Matron Dean opened the door and let me in. “Please, take as long as you need. I’ll be out here. This room has been vacant for a long time, so beware of spiders.”
I walked into the empty room, cobwebs were in every corner, and it looked like this place had been empty for a long time as she’d said. My furniture was gone, my accolades, everything. I walked to the window and looked out at the pool.
I remembered this washerfavorite spot.
Could I have imagined her?
It was not unheard of. This was my expertise. I knew the mind was not only a powerful tool but a weapon too. I exited the room to find Matron Dean waiting for me.
“Your doctor did call me, and I wish this visit could have helped more.” She smiled at me and leaned forward to stroke my arm. “Let’s see the room you asked about. There is a patient in there, but I am sure she won’t mind you having a look around.”
A part of me wanted to walk away right then, admit I’d imagined her, that I’d imagined everything. But the other part of me walked into that generic hospital room and ached for the memories I had, which were likely not real.
Patricia sat in the chair Alyssa used to sit in. She didn’t acknowledge me, just stared at the wall. I walked around the room, and could still feel Alyssa’s presence, hear her voice the first time she spoke. Approaching the window, I imagined her standing in the very same spot. Then, leaning my hands against the pane, I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath. When I opened them, I noticed faint nail markings along the pane.
“Did you do this?” I asked Patricia, noticing she was watching me intently.
She shook her head.
It hurt my soul to think of the stranger who marked their days in this place in much the same way a ghost had marked herself on my soul.
Leaving the room, I bid Matron Dean farewell, thanking her for letting me come here. I knew it was uncommon, and I was grateful she’d bent the rules for me. I walked to the exit, more confused than when I’d arrived.
I wasn’t looking where I was going and bumped head-on into someone.
“Sorry. Ray?” I asked.
He looked startled. “Yes, can I help you?”
“It’s nothing,” I sighed. “You just remind me of someone.”
He nodded, averting his gaze, and walked away quickly. If there was one person in here who knew me, it was Ray. I shook my head. Whatever happened really did a number on me.
When I left Fort Hill, I knew I needed some space—from Audrey, my brother, from everyone. Perhaps it would help me understand all of this. I’d studied my whole life to help people make sense of the absurdity, but now, I was deep into it and had no idea how to separate the life in my mind from what was unfolding before me.
ChapterForty-Six
Alyssa
“Where am I?” I shouted, hoping someone would hear me. I felt like all the blood was rushing to my brain. I looked above me and realized I was suspended from a beam, my body swaying from side to side. My hands were tied at my back, and the more I struggled, the more lightheaded I felt.
I heard a noise to my left, and I struggled to focus. My neck ached from the strain, so I tried my best to relax.
A man laughed, and it grated on my nerves. It sounded familiar.
“Who are you? Where is my daughter?”
He said nothing. I looked at his shoes as they came to rest under me and kept my focus on them.
“Hi, Lissy,” the sound of his voice sent shivers down my spine. There was no way this was possible. This had to be some kind of trick. If I hated Gregory before, and I hated him more now.
“You’re probably trying to figure out how it’s possible, aren’t you?”
I closed my eyes, willing to wake up from this nightmare.
I felt myself falling and realized he’d set me free. I was on the floor, no longer suspended from the ceiling.
“This isn’t real. This isn’t real,” I repeated, crawling into a ball.
