Her eyes flitted up as she heard the sound of someone's voice.
“She's sleeping right now, I believe. You can come back later, if you want. Let me check on her before you go.”
[/i]
She heard the echoing of small heels as the woman walked toward her room, cracking open the door.
“Renée?”[/color]
Inhaling and closing her eyes, she let out a small sigh of relief.
Renée. It was nice to hear her name. She relished the feeling for a second or two, then remembered to speak.
“Yes?”[/color]
Her voice trembled as she replied, though it was clear.
“You have a visitor.”[/color]
“Who?”[/color]
“He says his name is Max . . . ?”[/color]
“Uh . . . let him in, I guess.”[/color]
“Alright.”[/color]
More footsteps and echoing came from the heels, then the creaking of a door opening and the gentle click of its close shattered the silence in the room.
“She says to go in. Visiting hours end at eight, so try to be done talking by then.”[/color]
“What time is it now?”[/color]
“Seven fifteen.”[/color]
“Okay. Thank you.”[/color][/i]
The footsteps that followed were slightly heavier, much less stable, and somewhat clumsy.
“Hey, Renée.”[/color]
“Hello . . . . Max.”[/color]
He blinked and she noticed something pass through his eyes.
“What?”[/color] She asked, trying to avoid letting any emotions show in her voice. She had no
idea who he was. Renée didn't even think she'd seen him before in her life.
“You always used to call me Maxwell,”[/color] he said, his voice quiet and his face low.
“But . . . I understand. The nurses explained your condition to me.”[/color]
“Condition? What condition?”[/color]
He looked up, and this time the pain was clear in his expression.
“You were in a car accident,”[/color] he murmured.
“You were alone in the car, driving through the rain two nights ago. They say you drove off the docks and into the water and had almost both frozen to death and run out of air by the time they found you and got you out.”[/color]
She's noticed his voice break an unbelievable number of times, as if he were about to cry. Something inside her told her that he really was.
“Wh-why don't I remember it?”[/color]
“I'm not sure exactly what happened, but I think your brain started to shut down and the part managing your memory made you forget mostly everything. And everyone,”[/color] he added, hardly even whispering.
“. . . What about . . . what about Jake? Is he okay?”[/color]
Maxwell's eyes flicked to hers. The green colour seemed familiar, though strange at the same time; part of her wanted to scream that she knew them, but she
didn't.
“Jake's . . . yeah. He wasn't hurt in the accident.”[/color]
Although Renée could tell that Maxwell was hiding something, she kept quiet. She didn't know the depth of his pain, but she knew that it had to be pretty bad. The way he acted . . . parts of it conveyed the type of person who had just had an extremely close friend end their friendship because they randomly decided they didn't like the person anymore. She didn't remember how close she and Maxwell had been, clearly, but the loss looked like it was hard for him.
“So . . .”[/color] he said.
“So,”[/color] Renée repeated, looking at him.
Again, he looked at her, but she could see the trace of a smile on his face. She blinked in confusion, then shrugged it off and looked at her knees.
“. . . Wait a second. Why am I still in normal clothes? Shouldn't I be in a gown thing?”[/color]
“When the nurses first brought you in . . . Well, I don't know everything that happened. But. You were screaming at them not to touch you and you hit one of them – he's fine,”[/color] Maxwell added, at Renée's look of terror.
“So even after you finally lost consciousness, they said they would run a few tests with you wearing a change of clothes that your mom brought. I think it had something to do with you being as comfortable as possible, but I'm not sure.”[/color]
She curled up, pulling her arms around her legs and holding them close to her torso while wincing in pain.
“What's the date?”[/color] Renée asked suddenly.
“Uh . . . January ninth, I think. Why?”[/color]
“Oh, thank God. I was worried I'd missed Jake's birthday. It's the sixteenth,”[/color] she added, noticing the expression on his face and misinterpreting it.
Maxwell blinked a few times, then his face fell to nothing but a blank stare.
“What is it?”[/color] Her voice was gentle, but it was hard to be anything but that with someone she didn't know. Their eyes met and again she felt that she knew them.
Where do I remember you from? She thought, trying to hide the frustration she felt.
“Nothing, Ashley-- I-I mean, Renée.”[/color]
He looked apologetic, averting his eyes and shuffling his feet.
“D-do you want me to go?”[/color]
“No, please don't.”[/color] Her response was instantaneous, flat, and had an air of panic.
Maxwell looked surprised by her small outburst, but he nodded.
“Okay. I have to leave at eight, though.”[/color]
“What? Why?”[/color]
“Visiting hours only go til eight.”[/color]
“But . . . if I want you to stay, can you?”[/color]
“It's time for your next dose of medicine, Renée,”[/color] said a voice from the door.
Renée jumped, but turned toward the door.
“Have I been taking medicine?”[/color] She asked, tilting her head slightly.
“I don't remember taking any before . . .”[/color]
“It's not by mouth,”[/color] the nurse replied, walking up to her. Renée recognised her voice as the one who had let Maxwell in.
Renée let her legs fall back to a straighter position, though her knees and toes still angled toward each other.
“What's it by, then?”[/color]
“Needle.”[/color]
She froze, then suddenly got to her feet and pushed up against the corner.
“Don't you dare bring that fucking needle any closer to me,”[/color] she hissed, taking a defensive stance. Maxwell backed away from her, staring at her wild eyes in shock.
“Oh, you'll be fine,”[/color] the nurse laughed, walking over to her and stabbing the needle into Renée's arm. Renée screamed and closed her eyes, shoving herself against the wall and crying as she bent her knees and felt against the floor.
“What the fuck have you done to her?!”[/color] Maxwell suddenly yelled, stepping toward the nurse.
“Get away from me, get away from me, get the fuck away from me!”[/color] Renée screeched, pushing the nurse away. Maxwell shoved her out the door and ran to Renée, gently slapping her cheek to try to make sure she retained consciousness.
“Wake up, Ashley, wake up,”[/color] Maxwell whispered. She could feel his tears on her cheek from where he pressed his face to hers as he hugged her.
“Please wake up,”[/color] he repeated.
“B-but I am awake,”[/color] she replied, gently nudging him away.
He didn't move.
“Damnit, Maxwell, I'm awake!”[/color] Her hands slammed into his chest as she stood, but he was not moved by her action. She pushed past him, turning.
He was still in the exact same spot.
“What the hell, Maxwell!”[/color] Renée cried, grabbing his shirt and shaking him.
“Wake up, Ashley, wake up,"[/color] he whispered again.
Renée's eyes opened suddenly and she shot into a sitting position, backing away against the back of the bed. Her heart was racing and her breath came out in short gasps, but after a few minutes of seeing her surroundings she relaxed a bit.
Matthew sat in the chair on her left, closest to the bed. Next to him was Maxwell, and after Maxwell were Andrew and Samuel.
“W-where's Jake?”[/color] she whispered, even though they were all asleep.
On her right, there was one empty chair. It was the only empty one in the room, she realised, only after noticing Robert sleeping in the one next to it.
He must have left to get a drink or something, she pondered, looking back over at Maxwell.
Her eyes suddenly flicked back to Maxwell and her heart froze when she realised that she only knew him from her dream, nothing more.
That made her heart ache more than it had when she hadn't seen Jake in the room. She had seen how heartbroken he'd appeared in her dream when she had called him Max instead of his full name, but now she just felt terrible.
It isn't my fault, she thought.
The . . . the car accident. Yeah. That. That's the reason I don't remember him.Renée stared down at her legs, not surprised by the jeans she saw. She reached out to pull them closer to her, but when she did she noticed her left arm. It was in a cast. When she looked back at her legs, she realised that her left leg was bulging a bit and she reached out with her right hand to touch it gently. She felt the hard shape of another cast low down by her calves and her heart froze for a few seconds.
“Ashley?”[/color]
When she heard her first name she looked up, her eyes fearfully meeting Maxwell's.
“H-hello, Maxwell,”[/color] she whispered, staring at him.
She felt
terrible. When she had seen Matthew and Samuel and everyone, she had known exactly who they were. She practically remembered every second she'd ever spent with them.
“So you remember me?”[/color] He asked. The hope in his voice was so strong that Renée had to turn away to hide her expression as she tried to choke back tears. By the time she'd pulled herself together well enough to look back, she saw that his face had fallen.
“Oh,”[/color] he said simply, looking down.
“I'm so sorry.”[/color]
“It isn't your fault,”[/color] Maxwell replied quickly, looking back at her and straightening to smooth his shirt out.
“It isn't your fault.”[/color]
“It is.”[/color]
“. . . What?”[/color]
“Maxwell . . . . I did it intentionally.”[/color]
He stared at her in shock and his mouth opened a few times, eventually shutting and staying shut.
“Why?”[/color] He asked.
Renée cringed, avoiding looking at him. She recognised that tone, the way his voice sounded,
everything. She just had no idea who he was.
“I-it doesn't matter,”[/color] she said quickly, slowly turning back toward him.
“Were-- were you trying to get me to wake up?”[/color]
He stared at her.
“You've been in a coma for twelve days, Ashley.”[/color]
“Renée,”[/color] she replied automatically; she'd been going by her middle name for a few weeks and wanted him to call her as such.
“Renée, whatever. But you've been in a coma for twelve days. What do you expect us to do, carry on living as if you never existed? No, of course not.”[/color]
“But . . . why are you guys here? And where is Jake?”[/color]
“Right here,”[/color] a male voice suddenly said, walking into the room.
“Oh, Jake. Thank God.”[/color] He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her, kissing her gently.
“You're finally awake, dear,”[/color] he whispered, his breath tickling her cheek.
“The perfect birthday present.”[/color]
“Ah, hell,”[/color] Renée muttered.
“It's your birthday, isn't it?”[/color]
Jake smiled at her, pulling away but softly holding her hand in his.
“As of . . . sixteen minutes ago, yes.”[/color] He laughed gently.
“Sixteen minutes ago you turned a year older. Wow. I'm . . . proud of you?”[/color] Renée giggled, ignoring Maxwell's sigh as he stepped back and sat down in his chair again.
“Do you want me to wake up the others?”[/color] Maxwell asked, drawing Renée's attention away from Jake.
When she looked over at him, he visibly recoiled and shrunk back in his chair.
“Okay. Nevermind. Sorry.”[/color]
Jake's hand curled around Renée's chin, turning it back around to look at him.
“It's your birthday. The sixteenth. Our anniversary was ten days ago,”[/color] she suddenly said, a look of pain in her eyes.
“I know,”[/color] Jake sighed.
“I wish you had been awake for it.”[/color]
“I just had to get in that damn accident just before it, didn't I,”[/color] Renée muttered, looking down.
“What's wrong?”[/color] Jake asked, pulling her chin up so she was forced to look at him.
“Nothing,”[/color] she sighed, averting her eyes and pulling his hand off of her face.
“Wh-what time is it?”[/color]
Jake paused, opening his cellphone and glancing on it. Renée noticed the picture of him kissing her as his background and smiled faintly.
“Two fifty seven,”[/color] he replied.
“AM, of course.”[/color]
“Wow.”[/color] Renée leaned back, sighing but grasping his hand.
“Maxwell, you can go back to sleep if you want. I'll be fine,”[/color] she said, turning toward him.
“I . . . I'm not tired,”[/color] he replied, blinking at her a few times before glancing down at his feet.
“You should be. It's pretty late,”[/color] Renée said, not unkindly but with a sense of annoyance behind her words.
“I think it would be better for both of us if I stayed awake,”[/color] Maxwell challenged, defiantly lifting his eyes so they were level with Renée's.
“Why do you think that?”[/color] Jake spat, staring at Maxwell with nothing short of hostility in his eyes.
After a few more seconds of the young couple glaring at Maxwell, he stood down. Jake looked at Renée with an expression that almost seemed
smug on his face, which was strange to her because it was the first time she had ever seen it.
“Why'd that make you so happy?”[/color] Renée asked, staring at her boyfriend.
“Don't you remember?”[/color]
“. . . No. I don't remember anything having to do with Maxwell because of the accident. I don't even remember the accident. Just . . . you. And them.”[/color] Renée gestured at her other guests, ignoring the way Maxwell stared at her.
“Hm. He was always trying to win you over, always following you around. He's a year younger than you, you know. But he's madly in love with you. Oh, I remember the time when he had a Hallowe'en party and invited everyone but you. You were so offended that you almost ended your friendship with him.”[/color] Jake laughed good-humouredly, his tone a little lighter than what Renée thought that it should have been.
“Hey,”[/color] she hissed,
“he's my friend, too. The least you could do is be a little bit nicer to him. No need to be so jealous.”[/color]
“He's been trying to steal you from me for a year!”[/color]
“That doesn't matter! He was the old Renée's friend and there's no reason for him not to be the new Renée's friend as well.”[/color]
“I don't want to lose you to him,”[/color] Jake said, taking both of her hands and staring deeply into her eyes.
“I love you, Renée, and I wouldn't give you up for the world.”[/color]
“Stop it,”[/color] Renée whispered, drawing her hands closer to her body.
“I don't want you to get between Maxwell and I. I saw the way he looked at me when I told him I didn't remember him, and I don't want to just leave him in the dust like that.”[/color]
“And I'm not stopping you,”[/color] Jake replied evenly, reaching for her right hand again.
“I just want you to understand that I don't want to lose you. You getting in the crash showed me just how hard it would be to risk never being able to hold your hand, run my fingers through your hair, kiss you, or tell you I love you again. I can't lose you, Renée.”[/color]
She leaned forward, letting her forehead touch his, and sighed.
“I love you,”[/color] she whispered after a few seconds, kissing his cheek and then glancing over at Maxwell again. Despite what he had said, he seemed to be falling asleep in his chair. Renée felt a little bit cruel, almost, for treating him the way she had treating him – and if what Jake had said was true, then she couldn't believe herself for being so horrible to him before. After all, if he'd loved her as much as Jake made it seem like he had, then . . . he must have felt
terrible after that.
“Do you mind if I take a little nap? You could probably do with one, too.”[/color]
Jake's voice pulled her out of her little reverie, his playful blue eyes staring into hers.
“I've been in the coma for the past twelve days, Jake,”[/color] she replied, laughing.
“I think I've slept enough for a month. But you can sleep, if you want. I'll be right here when you wake up.”[/color]
Jake smiled, kissing her.
“You better be,”[/color] he teased, running his fingers through her hair before kissing her again.
“If I fall asleep, feel free to wake me up when you do.”[/color]
“Of course, dear,”[/color] Jake whispered, leaning back and kissing her hand before letting his palm rest in hers.
“Sleep well, love,”[/color] Renée replied, giggling ever so gently. Jake opened one eye, smirking, then allowed it to drift close as he slowly fell asleep.
“Renée? Wake up, baby, wake up. Oh God, please. Don't be going back into a coma. Renée? Dearest?”[/color][/i]
Her eyes slowly opened, but she blinked a few times before faces actually came into focus. A tall female nurse stood on her left, reaching above her and fiddling with one of the monitors or her IV or something that was above Renée's head. Samuel was near her feet, avoiding looking at her face, and Jake was close enough to her for her to feel his breath on her cheek.
“I'm here,”[/color] Renée murmured, closing her eyes again and fidgeting.
“The lights are so bright. Can someone turn then off?”[/color]
“Yes, of course,”[/color] Samuel said, backing away and disappearing. The lights turned off a few seconds later. Jake glanced back at him as he returned, moving back to the chair he'd been sleeping in the night before.
“How long was I asleep for?”[/color] Renée asked, looking up at Jake. He looked at his phone again, blushed gently, then looked at her.
“Six hours.”[/color]
Renée laughed, leaning forward and wrapping her arms around Jake in an affectionate hug.
“Oh, I love you,”[/color] she said, giving him a lighthearted kiss. After the nurse walked away, she sat up, looking around the room. Matthew, Maxwell, and Robert were all gone, but she recognised Matthew's sweatshirt in the chair he'd been in before and she saw a few books between his and Maxwell's seats. Robert's familiar cologne hung fresh in the air, and she guessed that they'd just left to get breakfast. Andrew was reading and Samuel sat next to him, his eyes glued to his phone
“Andrew, could you come here for a moment?”[/color]
He looked up, his green eyes narrowing on Renée before he stood and walked over with his thumb marking his page.
“Yeah?”[/color]
“Why did you come here?”[/color]
“You asked me to?”[/color]
“No, why did you come visit me?”[/color] Jake smirked at Renée's exasperated response, amused by Andrew's smartass response.
Andrew was silent for a few seconds before replying.
“Uh. You're my friend and I give a shit about you?”[/color] He laughed nervously, feeling put on the spot and understandably awkward.
“Oh. Okay. And you, Samuel?”[/color]
“Same reason, really. And Julia couldn't make it, so she asked me to come instead.”[/color] Samuel replied, without looking up.
“Do you guys know why Robert, Maxwell, and Matthew came?”[/color]
“Rob probably came beca–”[/color]
“Max came because he's in love with you,”[/color] Jake interjected, laughing.
“Like I was saying before Jake interrupted me,”[/color] Andrew continued, rolling his eyes,
“Rob probably came because he's your brother's best friend and, as such, has been around you enough to become friends with you. Matt's probably here because you're pretty much his closest friend. For Max, it appears that Jake already knew the answer.”[/color]
The two boys laughed, but Renée's smile didn't even make it to her eyes.
“Of course, of course,”[/color] she said, moving back a few inches. Jake didn't seem to realise how unamused she was by his joke, continuing on with it.
“ 'Oh look, my name's Max and I'm madly in love with this girl so I'll steal her from her boyfriend by following her around by the time,' ”[/color] Jake laughed.
Renée looked up, somewhat embarrassed by her boyfriend's childish behaviour, and froze when she saw Maxwell standing by the door.
“ 'And I'm not going to invite her to my Hallowe'en party so that she's jealous and hates me and ends the relationship so I can make her pity me by almost crying after school,' ”[/color] Andrew continued, not noticing that the boy he was mocking was standing no more than ten feet away from him.
Renée couldn't tell what was going on in Maxwell's head, but his expressions were changing every few seconds. The first one was pain, then anger, then hatred, then frustration, then, when he finally decided to forgive Jake, he relaxed a bit. After that, he repeated the whole process with Andrew.
“Guys . . .”[/color] Renée whispered, her voice cracking even in its low tone.
“What?”[/color] Jake and Andrew asked in unison, looking at her.
Renée didn't have to say any more; they followed her blind stare and went silent when they saw him.
“Hello, Maxwell,”[/color] Renée said quietly.
The final emotion on Maxwell's face was one of anger. He exhaled roughly, walking to his chair.
“I see that I am not welcome here,”[/color] he said, the pain creeping through his voice with every second.
“I'll just get my stuff and go.”[/color]
“Maxwell . . .”[/color] Renée pleaded, pushing Jake back a few inches.
“What?”[/color]
“Please don't go.”[/color]
“You don't even remember me,”[/color] Maxwell snorted, faint hostility showing beneath the pain.
“There's no point in me staying anymore. I'll just stop being such a threat to you and your damn boyfriend.”[/color]
Renée was left speechless, staring after him helplessly.
“God damnit, Jake! Look what you made him do! I didn't even get the chance to try to be friends with him before you fucked it up!”[/color]
“Me? Why the hell are you blaming me? You're the one who led him on!”[/color]
“I didn't, Jake! Why do you have to insist that I led him on? I love you, Jake, not him! I've always loved you! I don't think I ever could love him!”[/color]
She didn't realise that Maxwell was still at the door until she heard it slam.
“Oh, fuck,”[/color] Renée whispered. Andrew was still standing by the bed, somewhat shocked, and Samuel had stood.
“I'll go get him,”[/color] Samuel said, quickly rushing out of the room.
Renée noticed that Matthew and Robert had appeared at the door and were standing there, having just entered while Samuel left. Matthew wordlessly followed Samuel, Robert nodding at Andrew and leading him away so that Jake and Renée were left alone.
“Why did you have to do that?”[/color] Renée asked, her voice pained and her eyes low.
“I was really beginning to think I might like him.”[/color]
“I didn't want to have what happened before happen again,”[/color] Jake murmured.
“What happened before?”[/color]
“Oh. Um. Nothing.”[/color]
“You can't just say that, Jake,”[/color] Renée sighed.
“Please tell me?”[/color]
“He almost kissed you a few weeks ago,”[/color] Jake said thinly.
“What? When? Why?”[/color]
“I'm not sure, I wasn't there. I just remember you telling me.”[/color]
“Oh,”[/color] Renée said simply.
“I'm sorry. Really, I am. I just don't want to watch that happen to you again. You seemed so . . . confused, almost as if you'd wanted him to kiss you but your loyalty and love for me were telling you no. I don't know, really,”[/color] Jake admitted, looking down.
“It's fine. I understand. Remember Brianna? I hated her so much because she would always flirt with you.”[/color] Renée laughed halfheartedly, glancing out the window.
“And then you almost kissed her and I was so mad at you . . .”[/color]
“Yes, some things should be put behind us,”[/color] Jake growled stiffly.
“Exactly. Let's forget about Maxwell being madly in love with me, okay? I want to try being friends with him.”[/color]
Jake sighed.
“Just because you've forgotten who he is doesn't mean he doesn't love you anymore.”[/color]
“I know, I know, but do you honestly think I'm going to fall in love with someone I don't know?”[/color]
“True. Just . . . don't let him get that close to you, please? For me?”[/color]
“Okay. I won't. I promise.”[/color]
Jake smiled faintly at her, remaining silent.
After about thirty seconds of them not speaking, Renée broke the tense air.
“When does football season start?”[/color]
“I'm not sure . . . ? Not for a few months, obviously.”[/color]
“I know, but don't you need to start training soon?”[/color]
“Yeah, but I still have at least a month. Why?”[/color]
“I don't know. Just something to talk about, I guess.”[/color]
Jake stood, leaning around Renée and pulling her into his arms.
“Hey, I'm not mad at you or anything for wanting to be friends with Max, okay? So don't worry about it.”[/color]
“Good,”[/color] Renée whispered, burying her head into his neck.
“Good.”[/color]
She hadn't really been all that worried about Jake being mad at her for wanting to be friends with Maxwell, but she'd been a little worried that he might take it a bit extremely or the wrong way. It wasn't that she wanted to be friends with him to go against Jake, but . . . part of her almost did, just to prove to him that she was her own, independent person and couldn't be ordered around by her boyfriend, even though they'd been dating for just over a year.
“Can we come in now?”[/color] Andrew's voice called through the door, though he started opening it without any response.
“Sure,”[/color] Jake replied, gently pushing Renée away. She understood why; she would have done it if he hadn't beat her to it.
“I haven't seen Sam and Matt since they left. Man, I feel terrible,”[/color] Andrew said, staring at the floor shamefully.
“I hope he doesn't start hating you or anything for that, Renée.”[/color]
“He shouldn't. I mean, if he was willing to sit here waiting for me to wake up for as long as I'm thinking he was . . .”[/color] Renée glanced at Jake, knowing he would have been there the entire time, and he nodded.
“Max got here shortly after I did,”[/color] Jake said.
“. . . then I think that he'll forgive me for that pretty quickly. I mean . . . oh, I don't know.”[/color] Renée rubbed her eyes, leaving her hands on her face.
“I'm sure you'll be fine,”[/color] Robert said, walking in and standing a few steps away from Andrew.
“I've always seen Max as a very forgiving person.”[/color]
~to be continued~
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[/color]
We have a cbox again and we're opening the place up as a closed, members only rp