wasn’t here with her. She had to get out of here. But exhaustion overwhelmed her. She closed her eyes.
When she woke again, Eden wasn’t there, and Ruth badly needed to pee. She sat up, gingerly, tentatively, aware of her bones and skin. She felt weak and helpless, cowed by the fear of pain. She told herself to relax and took deep breaths, practising the technique she sometimes used before going onstage.
When she was as calm as she was going to get, she pushed the sheets aside, wondering where the white pyjamas she was wearing had come from and, again, where the hell she was. But the urgency in her bladder prevented her from thinking about it for too long. She stood up, wobbling for a moment, tiny pinpricks of light swimming before her eyes. The carpet was plush against her bare feet, and though it hurt, she forced herself to walk to the bathroom. She had vague dream-like memories of someone helping her into a bathroom – this one, presumably – during the night. Or nights. It was all too blurry for her to make sense of.
She used the toilet, then reached over to the bathtub and turned on the taps. While she waited for the tub to fill, she removed her pyjamas and inspected her flesh, shocked by what she saw: the dark purple bruises on her shins and the outsides of her thighs; another bruise on her forearm. Her face, thankfully, was unmarked, and there was no visible sign of damage to her ribs. Breathing hurt, though, and when she pressed a hand against her side she let out a gasp.
What happened to me?
She still couldn’t remember any of it.
She ran the bath as hot as she could bear, then climbed in, struggling to breathe at first as the water pressed against her ribs. After a minute or two she felt better but she couldn’t relax. Wherever this was, she needed to get out. She had to talk to Sally.
There was a rap on the bathroom door.
‘Ruth?’ It was Eden.
‘I’m in the bath. Give me a minute.’
With great effort, and wondering if this was what it would be like when she was a very old woman, Ruth heaved herself out of the tub and dried herself with one of the huge, fluffy towels that were folded neatly on the rack. She found a robe on the back of the door, the kind one finds in a five-star spa. Everything she had seen here was high-end. There were definitely worse places to wake up confused and hurt.
Eden was waiting outside the door. She looked more herself now, dressed in a long-sleeved T-shirt with denim shorts and sneakers. Was Ruth imagining it or was there anxiety on Eden’s face? If there was, it vanished in a flash as she showed what Ruth had come to think of as the Eden smile.
‘Nice bath?’ Eden asked.
Ruth didn’t want to discuss the merits of the bathroom. But the bath had soothed her. Given her strength. ‘What happened to me? Why I am covered in bruises? And where are we? And what about my rehearsal? What did you mean when—’
Eden laughed.
‘Sorry. I’ve just . . . I don’t understand what’s going on. I can’t remember anything and I feel like I’m going crazy. If you told me right now that we were both dead and this was a waiting room for Heaven, I’d probably believe you.’
‘We’re not dead. Nobody’s dead.’
‘So where the hell are we? What happened? What—’ She stopped herself before she launched into another series of questions.
‘Why don’t you sit down? I brought you some soup.’
When she saw the bowl of soup and plate of bread on the round table by the window, which was still covered by closed blinds, Ruth’s stomach growled. She sat on the wooden chair and began to eat. Chicken soup.
‘Good for the soul,’ Eden said, taking the seat opposite. ‘I knew you’d be starving. You haven’t eaten since Friday.’
‘Is it still Sunday?’
‘Monday.’
Ruth put the spoon down. She’d slept through another day.
‘We thought it was best to let you sleep,’ Eden said.
‘We?’
Eden nodded but didn’t say any more. Did she mean doctors? Was this some kind of private hospital?
‘Where am I?’
‘Ruth, I don’t want you to freak out. I think it’s important first that I tell you what happened, fill in the gaps in your memory.’
‘You’re scaring me.’ Ruth looked around the room. It had to be a hotel or a hospital. Oh God, was it some kind