Room 303

Chapter 19

                                     Stella

  "Hello Andrew," said Stella enthusiastically. "How are you doing today?" Andrew turned around to his left side to face her. "You seem better I suppose," she smiled warmly. He smiled faintly back at her.
  "Good. It is time for your pills. Open your mouth let me help you." He sulked and refused to do so.
  "Come on Andrew. These are different kind of pills. They will help you I promise. I got you pain killers, not the other ones that Maria usually gets you. Here, look," she showed him the pills. "Now open your mouth," she fed him the pills gently. "There you go. Good as new," she joked.

  He smiled back at her with more affection.
  "The sun is bright outside. How about a stroll?"
  He lay down back on his right side.
  "Come on Andrew. You need to get up. I will help you. There are a lot of birds in the garden today. You need to see them."
  Andrew's eyes grew bigger at the sound of birds.
  "I know you'd like that."
  There was a thud on the door. Maria barged in followed by two huge muscular men.
  "Look at you, as strong as a horse," she mocked. "Now come on, on your feet boy."
  Andrew retreated to the corner and hid his head between his knees.

  "Oh look, the little boy is scared."
  "Stop it!" Snapped Stella. "You can't treat him like that. He is scared can't you see that?"
  "Look who is talking now! When did you become his protector?" Asked Maria with a stinking breath that almost made Stella throw up.   
  "Stay out of my business. Take him," she ordered.
  "Wait! Where are you taking him to?"
  "That doesn't concern you. Now stay out of my way!" Maria pushed Stella shoving her out of the way and onto the ground.
Andrew tried to resist, but was unable to free himself from the grip of the two huge men.

  "I will deal with you later. Now carry your shit and follow me to the operating room. Doctor Steven needs you there," Maria spat the words onto Stella's face.
  The operating room was cold as always. Many souls had been lost in this particular room. She hated being in here. She never liked the operating room nor the ECT.
  Andrew was strapped onto the bed and heavily sedated this time. He was injected with multiple drugs, some of which Stella didn't recognise. Ones that had no label on them. The OR's door flung open and Patrick came in and stood next to Stella without saying a word.
Both stood in silence side by side.

  "Alright let the fun begin. Patrick, come closer and help me turn on the current."
  "You do know that Andrew is in no shape to withstand another session of ECT that soon," said Patrick.
  "He has to withstand it. It is standard procedure."
  "It is when the patient really needs it, not in such a case."
  "Stay out of my business Patrick. I am the doctor here. I know what I am doing."
  Patrick kept quiet. He couldn't stop him although he knew that was the right thing to do.

  "Besides, he is a hopeless case. We all know this. He won't make it long. He could be of good use instead of being a burden. Don't you worry. No one will ask about him. He is a loner. He has always been."
  "Good use for what?" Asked Patrick.
  Doctor Steven ignored him and carried out a rather longer session of ECT. This time Andrew trembled and flapped like a fish out of the water. The amount of electricity bolted through his body was fatal.

  "Stop it!" Screamed Stella. "Stop it now!" She lunged towards Andrew but was stopped by Patrick. She was held in place as she struggled to free herself. She fought hard to get loose, but failed at doing so. The tears she held back now rushed down like a river. Her eyes made contact with Andrew's. He was weak. A single tear rolled down his right cheek as he locked eyes with Stella. Foam came out of his mouth. His eyes rolled up and his muscles tensed. He was gone.

   Doctor Steven stopped the ECT disappointed.
  "Damn it!" He snapped. "Another failure. He was useless in everyway. I should have known that. A fucking failure!" He screamed sulkily. "What the hell do you think you were doing?" He spat the words in Stella's direction. "You wanted to save him? Go on and do it. He was a hopeless case; you all know that!" He marched angrily around Andrew's still body.
  "You will pay for this! You distracted me. I...know...that you did. I blame you, yes, I blame you for this failure. Burn his worthless body!" He ordered the two men as he bolted out of the room hysterically. Stella collapsed on the floor and sobbed hard.

  "Come on. We need to get you out of here." Patrick took Stella out and onto her room. He lied her down on the bed and covered her up with a blanket.
  "Try to get some sleep," he gave her two pills for the strong headache she had developed.
  "This is the second time I lose someone so dear to me in this asylum. Anna was the first, and now Andrew."
  "Anna?" He asked puzzled.
  "She was an Alzheimer patient here. She died from leukaemia. I was her nurse for a short period of time. She wasn't just any patient. She was my mother."

  "You mean Anna Jackson?"
  "Yes."
  "Anna was your mother? I knew her."
  "You did?"
  "Yes. Mum told me all about her. She was one of her favourite patients. She treated Anna for a short period of time when she was first admitted to the psych. She took over when Anna's doctor had to travel abroad for a family emergency. My mother grew fond of her. Anna grew fond of my mother too. She liked her so much and was responding well to her treatment. She treated her for about a month or so. When her doctor came back and took over, my mother kept up the visits."
  "What about you, did you visit with your mum?"

  "Just twice. My mother never wanted me around patients. I guess she didn't want me to get traumatised by all the suffering I could have witnessed. I rarely came to the asylum as a child."
  "It seems that she loved you dearly."
  "Yes she did. She was overprotective. Just a mother protecting her child."
  "You miss her, don't you?"
  "Yes I do. It isn't enough to have her body around. I missed talking to her and doing things with her. I would do anything to get her back."
  "I am sure you will. One day you will get her back."
  "I hope so."
  "Thank you Patrick. Thank you for helping me through this. For standing by me."
  "You are welcome Stella. Sleep tight."

  He turned off the lights and closed the door slowly. Stella found it difficult to sleep. She couldn't stop thinking about Andrew. About what he'd suffered. About the way their eyes locked. The way he trembled, the way he cried. She replayed the scene in her head over and over for about an hour. In the end she was so exhausted. She popped a sleeping pill and knocked herself out all night.