Days past and Lara didn't hear anything of the mysterious, bald man.
She laid in her bed starring at the wall and ceiling. She can't leave her room. The nurses said very explicitly. She was afraid to run back into the bald man. She kept having weird visions of her and Sam. Or were it memories? She doesn't remember. She doesn't know. As soon as they came, they went away.
Lara spends the rest of the week lying in her bed while the nurses came barging in her room and do their work. Sometimes they brought some clothes for her to wear. When she asked were they came from, she only got a shrug and nothing more. Every day the older nurse from when she first woke up, came by and injected some fluids into her arm. Lara would try to get an answer but she never got one. Whole this hospital was all about secrecy.
When nobody was in the room, she crawled out of the hospital bed and went to stand before the window. She gazed at the stars. Longing to leave this place and try to seek for Sam. Lara didn't understand why her best friend didn't visit her or contacted her in some way. But she couldn't deny that she doesn't remember much before wakening in this dark room.
It was the first day of the week when the bald man showed up again. He was standing against the wall when Lara woke up. 'Good morning Miss. Croft, I'm glad you are awake because it's time for your first session.' Lara progressed the words very slowly. 'Get dressed and call for a nurse when you're ready.' With that he went out of the room. Lara rubbed her wrist in thought. She let the words for what it was and started to change. After some time a nurse brought her to the bald man's office.
The nurse left and Lara stood in front of the brown door. 'Office of doctor J.' was written on the door. She knocked and heard a voice. She turned the knob. The metal felt cold against her palm and Lara shivered. 'I see you found it. Please take a seat Miss. Croft.' Lara didn't need to hear any of that and started to fire some questions. 'Why am I still here? Am I not healed already?'
'Stop with your questions. That is my job. Now take a seat.' Lara grumbled under her breath and shoved the chair towards his desk. 'We haven't properly introduced. My name is Bruce Jenkins. Professional doctor and Psychiatrist. He showed his hand to shook. Lara scrunched her nose as if his hand was a disease. 'Why do I need a session with you? I am not sick or anything.' He retracted his hand. 'Not physically.' Lara looked offended. 'It's nothing to be ashamed of.' He reassured.
'Just tell me what you remember. Before you came here I mean.'
Lara saw no other option than to sit back and think about Jenkins question.' After a moment events of Yamatai came flashing before her eyes. 'You wouldn't believe me if I told you.'
'No believe me, Miss. Croft I heard a lot of things. I can handle it.' She inhaled deeply. 'The last thing I can remember is that I shot some cult man- whatever named Mathias and carried Sam down the hill. But since I'm here I must have collapsed on the boat or something.'
There was a long pause and Bruce's eyes were intently watching Lara. She was about to open her mouth when he spoke. 'I'm sorry miss. Croft. You're confused. You seem to have memory loss. Yamatai was almost a year ago.'
Mr. Jenkins watched carefully for her reaction. Lara didn't react at first. Then her rant started. 'NO!' she yelled. Lara jumped from her chair and slammed her fists onto Bruce's desk. 'You are lying JENKINS. How can I believe anything that comes out of your mouth when nobody tells me how I got here in the first place.' He stayed calm and let Lara yell and scream 'till she was done. 'You will now in your own time.' Was his only answer. Lara went back to sit on the chair and gritted her teeth in response. He pushed his glasses back to their place. 'Do you have weird dreams you can't place?' Lara's head perked up. 'How do you know?'
'It is completely normal. All patients with PTSD go through that phase. That explains your dreams. Those are actually memories. Your brain is registering the memory but your body doesn't remember it actually happened.' He leaned back in his chair. 'I don't have PTSD!'
'Every patient go into denial, just as you're doing now.'
'No it can't be.' Lara went silent. 'I let a nurse bring you back to you room so you can process the news.' A nurse knocked on the door and gently took Lara by the arm. 'Sam.' Lara whispered. Bruce looked at Lara when she was brought to her room and relaxed against his seat.
Lara was guided to her bed and the nurse left. Lara stared at least an hour at the same spot on the wall. The doctor's words were slowly processed by her brain. She waited until there was no sound in the hall and for the first time since she woke up, she let her tears fall. This time the stars couldn't soothe the aching in her mind and heart.
The sun was shining and the birds were whistling their own songs. It was a long time ago when she last saw the sun and felt it's warmth. Lara felt her fingers touch the warm ground. Her feet were dangling over the side of a cliff.
'What are you thinking about?' The voice shook her. Only then did she notice Sam's shoulder brush against her own. She smiled slowly. 'I don't know. Nothing important.'
Sam smiled and lay back onto the grass. I also lay on my back and stared at the sky. It was a calm day on their hiking trip. Their travelling bags lay next to them.
'Did you ever think about what could happen if we never went to Yamatai?' Her question startled Lara. Sam's eyes were carefully looking in Lara's eyes. Lara inhaled a few times and brought her hand to Sam's arm. 'I don't know, I probably would still be a naïve, young archeologist who "resented my father". But we shouldn't dwell on what if, but on where we are now.' Sam smiled sadly. 'You are right, you, me on a hiking trip together. But you have to give yourself more credit. You're an amazing young woman and best friend.' Lara grinned and pulled Sam in a sideway hug. 'You're the best.'
The next days were very hard. Lara tried to process what she heard from the doctor. But she just couldn't. She met the doctor once a day in the early afternoon. Always the same question. "Do you remember something?" with nothing as result.
He always smiles apologetic when Lara blocked all her 'memories' out. Lara would stare at the ground and mostly didn't answer the doctor's questions. She wanted to figure this out on her own. Only thinking about what happened according to the doctor was enough to break down. And she wouldn't want that. Certainly not in front of Mister Jenkins.
She didn't like him. His glasses were much too large for his bald head and he always wore a suit. If she asked when she could go home, he answered that she was not ready. Lara couldn't stand his attitude. Always with his "Miss. Croft" as if she didn't know her last name. He let her last name sound like some curse. But she hadn't had the energy to yell at him or make snarky comebacks. The only thing what mattered now was figuring out what happened that one specific day.
When she got time off, she wandered through the green halls which were too bright for her liking. She also spent a lot of her time under the willow tree in the hospital's garden. Unfortunately she had a curfew. So she had to watch the stars from behind her window. Wishing Sam was with her in these dark days.
This was the second chapter.
The next chap. Is still in progress
'Till next time
