Oh, crap... I didn't mean to risk his job. Can my older sister even do that? Does she own the hospital or what? I let the poor man take his phone back, but I already know this is a lost battle. He apologizes non-stop for over a minute before hanging up with a sour face.
"She was a bit... upset," he says.
"Sorry about that."
He shakes his head, puts his phone back, and retrieves his things before getting up.
"Do not apologize, Miss Clarissa. To be honest, I understand your position too. It's not easy to be locked up when you have done nothing wrong... by your own family, no less. Unfortunately, there isn't much I can do to help you. On paper, you are here as a psychiatric patient, and this is hard to overcome when it comes to leaving without your family's approval."
"...Do you think my sister is lying?" I ask.
He seems to hesitate for a few seconds, playing with the pen between his fingers. After a while, he shrugs.
"From the few exchanges I've had with her, all I can say is that your elder sister is probably more stubborn than you are, and very down to earth. However, I do think the fact that she's the only one in your family who does call you and visit you says... a lot about her character."
His words confuse me even more. Does he mean to say Amy cares about me? Does she? What kind of older sister does that? I'm trapped here, she barely visits me... I don't get it.
"I'll get going now, Miss Clarissa, I think we are done for the day. Please try to be a little bit more patient, hm? I sincerely hope it will all be solved soon."
I nod and watch him leave. As soon as he's gone, I let out a long sigh of frustration and lie down on my bed, with a grimace because I rubbed some of my bandages unintentionally. What the heck is wrong with my family... None of this makes sense. What was that about the werewolves too? No one ever mentioned them aside from Bonnie until now. I push the button, but another nurse comes, much to my annoyance. Bonnie's shift is probably over... Crap. I wanted to ask her to see if she knows anything. The old lady leaves my dinner there and almost runs out of the room. They all avoid me when I'm unhappy like this.
I stare outside. Another day lost, trapped here. Is Kelsi at her part-time job? I bite my thumb, nervous and pissed. What am I supposed to do? If things go on like this, Amy will never let me out, or I'm going to go completely crazy before that happens. I should just walk out... I feel the shadow, crawling in the back of my mind. I should walk out that door, follow my instincts, and leave. Burn anything and anyone who tries to stop me. I should just end this...
Suddenly, I hear some sounds coming from outside. What the heck? I run to the window, unsure. I don't see anything, but I can hear someone yelling, a woman screaming. It seems like it's coming from below the hospital, in the park.
Something's wrong. Why is no one coming to help her? The few silhouettes I can see don't seem bothered at all, what's wrong with those people?! I take off running out of my room. I hear someone yelling, trying to have me come back, but I ignore them. I dodge whoever tries to hold me back. I'm almost flying. It's strange, I can hear that woman's screams even from inside the corridor. I run down the stairs, trying to find the way out. A couple of senile grannies stare at me in confusion, I have to squeeze in between them to get out. Two furious nurses are behind me, running after me, but I don't care, that woman needs help!
I finally see the way out to the park. I've been there a few times, so why the heck does it seem so far?! I push through the door to find myself in the park. The... empty park. I look around, completely at a loss.
There is no woman, and no screams anymore. It can't be... I just heard them. It was so clear! Why don't I see anyone? There's only an ambulance at the other end, with a red-haired guy smoking his cigarette, who starts walking up to me with a worried look. Crap, what the heck... What the... What is wrong with me…?
I stay stunned in the middle of the park, completely perplexed. I keep looking around, confused. I don't understand what just happened. All the screams are gone, and even that strange shadow that was haunting me has vanished. It's like I just woke up from some dream... a dream in which I've been very much awake the whole time. What the hell is wrong with me?
The two nurses that were running after me suddenly arrive and grab my arms.
"Where the heck are you running to?! Go back to your room!" they yell in my ears.
I try to defend myself, get out of their grip, but they are stronger than me. Those damn women! They are holding on so tightly, it freaking hurts! I keep struggling. Won't those old hags let go?! I'm just going to burn those damn–
"Hey, hey, easy, easy. Let go, ladies, please. I got it. It's alright, I got it."
The guy I spotted earlier just arrived in front of us, and gently, he takes the nurses' hands off of me. My hands aren't on fire, yet. There is some smoke coming from my fingers, though, and he sees it too. He clearly glances at my hands.
"Don't give me that, little witch," he says. "No fire tricks and I promise these ladies will leave us alone."
I nod, still a bit shaken up. For some reason, I have a hard time containing my fire. I can’t stop shaking because I'm so angry. The smoke disappears slowly, and as soon as the nurses retreat away from me, it gets easier for me to control myself. The red-headed guy smiles.
"There we go. No need to get fired up."
"We have to get her back to her room," insists one of the nurses, as if I wasn't there.
"It's okay, I'll watch her," says the redhead. "She can't go much farther anyway, right? She can stay with me for a few minutes, get some fresh air, and I'll make sure she goes back. It's fine..."
I can't believe it... They are actually listening to him and going back inside, despite their dubious glares. I'm confused, who is this guy? I'm rubbing my painful arm in total disbelief. One of their nails really made me bleed... I turn to the guy, unsure who I'm dealing with. He looks like a normal guy, but he clearly knows about my power, and there's something oddly familiar about him too. I’m probably staring too much, because he shakes his head and chuckles.
"No need to give me that look. You don't remember me, do you?"
"You do look familiar," I admit.
