I woke up in a room that smelled sterile, like a hospital, which was what I’d expected, but it didn’t look like one. Everything was white; the walls, the floor, the bed, my gown. The only color in the room was the slight grey tint to the door, the blue trim on my gown, and a light beige blanket folded up across the end of my bed.

Looking around, I was surprised that Mom wasn’t here; neither was Dad.

I was alone.

I was alone and had no idea where I was.

I sat up, moving slowly, since I was so sore, my left arm bandaged, and my other one in a sling. When I got up and put my feet down on the cold floor, I was thankful they’d left my socks on. When I walked over to the window and looked out, all I saw was a courtyard. It did look like I was in a hospital, but not the one I’d been in days ago. I didn’t recognize this one, and couldn’t see beyond the walls that wrapped around the courtyard, so I had no idea where I was.

There were only two floors, me being on the second, so it wasn’t a large hospital. I racked my brain, trying to think of the different ones near my house, but my head was foggy, so all it did was give me a headache. Turning away from the window, I walked over to the door, deciding to ask one of the nurses where I was, since I didn’t have a nurse button, but there was no doorknob. In its place was a silver handle, which was embedded in the door, so I couldn’t grab onto it. I was about to look out the small, square window on the door to get someone’s attention when the knob popped out and the door swung open.

“Oh, you’re awake,” the nurse said, taking a step back, since I’d obviously startled her. “How are you feeling?” I could tell her guard was up, so I knew Mom must’ve told them what had happened.

“Where am I?” I asked, walking back toward my bed and sitting down so she’d know I wasn’t going to attack her. At least I hoped I wouldn’t. To be honest, at this point, I wasn’t sure.

“You’re at Lakeway Mental Health,” she said, writing something on her clipboard. “Do you remember what happened?”

“Lakeway Mental Health? I’m in a… a… mental hospital?”

“Yes. When a patient presents with self-inflicted injuries, they immediately come here for an evaluation.”

“But I didn’t—” I started to say I didn’t cut myself, but that would only make me look crazier. “It was an accident. I didn’t mean to cut myself.”

She looked up at me from the paper she was writing on. “So you didn’t mean to cut yourself numerous times?” she asked, pointing down at my bandaged arm.

“No, I’d never cut myself. I hate the sight of blood.”

She looked back down at the paper on her clipboard and wrote something else. “Well, you can let Dr. Wellington know when you talk to her in the morning. She’s the hospital’s psychiatrist.”

“Psychiatrist?”

“Yes, all patients have an evaluation with Dr. Wellington upon arrival. You’d have it today, but she got called away.”

“So I have to stay overnight?” I asked, my stomach feeling like rocks had been dumped in it.

“At least overnight,” she replied with a fake smile. “But I’ll be right outside the door if you need anything.”

“Will I be… will I have to stay in here? There’s not even a TV, and I don’t have my phone.” I’d really go crazy if I was locked in here with nothing to look at but white walls until tomorrow.

“Outside stimulation, including family and friends, isn’t allowed until your eval, just to make sure patients stay calm. We do have a few books, if you’d like me to pick one out for you.”

I shook my head, in no mood to read. “No, I’ll… sleep, I guess.”

“Okay, but if you change your mind….” She smiled. “So, do you remember what happened? Why you’re here?”

What was I supposed to say? That I did remember? That I had been possessed by some crazy dead lady who never leaves me alone? That I’m being haunted by a lunatic who sings to me and makes me see things? Scares me so bad that I fall, not once, but twice, trying to get away from her? Yeah, that wouldn’t make me sound crazy at all.

“No, I don’t remember.”

She wrote something down on her paper again. “What is the last thing you do remember?”

I thought about my words carefully. “My sister was cutting potatoes, then cut her finger. I helped her with it until Mom came home, then I went to finish cutting potatoes.”

When I didn’t continue, she raised her eyebrows at me. “And that’s it?”

“That’s it,” I lied.

“Okay, then. I’ll go put this in the system.” She turned to walk away, scanning her badge on a small panel next to the door that I hadn’t noticed, probably due to the fact that it was white like everything else in here. “Supper will be brought up any time, now, but if you need anything before then, press this button here,” she said, pointing at a small button at the top of the panel. “I’ll leave it on, but if you press it repeatedly and don’t need anything, it will be turned off.”

I nodded, not wanting her to leave, even though she had the personality of a blade of grass. Once she left, I’d be alone again, and that scared me. She flashed another fake smile and walked out, the door shutting loudly behind her… then it was silent.

I pulled my knees up to my chest, unable to even wrap my arms around them, since my arm and shoulder hurt too bad. Frustrated, I let them fall back down, hanging over the side of the bed, which only lasted a second before I jerked them back up.

Pulling the blanket from the end of my bed, I laid down and covered up, willing myself to go to sleep so morning would come quicker. I dreaded my evaluation, unsure as to what I was going to say or what they psychiatrist would think, but I dreaded nighttime even more. Nights were bad enough, but I was guessing nights in a mental hospital would be even worse.

Of course, I would end up being right.