The Nightmare I Call Life

Chapter 4

I blink my eyes open to see empty walls and angry parents. A hospital, again. Only this time, it's not a regular hospital; it's a mental hospital.

"Miss. Stella Rose Tarlowski?" A tall man in a white coat asks me. "Yup." I reply, hoping he would just say 'don't do it again' and that I could go home, but apparently that wasn't the case.

"Can you tell me what happened? Do you remember what happened?" I bite my tongue because I want to tell him but I don't at the same time. "No. No, I-I don't know what happened."

The doctor stares at me for a minute with an unbelieving look in his eye. He then asks my parents to talk to him in private. I lay back down and I'm shaking. What if they keep me here? What if I'm going to be officially classified as psycho? Great, another thing to be made fun of about, that's just what I need. I need to know now that I am not going to break and I'm just going to do what I do everyday; smile, wave, and say,"I'm fine." But I guess I can't because that is what got me here.

20 minutes later, the 3 adults come back in and my mom's eyes are red. She holds my hands and says, "Everything is going to get better, ok? I promise you." Like I haven't heard that before. The sympathy in her eyes were unbearable so I just looked down into my lap, twiddling my thumbs. My dad just gives me an "I'm sorry" kind of smile and they both walk out of the room, but the doctor stays.

"Stella, I'm Dr.Warren and you'll be staying in our psychiatric unit for a week. We will do our best to help you anyway possible. So lets go see your room!"

I stand up slowly, feeling a little dizzy, and hold on to Dr.Warren's arm as we walk down a long corridor. This place is really scary. Not as scary as an insane asylum, but it still is. We enter a faded peachy-pink room that has two beds made. I sit down on the one closest to the window and graze my hand lightly over the top sheet. This is my new room.

"Dinner is in two hours and the other patients are watching TV right now, if you'd like to join them?" Dr.Warren explained to me. I simply replied with," I-I think I'm going to stay in here for a little while.." "That's fine. I'll be down the hall if you need me." And as he closed the door, I was left with an empty, old lady-smelling room. I felt numb, and didn't want to move.

I just stared at the tree outside of my window dancing with the breeze, for it has a better life than me that I wish to have and yet to strive for..