Bi-stressed

CHAPTER 44

The sound of a baby crying wakes me up.

"Lexi, just help me out here please." As soon as I finish helping Halsey change Bethany's diaper, Jenna arrives. I put my phone on charge and then change into my pajamas.

"Louis sent pizza." Jenna says after changing into her night suit.

"What are we waiting for then?  Let's eat. I'm extremely hungry." I say, realizing I didn't have lunch.

After eating, Jenna and me settle everything around and lay ourselves on the couch. Why would that conversation play in my head?  Why does she always be on my mind?  Why can't I stop thinking about her? Every time we're far, I get these hallucinations. I feel saudade of her presence. I really want her or maybe I need her more than I want her. No no, don't wanna do this. I can't be doing this. I neither want her nor need her. I can't.

Halsey offers me to sleep next to her since there's only one couch and Jenna had already fallen off to sleep on it. I text Zac and leave my phone on charge. The dim lights soon make me fall off to sleep too.

"What's all this screaming and yelling going on?" I ask Halsey and Jenna in my sleep.

"There's a lunatic girl, running about. The staff is trying to get hold of her but she's being so aggressive and biting their hands." Jenna answers in a scared voice.

"Oh shit. I wanna see." I say jumping out of the bed and running towards the door.

"No Lexi!  Don't open the door. She's a maniac. She can do anything to you." Halsey screams but I've already let myself out by then.

When I look around outside, the psychopath is carving something on the opposite room door. She's carving the numbers "666". Fuck. She passes me, without noticing me,  dragging her long curls on the floor and goes to the next door and carves "we're not meant to be". She falls to the ground and wails. This girl looks so familiar to me and the words she carved is familiar too. Don't tell me this girl is Luna. It can't be her. She's not a psychopath. She's not lunatic.

"Don't go near her, she's a psychopath!" A man calls out.

"She's not a psychopath!" I yell back and approach the girl. As soon as my tremulous hands touch her shoulders, they go numb. She picks her hand up and places it over mine. She then looks up at me with bloodshot green eyes and smiles. Those eyes are hers. That smile is hers. It's Luna. How did she end up here like that. In that moment, a staff member injects something in her back and she falls straight on the floor.

"What did you'll do to her. She was perfectly fine!" I yell.

"How were you able to calm her down?" The doctors ask me.

I struggle to go towards her and cry as I see them put her on the stretcher and take her away.

"Lexi, just keep an eye on baby. I'm just coming."

I open my eyes and nod at her. That was another horrific hallucination. It's turning worse and I can't do anything about it. Keeping my hand on the cradle, with my eyes drooping I fall asleep.

There's a knock on the door at 6 am.

"The nurses are come to clean and change the bed sheets." Halsey says.

"Okay." I get off the bed and go have a wash. I throw handfuls of water on my face and when I look up at myself in the mirror. My face is pale and my eyes are bloodshot. I throw a few more handfuls of water on my face and this time when I look up, there's something written on the mirror. I read out, "We're not meant to be." I immediately throw water on the mirror and rush out. This is too much.

"Are you okay?" Halsey asks me.

"Yeah kinda." I say forcing a smile. I can't be telling anyone about these delusions and hallucinations but it's getting worse and I have no idea how to stop them.

"The bed is set. You can lie down and rest if you want." She offers.

"No I cannot sleep now."

"I'm not telling you to sleep. I said you can rest now. No one sleeps after having a wash."

I nod and then go peep into the cradle.

"How peacefully Bethany's sleeping."

"Hmm. You can go see other babies in the incubators in the second last room on the left." Halsey says.

"Okay." I smile and go out.

As I open the door, my eyes go towards the opposite room door and I see those numbers and words engraved on them. Holy shit. This seems paranormal. This is such a terrible phantasm. I can't bear it anymore. I avoid looking at it and walk towards the end of the corridor. I feel someone walking behind me and when I look, it's just a staff member.

"Phew!" I sigh in relief. I was expecting someone not behind me.

I'll definitely not be allowed in but I can see in through the window since the blinds are up. There are two rows of cradles aligned with tiny little babies. They are tiny but so cute. Two babies, closer to the window don't seem well at all. They have so many tubes in them and are breathing so heavily. Their ribs are out and they're extra tiny. After staring at them for few seconds I make my way back to our room. It's so quiet out here. Suddenly I feel someone walking behind. I turn around expecting a staff member but this time there's no one. God help me. I shouldn't react to it, just walk normal. Soon I feel it walking besides me. I run towards the room door and struggle to open it. It's not opening. Damn it. I bang not caring that I'll wake Bethany up. I need to get in as soon as possible. When I turn round, I see Luna sitting on the floor and wailing. I should see why she's crying. It isn't Luna my subconscious hits me. They took her away on the stretcher last night. They wouldn't let her out again.
That wasn't real. It's all a hallucination.

"Open the door!"