Unforeseen Danger Read Online Free

or four times, but it just slipped away.   She squinted at her hospital I.D. bracelet.
    Dr. Carver.
    “Good news, guys,” he said.   “EKG looks pretty decent.   The swelling’s going down and I think your short-term memory will start improving soon.   Any strange feelings, Nikki?”
    “Something’s wrong with my right arm,” she said.   “It feels so much weaker that the other one.   My right leg feels funny, too.   It feels kind of touchy, like I have a sunburn .”
    Dr. Carver sat on the edge of the bed and patted her hand.
    “Unfortunately, sometimes a brain injury can trick the body into ‘forgetting’ about one side of itself , making one side suddenly weaker than the other side.   Most of the time, it can be corrected with physical therapy.   Any other strange feelings?   Headaches, nausea?”
    “No, but my tongue feels all prickly and rough.   Like sandpaper.”
    “Just try to drink as much fluid as you can,” he advised.   “That should help.”  
    “What about her amnesia?”   Jake asked.   “When will she start remembering?”
    “That’s still a little touch-and-go.   The damage wasn’t as extensive as I first feared, but there may be a block of time that she never gets back.”
    “But you think she’ll get back most of it?”   Jake persisted.
    “Each case is different, as I told you before, but yes, I think Nikki will eventually get most of her memory back.”   He smiled at her, and Nikki smiled back.  
    “Any kind of time frame on this?” Jake asked.  
    Dr. Carver shook his head.   “Sorry.   Hard to say, but there are things we can do to help it along.   We’re starting memory therapy today.”
    “When can I get out of this bed?” Nikki asked.
    “That happens today, too.”
    A knock sounded on the door and a tall woman with red-framed eyeglasses stepped inside.
    “Speak of the devil.”   Dr. Carver smiled.   “This is Anna.   She’s going to do some memory exercises with you.”
    He excused himself, and Anna took over.
    “I’m going to hold up pictures, and you say anything that comes to mind.”
    The first was of a bird in flight.   Most of her answers felt rote and unenlightening and she was getting a little frustrated when suddenly a picture of a woman taking a cake out of an oven made her sit up straight.
    “I remember standing in a kitchen with a dark-haired woman, making cookies when I was about ten.   It must’ve been my mother!   Does she have dark hair?” she asked Jake.
    Jake nodded, but he had a strange expression on his face.   She wondered what that look meant, but didn’t want to ask in front of Anna.
    No other memory was retrieved during the session, but Anna assured Nikki that she’d done well for her first session.   She then proceeded to ask Nikki a series of rapid-fire questions pertaining to the time since her admission to the hospital.
    “What’s your husband’s name?”
    “Jake Hawthorne.”   She glanced at Jake’s magic marker tattoo and grinned.   He smiled back.
    “What’s your full name?”
    “Martina Nicole Hawthorne.”
    “What are your parents’ names?”
    “I – I don’t remember,” she said.
    “What’s your doctor’s name?”
    Nikki stared at the ceiling.   She had just talked to him minutes ago and she couldn’t remember without looking at her bracelet.   This was driving her crazy.   Finally, she admitted she didn’t know.
    “That’s okay, Nikki.   You did great!” Anna praised her.
    After she left, Nikki’s gaze swung to Jake.
    “What do I look like?” she asked.
    ***
    Jake looked at her, stupefied.   The thought of not even knowing the face in the mirror was too bizarre to contemplate.   What a strange condition, where a person could remember how to ride a bike or tie their shoes, but couldn’t remember their own name or face.
    “You’re beautiful,” he replied when he found his voice.   “Your eyes…your eyes are amazing.   Pale green, so pretty that they’re