Chapter 2 Amongst Lost Memories

A look of terror and yet confusion plastered on Tiffany's face. "Why? Is he in surgery or?" "His family has refused for any visitors to come see him." Disbelief. It settled on Tiffany like a tide. She found herself unable to comprehend what she had just been told. "I'm sorry, what? I'm his fiancée," she announced, eyeing the receptionist as she looked down on her fingers for a ring. "How can I not be allowed to see him?" "I'm sorry ma'am but no one else but family is allowed to see the patient." And now it was anger. It grew in her as she stared at the receptionist's blunt face.

"Do you fucking know who I am?" she asked, angrily. "Alright let's go, ma'am." Brea held on to Tiffany, slowly pulling her away from the reception office. "No, Brea. What the hell!" Tiffany continued to tantrum. "What the fuck is the meaning of this?" "Miss Andrews?" Tamara turned around to see a very familiar face. Hernandez, her ex-lover. He was in a white coat with gloves on his hand and extremely large googles settling on his nose. He looked good as a doctor. "Hernandez?" she asked. A glimmer of hope shone on her eyes. "Wha- what's going on?" Hernandez queried. "You look like hell. Why are you here?" "I'm here to see someone. Christian Salazar, he was brought in last night." Hernandez frowned confusingly. "Yeah, he's in one of the rooms over there. You know him?" "Yes, I do," Tiffany replied quickly, snubbing the look on Hernandez's face. "The receptionist won't let me in." "Well, why's that?" "She just won't. She says the family doesn't want anyone else going to see him." "Hold on, let me see what I can do." Hernandez walked to the receptionist while Tiffany and Brea waited back. Her fingers didn't stop shaking though, so she clenched them and moved her body around to stop herself from overthinking. Her eyes kept moving to the direction Hernandez had earlier pointed to, where Christian was been kept. She tried to imagine his unconscious body on the hospital bed but it worried her even more and before she knew it, her fingers were unclenched and were shaking again. Hernandez returned back to them. "Alright," he said. "I got you three minutes." "Three minutes?" Tiffany asked painfully. "That was all I could do, Tiff. I'm sorry." "It's okay, it's okay," she assured. "Thank you." She eyed the receptionist hatefully as she hurried towards the room Hernandez had directed her to. Her heat pounding faster at every step she took. Once she arrived at the door, the door nob twisted and it opened by itself, catching Tiffany by surprise. An elderly lady stood in front of her, her hair was almost grey and she was quite small. The frame of her glasses seemed to be actual gold and her lipstick was too faddish for a woman her age. Tiffany blinked. "How can I help you?" the woman asked. "Uh. . . I just. . . I wanna see Christian," Tiffany replied. "I was with him the night of the accident and I-" "No, you were not!" the woman basted. "Excuse me?" Tiffany was slightly overwhelmed by the woman's outburst. "My son was alone in the car with his driver," the woman said. "There was no one else found with him. I do not know who you are, woman." *Son?* "Oh my God, I'm so sorry, ma'am. Your son has told you about me and me about you. I'm his fiancée, Tiffany Andrews? I was in the car with him but I managed to crawl myself out and I fainted." "My son has never told me about any Tiffany Andrews and my son is not engaged. I don't know who you are, imposter. Or what kind of fraud this is but I'm asking you to get out of here right this moment." Tiffany's shock knew no bounds. This woman must be lying. *Why would she be lying?* *Why wouldn't she want me to see him?* "Ma'am, I'm confused." Her eyes once again began to tear up. "I'm very sure you know who I am, ma'am. This is the ring your son gave to me, he said it was a family heirloom so I am sure you must know I am saying the truth. Why are you treating me this way? Please, please let me just see him." The woman heaved deeply, a scowl of irritation on her face. "You leave now," she said. "You leave now and you never come back. You've done enough harm as it is. You have nothing with my son, not any longer. I don't want to see your face any more than I have already, Tiffany Andrews. Not while my son is in coma and not ever." Tiffany's eyes widened. What was this betrayal? Her head once again began to feel dizzy, the walls of the room closed in as tears fell off her eyes. "Please?" she begged. "I love him. He loves me so too, please let me see him." "Get out now." But Tiffany couldn't. Even if she wanted to, her legs felt stuck to the ground as the walls continued to close in on her. Her head spun around and her eyes fogged. Her body felt heavy and she couldn't keep up any longer. Everything turned off and she fell. Once again, in her faint.

*Two Months Later* Like numbers, Tiffany counted the days. She had made two calendars; one for how long she had been without Christian, without seeing him, touching him or even talking to him. It had been forty-six days. The other for how long she had been with another life inside of her. It was a news she didn't exactly know how to receive. One part of her was overjoyed at the idea of being a mother and the other part was drenched in pain and sadness over the idea of being a mother - without Christian by her side. It had been twenty-two days. She sipped the hot chocolate that she had prepared for herself, turning on the television to her favourite show. Maybe that would take her mind off things, she presumed. But the ringing of her phone interrupted her plans for the day. "Brea?" she answered, dropping her cup of hot chocolate on the kitchen table. "I know I've not been in the office in a while, I still need you to cover for me." "Ma'am, it's about Christian," Brea said.