It was as if all other aspects of my life were insignificant as I sat in the examination room, replaying my morning in my head.

There was no mistaking it. I definitely hadn't read my journal.

I took a deep breath, my chest feeling oddly heavy. It was almost as if someone had placed a weight on top of it. Yet, it wasn't painful. It just felt like pressure.

I wasn't sure if it was good or bad yet.

This was all unbelievable.

It had only been a week in a half.

That would make it the fastest that I had ever remembered someone.

I shook my head, bringing my fingers to my lips, a shocked but hopeful smile forming. Maybe if it had been any other day, I would have found the chemical scent of antiseptic cleansers nauseating, or the room chilly, but paradoxically I felt warm.

Was that a symptom of shock?

I was brought from my dazed stupor as my phone buzzed against my leg, reminding me that I still hadn't responded to Elijah's text. My hand went to my pocket as I withdrew my phone, holding my breath as my eyes scanned the small screen.

Part of me was still in denial that this was really happening and wasn't all a dream. But then again, if it was a dream it had lasted way too long. I placed my head in my hands, trying to calm my nerves and my excitement. The former to which I had no idea why I was feeling. Yet still, I was extremely nervous.

I was so lost in my own head, that I nearly jumped out of my skin at the sound of a knock on the door. The handle turned as it opened further, revealing the cherry and vibrant smile that I had come to know over the years.

"Hello, Rowan. How are you today?"

Dr. Anderson walked over to the sink, washing her hands before looking over her shoulder at me. I took a deep breath, stilling my bouncing leg, and curling my trembling fingers into a fist.

"I am pretty good." Her eyes remained on me as she walked across the small room, grabbing a stethoscope. "Are you sure?"

Was I that see-through?

I nodded, plastering a smile on my face as she made her way towards me, placing the medical tool on my chest. "I have just had a long day. I really need a nap," I chuckled, not knowing how I was managing to maintain my calmness.

A long day was definitely an understatement. And with the adrenaline that was pumping through my veins, the last thing I wanted was to take a nap. Dr. Anderson's high-pitched laughed, rang through the air as she nodded, her green eyes bright.

"I know what you mean. The other doctors here have nothing better to do than gossip about who is sleeping with who. If I have to hear another word of it I am going to scream."She moved the stethoscope, listening for a bit silently. With a raised eyebrow and a tilt of her head, she glanced back up at me, all thoughts of talk among co-workers leaving her eyes. "Has anything been going on? Your heart is beating sort of fast right now."

I had been found out.

I shouldn't have even been surprised. Nothing got past her, even when she didn't have a stethoscope to tell when my heart was about to beat out of my chest. She was just amazing like that.

Dr. Andrews was the one doctor that had been assigned to my case, who I felt, knew what they were doing. She looked young for her age, and I knew that her blonde hair, and crystalline green eyes, probably made people undermine her ability.

Apparently being pretty and a doctor made others see you as less skilled. But they could shove their assumptions up their rears because she was probably the best neurologist in the building. Despite my condition, she never treated me like I was about to break, or talked about my condition as if it was a communicable disease. She was genuine, didn't make assumptions, and most of all, she took the time to get to know me.

So it was no surprise that she knew something was going on. I had a feeling that it wasn't just because she had used the stethoscope to listen to my heartbeat either. She had a way of knowing when I was being completely honest and when I wasn't.

I laughed, shaking my head as I tried to find the right words to say. "The reset button on my brain malfunctioned for once. I remembered another person."

Her eyes widened as her mouth formed an o shape. "Rowan, that is great," she breathed, grabbing her clipboard as she beamed at me. "It is always amazing to see progress." I nodded wordlessly as she jotted something down before tucking her pin back into the pocket of her lab coat. "But is that all? I know that every small step of progress made is significant, but you seem more shaken up than usual. You have remembered people before." she added.

Now came the shocking part.

"It has only been a week."

She paused, her hand suspended in the air. I hadn't thought it was possible, but her eyes widened even more, the almond-shaped orbs gleaming with curiosity and astonishment.

"Only a week?"

"Yeah." I paused before I spoke again. "His name is Elijah. We met when I almost hit him with my car. I don't remember it, but he told me I did." I chuckled at the moment that I had no recollection of. I bet it was an interesting interaction.

An amused glint formed in her eye and she gestured for me to keep going, so I did. I told her everything from what I had written about in my journal to the conversation at Hayden's place. Part of me hoped that in telling her I would get an answer to how this was all even happening.

"Okay, as much as I would like to hear that story, I am afraid that I have to go into doctor mode and ask you some questions," she said after I finished.

I grinned. "I figured you would say that. I am ready when you are."

She took out her pen again; the click slicing through the air as she poised it above my patient sheet.

"Okay, so first have you had any headaches, nausea, blurry vision, anything that would strike you as odd?" I shook my head and she nodded with a smile. "And now for the fun questions." I laughed, knowing where this was heading as she winked. "where were you when you guys first met?"

"I was told that I was backing out of a parking spot on campus, and I almost hit him with my car."

She nodded her head and continued writing.

"What is your own, personal, first memory that you have of him?"

"I remember meeting him on campus, except, I was just walking to my lecture at that time. We hadn't gotten off on the best foot. I am pretty sure that I hadn't written down our exchange after I almost hit him with my car, because I didn't consider it important."

Actually, I had no idea why I hadn't written it down.

She glanced up, laughter suspended in her eyes. "So you almost hit someone with your car, and you didn't think it was important?"

I laughed slightly, finding that I was way more relaxed than I had been upon arriving. " Don't even get me started," I chuckled. "I don't know what I was thinking. I probably just had figured that he wasn't someone that I was going to run into again."

She nodded as if accepting the answer, but chuckled to herself. "Okay, I guess that makes sense. Do you remember what you were doing when you realized that you remembered him?"

I clasped my hands together. "I was headed over here, and he texted me. I responded without even thinking, and that was when it hit me that I knew exactly who he was. Who he is."

She had put her pen and her clipboard down on the counter and was looking at me curiously.

"You say that it has only been a week?" I raised a shoulder, bobbing my head up and down.

"I am just as surprised as you are, honestly."

"And you don't have any idea on why you were able to remember him this fast? Did anything happen between you guys that would you would consider different from usual?"

I thought about her question for a bit.

"I mean, besides almost hitting him in my car, I can't think of anything. Plus, I don't even remember that myself. That is just what he told me."

She picked up her pen and continued writing. I thought about my past interactions with Elijah.

"Wait," I said, as I realized something that could be important. "Well, the conversation that he and I had at Elijah's did get pretty serious," I said, my chest tightening at the memory of baring my soul for a stranger to see. I shook my head, trying to find the right words for what I was going to say next. "And then last night I had a dream." Dr. Anderson leaned against the counter, her gaze steady. "Of a car crash."

"Rowan." She shook her head.

"Yeah," I breathed. "I have never had a dream like it before, so it was pretty unsettling"

"What exactly did you see in your dream?" She asked slowly.

My stomach twisted as I thought about it. I could remember it vividly, despite having pushed it to the back of my mind for the better part of the day.

"I think...I think it was the crash that I was in," I said, slowly. "I saw my parents and a younger version of me. We were going to get ice cream and then..."

"Rowan."

"I know."

"Do you think really that it was just a dream? That is way too similar, darling," She said quietly, as she walked over to the counter and grabbed a tissue, before handing it to me. I took it, not even having realized that my eyes had grown wet.

Just telling it was awful as if I was experiencing it for the second time.

"I have no reason to believe otherwise." I bit my lip, nodding slowly and then with more surety. "I want to say no at the same time I want to end all the confusion and say yes."

I didn't add that the reason why was because I couldn't remember what had happened on the day of the actual event. She already knew that. All I had was what i'd been told. Which meant that for all we knew, it could have just been some freak happenstance.

I sighed, looking down at my hands as I balled the tissue in my fists.

"The reason I brought it up, is because we were talking about how my father passed," I whispered, my voice strained and my chest tight. "I have been trying to figure out a way where maybe talking about it could have caused the dream, but I don't even know anymore. I also don't even know what it has to do with Elijah."

She nodded her head, her eyes calculating as if she was working out something in her head but wasn't sure if it was right.

"Let me ask you this, Rowan, are you attracted to Elijah in any way?"

The question was a peculiar one, and I raised my eyebrows, shaking my head slowly.

"I haven't known him that long. Why?"

I knew I was dodging the question, and she noted it with a knowing grin.

"Because if you did, I think it could also have something to do with why you remembered him." She walked over to one of the roll chairs near the counter and took a seat. "With Skye and Hayden, they were your best friends, but you had a platonic interest in them. With Elijah, there could be a link because of the fact that you find him attractive."

I opened my mouth to correct her, but she continued before I could.

"There is nothing wrong with being attracted to someone." She leaned towards me, lowering her voice even though we were the only ones in the room. "Also, your face is cherry red right now. So I am going to assume that the answer to my question should have been yes."

Oh. Well, there was no use in trying to deny it now.

"Fine," I said. "Maybe he is attractive, but I don't think he does relationships." I did not know why I added that last part, but it was already out.

I claimed my mouth shut as the corners of her lips curved up further.

"I knew he had to be a hottie." I shook my head in amusement. Even though Dr. Anderson had quite a few years on me, she remained me of Skylar at times. "The reason why I asked though was because, while no evidence has been proven indefinitely, there are theories that memories can be revived when linked with strong emotions. For your case, this would mean that because you like him, your mind won't let you forget him, because he is too important," she finished.

Even though I wasn't sure that I was anywhere close to having formed such an emotional attachment to Elijah yet, I could see where she was coming from. Our interactions had been...well intense.

"But still, if that is the case, shouldn't I remember the crash my family was in?"

"Technically, yes." She placed her right leg, placing her hands over her crossed knees. "But the brain is something that us doctors haven't quite been able to fully understand. It could be that some emotions trigger a different response."

"So it could all just be an emotional block of some sort."

She nodded.

"The intensity of your car accident could be the reason for your condition today, while the way you feel about Elijah now, could be the cause of why you have remembered him so fast. It could also be the reason for your dream. Since you talked about it with him, your brain could be trying to make up for the memory that isn't there."

Despite her having not said it, I heard what she wasn't saying. She didn't know why I remembered.

I smiled, trying to keep the disappointment that was growing quickly at bay. I guess not all questions lead to answers. I opened my mouth to speak just as my phone buzzed underneath my leg again and I stilled. My mind flew immediately back to Elijah, all the nervousness I had been feeling rising again.

How was I supposed to even act now? This was a lot harder than it had been with Hayden and Skylar. Even though I had been happy, this situation was different, and I wasn't exactly sure why.

"Well, Rowan," Dr. Anderson said after she had written down everything on her clipboard, and not noticing that I had fallen into a new state of conflict. "Even if there is no way of knowing for sure what could have triggered your dream or the fact that you remember Elijah, we should keep an eye out for any more memories. Please call me if you experience anything else unusual, okay?"

"Yeah, okay. I will do that," I said as her gaze shifted to the clock that was mounted above the door. Dr. Anderson rose slowly, and I just sat there as she moved to the sink to wash her hands again.

Maybe I still was in shock. When she turned, she sent me a soft smile, before pointing at me as if she had remembered something.

"I almost forgot. Your dream, was it in the middle of the night?"

I knew the answer to the question because I had looked at the time right after I had woken up.

"No, it was a few minutes at twelve in the morning, so it was technically the next day."

She nodded to herself, placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, we have one more thing to go off of now," She said after a while.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, we know that we can use that time as a benchmark to figure out when exactly you start losing memories from the previous day. Technically, since you remembered your dream, we can logically conclude that something happens every twelve hours, but it would always be nice to be sure. Would you be against trying something for me?"

"What did you have in mind?"

"I was thinking that we can do a mini-experiment, I know that they tried this when you were younger, but now that we have an exact time as a benchmark, maybe we can take something away from this. I am thinking that we could maybe have you stay, go to bed like normal tonight and wake up around twelve and read through your notebook." I nodded, seeing where she was going. "This way, if you still have your memory after staying up, we can attribute your memory loss to something that occurs in your sleep or maybe even at a specific time that your memories start disappearing."

"So if I wake up and can't remember certain moments from the day before, then we will know that it is a process that happens before that time. But, if I still remember everything, I will know that it is something that happens after that time frame," I finished.

"Bingo." This is why she was a genius.

"I think I can definitely find a day to do that." I pulled out my phone, knowing that I needed to set a reminder, my eyes lingering on the text box icon before I pressed on the app I needed to go to.

With a deep breath, I tucked my phone back into my pocket when I was finished. Finding that Dr. Anderson had migrated to the door.

"Okay, well, I think that we have made sufficient progress today," she said with a smile. "I think that for the next appointment we can just review what you figure out." Dr. Anderson wrapped her slender fingers around the door handle, pausing when it was cracked open just an inch. "I know I ask you every appointment but is it still a no to seeing a Recovered memory therapist?"

I didn't need to think twice for that answer, shaking my head immediately. We had tried that when I was younger, and it had induced a period of time where I had felt like the reason I couldn't remember was because of me. According to my therapist, I simply couldn't remember because I didn't want to.

But that was literally the only thing that I wanted.

"I think that it is best if I don't go," I murmured, noticing the disappointment that flashed through her eyes.

"I figured you would say that. Even though I do believe that you should give it a shot again, I respect your decision."

She always did.

"Thank you," I said with a warm smile, as I got up and followed her out the door. With one final greeting, we parted ways.

I made a stop at the receptionist's desk to schedule my next appointment before hustling outside.

Even though it was just a few hours past midday, the sky had darkened, telling me that it was going to rain. The petrichor scent that lingered only solidified my assumption as I crossed the parking lot and made it into the car.

I didn't drive off right away, however, just letting everything sink in as I sat.

I remembered Elijah.

It was a start. Even if it was a small one, I would take it. With a vote of confidence, I pulled out my phone, typing my reply.

It's not just you.