Split [ONC 2024]

13. Guilty

I wake up in a white room, a heart monitor beeping in my ear.

It doesn't take a genius to figure out what happened. 

I'd finally had enough. The moment Daniel confirmed that the blood on my car belonged to my mother, I just couldn't take it anymore. I fainted and now I wish I never woke up.

But here I am, once again conscious, hooked to machines, under the care of medical professionals. I should be in a padded room, wearing a straitjacket, because I'm obviously insane.

When I first saw my mother's body, I had hope. After all, it was the first time that I could confirm beyond any doubt that I had nothing to do with it. I was with Daniel for the past two days. There was no way I escaped him, ran off to commit murder which involved a lot of blood, and returned fast and clean enough for him not to notice anything odd.

But if her blood was on my car, it's obvious that I did it. The blood was fresh that morning, so I wasn't with Daniel. I didn't even know him then. It obviously happened the night after I was struck by lightning, when I went to bed early. I could have easily slipped out when I thought I was sleeping and killed her. Then attacked Steve like he claimed. I was either sleepwalking, or possessed or something. Or maybe I did it and hated it so much that I repressed the memories and convinced myself that I am innocent.

I'm not. I'm definitely not. There's no other explanation for everything that has happened.

I clutch my head in my hands and lean forward on the hospital bed, trying to push some sense back into my life. There is none. My chest aches and sobs break through my efforts. I don't think I've ever been in this much pain.

"Ms. Romney?"

A nurse walks in, looking concerned. I raise my hands to placate her.

"No, stay away." Who knows if I'll end up hurting her, too? It doesn't fit the pattern, but does the crazed me that kills people even think about patterns and logic?

"You're fine. You just fainted." The woman sounds soothing and I'm sure it's because she has no idea why I fainted.

I need to get out of here. I need to go to the police station and turn myself in. Everyone will be safe as long as I'm in a jail cell. Right?

"I need to go," I say. I should push the flimsy blanket off myself and stand, but I can't.

I'm freezing. How is it this cold in the hospital room? And then the lights flicker and I know what it means. My heart begins to pound and I bury my face in my hands. I don't want to see the shadows. But I can't stop myself from hearing them, I can't prevent them from freezing my soul.

"Could you give us a moment?"

Daniel's voice cuts across the room, filled with determination and a sense of confidence that seems impossible for me at the moment. The wheezing voices fall silent, and even if I'm still shivering, it's from feeling warmth again. I dare raise my face and I see the nurse glancing at him with confusion.

Did she not see the shadows, feel the change in the air? The cold, the noise? Am I truly insane? But then again, the only person who can also sense them is in the room with me.

Daniel himself looks like a Greek statue. He's back in his suit, this time a dark grey one with a white shirt and black tie, looking in control of the situation. I long to go to him, cry and cuddle in his arms, but I know I can't. Even that part of my life is over.

"Detective, I don't think now is the right time to question Ms. Romney. She just woke up and she's obviously distressed--"

"I understand, but it's imperative that I speak with her. Now." He narrows his eyes as he says the last word.