“They’re not delusions!It’s the truth!”She was on her feet again, pacing and wringing her hands.What else was she to do?The guilt and shame closed in on her, shrinking the room.If she did not paceto remind herself of the room’s actual size, the feeling would suffocate her.“It’s why I need the priest.I stole those jewels, and when I was caught, a girl died.I am responsible.I didn’t stop Xavier.Her death is on my head.”
“Another villain, and now you are claiming murder?”His lips thinned before he looked past her to Nurse Ingram.“Mrs.Davis is overwrought, and her mind is delving into darker, more dangerous places.We must cool her inflamed nerves before she incurs serious damage.Take her immediately to the shower room.”
Not that humiliation.Constanza backed into an empty corner.She hated the shower room.She preferred ice baths.At least those only lasted a few minutes.To be taken to the shower room meant she’d be stripped bare and sprayed with cold water until her teeth chattered and the stream from the hose knifed her skin with icy pinpricks.
“Once she quiets sufficiently, start a regimen of cold wet packs from head to toe to ensure she remains quiet and cooperative.”
“I don’t need a wet pack.I’ll be quiet and cooperative without it.”
Wet packs might not be as torturous as the showers or ice baths—some even looked forward to them, but not her.She hated them.Nurse Ingram took delight in the humiliation of Constanza’s exposed nakedness and would make her stand shivering on the cold floor while she dragged out the preparation like an overly dramatic death scene.Nurse Ingram would soak the sheet in an ice bath—making the sheet far colder than Constanza ever saw done for anyone else—then fail to fully wring it out.Constanza would eventually be forced to lie on the cold, wet sheet and be wrapped tighter than an Egyptian mummy from collarbone to toes.With the orders of head to toe, another wet towel would be wrapped around her head and a wet napkin placed over her throat.Other sheets would be tucked over and around her, preventing her from doing anything more than rolling to her side.The confinement was awful and didn’t calm her in the least.
Dr.Chalfant ignored her.“Start with an hour.If she is not sufficiently compliant, then you may stretch it up to three.”
Three hours?Dread coursed through her, for Nurse Ingram woulddo nothing less than the longest allowed.With that duration in the packs, Constanza’s very bones would chill, and her mind would be left too numb to function.
“Afterward, she is to be sufficiently exercised before returning to her bed.When not resting, she is to recite or copy the truths of who she is and what her past has been.I’ll give more consideration to her needs and provide you with a more thorough treatment plan this evening.”
“Yes, Doctor.”As soon as Dr.Chalfant could not see her demeanor, Nurse Ingram approached Constanza with wicked glee.Already the plans for Constanza’s suffering were whirling into formation.“Come along quietly.I’d hate to have to call an orderly to assist.”
Despite the claim, she bent a finger painfully backward as she grabbed Constanza’s hand.
Constanza restrained the temptation to yell and fight back.To do so would give Nurse Ingram the pleasure of winning.
Nurse Ingram pressed harder until Constanza had no choice but to cry out in pain and fight, lest she end up with a broken finger.She yanked her hand back to relieve the pressure, then lunged forward and knocked Nurse Ingram to the floor.
Constanza whirled toward Dr.Chalfant.“You can’t let her take me.She wants to hurt me.”
“No one wants to hurt you.”Dr.Chalfant skirted his desk, slow and calculating in his approach.
“Lies!None of you care for the truth!I am who I say I am.All I want is a priest.Why is that so wrong?”
Nurse Ingram regained her feet.
She and the doctor herded Constanza into the corner.
Monsters, both of them.Just like Winston, Ursula, and Xavier.
She lunged with her nails aimed like claws.
Dr.Chalfant caught her arm, swung her around, and pressed her against the wall.“You will either go willingly, Mrs.Davis, or I will place you in isolation, and I know how much you hate isolation.Which shall it be?”
A sob rose in her throat.Why?Why was she being denied the simple request of a priest?
When she didn’t immediately answer, he directed Nurse Ingram to where he kept the medication that always preceded isolation.
“No!”Constanza choked out.“I’ll go.”
“There’s a good girl.Now tell me who you are.”
“Josephine Davis.”
“What about Constanza Brisbane and Katherine Yates?Who are they?”He waited a beat before giving her an emphatic shake.“Who are they?”
A lie would save her, but the truth was necessary.She couldn’t keep adding to her guilt.“My past lives.”
“No, Mrs.Davis.They are lies you’ve told yourself.”He sighed and transferred her to Nurse Ingram’s care.“Take her to the shower, and bring an orderly with you to hold her in place.I must consult with other, more experienced doctors about her care before I decide our next steps.”
Nurse Ingram wrenched one of Constanza’s arms at an uncomfortable angle and forced her toward the shower room.“Don’t think that little stunt won’t go unpunished.Dr.Chalfant didn’t say how long the shower should be.Seems to me you need extra long.”
