A Stranger to Your Heart

I was still groggy when I found myself waking up in my hospital bed. Oliver Westbrook was there beside me, muttering to himself as he peeled an apple, "Honestly, how could you be so stupid? Is that woman really all that worth it? You almost lost your life!"

He'd just taken a bite from that apple when he turned to see me staring at him. He was so startled that he nearly dropped it.

"Well, look who's finally woke up. Mr. Hopeless Romantic himself. I thought you were going to die in the name of love."

Me? Die for a woman?

I tried to make sense of what Oliver was saying, but I only ended up wondering if he was really talking to me at all.

"Landon, how deeply do you love her? Like, honestly. I can't believe you're so crazy for her that you were ready to throw your life away for her. Meanwhile, she's probably too busy enjoying herself to even think about you," he nattered in irritation.

When I didn't respond, he assumed I was still thinking about that woman, which only made him even more exasperated with me.

He was about to hit me upside the head, but he angled his hand away when he saw the gauze there, slamming his palm against the hospital bed instead.

"Landon, when are you finally going to see sense? She doesn't love you! Kelsey doesn't love you one bit! She doesn't care if you live or die, so why do you still insist on loving her?"

Who was this Kelsey? Was she some fictional character I was crazy about or something?

I finally blurted out the questions that had been whirling in my head after seeing how genuinely exasperated he was with me.

"Oliver, what's wrong? Who upset you? Also, who's this Kelsey you're talking about? Is she your new girlfriend?"

Oliver froze, staring at me in disbelief. "You don't know who Kelsey is?"

I searched my memory, trying to fit the name to a face. Alas, nothing came to mind. "Am I supposed to know who she is?"

The apple Oliver had been holding dropped to the floor with a thud.

A doctor arrived in my room a minute later.

…

He looked me over for 30 minutes before giving his diagnosis. "Dissociative amnesia."

I'd lost my memory. Selectively, at that.

"The patient has likely lost certain memories after experiencing emotional trauma. However, those memories may return with time."

Oliver read the information he'd found online about the causes of dissociative amnesia.

"You were traumatized physically and emotionally. It's actually harder for you not to lose your memory," he continued muttering as he browsed through more information.

Regardless, the entire thing sounded ridiculous to me.

I'd lost my memory? Really? What exactly had I forgotten? Someone important? Or could they be someone unimportant since I'd forgotten about them?

Oliver swatted my thigh with a grin after reading his fill.

"Landon, it looks like even God couldn't take it anymore. He wanted you to forget about that woman, so he even had you lose your memory. But hey, it's not such a terrible thing. Trust me. Forgetting her will save you a whole lot of trouble."

When I saw how delighted he was, I quickly figured that this Kelsey person couldn't be all that important. Otherwise, why would he be so pleased that I'd forgotten all about her?