Candor And Curiosity (A Slenderman Romance)

Chapter 18

Hallo guys. I know it's been quite a while since the last update but that's because school restarted for me and all. Nevertheless, I will try to update regularly every weekend :) I hope you enjoy this chapter.

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An uneventful week at the hospital had gone by in a flash. And by uneventful, I was referring to the fact that eating nothing but hospital jello and laying in bed all day with nothing to do couldn't be considered very exciting. 

Perhaps the only good thing that came out of my stay in the hospital was that I received closure about what had happened in the woods that day. The hospital had assigned me my very own psychologist- Dr. Mary-Beth Stevens.

Dr. Stevens was a mild-tempered woman with soft, understanding eyes and a placid smile. She was a very good listener, and her soft voice was soothing and almost  hypnotic.

I had told her about what had happened- about getting lost in the woods, getting attacked by the faceless creature, and seeing my dead best friend again.While I  recounted these events to her, she sat at my bedside and listened to what I had to say. 

I hadn't wanted to deny it so easily, but her very persuasive interpretation of what had actually happened led me to relent, and I accepted her explanation as the  truth.

According to Dr. Stevens, it was very normal for a person to have a panic attack when faced with a situation such as being lost in an unfamiliar place. She explained that because of all the stress I was feeling, the anxiety about the murders, and the guilt and sadness I had been feeling, my brain had created the entire situation. 

In short, I had been hallucinating.

She told me that the John I had seen was actually a product of sadness and guilt over his death, and that the human brain was powerful enough to create vivid and seemingly real hallucinations. 

At first, I was skeptical. 

To have experienced something so real and so painful only to be told that it was all just my brain's reaction to stress was something I couldn't swallow very easily. However, Dr. Stevens had managed to convince me by using my arms, legs, and ribs as proof that I had imagined the whole thing. 

"The fact that you were so sure about your arms and your legs being broken is proof of how the brain is able to stimulate pain without psychical stimuli." She had reasoned.

 "The truth is that your arms and legs aren't broken. Neither are your ribs. You see that, don't you?" She had asked, and I nodded in response.

"Bearing that in mind, this is the only possible explanation. I know it's hard to believe, but the sooner you come to terms with it, the better life will be. You're young, and you have your whole life ahead of you. I'm sure you don't want to spend it dwelling on something as silly as this."

I can't say that I had found the whole thing to be "silly," but Dr. Stevens was more educated about the human mind than I was.

And that was enough to convince me.

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"Elizabeth, can we not talk about this now? You just got out of the hospital." Mom pleaded. She was bustling about the laundry room, gathering the dirty laundry and loading the washing machine. 

I continued to tail her as she moved around, much like I used to do as a child. Being persistent was the only way I could ever get her to listen to what I had to say, and that hadn't changed to this day.

"You say 'just' as if it hasn't already been a week since I left the hospital. We can talk about this now, Mom. You've been avoiding the subject all week!" I complained, crossing my arms over my chest as she continued to ignore me.