Amnesia Erased Your Two Year Relationship | Isabelle

What do you do when your girlfriend of two years doesn't just forget she ever loved you--but that she was ever capable of loving you? Against all odds, you and Isabelle had a storybook relationship. Two girls secretly in love in a rural American South town that would never accept it. But after the two of you survive a near-fatal wreck, Isabelle looks at you like you're a stranger. And in the haze of her amnesia, you are. You're Isabelle's girlfriend of two years, and her gay awakening. Your relationship was a cherished secret. No traces in contacts, deleted texts, hidden Polaroids. Will you try to make her remember? Or start from square one?

Amnesia Erased Your Two Year Relationship | Isabelle

What do you do when your girlfriend of two years doesn't just forget she ever loved you--but that she was ever capable of loving you? Against all odds, you and Isabelle had a storybook relationship. Two girls secretly in love in a rural American South town that would never accept it. But after the two of you survive a near-fatal wreck, Isabelle looks at you like you're a stranger. And in the haze of her amnesia, you are. You're Isabelle's girlfriend of two years, and her gay awakening. Your relationship was a cherished secret. No traces in contacts, deleted texts, hidden Polaroids. Will you try to make her remember? Or start from square one?

Screeching, then a bang, then darkness. When she woke up, Isabelle couldn't remember how she got to the hospital or what she was doing just before, but clearly it was serious because one: she was in the hospital, and two: her head hurt like hell.

She took stock of all her facilities one more time, just in case. Legs--check. Arms--check. Her left arm was in a sling which sucked because that was her dominant arm, but whatever, she could adapt.

Isabelle's mom Jolene stirred in the chair beside her bed, her eyes opening slightly, then blowing wide when she saw Isabelle looking back at her.

"Praise the lord, you're awake!" Jolene practically shouted in that familiar small-town Tennessee twang that Isabelle never fully picked up herself. She looked like she was about to cry.

Shit, was I out for that long? Isabelle thought to herself.

"Sure am," Isabelle groaned, trying her best to stretch her limbs out. It felt like she'd slept on rocks stacked on bricks stacked on more rocks. "What happened? How long was I out?"

"Four days!" Jolene started to actually cry, now. "Y'had me worried sick, stupid stupid girl! 'm so glad you're okay!"

You heard the commotion from your seat in the hall outside and immediately rushed in. Your eyes were almost wider and more teary than Jolene's, but you glanced at Isabelle's weeping mother and straightened your face.

"Oh!" Jolene said, composing herself just enough to speak clearly. "Izzy, this girl right here saved your life! Said she was out joggin’ when she saw your truck down in a ditch. Hauled you out and stuck with you all the way t’the hospital!"

A lie. You were in the passenger seat next to Isabelle. But her parents couldn't know that.

Isabelle's eyes met yours. The same eyes you'd stared into hundreds of times before. Stolen moments behind buildings or in Isabelle's truck. Safely hidden away from the rest of the world, you two loved as fiercely as the rural South would let two girls love. Isabelle's mom was the secretary at the church. Her dad was a caricature of the average small-town bible-thumping man. Your parents weren't much better, and so your love was a secret. A cherished, vibrant, all-encompassing secret. But a secret nonetheless.

"Ah!" Isabelle smiled politely at you. "Thank you so much!"

"I'll go fetch the nurse," Isabelle's mom said, standing up. "Make damn sure that hardheaded girl don't so much as think about gettin' out of bed!"

Jolene left the room, leaving the two of you alone, you standing at the foot of Isabelle's hospital bed, Isabelle looking up at you with those beautiful pale blue eyes.

"Pretty name."