Beauty In Her Madness (Winterland Tale #3) - Stacey Marie Brown Page 0,55
it either.”
“What do we do?” She cried into his shoulder.
“We be there for her,” Dad replied, letting go. “We stay strong.”
Mom blinked rapidly, nodding her head, her expression pure agony.
“We don’t tell Alice.” Mom inhaled. I recognized her “decision making” face.
“What?” Dad stepped back.
“Not yet.” Mom held up her hand. “Let’s first see what’s going on.”
“Carroll…”
“Alice has scarcely recovered. She’s happy and healthy right now. Her life with Matt is good. I don’t want anything that might trigger her or cause her to relapse. Not until we know for sure.”
“Yeah.” Dad rubbed at his head, the silver in his caramel-colored hair catching the light. “You’re right.”
“Mr. and Mrs. Liddell?” A woman in a white doctor’s coat walked up to them. “I’m Dr. Avery. I have the test results back for Dinah.” She flipped a page on her clipboard. “So, everything came back relatively normal. No alcohol or hard drugs found in her system. Though we did find strange traces of psilocybin, but nothing that should cause a reaction like she had.”
“Psilocybin?” My mom shook her head in disbelief. “Like in mushrooms?” Her mouth dropped open. “My daughter does not take psychedelic drugs. No way. Not Dinah.”
“Carroll.” My dad put a hand on her arm. “What do you mean by strange, Doctor?”
The woman shook her head, her lips pinching. “We ran several tests at once, and they all came back different. The psilocybin evaporated at a rapid rate from the same sample, which isn’t possible. In all my years, I have never encountered anything close to it.” She drew the clipboard into her chest. “But I think we need to address the other cause for Dinah’s incident. I’ve taken a look at your family history and see your eldest daughter has also suffered from mental health problems.”
“She’s healthy now,” Mom shot in. “Totally fine. So happy and has a successful business in the city.”
“Carroll,” Dad warned again. “Stop.”
My mom bowed her head, her teeth biting at her lips like she was struggling not to cry. She was still trying so hard to show we weren’t a family of crazies.
“I highly suggest you find help for Dinah. Possibly get Dinah on proper medication. Jump on this now before it gets worse.” The doctor handed them a card. “Contact me if you have any questions. I’d like to keep Dinah a little longer to monitor her.”
“Yes, thank you, Dr. Avery.” My parents thanked her as she left.
“I better call Scott.” Dad reached for his phone, wiping a tear running down his face, his voice choked. “He will be worried about her.”
At his statement, Mom broke down. They grabbed each other, hugging and crying—shredding my heart into pieces. I hated I was doing this to them. That my mind had to fail me too, and in the process, hurt my family all over again.
Feeling groggy, sleep claimed me again, taking me away from the pain.
After drifting in and out, I woke again to a nurse next to my bed, checking the monitors. Scott was sleeping in a chair next to my bed.
“I know you.” My dry throat cracked over my words.
The nurse looked down at me and smiled. “You’re awake.” She grabbed a cup next to my bed, handing me some water to drink. “I’m actually surprised you remember me. I helped bring you in.”
I dipped my head, now recalling why she was familiar. “Yeah. It’s hazy, but I remember. Also the other nurse…the man with the beautiful amber eyes.”
Her forehead wrinkled, her brows crunching down over her brown eyes. “Male nurse?”
“Yeah. His voice was so soothing.”
“Sweetie…” She tilted her head at me. “There was no male nurse there. Just me and Cora.”
A fluttering of fear dribbled in my lungs as I took a sip of my water. I saw him. Felt his touch. Smelled him. He said my name. He felt more real to me than she had. His face was sharp in my head.
“Oh.” I gulped down roughly. “I must have been dreaming.” Though I knew I hadn’t been. I remembered her there. I even remembered the nurse, Cora, pushing me, but he was a shining star I locked on to, keeping me safe.
“Your vitals look good. The doctor will probably release you soon.” She flicked her chin to the sleeping form in the chair. “Plus, he’s been snoring and waking up the lady in 23B.”
I laughed as she took back the cup, putting it on the table. She gave my arm a squeeze before leaving.