| Pain. Unbearable pain. It hurt to just breathe. My body felt heavy. My eyes fluttered open but I didn�t see anything. It was dark. I could make out a few shapes, but only a few. I could hear beeping on the side of me, but turning my head to see where it was coming from was out of the question. I closed my eyes and quickly went back to sleep. � Heather? Can you hear me?� I opened my eyes to see Rachel, Nick and another man staring down at me. � Hi baby,� Nick said. � Heather, I�m Dr. Richardson. Can you talk?� he asked. � My throat hurts,� I said hoarsely. � I know.� Dr. Richardson nodded sympathetically. � Do you know why you�re here?� I nodded, instantly regretting it, after realizing my neck was stiff. � We�ll talk about that later. Are you hungry?� � Thirsty,� I said. � We�ll get you some water. How are you feeling?� � Sore.� � Ok. Well I�ll be back with that water in a few minutes and then we�ll talk,� he said before leaving. Nick and Rachel both pulled up chairs and sat down. � Go ahead, say it,� I said. � There�s nothing to say, Heather. I�m just glad you�ll be alright,� Nick said quietly. He held my hand, but couldn�t look at me. He looked everywhere but at me� I must disgust him that much. � Well I have something to say,� Rachel said. � What the fuck were you thinking? And why didn�t you tell me or Nick? What the hell possessed you into taking sleeping pills?� � Rachel,� Nick said. � Leave her alone,� � No. She can say what she wants,� I said stopping to clear my throat. � She has a right to know. You both do,� � Here�s that water,� Dr. Richardson said coming back into the room. I smiled graciously and took the plastic cup from him. He looked at my heart monitor for a few minutes before looking back at me. � I think we can remove this. Your heartbeat is strong, and it looks as though it has been for a while.� He turned off the monitor and Nick held my cup while I reached under my hospital gown and pulled the pads off my chest. I sat them on the tray next to my bed and took my cup again, sipping on it. � So, Heather physically you�ll be fine, but emotionally that�s another story,� � A story she has yet to tell us,� Rachel said standing at the edge of the bed with her hands on her hips. � And I�d really like some answers as to why you scared the shit out of me,� � Rachel, that�s enough.� Nick said firmly. � The last thing she needs is more stress right now.� � Stress? You wanna talk about stress? I was the one who found her. Don�t you think it was a little stressful for me to think my best friend was dead?� � Ms. Wheeler, I can understand your hostility, but Heather�s already upset and right now I don�t think it�s appropriate to demand things of her, maybe she�s not ready to explain,� Dr. Richardson said. � Heather will tell you when she�s ready,� � So what does she do now? How long is she going to be staying here?� Nick asked. � We�re going to keep her for a couple more days, just for observation, and then I�d like to for her to talk to someone,� � Talk to someone? Like a psychiatrist?� I said. � Yes,� He nodded. � There�s obviously something�s that need to be said-� � Wait a minute. I�m not talking to some shrink. There are reasons why I did what I did, but they�re my reasons-� � Heather, don�t strain your voice,� Nick said. � Maybe you should just listen to what he has to say,� � No. I�m not going. I don�t need to talk to anyone-� � I don�t want to have to force you into these sessions, but I will.� Dr. Richardson said. � Heather, you�re not well-� � I�m not well?! You know nothing about me-� � I know you�re suicidal,� � Dr. Richardson-� � Heather, maybe it�s not such a bad idea.� Rachel said. � How bad can it be? You can only get better.� � Don�t I have some say in this? I don�t want to go-� � You have a say in this Heather, but the only say you have is when your appointments are,� Dr. Richardson said. � And what if I don�t go? What happens then?� � Then I go to the medical board and have you committed,� � Committed? You can�t do that.� � I can do that. You would be denying treatment. A treatment that I think is life-saving and if I go to the board with the file I have on you already from Dr. Norris, it wouldn�t be a hard decision for the board to agree with me,� � Are you threatening me?� � Yes I am,� He smiled. Part Ten |