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Chapter 2
My eyelids feel like paperweights, but it’s nothing compared to the boulder of anguish on my chest.
She’s gone.
I’m never going to see her again.
“I told you she needed time to process everything,” some man says sternly.
It sounds like he’s standing right outside my door.
“She deserved to know the truth,” someone who sounds a lot like Cole argues.
“It was too early,” Jace whispers. “She couldn’t handle it.”
“Precisely,” the man says. “I don’t even know the extent of her brain injury yet and you two just…” He sighs long and deep. “Think of your sister like a broken puzzle. She has certain pieces, but not enough to make up the entirety of it. Right now, her reality is just that. Her reality. The only accident she remembers is the one with your mother. Her brain is stuck in that trauma and it’s important for her family to understand this because if she does get her memory back—”
“What do you mean if?” Jace barks.
“Are you telling me this amnesia is permanent?” someone who sounds like my dad asks.
There’s another long sigh. “There’s no way to tell right now. But you have to be careful not to feed her information—”
“Why?” Cole questions. “If she can’t remember, why is telling her such a bad thing?”
“Because you’re giving her your biased memories and thoughts. You’re not giving her a chance to heal and remember hers. The brain is a very complex, very sensitive organ. Influencing her memory and pushing her too hard, too fast will only make things worse.”
“So what should we do?” Jace asks. “How do we help her get better?”
“Time and patience. Lots of it. Her memories—if she gets them back—might be distorted, but it’s important not to argue or correct her.” He clears his throat. “In the meantime, I’ve taken the liberty of contacting Dr. Wilson. He’s a top-notch psychologist who has a lot of experience working with patients who have brain injuries and amnesia. Given the severity of Bianca’s mental state and what’s happened, I think it’s important she talks to someone. Fortunately, he’s agreed to come up to the hospital to meet with her this week.”
My eyes flutter open as Dr. Jones ambles inside the room and walks over to my bed. “Hello, Bianca. How are you feeling?”
Like I’ve been run over by a bus.
“Tired.”
He nods. “That’s the sedative.”
“Sedative? Why—”
I stop talking as images of me ripping out my IV and then punching Jace and Cole flash through my head.
A stabbing pain infiltrates my heart. “My mom…she’s—”
I can’t say the words.
Saying the words out loud will only give them credence.
Instead, I lunge for the doctor.
Not because I want to hurt him.
I just want him to give me something to make me go numb.
Something to help me forget the truth burrowing through my veins.
Not only is my mom dead…
She killed Liam.