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Where did I go?

Chapter Three

I wake up at eight in the morning. Dr. Spiel comes in and hands me a change of clothing. I sit patiently as she disconnects me from the machines. As soon as she is done I get up and hobble to the small shower. The warm water feels like heaven. I examine my body and relearn all the marks and bumps and scars. My body has changed a lot over the years. There's more scars from, I'm guessing, all the surgeries they had to do to keep me alive. I finish up and step out looking more like a human. I slip on the jeans, red t-shirt, and vans. The clock now reads 9:30 am. Just a half hour to go.

The doc comes back in with a folder of paperwork and explains to me what to do at home. "I want you to live your life. Try look at pictures. Have Mike and your friends tell you stories. Anything that will jog your memory. Now if your head starts to hurt too bad remember to take your medicine. And your therapy sessions are scheduled for Thursday mornings at eleven. If you have any other concerns don't hesitate to call me."

I nod and take the folder. Mike knocks and comes in. "Ready, Val?" I ease off the bed and follow him to the front desk. There's more paperwork and then we are in his car.

The sun and the warmth of San Diego are so comforting and familiar. I stare out the window at all the passing store fronts. I notice my favorite record store is boarded up, even though it feels like I just bought an album there a week ago.

"So, uh, your car was obviously totaled, but we can get you a new one whenever you want. But I got you a new phone and had them upload as much as they could from your old one. That got pretty banged up too." Mike hands me a silver rectangle. I turn it over in my hands.

"Um, how does this thing work?" I'm used to my trusty flip phone. Mike laughs at me.

"Oh yeah, welcome to the future Val. It's a touch screen. No flipping, just hit the button on top. By the way, Myspace is dead. Wait until you see Instagram and Snapchat..."

I hit the button on top and the phone comes to life. What the hell...

"Can I trade this in for a normal actual phone?!" I whine.

Mike just laughs even harder. "You sound like you're seventy. It's easier than you think, trust me just play around with it."

He pulls into a parking garage and stops the car. He grabs my bag and then hurries around to help me out of the car. We take an elevator up a few floors and then turn left down a hallway to a red door.

"Home sweet home." Mike announces as he opens the door. He lets me go first. The entryway leads to a hallway that has pictures on each wall. I stop to look at a few. There's a bunch of us, as kids and in high school and after. There's a few family members. There's a couple of a band. I recognize Vic, Tony, and Jaime, all smiling and standing with Mike. "Wait, did you guys make it?"

Mike smiles. "Indeed we did. I'm officially a rockstar!"

I laugh and shake my head. That's all the guys ever talked about, making it big someday.

I make my way through the kitchen, dining room, and living room. I get a headache and an intense feeling of deja vu. The last few rooms are the studio and the bedroom. I sit on the bed and just take everything in. Mike comes in with my bag and drops it in the closet.

"You can have the bed, I'll take the couch. All your stuff is in this closet and the bathroom."

I protest, "No you take the bed, this is your apartment anyways. I don't wanna intrude or anything."

He just shakes his head. "This is our apartment. And I insist, you're still healing anyways."

I shrug and look around the room. "So how did it happen? How did I end up in the hospital?"

Mikey looks uncomfortable. He comes over and sits next to me. "You were coming to see our show. We were on tour for a couple months, not too long, but you wanted to see us." He stops and sighs. I can tell this is hard for him to say. "Apparently some drunk guy didn't see the light turn red. He hit your car, your car got pushed into another lane, and a third car rear ended you. Of course, the drunk bastard was fine, just a few scratches... We were just about to go on and you still hadn't showed up. We were halfway through the first song when our manager ran on stage and whispered the news." He stops and looks away. I scoot closer and put my head on his shoulder.

"It's okay, Mikey. I'm okay now. Everything's okay." I attempt to comfort him, but he just laughs.

"Okay?! None of this is fucking okay! I thought you were gone, Val! And then you finally wake up, and you don't even fucking remember me. Us. Everything. I'm nothing but a friend to you. I'm trying to act like it but I just... you are my whole world." Mike shakes his head and gets up. "I'm sorry, I need some air. You should rest." The door slams behind him.