Chapter 5

Gianni

“Ouch---- it’s so hot in here! Amira, turn off the heater, I am dying!”

 I yelled at my younger sister. She never listens when I tell her to not turn the heater on during the summer. I tried opening my eyes but I could barely move them. Not just my eyes but my whole body. I felt trapped.

I have always struggled with sleep paralysis so I knew better than to struggle against it as it only makes things worse for me. I kept my eyes closed and reminded myself that the pain I was feeling wasn’t real. I told myself that if I just open my eyes that everything will be alright and there’s absolutely nothing to be worried about.

Most importantly, I assured myself that I am not going to die in my sleep. Usually, that works for me but this time even after calming myself down, I still felt pain. My head felt like it was being banged hard; everything just felt off.

The heat in the room was even higher now.

“Amira?”

 I called out again and this time, I struggled to open my eyes. The first thing I noticed was that I wasn’t in my room or in any room that I knew. I sat up on the bed so fast and cried out in pain when it felt like a needle pierced through my flesh.

“Oh, Gesu Cristo! Don’t move.”

 My eyes flew to the door at the sound of a feminine voice that had a different accent. I blinked in confusion as the lady rushed into the strange room and took my hand. My eyes followed her movement and that’s when I realized that I had an IV needle inserted into my vein and that’s what pricked me when I moved.

Another thing I realized was that the headache and pain I felt wasn’t made up and the heat wasn’t because Amira turned on the heater again but because I was in a place that looked like a hospital but at the same time, it felt like a sauna due to how hot it was.

Amira wasn’t in the room. Heck, it wasn’t even the old room that I shared with my sister because my sister moved out years ago and she only comes to visit when she is on holiday and that stopped when she started working because I moved out of the house I shared with my family and started living on my own in an apartment closed to the school I teach at.

I tried to remember where I was and how I ended up in a hospital but nothing made sense and I couldn’t even think, not with the lady who walked in trying to fix the IV. I looked at her closely and she was wearing a white gown which means this is definitely a hospital.

“It took me forever to find a vein and now I have to do it all over again.”

 She complained. I stared at her blankly while still trying to piece my memory together because nothing made sense. How did I end up in this hospital room that was so hot it felt like a sauna? Why do I need an IV drip? Last I checked, I wasn’t even sick.

“Please don’t move, you need to finish the whole dose.”

 I couldn’t tell if she was just rude or if she was pissed off because I made her redo something she already did. Either way, I didn’t have time to dwell on it because my mind was a mess. Nothing made sense and it felt like I was missing vital information that would put everything together. I let the woman do what she had to do and whined when she pricked me with the needle. The pain didn’t last and soon she straightened herself.

“Don’t let it shake again. I am already stressed from my work and  Luca doesn’t even pay me for this!”

 My eyes blinked at the mention of a name I haven’t heard before but for some reason, it felt so familiar. Luca? Who is Luca and what does he have to do with me being here?

“How did I get here?”

 My voice sounded hoarse and inaudible so I coughed to clear my throat.

“How did I end up here? Who is Luca?”

 The lady stared at me blankly for a few seconds before turning her attention to the drip without answering my questions. I looked around the room and realized it didn’t look like a hospital room at all. It looked like one of those high-class rooms in those big hotels that cost a fortune per night. I couldn’t remember how I got here and what happened to me. The last thing I remembered was--- I racked my brain and there was nothing.

“You might still be out of it so it’s best to sleep it off and in a day you should be back to normal. You had a mild TBI but you should be okay in a few days.”

 I stared at her in confusion. What the hell is TBI?

“Traumatic brain injury.”

 She explained as if she read my thoughts but her answer made me even more confused. Did I get into an accident? If that’s it then how come no other part of me is injured? I checked to be sure and yes, no other part of me was bandaged but when I touched my head, the bandage was there.

“You fell through a window. That’s what I heard. I am just saying so that you won’t ask me any questions. I promised Luca that I would look after you and not let anyone in here but that’s about it.”

 I concluded by her words and how harshly she was treating me that this woman hated me and it has everything to do with the Luca person that she keeps talking about.

I had many questions but I decided not to ask her because she obviously won’t answer.

“Can you turn off the heat? It’s so hot in here.”

 I told her when she was about to leave. She turned around and glared at me, further proving that she definitely hated me. At least she listened and turned off the heat.

“Don’t do anything! I am not in the mood to answer to Luca!”

 She warned me before she walked out of the room. I stayed there still for a few minutes, trying to get my memories back. Trying didn’t help because my head was messy and trying to remember only made me feel dizzy and tired.

I tried to stop myself from falling asleep but the more I tried, the sleepier I got. I gave up trying and decided to just let sleep take over with the hope that when I wake up again, I will remember where I am and how I got here.