Faded Memories

Chapter 42

Pain.

That's all I could feel as my mind slowly became conscious again. I had not yet brought myself to open my eyes, unsure of what my location would be this time. So far, I couldn't hear anything that alerted me to my surroundings, but then again, all I could hear was a high pitched ringing noise.

My entire body ached as I laid flat on my back, the surface beneath me feeling almost like a bed. It felt as though somebody had laid a tonne of bricks on every inch of my body, all of my limbs merging into one with the sole feeling of pain present.

The smell of bleach filled my nose, which paired with the feeling of a mattress underneath me and minimal sound, I would assume that I was currently in the hospital. Unless I was dreaming again, which wouldn't surprise me at this point.

I squeezed my face tight in an attempt to open my eyes, my body moving the wrong muscles at first. When I eventually did open my eyes, I immediately shut them again from the blinding light. Yep, it was definitely a hospital.

I hated hospitals.

Hesitating, I pried one eye open to test the brightness again before thinking it was safe and opening the other. I smirked to myself, realising that I have a room to myself, before reality hit me in the face - you never get your own room if you're healthy. So what was wrong with me?

I groaned inwardly as I realised I was hooked up to a bunch of machines. Oh no. There was even a tube coming out of my nose. Panic set in as I began to feel claustrophobic, wondering where on earth in my body the tube was going to and how they got it in there.

I tried to distract myself, looking around the room before setting my eyes on one of the only people I wanted to see right now. It was as if I had forgotten everything in that moment, the only memories I had when I looked at him were my ones with him.

He slept peacefully in the armchair next to my bed, his body leaning forward as his head rested on the edge just next to my stomach. Was it selfish of me to want to wake him up? I hadn't seen him in weeks, and the last time he saw me I was passed out in his arms.

Deciding in his position I would have wanted to be woken up, I began running my fingers through his hair slowly. Within a matter of minutes he had begun stirring, before his eyes fluttered open and locked with mine.

"Hey," I whispered, a large grin present on my face.

"Hey," Carter mimicked back, sitting upwards and taking my hand that was stroking his hair and lacing it through his own.

I stared at him for a few moments more. Part of me is unsure about what to say to him at this moment, everything has been so hectic for so long, what do you even say to somebody in this situation? How are you doing? No, he's probably not doing great you idiot. I've put him through so much since he's known me.

"Is Jamie okay?" I questioned, not wanting to talk about anything else until I knew that my brother was alright.

"He's doing great. He didn't have to stay long here at all, maybe an hour or two. He had barely taken in any water, so the doctors were more than happy for him to be released. He's with his foster family, they're all staying at your beach house currently. Liam is there with them too. He'll probably be here in the morning to see you."

"Okay," I nodded, staring at the white wall ahead as I processed the information. "So he's fine. Jamie's fine. He's safe."

"He's more than safe. You saved his life, Amelia," Carter spoke gently, as if the slightest thing could break me, while stroking circles on my hand with his thumb. "He reminds me of you, you know. He's got your eyes."

I couldn't hide the smile on my face as he said that, my heart growing larger as I realised that Carter had finally met my younger sibling. No more secrets were present, and it felt incredible.

I readjusted my position on the bed, wincing as I did so, but continuing nonetheless. Carter's eyes lit up with worry as I audibly gasped at the pain, but relaxed when I laughed at his worry. I patted the space that I had now created on the single bed, mentioning for him to lay at the side of me rather than the silly armchair.

"Are you sure? I don't want to hurt you."

"Don't be silly. I haven't seen you in weeks, Carter. I need you to be as close as possible."

I leaned into his body as much as I could, his arm now around my shoulder. I could lay like this forever, staring at nothing in particular while I laid here with him. Part of me had truly fallen for this boy, but he wouldn't learn that. Not for a while, anyway.

"I was so worried, Amelia. I thought you were... I didn't think they'd be able to revive..." He trailed off, placing a gentle kiss on my hair as he spoke.

"Hey, I'm right here," I whispered, turning slightly to look up at him. "I'm not going anywhere. Not if I get a choice."

I let my mind wander as we laid in silence, both of us deep in thought. I had so much I wanted to ask, and yet I had what felt like an eternity left to get my answers. There was no rush... but there was one thing I wondered.

"Carter, how did I get out of the car?"

"What do you mean?"

"I didn't get out myself. I remember the feeling... I remember losing consciousness. I should've died down there, Carter. That was it for me. So somebody must have pulled me out."

"Don't be mad, please," Carter began, trailing off as if he was worried about my reaction. "I pulled you out."

"You what?" I exploded, turning around to face him as much as I could with the tubes. "Why would you risk your life like that, Carter? What if you had died too - how could I have lived with myself knowing that you were dead because of me?"

I can't believe he would do something so careless. He had a brother. Parents. Family. He had so many people who loved and cared for him, yet he risked it all for me. How could I ever thank somebody who had quite literally risked their own life to save mine?

"Well, technically, you'd be dead too."

"What?" I questioned, a puzzled look now on my face.

"You wouldn't have to live with yourself, because you'd be dead too." He stated, looking at me with so much emotion. "Amelia, I watched your car plunge into that lake. I quite literally watched my girlfriend drown, I wasn't just going to sit by and wait for the emergency services to arrive."

"Carter-"

"No, there's no questioning it. When dad had finally stopped the car, I didn't even know what I was doing myself. I was in the lake before I even realised the car had stopped. That's when we saw Jamie, his little body appeared on the surface of the water so I immediately swam over to him and pulled him to shore. He was all over the place with what had happened, most likely from being underwater for so long, but what I could piece together was that you were trapped.

I wasn't just going to sit there knowing that you were trapped underwater in that car with him. I managed to get your door open, rather than going through the window. I think the electric had cut off by then, the car being fully submerged. Your seatbelt was fully jammed though, I'm not surprised you couldn't get out. I managed to move it so that I could pull your body out from around it though. I actually thought I may have lost you in that moment.

You weren't responding at all under the water, and you were completely lifeless when we got to shore... the ambulance had arrived at that point and they did CPR and everything, but Amelia, they were about to pronounce you dead. I have never felt as numb as I did in that second, thinking that you might have been gone. It told me everything I needed to know about how I feel about you.

And those feelings are strong."

"I feel the same," I whispered back, a tear rolling down my face as reality kicked in again. "Thank you for saving me, Carter."

"Always."