A Stalker's Love

10

"Hey, I need you to stay awake, Lucy! Come on, for me?" Tim said, his voice becoming more distant to Lucy. He shouted for help, and soon nurses and doctors were swarming around her trying to figure out what was wrong.

In Lucy's mind, she was living in a vivid delusion, unsure where she was. At first, she was back in the barrel, hearing Caleb's laugh projecting all around her. She was struggling to breathe, the oxygen quickly disappearing. Then she was a child, sitting in front of her parents whilst they told her that a 70/100 wasn't good enough and was basically a fail in their eyes, their disapproval literally radiating off them, causing Lucy's skin to burn and bleed. Suddenly, she was with Tim, and he was telling her that she would never be a good cop and would always disappoint him - that one seemed to hurt the most. She closed her eyes and when she opened them Tom was standing in front of her, raping her and saying that this was all she was good for. She tried to fight back, but her arms felt as heavy as lead, and when she looked to her side she saw everyone she knew pushing her towards the barrel, each taking turns to cover her with dirt. Everytime she tried to shout, that same dirt exploded out of her mouth. Each time it did, she saw the security footage of Jackson being shot, over and over again. It was too much. She needed it to end. 

"Help!" She screamed, but this time her voice finally was noticed, even if she didn't know. In the hospital room Tim, the nurses, and the doctors observed Lucy tossing and turning, scratching her arms obsessively one minute then thrashing them the next. All the while she murmered incoherrant things, making Tim feel so scared - he had never seen anyone act in such a way before, and it made him the most terrified he had ever felt. He wanted so desparately to help her, but he was powerless. Finally, the medical staff were able to restrain Lucy enough to inject her with something that would send her to sleep, allowing them to moniter her and work out what exactly had brought on this episode. Tim, however, refused to leave Lucy's side. She looked so calm now but he couldn't get her worried, thrashing body out of his mind.

After a few hours, Tim was scrolling on his phone - a habit he had picked up from Lucy, much to his annoyance - when he felt a faint squeeze on his hand. His eyes darted up, meeting Lucy's as she used her free hand to hold her head. "Hey," he said softly, "how are you?"

"Tired... and confused. What... happened?" Lucy asked groggily.

Tim shifted, a thing Lucy had rarely seen him do. It made her very, very nervous. "You.. We were talking, and you were fine; attentive, talkative. And then... I don't really know. You were tired, I guess. You just... you stopped responding. Then you were... dreaming, I think. Well, more like having a nightmare. Do you... do you remember anything?"

Lucy paused, thinking. It was slowly coming back to her, and she was about to tell Tim as much. But then she hesitated, unsure if she should; she knew how upset it would make him.

Sensing her hesitation Tim squeezed her hand, making her look at him. "Hey, we promised. No more lies."

Lucy raised her eyebrows. "Oh, did we? I guess that part of our conversation has evaded my stellar memory." 

Tim smirked. "Huh. Weird."

"Fine. But please, it's not... you haven't done anything wrong."

Tim raises his eyebrows, laughing in surprise. "Okay?"

"Look, I'm just pre-empting the inevitable." Lucy said, shifting nervously and playing with her free hand.

"Lucy..." Tim said, becoming more stern and serious. 

"Right. Sorry." Lucy took a deep breath, and explained everything she dreamed of. She watched Tim closely, inspecting every shift in his facial expression.

"Luce, I-I'm sorry. That's awful. I... I can't comment on everything that happened, but the part about me... Lucy, that will never, never happen. You can never disappoint me, okay? I'll always be here for you, okay? I'm not going anywhere."

"Thanks." Lucy said, but Tim could tell she was elsewhere.

"Lucy?" Tim asked. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing. I'm just... it's been a busy few days." Lucy said, but she couldn't look Tim in the eyes.

"Okay. But if you want to talk about it, I'm here." Tim said.

Lucy nodded, smiling tightly. She sat up, resting on her elbows. "How long before I can go home?"

"The doctors are still figuring out the full effects of the drugs you were forced to take, but if they're happy after that... you might be out by tomorrow." 

"Thank God. I miss my own bed." Lucy said, laughing slightly.