The October Amaryllis

Chapter 57 - May 20th, 2020 - 4:16 P.M.

At 4:16 P.M., they told us the news about Ashley's condition, and it wasn't good.

"She's having vivid hallucinations and paranoia right now; it is unknown if her medication might have caused it. Still, it's so strange that you both experienced bizarre things so close together," the nurse said, looking right at me. I could feel everyone's eyes turn to look at me and I felt discomforted by the swarm of eyes.

Will they suspect me soon? Oh, what have I done...?

"Will she be okay?" I asked, shaking.

"With antipsychotics, her hallucinations and paranoia should be under control. Hey, I have an idea; why don't you all make her a get well soon poster? She would really appreciate it."

Oh, great, I can't skip out on this. I'll feel so guilty making the poster.

"Great idea," Morgan said with his face appearing bright and glowy for once; he clearly got most, if not all, the DXM out of his system by now. It felt great to see him happy for once.

"Yeah, sure," Madelynn said before doing the most adorable thing ever. She linked her arm with mine, and we both walked to draw the poster; it reminded me of those old 50s movies where couples would do the cheesiest things imaginable. I'm a sucker for the cheese, though.

How do I make a poster that doesn't sound ingenuine?

"Do any of you know what Ashley's favorite color is?" I asked.

"Orange, she says it's one of the most underrated colors, and I agree," Madelynn replied, smiling.

"I love orange," Morgan replied.

Oh, that's just great! Why did it have to be orange out of all the colors? I can't stand that color after what happened...

"So I'm guessing I'm going to be the one to draw?" I asked, getting anxious about being judged. The fear of judgment is one of my worst fears.

"You're the most skilled of us by far, so I'd say so," Madelynn replied, messing around with her hair again before letting out a yelp.

"All good?" I asked, looking in her direction.

"Accidentally tore my hair out; I really need to stop the habit," she replied with a heavy sigh.

"What should I draw?" I asked, looking at the two.

"Just draw something that you think will be special. It can be anything, really," Madelynn replied, sliding one of her hands into mine.

What did I do to deserve someone like her? Why is the universe rewarding me for committing so much evil?

I decided at that moment to draw her lying in her hospital bed surrounded by us and a bunch of flowers. Sure, it was cheesy, but it was the best thing that I could come up with.

As I started drawing, I swear there were certain moments where time skipped forward and backward. I realized this because I would work on the same lines repeatedly in a manner that set my déjà vu on fire. And the skips weren't subtle either; the surrounding environment would constantly jerk like an unstable camera. I would also keep getting these horrible electric shocks throughout my body, making me feel like I was being tazed. I swear I almost went crazy from what was happening.

"You're shaking," Madelynn said, concerned.

"I'm fine; I just keep imagining her going through all of this pain right now. It sucks, man..." I replied, sighing with a shaky breath.

"She'll be okay, I promise," she replied, squeezing my hand.

As I continued drawing, my brain started looping my last conversations with Maynard over and over; it was incredibly distracting as I could barely focus on drawing the flowers because of it. All I could hear was, "Give me one reason I shouldn't blast you to pieces right now," and him laughing like a maniac.