Chapter 15
That day escalated painfully, slowly, but Zander stayed by her side as her support system. All the family members took turns to see if she was doing alright except Marie. Even in her numbed state of mind, she wondered why Marie wasn't there, she felt a weird sense of closeness to her than Trevor. Not that she liked Trevor any less, her sister bond was somehow stronger when it came to Marie.
Though everyone forced Zander to stay the night, he decided to go back to his house and get a few things ready before taking her to Ed the next day.
Scarlett was exhausted beyond expressing, she dozed off as soon as her head hit her fluffy pillow. Trevor decided to stay by her side the entire night if she needed anything. He sat next to her on the bed and a tear trailed its way down his cheek. When she gets her memory back, she might regret the way she had been living in the present day or the way she was before the incident. Either way, he knew that Scarlett was going to regret many things and decisions that she made. He stayed up all night, his heavy eyelids gave up when the first rays of sunshine touched the horizon.
Scarlett woke up and found her brother sitting next to her in an uncomfortable position and sleeping with his mouth slightly open. She could sense that he would have stayed awake all night to watch out for her. She knew that Trevor slept like a dead man and started exerting her muscles to pull him down to a comfortable position. He snuggled further into the bed and pulled the comforter around him and let out a content groan. She smiled at her baby brother who seemed to care so much for her.
Zander woke up earlier than usual and made the necessary phone call to Ed. He fixed an appointment at 10. Zander ate little to no breakfast and was on his way to Letta's house. He reached there quickly due to his fast and furious driving.
He rang the doorbell and Scarlett opened it all ready to leave with him. He looked at her tired face, the first time he was seeing that. He told her family that they were leaving, Marie wasn't home since she had a test to take in school. Trevor had just woken up and waved goodbye to his sister and Zander. Zander told them that he would take care of everything, so the family didn't worry as much.
He applied the breaks when they were in front of the hospital, they hadn't talked to each other from the time she opened the door. He knew how much it was killing her and she knew how much he cared for her. They had an idea of what the other was feeling without expressing it out loud.
He took her hand gently and walked towards the entrance of the building. She hadn't been to this part of the town, it was posh in its own way. Zander led the way to the waiting area where many other people were seated. She squeezed his hand as soon as she spotted Eduardo's name on the nameplate next to his door. He looked at her and squeezed her hand back to reassure her that he was there with her.
Eduardo's door opened and he himself came out in search of them. " Please come in, Scarlett and Zander." He took them inside his door and closed it behind him. " So, Scarlett... Zander told me everything that you told him and I suspect that you have retrograde amnesia. " " Zander told me." She replied in a very dry and airy voice.
" We have to run a few tests on you to know if it's curable. Don't worry, I'm sure that we can help you out." Zander was thankful that his friend was doing so much for him and Scarlett.
They started running the tests and after each test, Zander requested the nurse that they hand him the reports by the next hour as he wanted to get this done by today. The time was ticking fast as they sat outside Ed's room as he dealt with his other patients.
Scarlett hadn't uttered a word to Zander as she basked in the warmth in his embrace. She felt at ease when he hugged her. " Don't worry, Letta." His first words to her from the time he saw her in the morning. His voice was raspy and he let out a cough. " Go get some water for both of us, please?" She requested and he complied.
As he walked away she looked at the nurse who had conducted the tests, she had a bunch of reports in her hand. When she was about to knock on Ed's door she passed a worried expression to Scarlett. Her head was spinning as the gears in her brain were making the worst conclusion. She knew that she wasn't going to live any less if she lived with her amnesia, but didn't everyone have the right to know their childhood?
Zander returned with two water bottles and two granola bars. He handed one of each to Scarlett and kept the remaining two in his hands. " The nurse just went inside with my reports," Scarlett said looking at the cap of the water bottle after she opened it and chugged down almost half of it.
Before Zander could say anything, Ed's door opened and he ushered them inside as the previous patient exited. " We can cure it!" He exclaimed with enthusiasm. Zander looked at Letta with so much of happiness and she merely looked baffled. " I can go back to my normal self?" She asked with the same baffled expression, she couldn't believe it, was she dreaming? She could finally go back to being the person she was before the accident.
"But..." Eduardo started with a disappointed voice. "What is it?" Zander asked as his arm wrapped itself around Scarlett. " Sit down. I'll tell you." He said and they all sat down. Ed took out the results of one of the scans and showed it to them. He pointed to a small bubble kind of shape in the brain MRI. " This is a tumour. It must have grown a little in size due to the shock that you went through during the accident." Ed said and Scarlett let out a shaky breath. Zander looked blankly at him and motioned for him to continue.
" The tumour is at its initial stages, but it was enough to cause memory loss. We can do a surgery and remove the tumour, you'll get your memory back." Zander was glad to hear that. " She wouldn't have to risk her life right? It's not that big right?" Zander asked fluidly to which Ed nodded with a smile. " It's only a small procedure. It's not a fatal surgery, you're going to be fine." He directed towards Scarlett which earned a smile from her, a genuine one.
" The only problem is that you will not remember all of this." He concluded. " What?!" Scarlett asked in shock. " You will gain previous memory that you lost. But you won't remember these months that you spent without a clue of who you were." She looked at him with wide eyes and turned to Zander who was looking at the carpeted floor. She saw that the corner of his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
" I'm not doing the surgery." She concluded and stood up to walk away. Zander grabbed her wrist and looked at her with pleading eyes. " Please, Letta. It's the best thing for you. " She looked at him with disbelief. " Do you know what you're telling me? I don't care what I've missed after the accident. I'm happy like this. I can't lose Tania, Violet, and Danielle. I can't lose you!"
" So what?" He asked and that angered her further. " I'm not going to answer that. Think for yourself, Zander. I'm going back home. When you finally realize that what your asking me to do is nothing but a load of Bullshit that's going to ruin me, come to me. You know where to find me. This is not just about me, it's about a few people who actually love me, unlike you." She stormed off leaving an exasperated Zander in Eduardo's room.
He propped his elbow on the table and covered his hand with his palms. Ed didn't know what was going on in Zander's head until he heard a sniff. " Are you crying, Zand?" Ed asked as he tapped Zander's elbow. That only made Zander break down more as a loud sob left his lip. Ed hadn't seen Zander cry since his grandfather passed away.
" I can't lose her either! Did she think that I didn't care at all? I know how much she enjoys herself around her girlfriends. I know that she is extremely happy even without her memories." "Then why do you want her to undergo the surgery?" Ed questioned him. " I want her to live a normal life without any regrets. You won't understand, Ed." He said finally removing his palms from his red face.
" Why wouldn't I understand, Zand? Why do you think that I wouldn't understand?" Ed asked as he meddled with his stethoscope. " You just won't." He said and stood up. " I need to know why this is affecting you so much! You said it yourself, it's her choice to make, not yours." Eduardo's patience was reaching its limits. " I told you why already. Do you want a better reason? Then listen carefully!" He said in a menacing tone, not at all like the Zander that Ed knew. " I love her! I just realized how much I love her, too much to let her go! But I have to!" He walked out as he slammed Ed's door leaving him there standing like a statue.
Zander walked to his car and slammed his fist on the hard glass of the window. " I love her... Why couldn't I realize that earlier?" He was angry at himself. So he decided to go to a place he hadn't been to, the bar. It might as well be best if he drowned himself in alcohol than sulking and hurting himself.
Scarlett was lying on her bed, muffling her loud cries in her pillow. " I can't forget them. I can't forget him. The simple thought of losing him makes me feel so much remorse. Why?" She questioned herself in a raspy and choked voice.