Just The Way You Like It - Under Construction

Chapter Eleven

Chapter Eleven

Dr. Hansen slammed the door, making Alice wince. She still had a strange ringing in her ears, and felt like she wanted to vomit. 'What happened to me?' Alice looked over at Tess who was now sitting at her bedside. Tess gently took her hand and gave it a warm squeeze.

“You gave us a good scare there, Child.”

“I'm sorry.” Alice whispered. It was all she could do to get the words out. Her throat felt like it was on fire.

“Don't apologize Dear, nothing could have kept it from happening.”

“What happened?”

“You had a heart attack, Dear. You sort of died, and Dr. Hansen brought you back. He's a good doctor Alice, you'll have to excuse his temper. He normaly never acts like this, but he's had a rough couple of days. And so have you, why not lie down and get some sleep. I've got some things I need to check on you, but then I want you to rest. Alright?” Alice nodded her acceptance. Nurse Tess began checking over Alice's body from top to bottom, putting a light to her ears and her eyes. She hated that part, but Tess finished quickly, and put the light away. Tess then held a stethoscope Alice's chest, listened to her heart beat and lungs. Her hands rubbed all over Alice, but she didn't mind. Tess was the only one that Alice trusted. She had begun to trust Dr. Hansen, but now she wasn't so sure about him. It was obvious she had upset him again, and with his loud exit from her room, she couldn't be sure if that anger was going to end up directed back at her later.

“You don't seem too much worse for the wear.” Nurse Tess spoke up again. She quickly cleaned up the room, which now looked completely trashed. Why, Alice didn't know, it had been clean before she went unconscious. Tess finished, giving the room a once over before turning to face Alice again. “Now, I'll be right here if you need anything, but try to get some sleep.” She sat down in the chair next to Alice, and pulled out some paper from her pocket. Alice vaugely remembered it was called a newspaper. Nurse Tess was writing something down on it and Alice's eyes became so heavy she could no longer keep them open. And, before she knew it, Alice was back to her dream of the ocean.

It was almost the same dream she had from before, but somehow Alice knew it was different. Dr. Hansen was again trying to grab her away from the shore line. The waves were crashing upon the beach. She still couldn't hear what he was screaming, and again she was sucked into the cold waters. Before her head was pulled down under the waters she saw another figure standing on the beach. It was Sam. He was just standing there, with his arms folded across his chest, and he was laughing. As the waters enveloped her head, pulling Alice down into the ocean, she saw Dr. Hansen sinking with her, and his body was lifeless. Alice tried to reach for him, thinking maybe she could save him. But, the currents pulled them farther and farther apart. She didn't know how to swim, but she tried to cut the ever-growing distance between her and Dr. Hansen. The harder she tried, the farther apart they were pulled. His body became hard to see, and soon it disappeared into the murky depths. Knowing it was now pointless to fight, Alice let herself relax, and again allowed the water to carry her further down into the darkness below.

Alice jolted awake, still in her hospital bed. Nurse Tess was fast asleep in the chair next to Alice; her newspaper was now on the floor. Alice lay there and tried to think about what the dreams meant. She only knew that she didn't and couldn't trust Sam. He was apparently a friend of Luke, and she thought she liked Luke. She didn't really know him, but her heart told her that he was an okay guy. Alice tried desperately to think about what Sam had done to make her distrustful of him. She remembered him sitting in the corner while she told part of her story to the group. He had looked mad, but she hadn't thought it directed was towards her at all. No, he wasn't mad at Alice, he was mad at someone else. Who, she didn't know. 'Then what Alice? Think.' After Dr. Hansen and Sheriff Luke left, he had came over and then shook her hand. That was it! He made Alice remember something. But now, she couldn't recall what it was. She only remembered seeing Nurse Tess standing above, and then the darkness, before waking up with Dr. Hansen next to her. Dr. Hansen looked exhausted, and he had been sweating. Alice had no idea how he had gotten into such a state.