Saved For Revenge

I woke up in the hospital with a fractured tibia and a hell of a headache, but the worst part? Amnesia.

They said I'd forgotten someone important, but when my buddy Matt showed up, his face etched with worry, and asked, "You really don't remember Emily?", I drew a blank. Emily who?

Turns out, pre-accident me was obsessed with Matt's sister, Emily. Chased her for two years straight, showering her with flowers, gifts, and even redesigning my whole damn apartment in hopes of impressing her. Total cringe. The kicker? She wasn't interested. Cold, distant, and according to Matt, I was bordering on stalker territory. My phone was filled with creepy candid shots of her, and my notes app looked like a stalker's diary. Likes, dislikes, journal entries detailing every rejection.

I was horrified. This wasn't love; this was a damn train wreck. Who was this pathetic dude?

Then, standing at the edge of a new life, my mom mentioned Chloe, a childhood friend, and a potential architectural project back home at her family's farm. Ditching my city life and all those toxic memories, I vowed to never love her again. Forget getting my memories back; I was starting fresh. This time, with someone genuine.

1

The first thing Jake saw was white.

White walls, white ceiling, white sheets.

A dull ache throbbed in his head.

He tried to sit up. A sharp pain shot through his leg.

"Easy there, Mr. Peterson." A nurse.

"What happened?" Jake asked. His voice was hoarse.

"You had a skiing accident. Nasty fall. You've been out for a bit."

A doctor came in. He had kind eyes.

"Mr. Peterson, I'm Dr. Miles. You have a concussion and a fractured tibia."

Jake nodded slowly. "Okay."

"There's something else," Dr. Miles said, his voice gentle. "It seems you have some memory loss. Specifically, it appears you've forgotten a significant person in your life."

Jake frowned. "A person? Who?"

"We're not sure. Your friend is here. He might be able to help."

The door opened and Matt walked in. His face was etched with worry.

"Jake! Man, you scared us."

"Matt," Jake said, relieved to see a familiar face. "They said I forgot someone."

Matt's smile faded. "Yeah. The doctor told me."

He pulled a chair close. "You really don't remember Emily?"

Jake searched his mind. "Emily? Who's Emily?"

Matt stared at him, his eyes wide with disbelief. "You're kidding, right? Emily. My sister."

"Your sister?" Jake felt a blank. "I know you have a sister, but... I don't remember her. At all."

Matt's face tightened. "This isn't funny, Jake. You were obsessed with her. For years."

"Obsessed?" Jake's head throbbed again. "I don't remember."

Matt looked genuinely shocked, then a flicker of suspicion crossed his face.

"Jake, are you serious? You don't remember Emily? Like, at all?"

"No, Matt, I don't. I swear."

"You chased her for two years, man! You'd do anything for her. And now you're telling me you don't even know who she is?" Matt's voice rose.

Jake felt a surge of frustration. He didn't like being doubted.

"I swear on my life, Matt! I don't know any Emily. If I'm lying, let me never design another building."

For an architect, that was a heavy oath.

Matt's shoulders slumped. The fight went out of him. "Okay. Okay, I believe you. Damn."

Matt sighed, running a hand through his hair. "Alright. Let me tell you about Emily. And you."

He leaned forward. "You met Emily about two years ago. At her coffee shop, 'The Daily Grind'. You said it was love at first sight for you."

Jake listened, trying to connect the words to any feeling, any image. Nothing.

"You pursued her relentlessly, Jake. Flowers, gifts, surprise visits. You remember that little cafe near her place? You practically lived there, hoping to catch a glimpse of her."

Matt paused. "She... she wasn't interested. At all. She was always polite, but very distant. Cold, even. You told me how much it hurt, but you wouldn't give up."

He described how Jake had redesigned his entire apartment hoping Emily might visit one day and be impressed. How Jake learned to bake her favorite muffins, even though he hated baking.

"You even tried to befriend her cat, Mittens, and you're allergic to cats, remember?"

A faint memory of sneezing, but no cat, no Emily.

Jake processed this. A woman who was cold, distant.

"Why would I do all that?" Jake asked, genuinely confused. "Chase someone who clearly didn't want me? That sounds... pathetic."

He looked at Matt. "Was I that desperate? It doesn't sound like me."

Matt winced. "You were... determined. You said you knew she was the one, and you just had to make her see it."

"Did she ever... give me any sign? Any hope?"

Matt shook his head slowly. "Not really. She was always polite, but firm. She told you several times she wasn't interested in a relationship."

Jake felt a strange detachment, like they were talking about someone else. "So, I spent two years chasing a woman who rejected me, made a fool of myself, and for what?"

"You said you loved her," Matt said quietly.

"I need to see this," Jake said. "There has to be proof."

Matt nodded. "Your phone. It's in your bag."

The nurse brought Jake's belongings. Matt pulled out the phone. The screen was cracked from the fall.

"Here," Matt said, handing it to him.

Jake took it. His own phone, yet it felt foreign. "What's the password?"

Matt hesitated. "Try Emily's birthday. 0-8-1-5." August 15th.

Jake slowly typed it in. The phone unlocked.

He stared at the numbers. "Her birthday? As my password?"

Matt just looked at him.

The phone unlocked. The wallpaper was a candid shot of a woman laughing, her head thrown back. She was beautiful, with warm brown eyes and a cascade of dark hair. But she looked... vaguely familiar, like someone he'd seen in a magazine, not someone who was supposedly the center of his universe.

He felt nothing. No spark, no recognition.

Jake opened the photo gallery.

His breath caught.