Detective in Love

Chapter 12

I wake up, panting. I can feel the sweat dripping off my face.
With great difficulty I finally manage to open my eyes. It's a much blurry vision than I had expected.

What I would've expected, had I been my usual self.
But this isn't me. I feel weak, dizzy. My head hurts so bad, I imagine my brain cells splitting apart and killing me inside.

"Jane?" I hear a slow whisper. Quiet and soft. "Jane wake up." she says, helping me sit down on the bed I've been lying on. She brings a glass of water up to my lips. Barely able to reach it using my own hands, I let her help me with it. I can't take in more than just a sip. 

Nauseous. Why am I feeling nauseous?

"mm hmm" I turn my face away from the glass, having had enough. She wipes my face from a warm wet towel. 

"Feeling better?" she asks me.

"Yes." I nod. 

Much better...

"Good." she smiles as she heads toward the small cabinet. "You will be fine in a few hours. Although it'll take you at least two or three days to feel perfectly fine. Given the surroundings." She adds.

What surroundings??

It hits me at once, like a tsunami suddenly paused. Where am I???
It's not my house, let alone my room!

"Who are you?" I ask her, hoping for answers for every single question I've got.

"Oh how silly of me! I'm Chloe. Chloe Stauffer." she walks up to me, and introduces herself.

"I am-" I begin. 

"Jane Miller. I know" before I can introduce myself, she interrupts me.

Jane Miller??

I move on to the next question in my head, leaving the matter concerning my name, for later. 
"Where am I?" I ask her. "Why can I not remember anything?"

"They injected you. It's normal you wake up forgetting everything. This is the Hardock Asylum. For the mentally unstable, ill. That's what they call us." she explains.

What am I doing in an asylum??

"Why am I here?" I ask her.

"That my friend, you have to tell me. I do not know what you've done to end up here."

"How long have I been asleep? I feel quite dizzy." 

"Almost two days now." she tells me, like it's normal for someone to wake up almost two days later in here.

"Two days???" I ask her, shocked at her response. "How so?"

"They injected you with Haloperidol. You created quite a scene when you got here. Okay not quite a big one, but enough for them to sedate you right away."

Why have they given me Haloperidol??

I try to get up on my feet, despite the drowsiness that still remains. I'm pulled back by my wrist, to the bed. I've been tied to the bed. Why???

"Oh that! They'll untie you, if you remain calm." she explains.

Staying calm would be quite a difficult expression for me to even fake at this rate.

"Stupid. I could easily untie myself. I would. Unless-"

"Unless you knew you were getting in trouble?" she cuts me off again, and laughs. "Finally a good roommate!" she leans on the headboard of her tiny hospital bed, sitting up, and grabbing a book that was seated on top of her nightstand.

I look around me, and spot a small washroom by the corner of the room, a cupboard, the two beds, two nightstands. I look out of the window next to me. The bright sunlight scorches my eyes, worsening my terrible headache so much more. I would end up dead, if they did nothing to save me right now. But these are the side effects of Haloperidol I'm experiencing.

I look over at the girl, my roommate now. She has light brown wavy hair and is dressed in a loose, big, light blue gown. I realise I'm wearing it too. Must be like a uniform?

"Uhm. Who changed my clothes?" I ask her.

"The nurses." she laughs. "Lie down till they come check on you. They'll be here in a while." she says.

A few seconds later, I speak again. "Thank you for helping me earlier, Chloe. Right?" my head is throbbing, pounding, with every word I manage to utter.

"No problem. I know what it feels like to be you right now. Lucky for you, you have me. Alas! I had no one." she sighs. "And yea, you would probably forget things due to your headache, so my name again, is Chloe. Yes, Chloe Stauffer." 

At her response, I feel dizzy again. Like in the movies, when someone says something, and it echoes inside your head. Her name.
Chloe Stauffer, Chloe Stauffer...
I hear the voices in my head. Suddenly it all comes back to me.

She is Chloe Stauffer. The Chloe Stauffer. Part of the reason why I'm here.

Now I have answers, no one, not even Chloe could give me.

I know why I'm here...