Tell No One

Chapter 23

Chris was struggling to keep himself together. He tallied off the friends in his group; Shelia was dead, Darren was a drunken mess and now Alana was hospitalised. Not to mention Kiera was a deranged psychopath that started it all. Everything was falling apart.

The clipped tones of his footsteps echoed in the pale green halls of Newbank hospital. In his arms, he held a bouquet of carnations, a gift for Alana. After she had collapsed, someone called an ambulance and she was briskly carted off to the local hospital. However, when she came round, she started to have vivid hallucinations, screaming of demons and other ghostly apparitions, unresponsive to any kind of visual or verbal move the doctors made. When one reached out to touch her, she responded violently; it had been the barest of contact on her arm, but she has whisked around and promptly dealt out a harsh uppercut to the kindly doctor's face. 
So, following that, she had been taken to Newbank, the closest hospital with a psychiatric ward. 
It was only now that they'd called Chris and Darren's flat to notify them that she was in a stable enough condition that they would allow visitors. Honestly, Chris had been a wreck about it. And, on top of that, Darren was still binge drinking anything he could get his hands on. Originally, Chris had hidden the alcohol, but Darren had just gone out and bought more. So, Chris was stuck basically babysitting him, clearing up after him, being his caregiver. 
Chris could appreciate that he was grieving and that everyone grieved in a different way, but he didn't know how much longer he would be able to put up with it.

All the way there, he kept a vicious cycle of imagining the worse and then assuring himself that Alana was fine, that she was strong. He bought her flowers from Corsinn's, his local florists. At first, he was stumped at what kind to get, but after explaining they were a get well present for his friend, the genial old woman behind the counter pointed him to the carnations. Their ruffled petals didn't have a lot of pollen, and their relatively small size meant that they wouldn't be in the way.

"Just down here, door number 22 on the left." The nurse he had been following gestured her arm down the corresponding branch of corridors, before leaving him with a friendly smile.

"Thank you." Chris returned the smile warm-heartedly, watching her as she disappeared down another corridor, her shoes squeaking against the linoleum. The walls had turned a comforting pale blue, signifying the difference of this place to the other parts of the hospital. Looking down the corridor, he felt slightly apprehensive. It was eerily quiet, and he couldn't see another person about, almost perpetuating an abandoned feel. Clutching the flowers securely in his arms, he started down the corridor, his eyes on the passing doors, and more importantly, the orderly numbers printed onto them.

19, 20, 21, 22. Chris halted outside the door, landing a tentative knock. He heard a quiet but cheerful come in from inside. the door squeaked slightly as he opened it, and he was happily surprised to find Alana sitting upright and looking rather happy in a hospital bed. A nurse fiddled with one of the various tubes coming out of the inside of Alana's elbow, but Alana didn't pay any attention to that as she looked up enthusiastically at Chris.

"Hi, Chris! Wow, it's so good to see you!" Chris placed the flowers at Alana's feet and strode over the Alana. She reached her arms up to give him a big hug, wrapping her hands around his neck. Chris braced his weight with one hand on the bed but paused before hugging her back too hard. Through the thin hospital gown, she felt so fragile, and Chris was almost afraid she would fall apart in his arms. The room was small, boxy, but the window beside her bed gave plenty of light and helped to alleviate the slightly claustrophobic feel.

Chris let go, and Alana's gaze trailed down to the flowers at the end of the bed. Her face lit up instantly.
"Noooo, are those for me? Chris, you're too kind!" Chris grinned and picked them up, placing them in Alana's arms. Alana gave them a deep smell, giving a content sigh.