[Complicated] Take Your Memories,I Don't Need Them

[Riley Scott Collins]

Riley chuckled as he listened to Lance ranting about living with Joel and the annoyances that were starting to accumulate between the two of them. He kissed Lily’s cheek gently with a smile across his lips as he carefully adjusted the way her shirt fit against her arms. Blake had taken what was a black tee onesie and embroidered the M symbol for the Maine with a circle around it onto the center of her shirt. With that he’d paired her into a pair of adorable pink baby jeans that he’d found in a boutique. Blake had worked on a black and pink headband, choosing for the base of it to be black, and then the jewel that was offset to the side being a bright pink that matched her jeans. She was dressed to be his little rocker princess today, and he’d even sent a picture of it to Ryan. “ Look man, roommates are annoying while you have them.But appreciate it while you have it. Cause your next roommate? Yeah, that’ll be your wife,”. He smiled again as he took his sorbet ice cream cone back from Lance.Lily wasn’t allowed to have ice cream,at least not until she was a year old, so Riley had opted to get sorbet since it was water based and he could offer her small amounts. It made him smile how her mouth easily found it’s way to the delicious, cold dessert. The move to New York had been one that he didn’t even think twice about. All of his family was moving out here, which was a no-brainer that he should as well. Plus he wanted a chance to raise Lily without the pressures of everyone watching him, knowing that she had basically been dropped into his lap, looking at him as if he wasn’t ready. The circumstances had been unfortunate, but now that Lily was in his life he couldn’t even imagine what it would be like with out her. It was this all consuming love that just poured out of his heart and soul every time he got to see the beautiful smile on his daughters lips, or the soothing sight of her sleeping,her eyes fluttering softly with her dreams.

“ Yeah mate, easier said than done when you aren’t dealing with a roommate who thinks he is the next Hugh Heffner.” the thick British accent said with a syrupy tone that even though Riley wasn’t looking at him, indicated that he had a smile across his features.Riley narrowed his eyebrows as he looked out on the street. There had been a traffic jam, which really wasn’t unusual for the time of day it was. “ Are you even listening?” Lance questioned, obviously ignorant to the fact that Riley’s mind was now pre-occupied. He watched as the little boy stopped following his mother across the street, his attention being distracted by what Riley could only assume was change. The little boy seemed enthralled with his discovery, as though he had stumbled across the worlds’ greatest treasure. The mother on the other hand was busy in a discussion on her cell, waving her arms in anger and completely oblivious to what was happening in her sons world. “ That cab’s not stopping” Riley said still focusing on the street in front of him. His arms tightened around Lily as he looked back towards the cab to see if the driver was going to have any intention of stopping. But of course, he as well was preoccupied, but his attention was diverted by a cup of deli coffee. Riley yelled across the street, trying to get the mothers attention. “Mate?” Lance asked, clearly not picking up on the scene in front of them. “ Hold Lily. Stay here” Riley said as he quickly turned to Lily, placing her in the fumbling arms of one of her uncles.

Riley ran out into the middle of the street, stopping only slightly when his knee clipped the bumper of another cab. He smacked his hand against the hood of the cab before lifting his hand in a lazy form of an apology for running out into the middle of the street, though he didn’t look away from the boy who was now only feet away to see if the driver of the cab he ran into received his apology. Riley picked up the boy quickly but he couldn’t jump out of the way without risking hurting them both. So instead he tried his best to think quickly before he placed the boy between two cars that were parked in front of a line of boutiques. Riley sighed and stood up straight, his attention still focused on the small boy who seemed more upset by the fact that some strange man had picked him up and placed him between parked cars than the fact that he had just narrowly missed becoming one with street pavement. Obviously the cab had noticed too late that it was about to collide with a child, and it it’s attempt to counteract the event it was now moving dangerously, as though its back tires were gliding against ice and causing it to spin, while the tail of the car spun and found a blunt force to collide against with Riley’s body. Instantly he fell against the crush, the crack from his head hitting the pavement seering through his entire body, though there wasn’t a thing he could do to move away from what was happening to him.

Riley felt oddly calm in his thoughts as he caught awareness of the sounds, screams, smell of smoke, burnt rubber, and the broken glass to the sides of his arms. His eyelids felt heavy, so he did little to move them, instead letting them stay closed and his body felt too tired to move from the way he was positioned. The only thing tempting him from this state was the fact that he could hear Lily screaming, probably being bound tightly in Lance’s arms.He could feel his heart beat against his chest, though it was dim, tired as well from not only the physical trauma that he had just experienced, but the mental exhaustion he had from the scene that had unfolded in front of him over the last fifteen seconds. “ Someone call an ambulance,” he heard through Lance, freaking out as he tried to keep Lily away from the scene, but at the same time wanting to be there for his friend, his family. He felt his head slack to the side, finally giving into the tiredness and cold that consumed his body. Lance hailed a cab quickly, though he seemed disgruntled about the idea considering how one had just taken down his friend. But at the same time, there wasn’t a chance in hell he wanted to place Lily in the scary situation of riding along in the back of an ambulance. He held her close to his chest as he slid into the backseat. “Follow the ambulance,please” Lance said, alarmed by how their afternoon had turned out.

Riley’s eyelid was lifted open multiple times, a flashlight being directed straight into it. Each time it was a different person, a different job in the medical field. First it was the paramedic, then the nurse, then the doctor. A neurologist had been brought in and Riley was completely unaware of all of the different x-rays and scans that had taken place. It was like his own body was forcing him into a recovery mode, resting whether he wanted to or not. It seemed like slowly and slowly, faces, places,experiences were all disappearing from his thoughts, leaving his brain to have only one function; healing within itself. He struggled to cling to each of them , though there was no use. It could have been days, months..hell time was moving so quickly and so slowly at the same time, that he honestly felt like he could have been out for months. But eventually, his eyes opened. It was slow and they felt tired, but it seemed to cause a stir in the room. They were excited over something that seemed in all honesty to be small to Riley in his opinion.

“ Oh my god,Riley”,Blake’s soft voice said through all of the shuffling in the room. He could tell that she had rushed to the side of his bed and his lips flickered into a small smile. “ Hey Blake” he said , tiredly and through a whisper. Blake had brought her hand to the side of his face and leaned down to kiss his cheek. ‘ You remember me?’. She sounded shocked, which made Riley furrow his eyebrows. “How could I forget you?” he questioned, finally accepting all of the light and not wincing at the headache that the brightness was bringing him. He had assumed that Blake would be here, I mean why wouldn’t she be. But he wondered when the rest of them would get here. He looked past her and saw Logan. Logan was a pretty cool guy from what he knew of him so far. I mean, he hadn’t spent too much time with him, but he knew that Blake and him were pretty good friends, even working together from what Riley had last heard. “ Hey man, it’s good to see you again” he said as he sat up slightly to offer Logan a handshake. Even if he was in a state of pain, he didn’t want to lose manners. “ Does anyone know if Chad is coming?”. Chad was a guy that he’d met at school, and honestly they’d gotten to become really good friends, really quickly. There wasn’t a person he trusted more outside of his own family than Chad. Well, there was Blake of course.

Blake tilted her head slightly, seeming to be confused by something and Riley couldn’t help but notice that she had ditched the traditional skirt and blouse or a dress combo and was wearing blue jeans and a loose fitting hoodie. She must have been at home when she had been called to the hospital. Instead of wondering why she was dressed in such loose clothing, his thoughts snapped back to the fact that he was at the hospital. “ What happened?” he said as he looked back at Blake, “My parents are going to be so pissed… did you call them?”. He reached down and placed his hand over Blake’s, intertwining his fingers through hers even though she seemed to be even more puzzled than before. “Blake?” he whispered, gesturing for her to lean closer. He smiled softly as he grazed his thumb over her cheekbone. “ I know you’re probably scared, but I promise that I’m fine.I’m not pretending to be strong when I’m not or anything. I have a little bit of a headache but other than that I feel fine.It could just be an epically horrible hangover. With a few more scrapes and bruises.” He smiled brighter as he watched her, “ Babe, you know you’ll never miss a chance to write a song about something in your life. “ he placed his fingers against the soft skin along the back of her neck and pulled her closer, using what upper strength he had left to sit up and meet her lips in a kiss.

[Blake Emma Renner]

“ What?!” Blake yelled into the phone as she tried to understand what Lance as telling her. “ Okay.. sit tight. Logan and I will be there as soon as we can, okay? Don’t freak out, everything is going to be just fine.”. Blake hung up, before staring blankly at the wall for a few moments. She could hear the water in the bathroom and knew that Logan had most likely just gotten in the shower. This gave her a few moments to compose herself before she told him. Logan handled everything so diligently and was a leader without trying.Even when he was freaked out, he never showed it. He just took charge. But this, this hit so close to home with all of them. Riley was being rushed to the hospital and Lance had sounded freaked out by how much blood there was. She couldn’t put the weight on Logan’s shoulders of handling everything. Not this time. Even Superman needed a break every now and then. So instead she took in a deep breath. “ I can handle this.” she said to herself. Riley was like a brother to Logan, if he needed time to just think to himself while Blake handled everything, then she wanted to do that. She wanted to Logan to know that it was okay for him to not take charge all of the time, and that she was capable of taking care of him for once.

Blake’s hands shook slightly as she picked up her phone and started calling their friends. Chad, Ryan, Shane – Kat would have heard from one of them, Madeline, Joel, Kiersten. “ Hey,it’s Blake. Look I don’t know what you’re doing but something important happened. Riley’s in the hospital. Lance said that he was hit by a car while trying to get some kid out of the way or something. I’m about to tell Logan so that we can make it to the hospital before he wakes up, cause.. It shouldn’t take too long. I just thought you would want to know what is happening. I don’t know if you can make it or not, but I’m going to book five hotel rooms at the hotel closest to the hospital and I’m going to arrange for a driver to have on call 24-7 incase we need to shuttle back and forth between the hospital and the hotel. Also I’ll put a crib in each of the rooms, I’m sure if Riley is going to be in the hospital for a while we’ll all want to take part in taking care of our family. “. That had been the gist of the conversation that she’d had with each of them. She thought she had covered all of the bases, knowing that Logan would have thought of every detail and she was trying to do the same. The last phone call however would be the hardest. How could she explain to Mackenzie that Riley was in the hospital. Again. She needed to tell Logan first. She needed his support and silent strength before she called her best friend. “ Logan?” she said before stepping into the bathroom. The steam filled the room and she waved some of it from her face. ‘ Sweetie, it’s important. We need to get ready to go the hospital. I’ve already let everyone else know but um… Riley’s been involved in an accident. He was in the middle of the road, trying to move a boy when he got hit by a car. Lance said there was a lot of blood involved and that we need to hurry,”.She tried to speak softly, in fact she wasn’t sure if he was even able to hear her over the water. She stepped out of the bathroom to give him some privacy to get ready and placed her head between her hands. It took a few moments, but she was finally ready to call Mackenzie. If she’d managed to hold back tears up to this point, it was hard when she finally found the strength to call Mackenzie and relay the news to her.


It had been four long days, and Blake had maintained her spot in Riley’s room. The only time she ever left was when Logan insisted that she sleep at the hotel, stating how it was better for the baby if she was well rested. But as soon as she woke up, she peeled herself back to his room, eager for Riley to wake up, eager to know that he was okay. She turned a page on her magazine, not even noticing anymore as nurses and doctors stepped in to evaluate him. They had all worn off the nostalgia of having some of the musical talent there and did their own jobs without even paying attention to them. Logan had diverted a potential fight when a nurse had asked Blake for an autograph while she was clinging to hold Riley’s hand when she first got there. Since then she’d read every magazine that the hospital gift shop offered and found herself a distraction by making sure that everyone ate when they were supposed to, just the way she would at home. But she just happened to look up at the same time as Riley’s eyes slowly opened and she threw her magazine to the side, not caring if it hit Logan in the chest or not, “ Oh my god, Riley” she said as she rushed towards the side of the bed. She brushed her hand over his hair, just happy to see that he had woken up. Wasn’t someone supposed to come check on him when he did this? The doctors had spoken to each of them, telling them how his memories might be a bit.. disoriented, and that he might struggle with certain things so none of them were really sure what to anticipate for when he finally did wake up. Relief swept over her as he said her name and she placed her hand against her chest. “ You remember me?” she said, narrowing her eyebrows as she looked down at him. She knew that she must have looked terrible, but honestly at this point she didn’t care. None of them seemed to care over the last few days. Blake froze as Riley asked about his parents, feeling panic rise in her chest as a lump formed in her throat. Riley’s parents had died in a plane crash and it was hard for all of them to watch as he struggled with it. To have to see him go through it again was going to be hell. “ No, I…” she started though she wasn’t sure how to finish it. Blake knew she wasn’t the right person to have that conversation with him, not considering who all was important in his life. But her shock was short lived considering how Riley placed his hand over hers the same way he used to when they had dated for a short time. He gestured for her to come closer, and the look of perplexity was strained across her face. She leaned in and stared at him, mouth aghast at what he was saying to her. What in the hell was going on inside his brain, was the only thing that Blake could think to herself. But suddenly he had sat up and kissed her. Blake stayed still, stunned, eyes wide open as Riley had placed his lips against hers. She stayed still in place, save for the motion of throwing both of her hands in the air and away from the situation. The last thing she needed was to be kissed by her ex-boyfriend while her husband was in the room, and the last thing she also needed was to be kissed by the man that her best friends was in love with, and… who was in love with her best friend. Blake realized that through all of the freaking out in her head, she had let the kiss go on too long and stood up quickly. “ Um…no no..” she said with a quick shake of her head, the panic starting to really sweep over her as she thought of Mackenzie and Logan. She pointed between herself and Riley very quickly. For someone who made a living off of her skillfully strung together lyrics and word placement, she found herself at a loss of all words, except for one. “ Nonononono…” she said again, thought it came out sounding more like a musical sound than a string of no’s.

[Logan Chase Renner]

It had been a long four days since the accident in the street and Logan could tell everyone was tired, though they all sat waiting patiently for something, anything, to happen. Logan sat beside Blake, staring at the wall in thought, when she hit him in the chest with the magazine she had just thrown away from herself and was going to Riley's side. Logan peeked in the hall to see if Mackenzie was back, but didn't see anyone out there. Logan walked over and stood behind Blake off her shoulder, watching Riley realize where he was and whatnot. It seemed he definitely knew who Blake was and at least recognized Logan, though it didn't seem like Riley really remembered him as a friend, just someone he had been acquainted with. Riley asked where Chad was, just as Logan saw Mackenzie appear timidly in the doorway. Out of the corner of his eye he could tell she was unsure of whether or not to come inside, the doctors saying it was possible he might not remember some of his family and friends. Logan turned to Riley, smiling, "Chad's probably eating lunch, we'll send him in as soon as we see him." Logan let Riley talk with Blake since she seemed to be the only one he really "knew", but before Logan could protest Riley was kissing Blake as if they were romantically involved. Logan stopped for a second, his mouth open t say something but saw as Blake stopped the situation, trying to explain that they weren't in any way together. Seeing that Blake was struggling to explain to Riley what was going on, Logan bent down, placing a hand on Riley's arm, "Uh Riley, man, obviously you know you're in the hospital. You have a head injury, the doctors said it was possible you'd lose some of your memory. Uhh...." Logan looked around, seeing Mack still standing there, her face expressionless. He wondered what she was thinking, obviously Riley was confused. "Blake and I are married. Ummm, your relationship," he motioned to Riley and then to Blake, "It uh, ended. Quite a while ago, in high school?" Logan wasn't sure how else to explain. He looked at Blake, maybe she had something to add to help him understand. Doubtful, she looked like she had absolutely no idea what to say.

Logan went over and grabbed a chair, pulling it closer to the bed side, "Look man, you're probably confused, if you aren't sure or whatever, you know, just ask. Any of us are willing to help clear things up for you." Logan took Blake's hand instinctively. The sooner they knew exactly what he remembered and what he didn't, the better, but Logan knew this was going to be hard on everyone. Logan turned to see Mackenzie still standing in the doorway, obviously unsure if she should even say anything yet. If Riley still thought he was dating Blake then who's to say he even remembered Mack at all? Logan couldn't imagine what she must be thinking, instead he gently nudged Blake, tilting his head in Mack's direction in case so she knew her friend was standing there. She'd need a friend right now, Logan figured he could keep Riley company so they could discuss whatever it was girls talked about.

[Riley Scott Collins]

Riley frowned with his eyebrows set in a furrowed position, watching as Blake became speechless and began stammering ‘no’ repeatedly. “No?” he echoed with confusion. His grasp around her hand was taken away as she stepped back, obviously distraught over what had just happened. He watched her for a few moments, even as Logan was speaking to him before he turned his head to look him in the eye as he spoke. “… Wait, what? You guys are married? I mean you guys just met… she said you were a self centered, narcisstic, boy band dancing prick with his head up his ass,”. He looked at Blake as she scrunched her nose. ‘ Sure.. THAT he remembers’ he heard her say as she started to walk away from the scene in general and over towards a girl that was standing in the doorway. He scanned his eyes over her for a few moments before he looked back at Logan, wanting to hear the rest of what he had to say. He said that he could ask questions,but honestly Riley had no idea what was even going on. “What the hell….happened.. Why don’t I remember what happened after high school? ..I didn’t meet Chad in high school..I know him,” he said, confused and trying to figure this out. Riley sighed and closed his eyes. He’d been awake for two minutes and already he was exhausted, unable to handle the situation around him.

“ When are my parents coming? Where is Mandi? What was I doing to get hurt? Blake why did we break up? Did I cheat?.. I’d probably cheat. I was a dick in high school.I’m so sorry, Blake. But it looks like you turned out alright.. fuck.. Did I get into college? Which hospital are we at? Cedars Sinai? St.Vincent? … Who is my best friend? Why the hell is there a voice in my head telling me about some Sunday dinner?” the more questions he asked, the angrier he got.He could feel his chest rising and falling out as he took in quick breaths. “ If Blake isn’t my girlfriend, then why isn’t there any other girl here to stand by my side?” He was sort of surprised that he didn’t feel any loss at having lost Blake to Logan Renner. If that’s how it happened. He tried to take in a deep breath,freaking out wasn’t going to fix anything.He looked back at the blonde who Blake was wrapping her arms around. He smiled slightly as he looked at her. “ I know you…” he said quietly, looking over at her. “ I mean, I think I’d remember that beautiful face anywhere,”. Riley shook his head. “ You’re that chick from that musical show.I can’t believe I have so many famous friends…” He narrowed his eyebrow as he remembered just how many that was, his thoughts going to Shane. “What about Shane.. is he still macking on that dude’s girlfriend? We’re all friends with Shane,right?” he looked between everyone,blinking as he tried to take everything in.A sudden wave of panic overcame him, not knowing who he was, where he belonged,what he had done.It was all starting to cause his chest to feel tight. “ I can’t be here,I need to go home. My parents need to know I’m okay,”. Riley ripped the iv out of his hand, ignoring the blood as it sprayed away from the iv site.

[Logan Chase Renner]

Logan looked at Blake and Mackenzie both of them looked scared shitless and at a loss for words. He sighed, realizing he’d have to explain a little to Riley until other people got there, like Mandi or Chad. Logan placed a hand on Riley’s shoulder trying to calm him down, “Hang on just relax, I’ll fill you in. Umm we are in New York City, we all just moved here, about a month ago.” He paused, thinking that was the best way to start, location. “You’re in a hospital in New York, you’re in Columbia’s med program, so is Chad, he’s here somewhere. Umm… you were in Time Square the other day, there was a kid in the road about to get hit by a taxi, you threw the kid out of the way, got hit by the car instead… head trauma… I feel like I’m repeating myself. Uh…” Logan watched as Riley noticed Mackenzie for the first time, standing beside Blake. He recognized her from Glee. Not as a friend, a girlfriend, an ex-girlfriend… nothing. Just an actress on a TV show. Logan must have given her the most sympathetic look he could muster, but she just quietly nodded, “Yup, Glee.” Riley seemed calm for a second, Logan explained that yes everyone was friends with Shane, he was dating that girl, Kat, and he and their other friend Ryan were currently on tour with their bands at the moment but that they planned on visiting soon to see him. Hopefully tomorrow or this weekend if Logan could adjust some dates. Riley started to freak out again, and Logan tried to calm him but he’d already ripped out his iv. Mackenzie had looked like she was about to combust from nerves and she’d quickly slipped out, saying she was going to find Chad.

Logan tried to push Riley back down and get him to relax and luckily Chad must have been nearby, as he came in the room, Mandi trailing in after him. Chad went to the other side of the bed trying to help calm Riley down, and a nurse came in, telling Riley he couldn’t get up and she’d have to put the iv back in. Logan just shook his head, trying to handle things like he always did, but this was one of the hardest things he’d ever had to deal with as of late. Mackenzie had sent Chad and Mandi in but hadn’t returned, Blake looked like she was still in a state of i-have-no-idea-what-to-do. Logan didn’t know how any of them were going to get through this without a few nervous breakdowns.

[Mandi Lynn Collins]

Mandi looked up at Mackenzie as she came into the cafeteria. When she first saw her,Mandi felt her stomach drop into her stomach. Just by the look on her face, she knew something was wrong. “ Oh my god, did he crash?” Mandi said, taking in a few quick breaths.She dropped the bagel she had been holding back onto the Styrofoam plate and jumped up quickly. “ Chad let’s go”. She was so thankful that Chad had been there during all of this. She knew that she didn’t fit into their “family” but Chad had always been a part of the Collins actual family,so it was comforting to have him there. Mandi shoved her way through a few people who were standing at the opening of the cafeteria and ran down the hallway quickly, wanting nothing more than to get to her brother. She slowed down slightly, only enough to notice that Chad was going in front of her before she took in a deep breath and followed him. “ Hey guys,” she said,not looking at Logan or Blake as she acknowledged them. “ Oh my god, Mandi.. thank god. Come here” Riley said as he sat up, holding one of his arms up. He narrowed his eyebrows, and Mandi could see tears forming in his eyes though he would never let them fall out of his own pride. ” Mandi please tell me,..what is going on.. Logan said we’ve…we’ve been here a month? “. Mandi caught her breath and held back tears as she tried to place on a smile and nodded. “ Yeah.. we have. “ She offered him another small smile and was at his side quickly, wrapping her arms around him tightly. If it hurt him, he didn’t tell her, but instead wrapped his own arms around her just as tightly. “ Mandi? It’s okay.. god you gotta get yourself together before mom and dad get here. You’ll make mom bust into hysterics. You know how she loves the theatrics” he had said, trying to be jokeful and put her at ease. Mandi squeezed her eyes together tightly and covered her hand over her mouth. After a few moments she sat up and pushed her hair from her face. “Logan,Blake..do you mind giving me, Chad and Riley a few moments?” she said,sniffling again as she took Riley’s hand in her own.

Mandi smiled as she looked at Riley and tried to think of how to choose her words carefully. “ You have been very,very fortunate in your life. I know some of it is probably hazy, but.. let me fill you in on a few things I know. “ Mandi coughed quietly before she bit against the inside of her lip. “ You have an entire family of best friends. Chad.. Blake,Logan,Shane, Kat, Joel, Madeline, Ryan, Kiersten, Mackenzie,Samantha.. They have been such a good family to you. And it crushes my heart to know that you’ve lost some of the memories that you’ve made with them. They love you,.. with so much of their hearts. You have all had so much success,and it’s been a blessing to be able to watch you celebrate it together. But you all have this…amazing strength when there are downs as well. Your group of friends came to support you in a way I never even imagined, and I need you to listen carefully.”. Mandi forced another smile again, trying to do anything to stop the tears from coming. “Mom and dad… “ she coughed, fighting the urge to sniffle again, “Mom and dad passed away almost two months ago. It was a plane crash, so they didn’t suffer. But Riley.. you arenot alone. Our family is not fallen. Do you understand me? Everyone here in this hospital, and a few who I know are dying to come see you as soon as they can, they are your family and they will not let you go through anything alone, ever. And I know this, because you feel the same way about them. You may not see it, but in time you will.” She squeezed his hand tightly but he seemed to be staring at her with a vacant expression. “ Mom and dad are dead.” he repeated, with a stone expression across his features. “ The last conversation I remember having with dad is because I told him I hated him… over some girl I can’t even remember the name of. I told my father I hated him, that’s my last memory of him, and you’re telling me that the son of a bitch is dead? He’s dead before I even get a chance to apologize? He’s dead, leaving me with that memory,..and winning…again? I can’t even match up to be a good son in the event of his passing?..Mandi could detect the anger in his voice, lowering her head she stared at his hands for a moment before she looked back over at Chad. Maybe she had said something wrong,maybe she wasn’t the right person to do this after all. “ There’s so much we have to tell you, there is so much that you need to prepare yourself for.Maybe it’s best to not expose it all at once,” she said quietly, hoping to be gentle with him. Riley shook his head, anger overcoming him. “ No. I’m the one that lost my memory. I want answers and I want them now.”. He looked at Chad,his breathing hard from his anger. “ Who the hell am I?” he questioned, though it came out as more of a yell. He flinched as the nurse worked on him, shoving Mandi’s hand away from his own as well.

[Chad Anthony Masters]

Chad watched his best friend's expression as it went from confusion to anger and back again several times. Chad understood Mandi for thinking maybe they shouldn't dump everything on him at once, but Riley should know everything that was going on in his life right now. "Riley, I know you're really frustrated and pissed off, we understand you're angry. But I agree I think you need to have some answers, the sooner the better." The sooner he knew about Lily, the better, that way he had to let it sink in before he saw her. Chad looked at Mandi before he began, "Uh, just after your parents passed away you were in contact with your lawyer. He asked you if you remember having relations with a girl named Sarah, that girl you hooked up on spring break? It turns out that Sarah had a child that was yours, but um... Sarah also passed away. She left your daughter to you, her name's Lily. She's been with you for the past month." Chad paused, "She's a really cute kid though..."

Chad waited for him to react, knowing it wasn't going to be good. But Chad just thought the sooner you ripped off the band aid the sooner the sting went away. And this was his best friend, he was going to sit here until he had all his questions answered and that was that. No ifs ands or buts about it. Riley could throw shit at the wall, punch him, ask as many questions as he wanted, Chad would answer them all if he could. "Riley, honestly, I'd be angry if I was you too. Ask whatever you want, I'll try to answer as much as I can, I know Mandi will too. What else do you want to know?"

[Riley Scott Collins]

“ You guys don’t understand that I’m angry, Chad” he spoke calmly, but he knew his words were tainted with anger. He moved his eyes from Chad’s eyes to the wedding band on his hand. He surveyed it for a few moments. ” You got yourself married. Take away every memory you’ve had of your wife. Every time you held her hand, held her at night, kissed her softly, held her when she was scared of a thunderstorm. Tell me you understand what it’s like to lose that and you’re all crazy. Because that’s just one part of your life. I’ve lost relationship memories. I’ve lost memories of…of a child. My parents.”. Riley flinched again as the nurse missed his vein at attempting the IV. He clenched his fist, only causing the tear where he had ripped the IV out of his hand out to bleed even more excessively. He felt the growl in his chest before he actually screamed at her, ‘ Get the hell out!” he screamed at the top of his lungs.To his side he saw Mandi flinch, closing her eyes as if to stop a few more tears at what was happening. The nurse wasn’t moving and instead was attempting to put the IV in again which resulted in Riley gripping the side of the cart that slid on wheels next to the bed,and throwing it to the side so that it crashed to the floor. With that the nurse got up and left, leaving Riley to look at the mess he had made.

Riley was silent for a few moments, trying to process all of this at once. But how could he. Dead parents. Baby daughter.Dead mother of daughter. Losing entire months of his life. He took in deeper breaths,trying to clear his thoughts. He looked up at Mandi and Chad,for the first time feeling slightly apologetic.It was difficult; having such a war going on inside his head. He wanted answers, he wanted to scream, to have his old life back and to know who he was.At the same time he knew the way he was behaving wasn’t him.But he’d never been so scared in his life. “ I want to see her,” he said , with a bit more of a calm tone to his voice, looking back over at Chad. “… I’m sorry I took some of this out on you I… I don’t know what’s happening… but you don’t deserve to be yelled at.Either of you…I understand that I’m not the only one going through something..” he said, feeling a bit more in control of himself. “ I also want to meet your wife.” he said with decisiveness before looking back at Chad. “Did I sleep with her? Cause apparently I slept with Logan’s… which is also you’re ex girlfriend. So.. my bad.”

[Chad Anthony Masters]

Chad kept himself from flinching every time Riley yelled or threw something, but staying calm here was kind of vital. He could see that Mandi was scared, and Chad felt bad about the entire situation. It all just sucked. After Riley had calmed down a bit, he apologized for freaking out, but Chad figured it was a well deserved freak out. Chad smiled a little, "Not that I know of, but you can absolutely meet Sam, she's great." He couldn't help but light up when he talked abut how great Samantha was, he probably looked like a kid with his first crush. But it was whatever. "Oh..." Chad feigned seriousness, "There's something else you ought to know... The Packers won the Super Bowl this year... sorry man. I know it's rough..." Chad joked, lightening up the situation. If they could at least joke about this a little then things would be okay. They had to be. For everyone. Everyone just needed to keep optimistic and grow a hell of a lot of patience from here on out. They'd get through it. And Chad couldn't imagine better people then their family to be the support system Riley needed right now. Hell, at least they new he'd eat well. And be entertained. And hope fully Shane and Ryan were coming home in the next day or two, those two goons could cheer Riley up whether he remembered them or not. Shane could entertain a complete stranger any day.

Chad stood up, stretching his arms, "Hey listen, I'm going to go find Lance, that's Logan's brother, he's got Lily right now I think. I'll have him bring her in." Chad went out to the waiting room where Lance was sitting with Lily who was looking pretty tired and grouchy. And probably wondering where the hell her dad was. Her baby grouchiness was understandable. Chad told Lance that they'd been talking to Riley and he'd asked to see Lily and to go in and see him. Chad looked around the waiting room. Blake and Mackenzie were no where to be seen, but at least they were together. He knew his sister was a big girl and could handle herself but in this case he really didn't want her left alone. She was acting weird and nervous all day, and the day before and the day before. Chad knew hospitals made her nervous. Last time she'd been in this situation things hadn't exactly ended well. Actually, now that he noticed, Scarlet wasn't anywhere to be seen either. The three of them were probably together, Scarlet and Mackenzie a bundle of nerves and Blake trying to shove food down their throats. Before he went back to Riley's room, Chad texted Kiersten and told her what was going on, asked if she needed anything, and put his phone back in his pocket. She was probably fine at home with Ellie, having refused to step foot into the hospital. The sad thing was if Riley wasn't Riley Mackenzie probably wouldn't have either. Showed how much she loved him, only to be disappointed by the fact that he didn't remember her. Chad sighed and headed back to Riley's room, trying to keep a positive attitude.

[Riley Scott Collins]

Riley lifted his eyebrow as he watched Chad light up about this girl. How many times had he seen him with a girl? There was Blake, and they had kind of been adorable. Then there was that girl that for some reason he couldn’t remember, he just couldn’t stand and it felt like he was the only one who hadn’t felt that way, and now this Sam girl. He frowned slightly realizing that he could jest about’how many times had he seen Chad with a girl’ but now.. he wasn’t sure. Maybe he forgot some of them. “ Yeah well if she fell for you she must be an idiot” he said, his joke still pretty dry against his tone. He shook his head and flickered a small smile at Chad before his face hardened again. “ Oh come on. Favre leaves for the Vikings and we still can’t get the Packers to eat dog shit? Rodgers is quickly starting to piss me off.” he said with a shake of his head. “ Wasted an entire season cheering for the wrong team,” he mumbled to himself before he looked back up at Mandi and Chad.He felt bad for screaming like that in front of Mandi, but he didn’t exactly want to apologize to her in front of Chad so instead he reached out and laid his hand on top of hers. She seemed to smile slowly after a moment and start to at least seem less petrified. She’d lost her parents too, he needed to remember that , and try not to cause her to lose her brother as well.

Riley scratched the side of his jaw as Chad started talking about Lance. That sounded familiar but he couldn’t put a face to it. “ Twit.” he said, though he made a face because he wasn’t sure why. Why in the hell would he say that. Riley shook his head slightly at his own confusion and watched as Chad leaved. He had to admit he was nervous at the fact of seeing his daughter; and also in disbelief. But it wasn’t like his friends would lie to him about something as huge as this. Just moments later Chad came in and he was followed by a thin, blonde girl who was placing her hands on his back in what seemed to be a comforting way. He looked at Chad and tilted his head. “ That’s not your wife” he said matter of factly. “ Not unless you beat her with a club, drugged her, and forced her to marry you”. Riley looked over at the blonde girl and spoke seriously. “ If you’re in danger, just blink” . He heard the soft sound of Mandi laughing and smiled faintly as he turned to look at her. Suddenly a younger kid came in that sort of looked like a younger Logan and Riley sat up. “ Twit” he said again. Though he shook his head, “ I’m sorry, I don’t.. I don’t know why I keep saying that” but instead of being pissed that Riley was insulting him, Lance just seemed to grin. Okay, his friends were weird. He looked away from Lance before looking at the tiny baby in his arms and his heart sort of froze in place. “ That’s her?” he asked, unable to look away from her. “ She’s beautiful,” he said again, everything else starting to slip away from importance.

[Blake Emma Renner]

Blake’s cheeks hurt from the plastered on smile she was trying to have as she looked back and forth between Scarlet and Mackenzie. She felt horrible for both of them seeing as how she knew that neither of them wanted to be here, even if it was for Riley. But they were, and that was the important thing. Mackenzie seemed out of place and like she wanted to be anywhere else. Scarlet seemed to be ignoring the fact completely that it was a hospital and treating it like it was something else entirely, getting way overly excited about gift shops and coffee corners. She watched Mackenzie apprehensively, unsure of what to say because even though she and Scarlet might have felt the same way about hospitals- Scarlet wasn’t the one who basically just had the guy she was in love with look at her like she was a stranger on the bus. “ The doctor said that memories will come back sporadically” Blake said, trying to make a off handed comment without looking at Mackenzie.

Scarlet had gotten up from the table and was flirting with a doctor in the cafeteria. There was a way to ignore the fact that you were in the hospital. Who treated a place for sick people like it was a local night club. Blake shook her head with a small smile. Whereas everyone else had found their ‘person’ they belonged with, Blake sort of felt that would never happen for Scarlet. She was Logan in a woman form, which meant she had an extra dose of stubborn and crazy in her arsenal. Blake looked away before she looked back at Mackenzie, wishing she could be more helpful in a situation like this.

[Lance James Renner]

Lance had taken his duty as watching over Lily pretty damn seriously. Just because Riley was unconscious, didn’t take back the fact that he had trusted him in the first place to hold his daughter. So he’d dealt with the crying,spilling food on herself, wanting Riley and only Riley, and trying to play with her to make her smile, until he felt like he was about to snap. If this was what sex did, he wanted no more of it. First of all, babies needed to be watched constantly.He had no idea how much time and energy was spent in making sure that they didn’t just…die..And secondly, no matter what you did to make their worlds perfect, if it was slightly flawed in any way, they reacted as though the world was ending. Every time. He hadn’t been nearly as good at putting together her outfits as Riley had,not that it was something he had really set himself to compete against him for.

Lance looked up as Chad came over and stood up slowly. “ Come on, let’s go see Daddy” he said to her, hoping that hearing the word ‘daddy’ would give her enough hope for the next few seconds to at least not cry while he walked down the hallway. Lance moved into Riley’s hospital room and gave a small nod to Samantha before he stood at the end of Riley’s bed. It was sort of weird that Riley was having a ‘meeting his daughter ‘ moment for the second time in his life. But hell, at least it felt like the first. Lance smiled brightly as Riley called him a twit and waved it off like it was nothing. He moved slowly and carefully and brought her over to Riley before setting her down against his chest.

[Samantha Jade Masters]

Samantha laid her head tiredly against Logan’s shoulder while she was trying to look up a few Italian restaurants that were close to the hospital. She knew Chad would eat anything that the hospital offered, but she wanted to get him something actually good since none of them had eaten well for a while. She knew that Logan was worried, at least she thought he was probably more worried than he was actually letting on, but there were a lot of things at stake here. Not to mention that Mackenzie was in a fragile place.It hadn’t really dawned on her until then how important Riley was to a lot of people in their family, and whether he remembered them or not, Ryan and Shane would have a great healing power when they were here. She watched down the hallway as Chad went out of Riley’s room and back into it, before she leaned away from Logan. “ I’ll be right back,” she said while standing up and making her way down to the room.

Samantha knocked twice quietly before she stepped into the room. Chad was Riley’s best friend, and she could she see the stress forming with tension in his shoulders. She walked over to her husband and placed her hands on his back, rubbing them back and forth to try and massage his shoulders the best she could while he was standing since he was so much taller than her.She kissed the back of his shoulder blade before she rested her arm around his hip and leaned against his side. “I think you’re giving me far too much credit,” she said as she listened to Riley talking about her. Suddenly Lance was in the room and it seemed like any attention Riley may have wanted to divert to Chad and Samantha was quickly gone.She couldn’t help but smile as she watched Riley with Lily, and knew that she would do whatever it took to give that same experience to Chad.