There We Were (boyxboy, sequel to Here We Are)

There We Were part 4

Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep.

Before I was even fully awake, I heard the steady rhythm of the cardiac monitor, and my forehead wrinkled in confusion.

Why the hell was I in the hospital?

Had Lucas and I gotten into a car accident after the movies? Oh God. That's what must have happened... the last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the way home from dinner...Lucas! Was he okay? Was he here?

Anxiously, I fought through the hazy fog in my brain and opened my eyes. My room was empty. I needed a nurse, someone to tell me if Lucas was okay and what had happened. 

I made to reach over and press the call button, but a sharp jerk on my wrist stalled me. 

My hands were tied to the bed, clean white bandages spiraling up my arms. My eyes narrowed. Had I cut again without realizing?

As my gaze swept over my restraints, I caught sight of the button lying next to my right hand, easily accesible. I jabbed it twice with my thumb, then lay back onto my pillows. 

Presently my door opened and two smiling nurses came in. 

"Theo, dear, good to see you're awake!" said one of them, a short blonde. 

I struggled against the restraints to sit up. "What happened? Was there an accident? Is Lucas okay? Why are my hands tied? Did I cut my wrists in the accident or something?"

The nurses shared a dark glance. 

"What?" I snapped. "Tell me. What happened?"

The blonde nurse sat down on the edge of my bed. I glanced at her nametag, which was ringed with smiling monkeys and read, 'Jeanette.' "You don't remember anything about last week?"

My heart jolted. "Last- last week? I've been unconscious for a week? Are you kidding?"

Jeanette shook her head and shot another glance at the other nurse. "Theo, you've been in a medically induced coma for your own safety for the past week."

I opened my mouth in shock, but nothing came out. My body felt like lead, heavy, but hollow and empty at the same time. 

"When you and Lucas got home from dinner, you and he went to bed. Apparently Lucas was woken up by your screaming. He walked in and found you covered in blood. You were cutting yourself, and Lucas said that you weren't there... like you were half-conscious. Crazed."

I lay there, my breathing thin and weightless. What had I done?

"Theo?" I turned my attention numbly back to Jeanette. 

"I know you probably can't remember, but can you try to think of something that may have- ah- set you off? A dream? A memory?"

I thought hard. "No. There's nothing."

Jeanette nodded. "Okay." She stood to leave, but I said quickly, "Wait."

She paused and turned around expectantly. 

"Where am I?"

"You're in the pychiatry ward at Mercy Hospital."

The- the- psych ward?

I struggled to control my breathing. As the nurse started to leave again, I called for her to stop again. 

"C-can- do you think you could untie me? It's not like I'm crazy."

Nurse Jeanette paused a moment, then shook her head. "I'm sorry, Theo, I can't. The doctor needs to evaluate you properly... determine your mental state."

She walked out the door, deaf to my protests. 

"I'm not crazy!"

The door swung shut, and I started to cry at the sharp click of the lock.