Shattered Asylum

Chapter 35

I look around the foreign room. Where am I? The walls are pale blue, with a skeleton standing awkwardly in one corner and motivational posters that make my stomach churn.

I try to sit up, but a pounding headache forces me back down. Panic bubbles in my chest as I struggle to piece together what happened.

The last thing I remember is throwing up in the bathroom. My stomach churns again at the memory, my hand wiping my clammy forehead. Who turned up the heat in here?

"Ah, you're awake! How are you feeling, dear?" A warm voice says from the doorway.

I snap my head toward the sound, instantly regretting it as my headache sharpens. A women with ginger hair and kind brown eyes smiles at me.

Her wrinkles fold around her eyes in a way that might have been reassuring... if I weren't so disoriented.

"Who...what happened?" I ask, my voice stratchy as I hold the right side of my head.

"You fainted and hit your head on the way down. Good thing your boyfriend was there to help you," she says, handing me a bag filled with ice. She wheels over a rolling chair, sitting down as if we're old friends.

Boyfriend? I blink, trying to process.

"Boyfriend?" I echo, my tone rising slightly. I try to sit up again, but she shakes her head, pressing a gentle hand on my shoulder.

"Ah, ah, ah. Don't try to get up just yet," she says, guiding me back against the cot. "It's best to rest after a fall like that."

I sigh, frustrated, as I grudgingly lean back. My hands grip the icy bah tighter, hoping it might numb more than just the ache in my head.

"Where am I?" I ask after a moment, glancing at the room. The skeleton feels like it's judging me.

"You're in the nurse's office. I'm Nurse Hadley," she says with a bright smile, folding her hands in her lap.

I hum, noncommittally, trying to focus, but my mind is a tangle of fractured memories. The nausea rises again as the reality of Daniel transferring here floods back in.

I can't stay at the school, not with him here. But where would I go? My grandparents are my only option, the only family I have who can take care of me.

I press my hands to the sides of my head as the room begins to tilt. "I-I don't feel good," I manage to stutter.

Nurse Hadley's smile falters. "Hold on, honey. Let me get you a garbage can," she says, quickly rolling over to grab one.

She parks it beside me just in time, but I don't throw up, just focus on breathing through the nausea.

"We called your grandparents. They should be here any minute," she says after a moment, her tone soothing. She checks the side of my head with careful hands, humming to herself.

"How long was I out?" I ask, leaning over the cot.

"About half an hour. Your boyfriend had to get to class, but I'll let him know you're fine," she says while jotting something down on her clipboard.

I blink at her, confusion twisting my face. "I don't have a boyfriend," I say firmly, my voice tinged with annoyance now.

She looks at me through her bangs, raising an eyebrow like she doesn't believe me. "Huh. Well, you need to get on that because, honey, that boy is IN LOVE," she says, clicking her pen at me as if that settles it.

Her words send a spike of unease down my spine. "What do you mean? Who helped me?" I ask, sitting up a little too fast.

Nurse Hadley stops writing, her lips curling into a faint smirk. "What I mean is, he was running around like chicken with his head cut off, carrying you in his arms. It took me fifteen minutes to convince him you were okay before he finally left."