«Madeline's POV»

My eyes burned from the tears I was holding back. Flynn really didn't remember me? How could this happen? I needed to blame someone for this. Someone caused this. If it weren't for his dad...

Yes. This was all his fault. He was to blame. I needed to get on a flight to Connecticut and hit that man over the head with a shovel.

But, if it weren't for his dad, Flynn would've never moved to Kentucky. And I probably would've never experienced anything other than serving people at multiple jobs. For a while, that was all I knew. And Flynn showed me new things. He showed me that there was more to life. It was about time Flynn got up from that hospital bed and started singing "A Whole New World" to me.

They said Flynn needed to rest, so they told us to leave. So Gaige and I sat helplessly outside of the room, just waiting to be let in again. Gaige fell asleep from boredom, but I was wide awake.

I set my hand on the handle and slowly pushed downwards. The door swung open and I quietly scampered in. And when I saw him, peacefully sleeping on his bed-with no memories of me-I burst into tears. I couldn't hold them in any longer. I was trying to be strong for Flynn and Gaige, but now that they weren't awake there was no point. I cried and cried like there was no tomorrow.

Stumbling over to Flynn's bed, I caressed his scarred cheek. "Please remember me." I whispered and collapsed from sheer exhaustion.

My body racked with choked sobs as I clung onto the railing attached to the bed.

"Ma'am?" A doctor tapped on my shoulder. "You aren't supposed to be in here."

I picked myself up and staggered over to the door frame, leaning on it for support. "Just tell me this, what's the percentage that he won't remember me?"

"I can't say, honestly." The man replied. "We can't know. It just depends on whether or not the person, in the back of their mind, is determined to win. To keep fighting for the things that they knew once before. So it's just a matter of capability."

He brushed past me. "What's that supposed to mean?!" I asked, but he was already gone. It's just a matter of capability? What the hell was that supposed to mean?

I walked out of the room and slumped into the chair next to Gaige. A long day was ahead of us, because Gaige's parents were coming to claim custody of Flynn and get that matter settled. I was surprised they were doing this for Gaige, after... you know. But apparently they had been long-term friends and Flynn was already like a son to the Turners.

I gazed at the ground in misery. Why was this happening? What did I do to deserve this? Flynn was a good guy, honestly.

There's this saying that goes, 'Why do the worst things always happen to the best people?'

Can we just take a moment to appreciate the accuracy of this saying?

"Madeline?" Gaige asked groggily from beside me.

"Huh?" I turned to the side and rubbed my eyes.

"Flynn's going to remember you," He consoled. "He loved you, you know."

"Loved?" I whimpered.

"Sorry, bad choice of words. He loves you. Even though he never told me that, it's the way he looks at you. It's like he pictures you as the most precious thing in the world and he never wants to lose you. You're all he has left. And he will never, EVER let you go. Did you know, that he has never stayed with a girl longer than a week? He's been with you for a month. You, my friend, mean the world to him."

"Really?" I lifted my head up from it's position on the chair to shyly meet his gaze.

"I would never lie to you about that." Gaige looked me straight in the eye.

Sucking in a deep breath, I wondered aloud, "So what are you going to do about Fawn?"

"Well, she wants to keep the baby. And I'm not arguing, but I don't know how we're going to make it through senior year. Is Fawn going to have to drop out to take care of the kid? There's so many unanswered questions."

"Wow Gaige, you're really philosophical." I mused.

"Shut up."

And with that, the silence took control of the conversation and we drifted apart, settling into our opposite chairs for what was left of the night.

-

The following morning was filled with bright lights and blurriness. I was so exhausted, but we needed to help Flynn. Gaige's parents had arrived, weary from their long drive. They had each taken a day off from work for this, so the adoption process had better work.

"Follow me." Alice motioned for our group of four to move into a small office where Flynn was already waiting.

"Hey man." Gaige grinned at Flynn, who smiled weakly in response. I'd bet the experience was all too overwhelming for him. Which was understandable.

"Okay, so the following process will take around the rest of the day and many papers will need to be signed. Anyone in this room currently with the wish to leave should, as no one will be permitted to leave once started." Alice droned and I tuned her out. I couldn't leave. Flynn needed me here. And I needed to see him.

I couldn't let him out of my sight. What if something happened to him?

"Madeline?" Gaige pulled me out of my daze.

"Huh?" I looked over, my vision still slightly blurry.

"They need you to sign as a witness." He pointed to the sheet of paper placed before me.

Lazily signing on the line marked as witness, I went back to day dreaming, just waiting for the long day to be over.

-

"Madeline, it's time to wake up." Someone was rocking me back and forth gently.

"No you wake up." I mumbled.

"I'm already awake!" They exclaimed impatiently.

"Five more minutes."

"You're on the floor in the office." The voice spoke up again.

My eyes popped open and dilated, adjusting to the fluorescent lighting. I sprung to my feet and almost stumbled back to the ground. I would have too, if it weren't for Gaige's quick reflexes.

"So why am I on the floor?" I asked.

"You fell asleep during the adoption process and we decided not to wake you. And then you slid off of the chair and onto the floor. You looked so peaceful, we didn't want to ruin your beauty sleep." Gaige grinned at the last part, while I rolled my eyes.

"Where's Flynn?" I asked, looking around the room and trying to catch sight of the familiar dark brown hair and bright green eyes. But he was nowhere to be found.

"Oh, they're getting him ready for bed. It's almost nine, and they insisted that he go to sleep now. We can go visit him in like five minutes if you want. Then you and I can go get dinner or something."

"You mean to tell me that I slept for twelve hours straight?" I looked at him in surprise.

"Yeah, you need to get more sleep." Gaige looked at me with utmost sincerity.

"Well, that's kind of hard for me right now. I doubt Flynn even trusts me. This whole thing is so frustrating, you know? I just want him back." Choking back a sob, I ran over to Gaige and he gave me a bear hug.

"It's going to be okay, he'll remember you. I just know it." He rubbed soothing circles into my back.

I inhaled sharply, still unsure that his words were true. "Are you ready to go see him now?"

"Let's go." He opened the door of the office for me and we waltzed out. We raced up the stairs and to room 608. This was becoming routine for us.

"Everyone decent?" Gaige stepped in first with a sloppy grin on his face and eyes covered.

"Yeah, open your eyes." Flynn groaned, but with a smile on his face.

Gaige strutted in with a confident smirk on his face while Flynn burst into laughter. "You go Gaige, you work! Yes! Model walk, model walk, model walk..."

I hid a grin behind my hand and followed Gaige into the room.

"Hey, Flynn! Try another pickup line!" Gaige yelled excitedly.

Flynn looked over at me hesitantly.

"Just do it!" Gaige drawled.

"Um, okay." Flynn mumbled and looked over at me with his typical smirk. "You know, I think about you every night before I go to sleep."

"Is it because I'm so sexy?" I said with a wink.

"No, I think about you because you're boring and it helps me fall asleep."

Gaige started laughing and fell off of his perch on the windowsill. Rolling around on the floor, he continued to guffaw.

"It wasn't that funny." I pouted.

"Yeah, it was." Flynn and Gaige said in unison.

"So, did it work?"

"No, sorry." Flynn breathed out through his laughs.

"You're serious, right?" I asked for clarification since he was still snickering.

"Sorry." Flynn looked down at his feet. "I-I'm trying so hard. I just can't. I'm sorry for letting you down."

A/N: so sorry for the late-ish update-ish but the next chapter will come soon. 18 votes, okay? [somebody please complete that for me bc TFIOS]