A second chance: Sequel of Against all odds (11 page)

“
Doctor.”
I said going straight to him.

“
Can
you follow me in my office, I have to speak to you Mr Bayne, and I
would like to speak to Ms Hastley as well.” He said looking at
Angela. My stomach churned, he looked serious, a frown crinkled his
forehead. What was wrong? I looked at Kylie. From his tone I gathered
that she couldn't come in with us.

“
OK
Dad, I understood, I stay seated here near the receptionist OK?”

I smiled at my little girl.

“
Thanks
sweetheart. It won't take long OK?”

She nodded, and we left with
the doctor. When we arrived at his office, he closed the door and
invited us to sit down.

“
So
Doctor how is she?” I asked impatiently.

“
She's
fine. She still has to heal, there is a long way to go and she will
need a lot of treatment. She will need a speech therapist to help her
formulate words correctly again, she can speak but not so clearly.”

My heart missed a beat. From
his face I could tell there was more he wasn't telling us. I glanced
at Angela who looked worried.

“
Don't
worry, she will speak normally as she did before within few weeks,
and she will walk again but she will need some physiotherapy for that
as well.”

The doctor paused for a
moment, he seemed reluctant to continue, what was he hiding?”

“
Doctor,
is there something wrong?” I asked again. His silence was
killing me.

“
Well,
there is problem yes.” He finally admitted. “Cassidy's
head was grievously injured, and the injury affected the brain.”

My stomach ached so much
that I couldn't breathe. What was he going to say?

“
But
she will return to normality right?” Her mother asked trying to
hold back the tears which began to well her eyes.

“
Yes,
I didn't mean that she had brain damage in that way, what I meant is
that she can't remember anything. Her first 25 years of life have
vanished.”

We looked stunned at him.

“
What?
You mean she lost her memory?” I asked astonished.

“
Yes,
she doesn't even remember her name, her age. Nothing.”

“
Oh
my God,” Angela cried.

“
But
it will come back right. If we talk to her and help her remember, it
will come back with time. Usually it works like that no?” I
said hoping he would say yes.

“
Not
this time. Listen we did a tomography scan for her, and we saw that
there isn't blood flow going to the right temple and the frontal
lobes of her brain. This means that the long-term memory is not
reached, so this is a permanent amnesia. Listen it could be that
someday her memory could come back, but there is very little hope I'm
afraid. It will be hard for you but harder for her. If I were in you,
I wouldn't try to make her remember the past because she never will.”

“
So
what do you suggest we do?” I asked again.

“
Start
from the beginning. Like there was no past, she will not recognize
you. She won't know you're her mother; you will only be strangers to
her. I wouldn't tell her anything about her past because she will try
so hard to remember and in vain that it will cause her distress, and
she will be upset and feel guilty. I know what I'm talking about.
I've seen other persons in this condition. Trying to force on her the
past could lead to mental problems and to depression.”He said
as he took off his glasses. He seemed concerned.

“
So
I can't tell her I'm her mum?” Angela asked sobbing.

 “
Well
yes, you can but she won't remember that. Listen you have to leave
her free. I mean you can't impose on her things she doesn't know she
did. You have to speak to her husband as well. I tried to call him,
but there was no reply.”

“
We'll
do,” I said not knowing exactly how to cope with this new
situation.

“
For
any problems contact me OK. She will stay here for some time. She
still have to recover completely. She will have to learn to eat
again; her stomach has to start to accept food. It's like starting
from the beginning with a baby. Listen she might never recapture her
past so please help her to live the present and the future. Help her
to make new memories.”

We left the office in a
dazed state. I kept looking at Angela and not knowing what to say. I
kept thinking about Kylie; this was going to be another stab for her.
Her mother had completely forgotten about her existence. That day we
weren't allowed to see her and in the next few days only Angela could
go in. The doctor said that she had to bond with persons one by one.
I understood although I missed her like crazy. I wanted so much to
see her, to hug her. But I knew this was not possible anymore. She
didn't remember me. I had tried to contact Tyler all week but without
success, finally I decided to go to knock at his door. Although I
knew, he wouldn’t be happy to see me, and although I felt
really angry for him, he had to know. After all Cassidy was still his
wife. I stood to think a little about that. She didn't remember him
maybe this changed the situation. Oh, David stop it, what are you
thinking? I knocked on the door. I waited, but no one opened. I knew
he was there. I had phoned at the hotel, and the secretary had told
me he didn't come in. I knocked again, then I tried to open the door,
and surprisingly it did open. It wasn't locked. I went in and called
him.

“
Tyler!
Are you home? I need to talk to you,” I shouted. I walked
to the living room and called him again. Maybe he wasn't there after
all...

“
Lower
your voice. Why the hell are you shouting?” I heard a strange
voice telling me. I looked behind me and saw him laying down on the
sofa with a bottle of whiskey almost empty near him and a glass in
his hand. I looked stunned at him. He was a total mess, his hair
scruffy, his beard long and he was dressed in wrinkled clothes. His
arm was still bandaged.

“
Tyler?
Are you OK?” I asked.

“
What
the hell does it matter to you? And why are you here? Get out of my
house. Leave me alone!” He yelled.

“
You're
drunk. Tyler, you won't solve your problems by drinking.”

“
I
said get out. I don't want to see your face. You destroyed my life;
you took my happiness away. You took everything from me. What the
hell do you want more huh?”

I knew he wasn't reasoning,
and I hadn't come there to argue. I had to keep calm, it was no use
to argue with a drunk man.

“
Listen
I've come to tell you something important.” I attempted.

“
I
don't want to hear. I lost my son. I lost my wife. Nothing matters
anymore. Leave-me-alone-with my pain.” He slurred as he threw
the bottle on his side. For a moment I thought he was going to throw
it at me.

“
Tyler,
Cassidy woke up.”

His eyes widened, and he
tried to get up but he was too drunk and fell back on the sofa.

“
Really?
How is she? Does she know about the baby?” He said glaring at
me.

“
She
lost her memory; she doesn't remember who she is and who we are. She
forgot everything,” I said calmly.

“
What?”
He laughed out loud for a moment before changing his expression to
one of astonishment. Then his mouth opened in a gasp.

“
But,
how? Will she....?”

“
No.
The doctor says it's permanent.” I informed him.

His eyes saddened and for a
second he looked blankly at me. And I almost felt pity for him.

“
Oh.
So she doesn't even remember she's my wife.”

“
No,
nothing. The doctor says it's better we don't tell her about the
past.”

“
What?
No. How can we not tell her? She is my wife, she's Kylie's mum.. she
has to know.” For the second time he tried to stand up but
stumbled forward and if he hadn't grabbed the armchair for support he
would have fallen. He clung there in silence staring in space. I made
a pace towards him and tried to help him. He didn't let me. With
difficulty he slid down on the sofa again.

“
Do
you think I don't know that? But it's for her own good. Please listen
to me.” I said trying to make him reason. I knew this was going
to be close to impossible. Tyler was really stubborn.

“
You
must be happy. This is what you wanted!” He barked. “Yes,
that she forgets all about me. So that you can have her.”

I felt anger rushing up in
me. I had tried to stay calm, because I knew he was drunk but...

“
Are
you mad? Yes, I love her, and I want her but I would have never
wanted anything bad to happen to her. Do you think I'm happy with the
situation?Do you think it has been simple in the past weeks?While you
stayed here getting drunk to try and forget, I tried all I could to
help her to come out of the coma. I was there again to gather the
pieces  you left behind like I did in the past. You mess up
things and then escape; that's your specialty right Tyler?” I
snapped.

He looked at me, his eyes
red...

“
Right
and your specialty is to steal your friend's girl while he's looking
elsewhere right?”

“
I
never obliged Cassidy to love me; she did that on her own. Anyway,
I've told you what I had to tell you. I'm going now. Tyler please
don't try to tell her anything.”

“
Why
shouldn't I do that?” He shouted angrily as he gulp down some
more whiskey.

“
Because
it will destroy here. She's in a desperate state. She will stay in
hospital. She needs physiotherapy, speech therapy and a lot of other
things to return as she was.”

“
Is
she that bad?” His voice cracked. He was on the verge of
crying; I could see that and for a brief moment I felt bad for him.
Probably guilt was killing him.

“
Yes.
It's already a miracle that she woke up. We have to be grateful for
that and stop thinking about ourselves. If you want her back, you
have to start from the beginning or else just let her go.”

Tyler put the glass down and
shot me a killer look.

“
Never,”he
said through gritted teeth.

“
Do
as you like.”

And saying that I strolled
out. I closed the door behind me and got on my motorcycle. I needed
some fresh air. I drove along the coast and stopped near the beach. I
got down from my motorcycle and walked on the sand. I looked at the
sea that was quite rough. The waves hit hard the rocks and carried
away everything they found, pebbles, sand. That sea reflected my
life; I was always fighting against someone or something. Life was
expecting too much from me. I was strong, but I had reached the peak
now.

I wanted badly to see her
even though I didn't know what to tell her, how to behave with her. I
had prayed so much for that second chance, and now everything seemed
finished. Just at that moment something crossed to my mind. I
realized something. Maybe this was the second chance I was waiting
for. Yes, starting from the beginning. Introducing myself, become
friends with her. Give her time to get to know me. I would flirt,
take her out and hope this time she'll fall in love with me. I smiled
and then I walked away. I put my helmet on and got on my motorcycle.
This new prospective filled me with hope.

CHAPTER 11

Tyler's POV

I kept thinking about what
David had just told me. I couldn't believe it. She had forgotten
everything, our life together, our marriage,  the past 7 years
in which although with ups and downs we had loved each other. And
 all of this now had vanished, because of me. Tears rolled down
my face; I felt awful. I grabbed the glass to drink, but it was
empty. Empty. That's how I felt right now, once again another
important person had left me. I tried to get up, but my legs couldn't
keep me.