Page 7

I tried to pull the images back to the forefront of my mind, but the harder I tried to remember, the more my head hurt. I couldn’t quite seem to grasp any of the images firmly, and it was like chasing smoke that was caught on a breeze. Impossible and frustrating.

I grunted and fell backwards into the soft embrace of the couch. This day was turning out to be the worst.

A knock sounded on the door and relief flooded me. I was so ready to eat my weight in delicious Chinese takeaway. I plodded over to the door. “Hey Maddie. Thanks for—”

Maya stood on the other side, takeaway bags in hand and a grin curling her elfin features. “It’s time to partyyyyy!”

I winced. I loved this woman, but sometimes, she was a lot.

“What’s the matter?” she asked as she crossed the threshold.

“Nothing. Just a bit of a headache.”

She dropped the takeout bags on the side in the kitchen and dished them out into a couple of bowls. “Do you want to stay in tonight instead?”

“No. I want to get something fun out of this shitshow of a day.”

“Speaking of shitshows,” she said with her eyes brim-full of delight, “Dr Kingsly ispissed.”

My eyebrows raised. That was an interesting development. “Why? The Pampered Prince not having his needs met?”

Maya giggled. “Word has got out about your meeting in front of the Board and people are starting to challenge Dr Kingsly.”

“Good.” And it was. If there was going to be anything good to come out of me leaving Misthaven Hope Hospital, it would be that Dr Kingsly was knocked down a peg or two. I just hoped that it didn’t make him a worse human being.

“You should have seen his face when one of the nurses told him to get something himself,” Maya said gleefully, her cheeks round like a hamster as she stuffed her face full of food. “I thought he was going to burst a blood vessel.”

I wish I could have seen that. Still, I worried that antagonising him would make him worse. “Just be careful. The guy is a slimy prick, but I wouldn’t put it past him to do something really horrid if pushed too far.”

Maya slammed her chopsticks down. “Well, then the Board won’t be able to look away. They’d have to do something about it.”

“At the expense of someone else?” I snapped and instantly regretted it. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout. This headache is just a bitch.”

“Are you sure you want to go out?” Maya asked softly as she placed her hand over mine.

“Yeah, I want to. This day has just been… weird.”

“Weird?”

I frowned and fiddled with my chopsticks on the table. “Have you ever done something but not remember doing it?”

Maya stared at me, concern knitting her brows. “What do you mean?”

I pursed my lips for a moment, debating whether to tell her everything. “I don’t remember how I got home.”

Guess I wanted to tell her everything.

“Okay…” Maya looked worried.

“I remember leaving the hospital, getting to Jackson Avenue and then nothing until I walked through my front door.”

“Everyone feels disassociation at some point, like driving somewhere and suddenly realising you’re at your destination. It’s not uncommon.”

Trust Maya to go into doctor mode. “I know, but this feels different. There are these flashes—”

“Flashes?”

“Of images. Things I’m trying to remember, but I just can’t quite seem to remember them.”