Insanity

Chapter Ten

I open my eyes again to find that my father is gone, but a box rests on his now empty chair, a piece of paper taped to the cardboard.
I  strain to reach over and yank it off, holding the paper in one bandaged hand, grunting with pain.

Theresa-
I'll be back soon. I have to explain to my boss why I'm not going to work for awhile. The nurses are instructed not to let your sister in, and to assist you in whatever it is you need.
The box has some of the things you used to like.
I figured you might want them, just in case.
- Dad

I set the note off to one side, struggling to reach over and grab the box, crying out as red hot pain shoots through my leg.
After a minute, I give up and twist my head to the side, trying to bury my face into the pillow.
That just makes the pain worse, enough to make me scream, hot tears filling my eyes as the door burst open.
A woman in blue nurse scrubs steps into the room, holding a clip board as she quietly makes her way to my bedside.
"Do you need something?", she asks in a stern voice.
I clutch the thin blanket in my fists as I gasp out, "You have to make the pain stop."
"Unfortunately, the doctor is on his lunch break and I don't have the authority to administer a pain numbing solution into your system when we don't know your mental state yet."
I glance at her name tag.
"You have to do something, Gina", I beg. "Please do something!"
"As I have said, we can't do that until we know what the aftereffects of electroshock did to-"
"Please", I plead. "You're supposed to help me, so help me."
"Just calm down Miss Moore", Gina replies, reaching into her pocket. "You're getting a little worked up. You need to breathe."
You're having another episode. You need to breathe.
"Don't talk to me like he did", I say, tears slipping down my cheeks. "Please don't."
The nurse sighs and pulls out a syringe before taking my arm.
"What are you doing?!", I exclaim, trying to yank it back, but the woman squeezes tighter, making me cry out in pain.
"Just calm down", she soothes. "Just a little something to help you sleep."
"I don't want to sleep!", I say loudly. "If you dare stick that in me-!"
The woman pushes the liquid into my arm before moving it back by my side.
"That wasn't so hard, was it?", she asks. "You'll just have a nap for a little while, and when you wake up, things will be much brighter."
"Fuck you", I mumble as my eyelids get heavy and I just have to fall asleep.
------
I'm not in the hospital anymore, but a large bedroom with a fireplace at the opposite end of it, a fire warming the room.
I'm in bed, my leg and head propped up by cream colored pillows, with a fuzzy comforter draped over the rest of my body.
I lift up my head, groaning quietly at the pounding in my head, which not only hurts, but also feels as if it's filled with cotton.
Suddenly, the door opens and I push myself up on one arm, immediately flopping back down as soon as I see who it is.
"Glad to see you awake", Jonathon comments, walking over. "You still look pretty out of it."
"I thought I was supposed to be in the hospital", I grunt, shifting into a more comfortable position. "Where am I?"
"You're home", my father says quietly, sitting on the edge of the mattress. "And I took you out of the hospital after I found out that the nurse drugged you. After all you've been through. But as the head of surgery at a different hospital, you'll be fine. I know how to take care of every single injury you have, so don't worry about anything concerning your health ."
"Oh. Good to hear." I look up at the ceiling before asking, "Exactly how long was I out?"
"Almost nine hours by now, I think. Its the middle of the night now", he answers calmly. "You must be hungry by now."
I nod. "Yeah."
"I'll see if I can quickly find something for you." Jonathon hesitates, but leans over to quickly kiss my forehead before standing. "I love you, Baby."
"You too, Dad", I whisper, both of our eyes filling up as he embraces me, burying his face into my hair.
"I missed you", he breathes into my ear. "You have no idea how much your disappearance broke me."
"I know", I say, my voice breaking. "And I know I missed you too."