When A Stanger Returns

Chapter 3

I opened my eyes slowly as I woke up, thinking that maybe Logan would be in the room with me. Immediately after thinking this I scalded myself. Logan hadn't been in my room last night. It had all been a figment of my imagination.

With this though I opened my eyes fully, glad to see that the room was empty, apart from the various furniture and machinery. I sighed, relived. It felt good to know that I could not be hurt and that Logan hadn't been hurting me for the past few nights.

Deciding that it was probably time for my breakfast I pressed the button next to me that was linked up to the nurse's station. Within a few minutes Marie arrived, wheeling a tray with her which held my breakfast. I saw that today it was three pieces of buttered toast and orange juice.

"Thanks Marie," I said gratefully, as she placed the tray on my lap.

She was about to leave when she turned around as if remembering something. "You have a meeting with Doctor Crane today in an hour to discuss your medication. Depending on how that meeting goes, you could be home today." She then left before I could exclaim my surprise at this statement.

I'd thought that with everything that had happened in the past few days that they would have kept me in the hospital for longer. However I was extremely pleased to find out that there was a chance I could be released today. It would be great to be able to go home and sleep in my own bedroom for once. Because of this I tucked into my breakfast with great gusto, hoping that this would be my last breakfast in this place.

After my breakfast had been finished I picked up my diary and started to write in it to pass the time.

Dear Diary,

I know that the last time I wrote it was to say all the bad things that have been happening, but today I have some good news.

Depending on a meeting that I have in an hour with Doctor Crane I could be going home today. The excitement is so great that I can barely contain it. I feel like dancing around and screaming my lungs out but I daren't in case they think me crazy... well even more crazy then they think at the moment. Haha!

It would be amazing to be able to see my mother and father again. They've only managed to visit me in hospital once or twice as it's been so hard for them to get to work, but the thought of seeing them once again makes me smile like crazy. It's like I can almost feel my bed calling me. To be able to wrap myself around my familiar smelling duvet would be the best feeling that I've had in a while. These hospital beds smell of disinfectant and they're so crisp and new that it's hard to truly relax in them.

Marie should be –

I was interrupted from my diary by Marie knocking on the door. Looking down at my diary I had to place my hand over my mouth to hide the laugh that escaped my lips. I was about to write that Marie should be here soon and here she is.

Marie must have noticed my laugh but she ignored it, either out of politeness or simply because she did not care as to why I was not laughing.

"Doctor Crane is ready for you," Marie said. She pointed to the diary that was in my lap. "He says that you should bring the diary with you."

I nodded and clasped the diary in my hands before getting out of the bed. Looking down at the hospital gown that I was wearing I wished that I had been able to wear some other clothes. The gown was white and crisp, falling to the top of my knees. It was baggy as well, meaning that the shape of my body was hidden from view. Looking at my attire I realised that being able to wear what I wanted would be another plus side to going home.

Doctor Crane's office was only a short way down the hall, so we arrived in only a few minutes.

Marie knocked on the door for me, before leaving with a wave and a nod of her head.

"Come on in," Doctor Crane's low voice sounded from the other side of the door. "Ah, Jill," he said as he saw that it was me.

Doctor Crane was surprisingly good looking and when first looking at him people instantly knew that he was a Doctor. His hair was black and cut close to his head. His features were sharp, making him seem intelligent, whilst his eyes were brown, making him seem warm and friendly. Jill liked him very much.

"Come. Sit," he said, indicating to the chair opposite his desk. I sat down in the chair, noticing how insanely tidy his desk was. Not a single item was out of place. He started to speak, causing my attention to go back to him. "Now, I see that you've brought your diary. May I read it?"

"There are only two entries in there," I explained as I handed it over to him.

"That's fine. After all you've not had much time to write in it."

For a few minutes there was silence, occasionally interrupted by the odd "Mhm" coming from Doctor Crane as he read the two entries. I wasn't sure what the sound meant but I was not going to interrupt him.

"Okay," he said, once he had finished reading. "Interesting."

"Is it?" I asked, without meaning to, wondering what interesting things I had written in there.

He chuckled. "Some things are interesting." He paused, thinking about what to say. "You talk in your diary about Logan coming into your room three days ago, and how you were confused about whether he was real or not. Do you think that he was real now?"

I didn't need to think about my answer. After all, I'd spent all morning thinking about it. "No, I don't think he's real. The police officer assured me that there was no way that he could've jumped from the window, let alone escaped from prison."

"What about yesterday?"

"Sally, my nurse, told me that it could've been the drugs that I'd been given. Then she matched the marks on my wrists to my own hands."

"This is my point," Doctor Crane said thoughtfully. "You're relying on the words of others. You need to truly believe yourself that you did not see Logan on those two occasions."

"But I do believe that I didn't see him. All the evidence proves that I can't have seen him."

He looked at me and I could see the disbelief in his eyes.

"Look," I continued, "at first, I did believe that Logan was in the room with me, on both occasions. But now I understand. When I saw him, everything was too perfect. Thinking back he didn't have the scar on his face that I know he has. Therefore he can't have been real. My mind was simply playing tricks on me, and I understand that now!" The last part came out as a shout because I was scared that he would deny me the opportunity to go home.

However, instead of looking shocked at my outburst, he continued to look at me calmly. "Okay," he said eventually. "I'm going to give you some medication to take home with you and I want you to come back twice every week so that I know how things are going. Other then that I'd say that you're free to go."

A large smile spread across my face and I realised that this was the first time I'd felt happy since everything had happened. "Seriously?" I asked, feeling as if this all might be some crazy dream.

He nodded, and I resisted the urge to run over to him and hug him.

"Thank you," I gushed, over and over again, until he held up a hand to stop me.

"It's no problem, really. Now, if you go back to your room and wait, I've already called your parents so they should be here in an hour or so."

"Thank you," I exclaimed again, as I edged out of the room, smiling crazily.

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