And then I remember.
Pregnancy.
Baby.
She must have known all along that she was pregnant and is simply trying to trap me because the father probably doesn’t want to know.
“Okay, you can give it up now, Kendra.”
She pulls her gaze from the photo to me before gasping. “Oh my God, I remember. I remember everything!”
“Kendra, stop this now!” I shout back.
Sitting up more rigidly this time, her eyes implore mine. “My name isn’t Kendra!”
“Don’t do this to me,” I snap back.
“But, I swear to you, Eli. I swear. My name’s not Kendra…”
“Stop!” I shout back, rising from my chair.
“My name’s Audrey Stone. I remember. Oh, my God, I remember!”
The color momentarily drains from my face at the mention of Audrey’s name, but I quickly recover, remembering this has to be an act. There’s just no other explanation for all of this.
“Kendra, that’s enough! The game is up. You don’t have to keep pretending anymore.”
She’s on her feet in a flash, rushing over to my pacing form. “Eli, please… you have to believe me.” I’m about to snap back at her, but then her eyes widen in panic. “I made a wish on my birthday and then I was in an accident… the wish… oh, my God, it came true!”
Headache now evolving into a migraine, I place my hands against my temples, rubbing them. “Please just stop this,” I implore. I don’t know how much more I can take.
Ignoring me, she continues her tirade. “The café, Victoria, Trent, and Jason!” she cries, before gasping. “My mom!” The tremble in her voice is evident as that one word seems to hit her like a freight train. She sits in the nearest chair, her eyes filling with water. And all I can do is stare. She may be acting, but it looks like her world is falling apart around her.
Finally, she snaps her head up to me, tears running down her bright, red cheeks. “Am I dead?”
I can’t move. My feet are cemented to the ground. Surely not. Surely, this can’t be. There must be a simple explanation for this, but I can’t think of one. The evidence is there. The buttons, the complete one-eighty in personality, the cold turkey from her addictions, her not being able to write with her right hand. I had put it all down to acting, but this… this Kendra in front of me is not acting. She’s not acting at all.
Because it isn’t Kendra.
Talk about Twilight Zone, but I feel I’ve entered a whole new universe. I think back to the day everything changed. The morning I woke up in the hotel in Sheridan and found who I believed to be Kendra on the floor. The same morning that, hours earlier, Audrey had been in a car accident and has been in a coma ever since.
Remembering Kendra, I mean Audrey’s, question—jeez, my head hurts—I sit on the edge of the coffee table in front of her and take her hand. Her questioning, bloodshot eyes lift to mine, her bottom lip slightly trembling.
“You’re not dead. You’re very much alive.”
A fat tear falls down one side of her cheek. “But how can I be here?”
“You’re…” I place my head down a moment. “I can’t believe I’m going to say this.” I fix my eyes back on hers again. “You’re in the memorial hospital… in a coma.”
Her eyes widen at the news. “I am?” I nod my head, watching her closely. Her eyes are constantly searching, her forehead crinkled with disbelief.
Definitely not acting.
“My mom!” she gasps again. “I have to go to her.” She attempts to get up, but I halt her a moment.
“Audrey, please. Think about this for a moment. You can’t just simply turn up there stating you’re Audrey. No one will believe you.”
Her eyes stare back at mine. The same eyes I have seen a thousand times over, but lately there has been something different in those eyes. Like a fallen angel desperately searching for answers.