Chapter Eight
Madison
I sat in the lobby talking to the doctor while Xavier was inside with Max. I’d met Xavier before, and it was sad that we were now meeting under these circumstances. I would much rather have assumed that we would be visiting him in hospital, and not Max. He was always the one out looking for his next adrenalin rush, while Max had always been the more sensible one. I was glad that he had come to see Max, though. They might be different, but Max had always talked fondly of his brother. The more people Max had around him throughout this difficult time, the better.
“So, you’ve talked to Max?” the doctor asked. “The last time I saw him, he was slowly coming around, but the nurses tell me he’s been falling in and out of consciousness.”
I nodded. “Yes, he was awake with me. I still can’t believe that he’s alive and talking. I honestly thought that we might have lost him. I mean . . . they shot him. They shot him,” I said and quickly gulped back the tears. “Thank you so much for everything that you and your team have done for him. I’m not sure I can ever thank you enough. You were all so quick.”
The doctor smiled. “Well, it’s our job. It’s what we do best. We might not be great in other areas of our lives, but this is what we know. But, it’s always good to work with someone like Max. He’s a fighter. He makes our job a little bit easier. It was obvious that he wasn’t going to give up.”
“That’s Max through and through. Uh, I just wondered if I could ask you a question before you go in to see him?” I asked.
“Sure, fire away. That’s what I’m here for.”
“Well, uh . . . Max is acting differently.”
“Differently? What do you mean?”
I found myself blushing slightly as I recalled how Max had looked at me. I’d never seen him look at me in that way before. In all the time I had known Max, he had never been so affectionate with me. And he had never called me beautiful before. But I didn’t really know how to say that to do the doctor.
“It’s hard to explain,” I said. “He’s just different.”
“You have to remember, he’s just come out of a coma. People are never the same straight away. I’ll go in and examine him now and let you know what’s going on, but I really wouldn’t worry. As I said, he’s a fighter.”
I smiled. “Thank you.”
I sat back down in the waiting lobby while the doctor walked off, and wondered what the doctor was going to find out after examining him. Other than the strange way he had looked at me, he seemed a lot better. At least he was alive and breathing, and for that, I would forever be grateful. I was happy that this particular doctor was working with him too. Doctor Bressler was a no-nonsense type of man, and I had faith that what he was telling me was the absolute truth. I knew I didn’t have to worry about him skirting around the truth just to save my feelings. If he told me that Max was fine, then Max was fine. I felt like I could trust him and that was the best thing to have in a doctor. There weren’t many doctors out there who would take the time to listen to my questions, but he’d been incredible throughout this whole experience.
Xavier came into the room and smiled at me. I had forgotten how tall and muscular he was. I was certain he had gotten even more muscular since the last time I had seen him. His dark hair and deep green eyes made him look like he’d stepped right out of a romance novel. I was sure that all the girls went crazy for him. While he looked distinctly different from Max, there was something about the two of them that made it obvious they were brothers. Max looked a bit more like his cousin Josh, but then again, that entire family of men had such strong genes. I had never been attracted to Xavier, despite his good looks. I could recognize that he was good looking, but I had never felt the spark that I was sure many women did when they saw him. Max had asked me once what I thought of his brother, and he’d been surprised when I’d shrugged and said he was nice.
“Just nice?” he had asked me.
I had gotten the impression that Max was used to the girls liking his brother over him.
“Just nice. Not my type.”
I smiled at the memory. It had sparked a whole conversation about what my type really was. And, naturally, I’d gone on to describe someone that looked the complete opposite of Max just for laughs.
“The doctor’s going to be a while. Coffee?” Xavier said now when he walked up to me.
I smiled and stood up. “Yeah, coffee sounds great. Thanks for coming over again, Xavier. I know it will mean the world to Max. And it’s good to see you too. It’s been so long.”
“It has. Much too long. Not the best circumstances to meet again, though. You’re looking great, Madison.”
I chuckled. “I wouldn’t exactly put it that way. I don’t think I’ve slept in days. I probably have dark circles under my eyes,” I said. “I’m also not sure if I’ve even washed my hair. I must be a mess.” It was actually the first time I’d given any thought to my appearance all week. I wasn’t sure when I had last looked into a mirror, and I made a mental note to avoid any for the time being. It was best not to be reminded of what I looked like.
Xavier shook his head. “No, you look great. Honestly. Okay, take a seat. I’ll get the coffees. Cappuccino good?”
“That’s great,” I said. It was only as he left that I realized I didn’t like cappuccino all that much. They were never strong enough for me, and I wasn’t a bit fan of so much milk in my coffee. But I wasn’t thinking straight lately. Although, when Xavier came back, and I took a sip I was glad I had ordered it. It was delicious. He’d also ordered us each a sandwich.
“I’m assuming you haven’t been eating,” he said. “I know that when I stress, I always forget to eat. It’s always the people around you that make you eat, isn’t it?”
I smiled gratefully at him as I took a bite of the sandwich. I hadn’t realized how hungry I was until that moment. It was a simple bacon, egg, and cheese sandwich but it tasted like a five-star gourmet meal to me.
“I should always starve myself. It makes any food taste good. Thanks, Xavier. I appreciate it. This is exactly what I needed right now.”
“No problem. I was starving too. And this stuff is way better than I thought it would be. I thought hospital food was supposed to be notoriously bad?”
“Maybe it’s only the patients that get the bad food,” I said.
“Yeah. Could be. Could be. Like they don’t have enough to worry about.”
“So, how was Max? Was he surprised to see you?”
He nodded. “He was more than surprised.”
“What do you mean?”
“He’s . . . well, he’s not exactly acting like his normal self.”
I thought of the way he had looked at me and sighed. “Tell me about it. I thought the same thing. What did he say to you to make you think that though?”
“Well, I think he has some sort of memory loss.”
“Memory loss? I didn’t know that. I mean, he was a little out of it but he remembered who I was. Didn’t he remember you?”
“He did. Which is why it came as such a shock when he asked me if our parents were here to see him too.”
I looked up in surprise. “Your parents? But they died like five years ago.”
“I know. It was so strange. I mean, he knew who I was. He knew who you were. But he assumed they were still alive. It’s bizarre.”
“Ah, that’s so sad. He must’ve been devastated when he found out they weren’t actually alive anymore.” My heart went out to both of them.
“It was sad, but I think a part of him knew already. When I told him, he seemed to almost know. So strange.”
“I’m sorry you had to go through all of that.”
“I’m just glad I’m here now for him. I’m also glad he remembered me. Madison, I can stay until Friday, but unfortunately, I have to fly back for work then. I’m going to try and postpone it, but I’m not sure if it’s possible. It was already a mission for me to come now. I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to lose my job, but I don’t want to walk away from my brother either.”
“Don’t worry. I’m here. I’ll look after him. You don’t have to worry about it. I tell you what: I’ll keep you posted on how he is doing, and if I need you to come back, I promise to let you know.”
Relief washed over him. “Thank you so much, Madison. It’s good to know that he’s in good hands with you. That makes me feel a whole lot better. Anyway, I think he’d rather be with you right now than with me.”
“What do you mean?”
“Uh, I wasn’t sure if I should say anything to you, but . . . .”
“But what? What didn’t you want to tell me?”
“Remember when I said that he’s been acting differently?”
“Yeah?”
“Well, he was asking if you were single.”
“What? But he knew who I was. Didn’t he?”
“Yeah. He knew who you were. But he still wanted to know if you were single. I have no idea what’s going on, but I thought it was better if I told you so that you were aware. Maybe just be very careful with him at the moment. It’s a bit of a delicate situation. Hopefully the doctor can shed some light on it for us.”
He wanted to know if I was single? Is that why he was looking at me in that way?
“I agree. Come on, let’s go and see if they’ll let us in again.”
We walked into the room and watched while the doctor finished up with Max. The doctor saw us and explained to us that Max has some memory loss that had only affected certain parts of his brain.
“When will the memories come back?” Xavier asked.
He thought about it for a moment and then shrugged. “Look, I’m going to be honest with you. I’m not entirely too right now. It’s very hard to tell as every patient is different and everyone has different symptoms. Right now, we’ll just have to monitor it. Thankfully, Max is doing very well in every other aspect. His motor skills are good, his vital signs are great, and seems healthy all around. I’m sure that his memories will come back in due time, but there is a chance that he might lose some forever. Like I said, we’ll just have to monitor it and see how it goes.”
“I know that I’m Max, and I hate the coffee at the office,” Max said suddenly, and we all laughed.
It was good to laugh with him again, but I was also aware of how difficult things were going to be during his recovery. Mostly because he had not stopped looking at me throughout the doctor’s conversation. Xavier threw me a glance as if to say, I told you so.