Page 70 of Psychotic Obsession

Fear...something I don't often feel. Being confident and powerful in my head has always gotten me through the day. I'm terrified of how I'm feeling.

Is this what it's like to be afraid of your own thoughts?

I've never been the type of person to depend on anyone, but right now, I want Tobias—I need him. I know he's mad at me, but I know I can fix this, whatever is going on between us.

They think I can't understand them, their disgusted expressions telling me that these people do not enjoy my company. By the looks of it, they would rather be somewhere else.

I can’t run. I try, but I’m held in place, like there’s glue on my shoes, sticking me to the ground. The world spins, and I feel butterflies as I topple.

I feel a pinch on my arm, a young nurse next to me trying to stick a needle in me. Wincing, I try to pull away from her, but I'm being held down, my heart rate accelerating. With all the hands pressing down on me, I'm suffocating.

The chimes. They are multiplying around me, the flashing lights blinding me as I begin to scream.

Until I feel a stab in my thigh, another sting follows as my eyes slowly close.

Chapter 30

Aria

"Addiction can drive people down different roads."

"But she isn't an addict. Someone did this to her," I hear Gabriella reply to the doctor, raising her voice with each word. "Her boyfriend did this."

"Assumptions are also something that shouldn't be thrown around so lightly. If that is the case and you have proof, then he needs to be reported. My job is to make sure the patient's health is seen to. I need to run some more blood tests," the man replies, followed by a door closing and someone muttering under their breath.

Keeping my eyes closed, I listen to every word.

"Did you get little Jason to our sitter, Ewan?" I hear my dad ask, and my heart starts to race at the memories flooding me. “He’ll be excited. She hasn’t seen him in a few months.”

“Yeah,” he replies. “I didn’t even get a goodbye when he ran into the house.”

My parents have staff who work in the manor, and one of them, an older lady named Francis, bonded with Jason throughout our relationship. She would babysit him when we went out for date nights, and he always hung out with her at the house when I went to see my mom and dad.

Wait. Does that mean Ewan is here? Tobias didn’t find him?

I'm weak. I've been drifting in and out of sleep for hours. Every time the doctor tries to speak to me, I can't grasp what's real and what's not, tumbling back into a deep, dark hole in my mind. I listen to my surroundings, the clock ticking so loud, it hurts, water running from the sink across from my hospital bed because Gabs can't seem to go half an hour without washing her hands. Mom complaining that she wants to go home, Dad telling her to shut the hell up.

There's one voice I want to hear, one person's face I want to see, and I know after my slip-up, Tobias will be done with me.

Why does it hurt so much?

"She should know," I hear Ewan say to someone. "I don't know why you're shaking your head like that, Dolores. Can you stop being stuck up for one minute? She's your fucking daughter, and all you keep doing is complaining that you want to leave."

"Watch your tone, young man," my mom snaps at him. "I didn't raise her to become some junkie?—"

"Don't you dare speak about her that way!"

My eyes ping open in shock at Ewan raising his voice. Blurry vision welcomes me to the hospital room. Everyone's crowding my bed, perched in chairs as Mom scowls at him for snapping at her, something she takes from no one.

"Aria!" Gabs says in surprise, leaning over and grabbing my hand as a sign of comfort. "How are you feeling?"

Croaking, I try to speak, but it turns into a coughing fit as Ewan also leans forward and pats my back, offering me his bottle of water. I shake my head, turning away from him as my eyes meet Gabriella's honey-coloured ones. "What's going on?" I ask with a break in my voice, trying to clear my throat once more.

"I'll explain soon. You’ve been asleep for over twenty four hours. Tell me how you’re feeling.”

Mom stands from her chair, shaking her head at me in disappointment as she walks out, my dad following her, begging her to stay and hear me out. "What's her problem?"

"She’s being her usual self," Ewan says, leaning forward, his arms on the railing of the bed, expression unreadable. "How do you feel?”