Chapter 3
I awoke with a slightly dry mouth, but thankfully nothing more. Mason still had to give me a lift home last night, so he didn’t have too many. I had a couple more.

We sat out on the roof for hours, mostly talking, occasionally sitting in silence, drinking and just taking in the view. Whilst I learnt a lot yesterday, I still wanted to learn more. It took all the self control I had to not interrogate him about every detail he may have known. Though he seems fairly understanding, I could imagine it would end up getting on his nerves whether he wants it to or not.

I slowly climbed out of my bed, and got changed into some trackies and a hoodie, whilst remembering the night before. Mason mostly told stories about our time in school, but didn’t seem to mention much after we graduated. He had said earlier that I didn’t have as much time, but could I have just not had any time for him at all? I hoped that wasn’t the case, but deep down I was scared that it may have been that way.

It was well past midnight when Mason finally said he should get me home, granted, I wouldn’t have objected staying up there all night. Even though it was as simple as some beers on a rooftop, it was the best night I have had since waking up after the crash.

We walked back to his apartment so he could get his keys and put the photo he took onto a flash drive, before he drove me home. It was nearly 2am when I finally went to sleep.

As I walked into the kitchen to get some water, I couldn’t help but remember waking up after the crash. For a few minutes, I was somewhat awake. I could hear voices talking, but wasn’t paying attention. My eyes were closed, and everything was black. Eventually the voices got louder, and the lights above me began to shine through my closed eyes, getting brighter until I had to wake up.

I remember waking up, and slowly trying to sit up. There was a doctor who was surprised and telling me to to take it easy, before asking if I knew what happened.

I was still groggy and out of it, and before I could even respond, a woman burst into the room and near tackled me with a hug. I saw her heart break when she saw me look at her like a stranger. That was when Mum knew that something was wrong.

I felt a slight throbbing in my head that had become all too familiar. Whilst I wouldn’t know if these constant headaches were happening before the accident, it’s a pretty safe bet that it started after. I opened the medicine cabinet, and pulled out a box of panadol, removing two tablets from the wrapping and swallowing them with the aid of some water.

I sat on the couch and grabbed my laptop off the coffee table, and pressed the power button, causing the display to illuminate. It was my laptop before the crash, however we had to wipe it if I wanted to use it. I couldn’t remember the password to get in. I was locked out, just like my phone and Facebook. I’m just thankful that Mason was able to show me some of it last night. Granted, there was so much more I wish I could have seen. Even just my messages. They would be a treasure trove of information.

Once I had logged in, I plugged in the flash-drive, and opened Facebook, dragging the lone file from the drive into the Profile Picture section. Within seconds, the awkward selfie was replaced with a beautiful looking shot from last night. I can’t figure out how he got it to look so good. The balance of light, and the background blur are just perfect. He said yesterday that photography uses a lot of numbers, so he probably has a formula for it.

It had been a few days since I first came home, and I was still getting used to this being my home. Mum tried to move in with me until I was a little more used to, well, whatever you’d call this. However I talked her out of it. Regardless of my memory, I’m an adult, and I kind of want to figure all of this out on my own, to a degree.

I still remember my first night alone here after the accident. I ended up ordering chinese, and spent the night until some late hour looking through my DVD and CD collections, watching and listening, trying to figure out what it was about these that appealed to me enough to buy them. I was still without any internet, since my phone and laptop were both locked at the time, so I couldn’t even look up anything. I had to just watch them. Most of the time, I was just unsure of whether my mentality was similar before the accident, or if my thoughts on them were new. What was I like before I lost my memory?

I was snapped back to reality by the sound of my doorbell. I put down the laptop, and made my way to the front door, taking a glance through the peep-hole to see who it was, and decide if I needed to get changed. It took me a second but I recognized the face of my older brother, Tom, carrying a plastic bag.

I opened the door, and greeted him with a hug, however it still felt like I was hugging a stranger. I mean, technically, I was.

“How’re you doing?” I asked, as he walked inside.

“I’m fine. More importantly, how’re you doing? I’m not the one recovering from a wreck.” Tom replied.

“Yeah I’m fine.” I said, “Just getting used to everything.”

We made our way to the kitchen, and I pulled up a stool for Tom, as he put the plastic bag in the fridge.

“Brooke has been cooking extra all week, sticking the leftovers in containers for me to bring you.” Tom explained as he took a seat.

I felt a slight sense of embarrassment, not knowing who Brooke was. Chances are it had been mentioned, and it’d just slipped my mind with this information overload.

“Brooke is your girlfriend?” I asked, trying to make it sound like I sort of knew.

“Fiancé, but close enough.” Tom replied, noticing my embarrassment, “It’s fine. You guys were really close. She sees you as the little sister she never had, instead of the sister that I got stuck with.”

“Rude.” I retorted, however I knew he was only kidding around, “So when do you guys get married?”

“In four months. We sent you an invitation.” Tom replied.

“Yeah, but let’s be honest, I know where nothing is here. By the time I find it, it’ll be next June.”

“Fair enough.” Tom said, before glancing over at my laptop that was sitting on the coffee table. The photo Mason took last night was still on the screen. “That’s a nice photo. Did you manage to get a hold of some old ones?”

“No, that’s from last night.” I replied.

Tom’s eyes widened slightly, though he quickly composed himself.

“What did you get up to last night?” Tom asked, trying to not sound concerned, but failing.

“I went to a friends house. We watched a movie and had a few drinks.” I replied, slightly annoyed.

“Which friend?”

“Mason.”

Tom’s jaw dropped slightly.

“You mean Mason, the angsty kid who seemed to be getting into a fight every second week?”

“Dude, I have no memory from before last week…” I replied, lying slightly. Mason had mentioned getting into fights at school with the people that bullied him. But I wanted to hear what Tom had to say.

“And he didn’t try to…”

“No Tom, and if he did, I wouldn’t be talking to you about it.” I replied, “We hung out during the day and he showed me some places like where we went to school, and the shops where we’d hang out. Then we went to his place, got some pizzas, watched a movie, had some drinks, and hung out. And he barely had anything to drink, and gave me a lift home.”

Tom looked uneasy.

“Just be on your guard with him.” Tom said.

“For God’s sake, I’m twenty four, and have lived independently for years.” I snapped, “I get you think that you need to do everything for me because of this memory loss thing, but I am capable of making my own decisions. And it’s not like any of my other friends came to see me. None of them even called.”

“Just be careful.” Tom replied, “You don’t remember this, but until you were 19 or so, he was your best friend, and you wouldn’t shut up about him. Then all of a sudden he just disappeared. You never talked about him, and he stopped coming around. You guys stopped seeing each other. I don’t know what happened, and now you don’t either. It just seems a little too convenient that all of a sudden you have memory loss and he is all of a sudden a big thing in your life again.”

“Tom, just leave it. You sound ridiculous.” I explained, “How was he supposed to know that I’d have memory loss when he visited me? I told him about it and he was shocked. There was no faking the way he reacted. He said that we just had less time, and honestly, I believe him. We’re adults. It’s what happens.”

Tom opened his mouth to protest, but stopped.

“I better get to work.” He muttered, before standing, “Brooke wants to have you over for dinner soon.”

“Whenever works.” I replied, “It’s not like I’m doing anything.”

“Fair enough.”

Tom grabbed his jacket, and made his way to the door.

“Just, please be careful around him.” Tom said, “I get you’re a big girl, and don’t wanna be told off by your brother, but for once, just trust me…”

“Fine…” I muttered, more so to get him to give up and leave.

“I’ll let you know about dinner.” He said as he walked out the door. I closed it behind him, and went back to the couch.

“For f***’s sake…” I muttered to myself as I collapsed onto the couch. I knew he was only looking out for me, but still, Mason was my only friend who visited me. Outside of himself and my family, I know nobody else from before the wreck.

I leant back, and looked up at the ceiling trying to figure it all out. Tom raised a valid point. If what he said was true, and we just stopped talking, something must have happened. Could the visit in hospital be the first time he had seen me in five years?


Whilst I considered asking him about it, I quickly decided against it. As it stands he is my only friend, and the person who seems to know the most about my past. Even if there is something strange going on with regards to the last five years, I don’t want to lose that link to my old life.


It was nearing midday, and I could foresee an afternoon of boredom. I could only watch DVDs for so long, and whilst I wanted to see if Mason was free, I didn’t want to push too much. He has a job, and probably has other friends. I can’t expect to see him all the time whenever I feel bored. And soon enough I’d have to try and actually do something with my life. Go back to university and see how they deal with cases like mine. If I did 90% of my course, but have no memory of it, am I still qualified? Granted, that’s probably the case for most uni students...