I wake from a dreamless sleep in a white room I don't recognise. I look down and see white sheets, and the fact that my hands have been loosely strapped down. I panic. I must have been taken hostage. A long, loud piercing scream escapes my lips. I begin to thrash around trying to escape the binds that hold me, but of course it doesn't work.
I rotate my head to the left and I pause. I catch sight of flowers and cards all written with get well soon messages, which makes me stop screaming in confusion. Why on earth are there cards and flowers if I have been taken hostage? None of this makes sense, and I begin to wonder where I really am.
I glance around the room and see that there is a heart monitor next to my bed. It doesn't seem to be connected to me, and I puzzle over the reason why it might be here.
The door opens and I jump. A thin brunette woman enters. She looks at me with alarm plastered all over her face, which is what I imagine I look like too. She places a tray on a small table and quickly makes an exit. It is almost as if she is terrified of me, but I don't see why she would be.
I glance at the tray. A small glass of water and some dry toast are placed on the tray. I wonder why she has placed the tray there when I obviously am incapable of reaching for it myself. This makes me wonder if she is mocking me by putting the tray in here when I am incredibly thirsty and hungry, but not undoing my bonds.
This makes me begin to wonder where I am. Then it clicks. That was a nurse. I am in a hospital. This makes me panic and I strain at the loose straps holding my hands in place. A part of me just wants to escape and run, but I mostly just want to eat and drink.
The door opens again and Charlie enters, concern plastered over his face. I sigh in relief at the familiar face. He slowly approaches me and takes a seat, never taking his light brown gaze off me. I long to be in his arms again.
"How are you Emily?" he asks me gently, and I smile at him.
"I'm fine Charlie, I want these straps off my arms though so I can eat and drink," I tell him. He looks sympathetic.
"I can't, sorry Emily," he looks at me with sadness in his eyes and it nearly breaks my heart. "I can, however, do this."
He slowly leans closer and gently brushes his lips with mine. My heart races and the butterflies come back in my stomach. The sensation is exhilarating.
We kiss briefly before he pulls back and looks at me in the eyes. I melt in his warm gaze.
"You gave us quite a scare," he whispers to me, brushing his finger tips to my right cheek. I stare at him wondering what he is talking about and wanting to know the answers, but longing to kiss his lips again. If my hands had not been tied down, I would be doing the latter.
"Did I?" I whisper back, never breaking eye contact. I feel safe.
"Indeed you did missy," Sarah exlaims, bursting through the doors. Charlie automatically sits up against his chair, removing his hands from my face and I sigh. Disappointment courses through me and I mentally curse Sarah for ruining the moment.
"The doctor is coming in with a diagnosis in a minute so we should be able to know whats wrong with you," Sarah says, coming over to sit with me. She looks concerned. As soon as she says it, the doctor walks in with a clipboard in hand and a frown upon his face. Charlie grabs my hand and gives it a reassuring squeeze.
"Well, Emily, we have good news and bad news," he tells me, and I begin to panic. Bad news? A million things run through my head at that thought. It could be anything. I close my eyes, trying to calm myself down.
"Whats the good and bad news?" Sarah asks, gripping my other hand tightly. I open my eyes again. The doctor sighs. He looks like he really doesn't want to deliver this news to me, which can only mean that whatever it is, It must be pretty bad.
"It shouldn't affect her work," He pauses and gives me a look full of regret. "But Emily has schizophrenia," he finishes.
The room is silent. Sarah and Charlie are gripping my hands so tight that it hurts. I feel the panic rise in me, and I begin to hyperventilate. A horrible screeching noise escapes my lips. I sob, my body trembling. I struggle to escape my bonds again, and I see more doctors and nurses being rushed in. Sarah and Charlie are forced from the room, and I see that the are bothe crying too.
The doctors pin me down, but I continue to thrash. A nurse comes forward with a needle in hand, and I recognise her as the nurse who put my tray down earlier. I see fear in her eyes as she tells them that I need to be still. I think she is going to inject me with a sedative, and I scream.
The needle pierces my skin in my arm, and a dull throb begins as soon as the plunger is pressed down. She removes the needle, but I continue to scream.
My vision starts to go black at the edges, and my voice begins to crack. I begin to relax as the blackness takes over me.
The last thing I see is the doctors hooking me up to several different machines.
***
YOU ARE READING
SHIVER
Teen FictionEmily has always found herself caught in sticky situations. It's her job. Sometimes they are easy to get out of, and others are not. She vows never to get herself in trouble again. It's only when she meets Charlie that that promise to herself become...
