Page 65 of Girl Like Me

“You can get some breakfast over there,” she says pointing to the kitchen area. “You are free to talk to anyone, everyone that comes in here is friendly enough. We have guards at all of the doors in case anyone tries to start any trouble. If you do the right thing, you will be out of here in no time.”

“Thank you.”

She wanders over to another patient, placing her hand on their shoulder and smiling at them. She must be liked around here and I can see why, the other lady is a huge bitch. I walk over to the case where they keep the fruit tubs and yogurt. I take a vanilla yogurt and a small wooden spoon and head over to the lounge chairs, taking a seat and crossing my legs.

An alarm blasts echoing loudly throughout the room and before I know it, a naked older gentleman runs past the window on the outside laughing. I smile as a couple of nurses chase him, trying to tackle him to the ground and get him back inside.

“That’s old Pete, famous rockstar from the eighties. I think they let him do this once every few weeks so he can feel alive again.”

I turn to my right and my eyes go wide, Rory’s mum has taken a seat beside me and isn’t snarling or glaring at me for once.

“Face forward so they don’t get suspicious.”

I do as she asks, still shocked that she has come to sit beside me.

“I know what you must think of me, I would probably be the same. Drugs can do weird things to a person. Do you love my son?”

“I do, more than I can express with words. Though, they’re trying to drug me into believing he doesn’t exist.”

“I’m not surprised, this place talks with money. The more money you dish out, the more lies they will feed to whoever they need to. I do have a message for you though. They want you to know that they are working on getting you out.”

“I never doubted them; I knew they would come for me. Would you be able to do me a favour?”

“It’s the least I can do for how much of an asshole I was.”

“I don’t blame you,” I say with a slight shake of my head, “seeing your husband with someone the same age as your son.”

“Honestly we were toxic for each other and I was no innocent. Years and years of drug abuse made me not care about anything except how others viewed me. Cindy has been visiting me and making me see that my behaviour is toxic.”

I cough, Cindy, the same toxic bitch that had a go at Maximus and blackmailed the guys.

“I know she isn’t perfect and probably never will be, but she and I are cut from the same cloth. The money and attention speaks to us in ways that others could never understand. She’ll marry up if it’s the last thing she does, just like I did. But one thing I know is she cares a lot for my son and wants what’s best for him.”

The nurse starts to head our way. “What's this favour you wanted?” she asks quickly.

“Get Rory to call Lissa and beg her to come see me. Tell her I remember everything.”

She nods just as the nurse comes to stand next to us.

“Telling the new girl about old Pete,” she says, making the nurse smile.

“Yeah, someone didn’t close his door and he snuck out. Sweet old man but I wish he would keep his clothes on.” the nurse sighs and drifts off somewhere for a second before snapping out of it. “Bristol, it's time for you to see the doctor.”

I nod and get up from my chair, discarding the un-eaten yogurt into the trash. My stomach is unsettled from my memories and figuring out what I do with them now. I push them to the back of my mind; the last thing I need is anyone else realising that I have them back. I need to talk to Lissa and get her to help me decipher if I'm going nuts or not. I need them to stop sticking me with crap that makes me drowsy.

She leads me through a different door and down another long corridor, this one seems less intense, with regular door, not sliding doors that lock as soon as someone walks through them. She knocks on a door at the very end and opens it.

“Bristol, come take a seat.” The doctor smiles at me, causing my brain to swarm with confusion. Why is everyone being nice to me today? What’s changed? Is this a tactic to trick me into thinking I’m crazy?

I take a seat in front of his desk, the chairs in here are nice and comfy, especially compared to the other chairs I’ve seen around the place. The nurse leaves silently, pulling the door shut behind herself.

“I hear that you’re feeling better today.”

“I do feel a lot better”

He looks down at some paperwork on his desk and back up to me.

“Let’s talk about why you’re here,” he says. “Your mother says you had another personality switch and you haven’t been dealing with it very well. She explained you had a breakdown, so they rushed you back here. ”

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