Page 28 of Day Shift

Conan moved closer. “Don’t worry about all that right now,” he said. “Just focus on today, on this moment. We’ll tackle everything else as it comes.”

His words, simple and direct, helped ease my mind after the torrent of information Dr. Thorin had unleashed.

“So he’s your brother, huh?” I asked.

Conan chuckled, shoving a hand in his pocket. “Yeah, there’s three of us Thorin brothers. And you’re not going to believe this, but all of us worked with you just after your wreck. Braxton was the EMT who scooped you up and brought you to our ED.”

“Whoa. That’s a lot to take in.” I shifted slightly on the hospital bed, wincing from the dull ache that seemed to run through my entire body. “Tell me everything you know about me and what happened,” I pleaded, desperate for any information that could help me regain my lost past.

Conan dragged the armchair closer to me and perched casually on the edge. Hesitating, he rubbed the scruff of his beard before beginning his explanation. “You didn’t have any ID on you when you arrived. Police didn’t find a phone either. What we do know…well, it’s kind of a wild story.”

I chewed on my lower lip, bracing myself.

“You broke into a large home on an exclusive estate property,” he said, watching my reaction closely. “When the police showed up, you took off in one of the homeowner’s cars. It was a stormy morning and raining hard.”

I gasped. “Stolen?” I tried to imagine myself doing any of that, but my mind was blank.

He kept going. “You were driving really fast and ended up going off the road, wrapping the car around a tree. They had to use the jaws of life to get you out.”

I absorbed his words, an image of twisted metal and shattered glass forming in my mind. “Sounds like I’m lucky to be alive.”

“Damn right you are,” he agreed, smiling. “And you were smart enough to buckle up. You might be the safest car thief I’ve ever heard of.”

Despite the situation, I chuckled. “Happy to be alive, but not feeling so lucky right now.” I knocked my index finger against my head. “Every part of me hurts, and I can’t remember who I am or much else.”

His expression softened. “I might know someone who can help you with what you’re going through. Atticus’s fiancée had a traumatic brain injury not long ago, after she dealt with some…pretty serious stuff. I’ll ask her to come by and talk to you. You’ll like her a lot. She’s a fiery little thing.”

Our conversation was cut short when Emily knocked on the door. “Conan, this isn’t normal visiting hours,” she said with a friendly yet professional demeanor. “We need to check on our patient.”

Conan stood, his large frame towering over me once more. “Right, right. Just so you know, Jane Doe is going by the name Angel now,” he told Emily, grinning widely.

Emily looked at me, a giggle escaping from her. “Is that the name you’re choosing, or is Conan choosing for you?”

Glancing over at him, I nodded. “Absolutely my choice.”

“Good night, Angel,” Conan said as he walked away, his voice making me all tingly inside. As soon as I lost sight of him, my face fell, and I slumped over, heaving a defeated sigh. Noticing my disappointment, Emily gave me a knowing smile.

“Don’t worry, he left his guitar. He’ll be back.”

After Emily left, I lay back, thinking about Conan’s return. The thought made my stomach flutter. Despite the dreadfulness of my situation, I found myself looking forward to seeing him again. The butterflies in my stomach seemed to agree.

Chapter eighteen

The last few days had passed in a fog of amnesia, each awakening a disorienting plunge into an unfamiliar world. They’d stepped me down from the ICU to a progressive care unit three days ago, and now I was finally in a regular hospital room. It felt like I’d lived a month in this hospital, but it had only been a couple of weeks since my accident. The progressive care unit was quieter and less intense, which was nice, but something about hospital care made me crave the outside world like never before. Hopefully, this new room would give me a little privacy.

Conan, the nurse who had kind of adopted me since I’d landed in the emergency room, was a great distraction through it all. On his breaks, he would often pop in with a milkshake or some fast food, making the hospital seem less like a prison and more like some kind of weird dorm. He talked—a lot—and through his stories; I was getting to know not just about him but about his brothers and Samantha too.

Although he was careful not to say anything that might bring back bad memories, I could tell he was curious to figure out who I really was. He had been great, but even he couldn’t stop the waves of frustration that hit me hard when the neuropsychologist visited. Dr. Schneider had come by a few times, trying to jog my memory using various techniques and even hypnosis, but he’d had no luck—my past remained a blank slate.

When I wasn’t doing sessions with the neuropsychologist, seeing various therapists, or being visited by Conan, I vegged out a lot by watching TV and trying to read. Reading was tough at first; my brain functioned like it had short-circuited, but gradually it was getting better. I could now get through a few chapters without feeling exhausted. It was progress, I guess.

Now that I’d been moved to a regular room, I was looking forward to starting physical therapy in the gym. I had a gut feeling that I used to be super active. Maybe I was a runner? Or did yoga? Who knew? I was curious to find out. It was weird, but moving my body felt like the one thing that might help me connect with who I was before all this.

The transition from room to room hadn’t been easy. Each move had brought a mix of relief and anxiety. It was bizarre, being so disconnected from myself while my body ticked off all the boxes on the recovery list. Perhaps it was the lingering uncertainty about who I was or what my life had been like before the accident that unnerved me. Sadly, while my body healed, my memories lagged far behind. Some were muddled, but most were still missing entirely because of the amnesia.

Just as I’d finished settling into my new hospital room, there was a knock on the door before it clicked softly and swung open. A woman wearing leggings and a cute sports top breezed in. When she took a step closer, I noticed a nursing badge attached to a lanyard around her neck. She seemed to be about my age and had an easy smile to go along with her fiery red hair. Everything about her lit up the room. This woman was instantly likable. She had to be the one Conan had told me about.

“Hey there! You must be Angel. I’m Samantha, but you can call me Sam. I work down in the ED alongside Conan and Dr. Thorin. Well, I’m actually engaged to him, so I guess it’s okay to call him Atticus since I’m not on duty. I’m still getting used to the idea of marrying a doctor I work with.” She giggled. “Do you mind if I come in and hang out for a while? I heard you’ve been through quite a lot, kinda like what I’ve experienced myself.”

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