She had no idea how long she had been asleep. As she came to, Carla found herself lying on the sofa in her lounge, the dim glow from the lamp in the corner the only light source, indicating that it was late evening at the earliest. She rubbed her forehead, trying unsuccessfully to lift the fog that was clouding her thoughts, and to remember the events of the day which were currently eluding her. She remembered going to the factory this morning, but after that everything seemed a blur. She looked across the room and noticed that Peter was sitting in the chair across from her, studying her, his face etched with concern.
"Hey love, how are you feeling?"
There was something in his tone that worried her; in fact the flat seemed filled with a tension she couldn't quite make sense of.
"Not great, pretty tired. I think I must have a virus or something. How long have I been asleep?"
He continued to watch her, his expression serious, and Carla felt suddenly nervous, "Baby, is everything ok?"
"I'm not sure it is love. I'm worried about you."
Carla sat up, trying to hide the wave of dizziness that the sudden movement brought.
"I've probably just caught a bug at work, I'll be fine in a couple of days I'm sure, and I know you'll say it's because l've been working too much, so I won't go in tomorrow, we can have a duvet day, how does that sound?"
She paused and looked over at him, feeling a knot form in her stomach as he slowly shook his head, still watching her intently.
"Baby, what do you think happened today?"
"I don't know what you mean. I felt unwell so I came home, maybe a virus, why, what are you implying?"
Peter sighed and made his way over to where she was on the sofa, taking her hand in his as he sat down beside her.
"Carla, you crashed the factory van, you were so spaced out you had no idea what was going on. I'm really sorry baby but we need to get you some help."
The realisation dawned of what he was implying, along with a fuzzy memory of the events he was describing.
"Hang on a minute, who have you called? I am not crazy Peter, Okay? Yes i felt dizzy, but this isn't like before." She pulled her hand away, suddenly wanting him nowhere near her. "Peter, what have you done?"
"Carla it's not just today, there have been signs for the past couple of days. I'm sorry love but I cannot stand by and watch while you get worse, you know what happened when you were ill before, I won't let that happen again."
Carla could feel her chest tighten, she tried to regulate her breathing but couldn't stop the panic now threatening to consume her.
"This isn't that Peter, it isn't psychosis! Could I talk to you like this if I was ill like that again? Please Peter, you above everyone should trust me when I say that I'm ok!"
Peter didn't respond immediately, he just continued to stare at his wife with a mixture of sadness and concern. Eventually he spoke, his voice heavy with emotion.
"I am doing this because I love you and I want what is best for you. Before when you were ill you went in and out of your episodes, and that is what seems to be happening again. I won't put you at risk this time, it nearly killed you before. I'm sorry love but it is for the best"
The shock and fear Carla felt became mixed with anger. How could her husband betray her like this. She couldn't explain the gaps in her memory but at the same time she was certain that right here, right now, she was as sane as anyone else.
"I'm going to ask you one more time Peter, what have you done?"
Before he could respond that the doorbell rang and Peter jumped up to answer. Suddenly he seemed unwilling to meet her gaze and she knew what this meant.
"I'm not going anywhere Peter! If you let them take me away because of some stupid misguided notion you have then I will never forgive you!" She could not longer hold back her tears as the door opened and two paramedics made their way into the flat. How on earth could she prove to these strangers that she wasn't the mad women her husband had obviously painted her as. Peter moved towards her to comfort her but she batted him away. This was her own personal hell, and he was the man who had put her here.
The older of the paramedics approached her and spoke gently, obviously trying to calm the situation.
"Hi Carla, my name's Jayne, we are just here to help, OK?" Carla didn't respond, after all what was there to say. If she denied she was ill that would just be taken as a sign she was delusional right? she collapsed back into the sofa, suddenly too tired to fight the inevitable.
"We want you to come to the hospital for an assessment, your husband explained your history and his concerns when he called, so we just want to make sure you are getting any support you need. I understand this must be frightening but we are all on your side here."
Carla considered protesting, shouting, refusing, but realistically what would that achieve? Maybe the quickest way for this nightmare to be over was to comply and let them do their tests on her, show Peter how wrong he had got this. In all honesty she felt exhausted, defeated, and most of all betrayed by the one person who was supposed to have her back.
"Lets get this over with. But he is not coming with me."
With that she walked out of the door and down to the waiting ambulance without a backward glance, trying to ignore the pleas of her husband. He loved her apparently. Well right now, she hated him.