Page 69 of Psychotic Obsession
I place my palm to my cheek to ease the raw skin, dropping back against the wall. "Did you just fucking slap me?" I snarl, my rage building.
"I'm calling your mom, Aria. This has gone too far." She shakes her head, concerned, pulling her phone out and tapping away on the screen.
"Mom. Did she go on the rides too?"
She ignores me, placing the phone on the sink as she lifts me from the ground, carrying me into the shower. My body isn't stable enough to hold my own weight right now. Gabs sits me down on the small marble corner seat within the cubicle, soaking herself while she heats my body with the warm water, keeping her hands gentle on my slim frame.
“Ewan has been on the phone with me for days on end, worried sick about you. Your mom too. I think this thing with Tobias needs to end. You’re unwell.”
My eyes widen at his name, and I grab her hands. "I love Tobias."
"No, you're being controlled by him. There's a massive difference between strong emotions and feared mental submission."
I want to hit her, but a part of me is fighting that urge. "You don't even like me. If you care about me, you would want me to be happy." I let go of her hands, shifting away from her. "Who are you?"
"I'm not the threat here. This is," she says, tapping the side of my head. "I need to find out what's?—"
"Ewanis a threat... Ewanisa threat..."
I repeat this chant, no matter how many times Gabs tells me to stop. Even after she dries me and carries me to my room, dodging the glass, she’s dressing me, and I keep the words going like a broken record until I hear the chimes again.
I hear Gabriella’s phone ringing, and she settles me on the couch so she can answer it. "Hey, yeah, she's here. Ewan said she ran out of his house in the night and Tobias found her. I don't know what the hell is wrong with her. Meet me at the hospital? Okay, see you there, Doctor Miller."
I frown at her addressing Mom as she always does, and she grabs my jacket, kneeling in front of me while she pulls the leather up my arms. "Where are we going?" My words come out slurred, and I lick my dry lips, fightingthe urge to bring up my empty stomach.
"We're going to get you help, Aria. We all love you, and we’re going to get you better." Our eyes meet, and I feel a weight lifting from my shoulders, my eyes brimming with tears as I grip herhand in mine. "I know you don't feel like yourself, but I'm never leaving your side again."
My jumbled thoughts become a little clearer, slowly nodding in agreement, and both of us freeze as we hear the door open before slamming shut.
Dad stands in my living room, staring down at my pale face. "What has she taken?" he asks Gabriella, helping her lift me from the couch, each one tucking an arm under my shoulders. "My God, Aria. You’re skin and bones."
Concentrating on the chimes remaining at a soft tempo, I close my eyes and focus on the voices around me, but everything is muffled.
I don't realize we've already gone out to the car, my dad buckling me in. All I see are flashing lights, feeling a heavy bass rattling through my body. Although my mind is hazy and everything seems to be playing in reverse, repeating, slowing down, I try to keep a straight face as Dad drives us to the hospital.
I'm surprised he's here. Being a busy man, tackling every case he can before retirement, he barely has time for his own family.
If they think I'm crazy, and I reckon they already do, I'll be admitted, sent to an institution.
The chimes painfully start to pierce my ears, from my house all the way to the hospital. I keep playing Tobias' words in my head:embrace it.Every time I close my eyes and try to do exactly that, the bell-like sounds fade into something soft and relaxing, releasing me from my torment momentarily before exploding once more, causing me to silently wince.
Embrace it... How do I do that?
With my head on Gabriella's lap, her hand stroking my hair, I watch the clouds in the sky, counting every time we pass a lamppost or traffic light. "Where's Tobias?" I ask, looking up at her in panic. "I hurt him, Gabs. I just slept with Ewan."
She shakes her head. "No, you didn't. Forget about Tobias too; he's not good for you." Her reply is clipped, causing me to frown and shift my position to move away from her. She sighs, tucking her hair behind her ears. "Don't look at me like that. He's been nothing but bad news ever since he came into your life."
"Where are we going?"
"I just want the doctors to run a few tests on you." Her palm lands on my hand, rubbing her thumb along my skin. "Then we can go home and watch movies, okay?"
I nod, lacing our fingers together while I stare at the back of Dad's headrest. I humI Foundto myself, my head tilting to each side as the beat plays quietly.
When we reach the hospital parking lot, Dad helps me as we follow Gabriella through the corridors of the ER, the bright lights burning my eyes. "We can just take her to ward four; it's quiet anyway. Doctor Miller is meeting us there," Gabriella says, looking down at her phone screen as we head to meet my mom.
I feel my stomach twisting, and no matter how much I try to hold it back, my body heaves, and I double over. Bile, and barely any of it, splashes across the floor, the taste rancid, stinging my throat as my eyes water painfully.
Reality seems to keep freezing, causing us to glitch to different parts of the hospital. Every time I feel like I'm back to normal, pressure builds in my head, and the blip in my brain restarts.
