Chapter 6 : Amnesic

Ashley POV

There was a moment's pause as I digested his words. A sense of fear and uncertainty filled my mind. "What happened? Jayden, is he okay?" my voice was slightly shaky, though I tried to hold it in.

"There was an accident. Jayden was involved in it," Clark explained in a serious tone. "We hope you can come as soon as possible because we need the support of those closest to him."

'An accident?' Lea whimpered instantly.

"What kind of accident?" I could hear myself asking the question.

"It'll be easier to explain when you're here," he said impatiently. "When can you get here?"

"I... I can get there in about twenty minutes if the traffic clears," I overheard myself saying.

"All right, I'll meet you at reception."

All the way there I was so worried that I couldn't even sit still. I didn't even bother to call my parents to get a driver for me. In the meantime, the taxi driver gave me an odd look as I kept fidgeting, scratching my arms and ruffling my hair. I didn't care that I looked like I had taken some kind of medicine, and cheap, poorly made medicine at that. I was too busy worrying.

What the hell was going on? Why was Jayden in the hospital? No matter how much I enjoyed watching him lose his cool or how conflicted he felt, I would never even think of trying to hurt him. Not even once, not even a little. No matter what he had done to me, I would never want to hurt Jayden Ronan Keller. Despite his scumbag behavior and cheating, he was the son of a close friend of my parents - and one of the few factors that existed in my life. Even if he is an unfriendly person.

There was also a time when we were kids that I didn't have a chance to return the favor.

After I had paid the driver, I ran straight to the front door of the place where the healer was. There was a middle-aged man with a fairly good physique standing near the reception desk, and he furrowed his brow at my sudden arrival until it finally dawned on him that I had arrived.

"Ashley Van Smith?" A frown appeared on his forehead and he raised an eyebrow. "Is that you speaking with me?"

"Yes," I replied quickly. "Don't say my name too loud though."

There were very few visitors or patients in the place, though considering the time of day - or should I say night? - perhaps that wasn't too surprising. But considering the man was in the hospital, I was expecting paparazzi.

"Nice to meet you," the man said, extending his hand. "If the situation were different, I might have meant it. I'm Clark Walter."

" Me too, and yes, I know. Where's the media?" I asked after shaking his hand. His hand felt heavy, and callous to me. "Aren't they supposed to be here, spying or parasitizing or whatever they call Journalism?"

He chuckled wearily before he sobered up. "It happened in a very personal way, and it was too abrupt. At least we got lucky."

For some reason, I swallowed hard as my heart began to beat faster. "Then where is he? What happened?"

"Follow me and I'll tell you."

Then he started walking down the east hallway, which fortunately didn't say "Intensive Care". I followed him and walked beside him, trying not to think about what horrors might have happened to Jayden.

"I don't know why he acted the way he did," Clark said, then gave me a sharp look. "But after the two of you 'talked,' that guy was devastated. I thought he'd cheer up after a few drinks to celebrate the concert. He did - at least for an hour or so he seemed happy. Then suddenly he decided to run out into the street, yelling something about 'fixing things'." He explains with a grimace. "He didn't see the car, at least I don't think he did."

"He would never kill himself," I said firmly, remembering the events of a few years ago. "He was too much in love with his work, singing and dancing."

"I really hope not."

"Believe me," I said, trying my best to fight the anger that rose in me at the memory. The old bruises on the skin of his young body. "He's been through some terrible things to get to where he is today. He wouldn't just give it all up."

Clark looks at me curiously, but I shake my head. That wasn't the story I needed to tell.

"Besides," I add with a half-bitter smile. "He would never willingly die for me."

"Well..." He stopped in front of a room. His face turned serious again. "This is it. He has regained consciousness, and although the tests and scans are not yet complete, the healer thinks he is fine. According to him, he is lucky to have only one broken arm, even if it is his right arm."

"In that case," I said, putting my hand on the metal door handle and feeling a wave of relief wash over me. "Why did you sound so worried before? You said it was a serious accident."

"There was one thing that wasn't clear..."

Then I rolled my eyes. "The scars on his pretty face won't stop the fans from supporting him. In fact, it will probably make him look a little more powerful and even more desirable. It's nothing to be ashamed of - quite the opposite."

Clark pursed his lips before speaking. "It's not his face that's the problem."

And the next words he said would change my life forever. For better or for worse, I don't know. At least not yet.

"He's amnesic, Ashley." He said.

"Amnesic?" I repeated myself.

"Yes, amnesic," he confirmed. "That makes the situation much more complicated than it needs to be. He didn't want to sleep and refused to even eat or take painkillers. It's a miracle he was able to get any medical treatment at all."

"The amnesia is only affecting his memory," I said confidently. "It shouldn't affect his natural intelligence."

Last year I remembered that Eva had been a big fan of a novel or manga about a protagonist suffering from the disease, so she had read everything about it. And of course, she had poured all this very important information - no, not really, not until now - into my brain, so I felt quite up-to-date about the disease. There are two main types of amnesia, but neither causes someone to lose all their memories.

"To be clear, he doesn't trust everyone," he looked away, then continued calmly. "This guy doesn't even recognize his own group members. It's... hard to see, though it's even harder when I'm forced to send them home with him in this state." He cleared his throat, then met my gaze again. I briefly thought I saw a single tear in his eyes before he blinked and it was gone. "He barely speaks. He won't sleep if anyone is in his room. And even though he can't eat with his broken arm, he won't let anyone feed him."

"That last one might have something to do with hospital food in general," I said, trying my best to lighten the mood. To be honest, I felt as if someone was taking a giant hot fork and twisting it around my stomach. "Have you tried anything else? Sweets? Fried chicken?"

"Nothing worked," he said bitterly. "Not even the nurses or the healers could convince him. He's... a little off if you ask me."

I ruffled my hair and rubbed it in frustration. "Then why are you calling me?" I shouted in frustration. "Why not his parents?"

"His parents were called," he began, "but no one answered. And I wasn't planning on calling you. Your cell phone number was the only one Tyler didn't recognize out of all his contacts. None of us thought it was you, judging by the ID, though I'm glad it was you."

"Why?" I asked, only briefly wondering what kind of unfortunate nickname I had received on his cell phone that had surprised Clark and someone named Tyler so much. Evil fiancé? Descendant of a witch? A better question would be, how did he get my number? I don't even have his number anyway.

"What do you think I could possibly do that you guys don't have in mind?" I continued. "We're just family friends and nothing more. Why not invite his other friends? Or why not his girlfriend?" A hint of the jealousy I felt earlier slipped into my voice, it was heavy. It felt painful, begrudgingly. I cringed at the sound of that pitiful voice.

"He is always asking about you."

I paled. "What?"

He had a serious expression on his face. "As soon as he woke up, your name was the first thing that came out of his mouth. I tried to call Blair first, but when she arrived, he couldn't recognize her either. It broke her down completely."

I barely heard him. Jayden was calling for me? He remembered me, of all people?

"I'm going in," I said, and finally opening the door.