just faking sickness to get my attention, go ahead and drop dead already!" he snapped.
"I did not manage to die. Sorry to disappoint you," I said, my voice soft and flat.
"What?" he froze, like he could not believe what he had just heard.
"I did exactly what you wanted," I repeated myself, and forced a smile onto my face.
His brow furrowed. He stared at my gaunt, exhausted face, pressed his lips into a tight line, and said nothing more.
"Jasper," Clara tugged gently at his arm, faking concern as she said, "Do not be so hard on Ms. Reed. She looks terrible, like she is really hurting."
Her gaze slid away from him and landed straight on the nightstand beside my bed. Sitting there was a crystal bracelet. It was already a little worn around the edges.
"This bracelet is so pretty!" she exclaimed.
That bracelet was from years ago, back when we first got together and we were dead broke.
Jasper ate nothing but plain bread rolls for months on end, working odd jobs every single day just to scrape together enough money to buy it.
It was the first gift he ever gave me.
I had treasured it like it was my whole world. I wore it every single minute of every day.
Even when we screamed at each other during our worst fights, I never once had the heart to smash it.
"Ms. Reed, I really love it," Clara said in a sweet, careful little voice, her eyes blazing with open challenge. "Would you maybe..."
"No," I cut her off flatly.
She jolted like I had just scared her out of her wits, and her hand twitched. It was no accident. The glass of water sitting on the nightstand went tumbling right off the edge.
The glass hit the floor with a smash, shattering into a thousand tiny shards, water splashing everywhere.
Then she twisted her wrist on purpose. Her sleeve caught the crystal bracelet and dragged it right off the table. It landed hard among the broken shards and pooling water.
"Oh my god! I am so sorry! I did not mean to do that!" Clara cried, tears welling in her eyes instantly as she rushed to apologize over and over.
I stared down at the crystal bracelet, cracked clean into several pieces on the floor, then lifted my head to look at Jasper.
He just pressed his lips into a hard line and said nothing.
All the anger I had been bottling up for ages came roaring up through my chest in a hot, blinding rush.
I grabbed the glass of water still sitting on the nightstand, did not even hesitate, and flung the whole thing right in Clara's face.
Clara shrieked.
"It is just a stupid bracelet! Why are you blowing things out of proportion?" Jasper roared, stepping between me and her and pointing a finger right in my face. "I will buy you a brand new one. What is the big deal?"
"I do not want a new one," I said, staring at him blankly, no emotion in my voice at all.
The next second, I ripped the IV needle out of the back of my hand hard. Bright red beads of blood welled up instantly.
I grabbed every single thing I could reach from the bedside: the pillow, the water glass, my medical file. I hurled them one after another at the two of them as hard as I could.
"Get out!" I shouted. "Get the hell out of my room!"
Jasper shielded a trembling Clara, and the two of them stumbled backwards out of the room, all flustered and disheveled.
The second the door clicked shut behind them, all the strength drained out of me and I collapsed back against the hospital bed.
I stared down at my hand, covered in blood and dotted with tiny shards of glass.
I dragged in ragged, heaving breaths, but not a single tear would fall.
- Writer
