LISA
May 17th 2018
I sit up, clutching the side rails of my bed as I watch my knuckles turn white. I need to use the bathroom and I'm sick of ringing the damn bell, waiting for a nurse to fart arse about looking for a bedpan before I can take a piss.
I repetitively press the button that's hooked up to the morphine. A few seconds later, a chill runs through my veins, followed by an overwhelming sense of giddiness.
I swing my legs over the side of the hospital bed, wincing as my bare feet touch the cold surface of the floor. I wince a second time as I rip the IV drip from my hand.
Not because it hurt.
But, as I watch the amount of blood streaming from the tiny hole, it reflects that it would have stung like a bitch. I can not help but admire the scarlet red liquid in all its glory as it cascades down the side of my hand, staining the floor with tiny droplets.
On wobbly feet, I stand, trying to put all my weight on my good leg as I use the wall to hold myself up. I take three maybe four steps.
"No, no, no, no, no, no....."
I begin to giggle when I slowly feel myself sliding down the side of the wall and I land in an awkward position on my back.
I giggle more as I watch the doors to my room open and Layla steps into my line of vision.
Her brows pinch together as her gaze darts from mine to my bed and then back at me. "Lisa, are you high on morphine?" She says with a titter.
"I think I may have pressed the button three times too many." I try to say with a serious face but I burst out laughing a millisecond later.
"And where are you trying to run off to?"
"I need to use the bathroom." I moan, sounding like a spoiled brat.
"You have nurses here to help you with your needs, Lisa." She growls at me in a scolding manner.
She bends down, wrapping her arms around my waist as she helps me to my feet. "Fucking arsehole!" I sob as I lose my footing and briefly bear the weight of my body on my bandaged leg.
"Easy, Lisa. I have you, babe." She says soothingly.
It is the same soothing voice that is going to throw me in prison, that has converted me into a killer, and that has scared Rachel away, possibly forever.
"Why did you come back, La?" I ask her curiously. "I mean you have the money to disappear."
"I couldn't do it. The guilt was eating me from the inside, out."
"I murdered him and I helped get rid of his body!" I could not stop the contempt that pervaded my words from escaping my lips.
She sighs loudly, wiping my damp hair away from my face. "No, I murdered him and it was me that got rid of his body, Lisa. Not you." She says sternly as she looks me in the eyes.
She helps to lower me down onto the toilet seat. I collect my hospital gown above my hips in my hands and begin peeing.
I roll my eyes back as the sensation of emptying my bladder feels better than it has ever felt. After I've finished completing my business, she helps me back to my bed and she gets in beside me, resting her head on my chest.
"I've come to tell you that I accept full responsibility for all that has occurred. Following this, I am going to see Chad and return his money. I despise the person I have evolved into and the life I have led over the last year. I have been granted 24 hours to straighten out my affairs before returning to the police station to deliver my statement." I can hear the grief in her voice and my heartaches for her.
"Let me guess. You spoke with a detective named Evie?" A slight smirk smears across my face when I mention her name.
"I did and I have a hunch she believes he got what he deserved."
"I think so too," I say with a yawn.
I feel Layla move off the bed, tucking in the bedsheets and she stands at my side. "Get some rest." She leans forward and plants a feather-light kiss on the top of my head. "I'm sorry for everything I have put you through. The nightmares that may follow and the guilt I know that invades your pure heart. If I could take it all back, I would and I know my words won't change how you feel. But I do hope that you will consider them and forgive me in the near future." I could hear the pain in her voice and I reach out, taking her hand in mine.
"I don't hate you, La, nor do I regret saving your life. There is nothing to forgive you for because you didn't do anything. I'm a full-grown woman and I take full responsibility for what I have done also...."
"Lisa, Lisa baby."
I force my eyelids open and immediately regret it as the bright lights overwhelm me. I groan as the morphine fog gradually dissipates, leaving behind a hammering ache in my head.
"Hey, babe."
I shift my head to the side and see Rachel standing there with a nervous expression on her face, peering down at me.
"Rachel," I croak out. "Wh. What's wrong?" I ask her as my eyes sweep over her tensed body.
A wheelchair is behind her, and she is holding a trenchcoat and cap in her hands. "Come on, we don't have much time." She adds hurriedly as she pulls back the bedsheets and begins gently swinging my legs over the bed's side.
"What's going on?" I place a hand on top of hers, stilling her movements. "What are you doing?" I ask her sternly.
"I'm breaking you out of here before they come to arrest you, that's what I'm doing." Her eyes gleam with purpose.
"Babe, no. I-" she cuts me off by sealing her lips against mine.
"Yes! We are both in this together now, and I am not about to abandon you now that I have found you again." She brushes away the tears that are streaming down her face. "I love you. Please, just get in the wheelchair before it's too late." She begs.