My knees almost buckled in shock and horror. I felt Mack put his arm around me, but I shook it off, moving closer to Logan.
“What do you mean, you don’t know who I am? It’s me, Madison! Maddie!”
Logan shook his head again. “I’m sorry. I don’t know who you are.”
I must be in a nightmare. I must have fallen asleep because I was so tired, and this was all a dream. There was no way this could possibly be happening right now. I turned to the doctor, desperate for answers.
“What’s happening? Why can’t he remember me? Is this temporary?”
“Most patients with amnesia get their memory back. It just takes time. We also have to remember that this is the second head trauma he’s experienced in a short period of time. I’m not surprised that some of his recall is compromised. It’s most likely a temporary thing.”
“Most likely?” I repeated, starting to get angry. “That’s the most accurate assessment you can give us?”
The doctor looked at me sympathetically, despite my angry tone. “We don’t fully understand how amnesia works. We do know that having familiar people around and talking about past events help to trigger the memories. Sometimes, it only takes a few days, sometimes it takes a few weeks or longer.” He paused before continuing. “Sometimes, it can take years.”
I was stunned into silence. I didn’t say anything as the doctor further questioned Logan. He remembered his father and mother. He even remembered that they were on vacation. He remembered his co-workers and other insignificant people, like the name of his doorman. Yet, he couldn’t remember the important people of his life. He started getting frustrated the more questions the doctor asked that he couldn’t answer.
“Are you sure I’m supposed to know these people?” he asked irritably. “They could have just walked off the street and claimed to know me.”
“Why, exactly, would we do that?” Mack asked, speaking to Logan for the first time since he had woken up.
“Why do people do anything?” Logan said crossly. “Money.”
Mack scoffed. “Trust me, I have plenty of my own money.”
“What about her,” Logan shot back, jerking his head towards me. “She could see me as an easy meal ticket.”
My stomach churned. How the hell could this be happening? Mack looked at Logan angrily. “Watch it. Just because you have holes in your memory doesn’t mean you get to be an asshole.”
The doctor put his hands up, stopping the conversation. He turned to Mack and me. “It’s natural for him to feel frustrated. How would you feel if you woke up to strangers insisting that they know you? You have to go about this gently.” He looked at Logan. “This woman was in the car with you at the time of the accident. You obviously know her.”
“Is she my wife?” Logan asked, looking at me critically.
“No,” I said quietly, feeling humiliated by his study of me. “Your girlfriend.”
“For how long?”
That was a hard question to answer. Despite our history together, we hadn’t officially been a couple for very long.
“For about four months.”
Logan scoffed. “We barely know each other then. No wonder I don’t remember you.”
Even if Logan didn’t remember me, he didn’t have to be so cruel about it. I wanted to explain how we had known each other for years, but the explanation got stuck in my throat. I was afraid he would dismiss it as well. Mack spoke up instead.
“Listen, you’ve known Madison since you were a kid in college. You’ve loved her since then. Just because you don’t remember her doesn’t mean you have to act like a dick.”
Logan frowned. “That can’t be true, because she said we’ve only been together for four months. That doesn’t make sense.”
How the hell could I explain our complicated history and make him understand. Hell, I didn’t understand everything that had happened between us.
“It’s not a good idea to rush into trying to remember,” the doctor interjected. “It’s better to make it a slow process. We’re going to keep him a couple of days for observation. I think it’s best if we stop trying to trigger his memory tonight, and let him rest. He’s been through a lot.”
I had a million thoughts and emotions going through me, and I felt like I was going to burst from trying to contain them, but I forced myself to be calm.
“Maybe your memory will come back tomorrow, after a night of rest. I’m sure that once you’ve had time to think things through, you’ll start to remember everything.”
Logan watched me with a measured expression. It felt foreign to have him look at me so impersonally. No matter what our issues had been in the past, one thing I had never experienced from him was detachment.