The Guest Book by C. L. Pattison

Author:C. L. Pattison [Pattison, C. L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473582729
Publisher: Random House

23

GRACE

When I wake up, I don’t know where I am at first. There’s a buzzing in my ears, the force of my own blood pumping in my head. The room is dark and filled with shadows, but I know that I’m lying on a bed. There’s something over me, a blanket; I can feel its roughness on the backs of my hands. As my eyes adjust to the gloom, I pick out a bulky shape in the corner of the room, a piece of furniture perhaps. All at once, the shape moves, causing me to yelp in surprise.

Instantly, a light comes on and I realise that the shape is Charles. He’s sitting on a stool in front of what looks like a dressing table, his head haloed in the glow from an anglepoise lamp.

‘Welcome back,’ he says, springing to his feet.

I raise myself up onto my elbows, swallowing hard as bile rises in the back of my throat. ‘What happened?’ I say.

He comes over and sits down on the bed.

‘You fainted, darling. You’ve been out for …’ He checks his wristwatch. ‘Eight minutes and thirty-five seconds.’

It feels much longer than that. But I’ve noticed that time is different in Saltwater. It thickens and curdles, rolls and spins. It feels as if we’ve been here for three months, not three days.

As I lie there, memories come flooding back. A trashed room, a missing engagement ring, a harsh exchange of words with the Jeffreys. Ouch.

Charles brushes the hair off my forehead. His touch is gentle. Reassuring.

‘How do you feel?’

I think about it for a moment. ‘My leg hurts, but the rest of me’s okay … I think.’

‘It’s lucky you didn’t hit your head when you fell. I saw your knees buckle and I caught you just in time.’

He picks up the small amber bottle that’s sitting on the bedside table.

‘You were just about to take your medication before you fainted. You’d better have it now.’ He unscrews the cap of the bottle and shakes two of the small white pills into his palm. ‘Pamela was kind enough to bring up a glass of water for you.’

I push the tablets between my lips and gulp down some water. I hate feeling so weak and helpless. I’m glad I’m not alone, that I’ve got Charles looking out for me, but even so I don’t want to be dependent on him.

Since the accident, I’ve been susceptible to these blackouts. The triggers seem to be two-fold: intense pain and/or psychological stress, both resulting in a sudden drop in blood pressure, followed by a brief loss of consciousness.

My GP has advised me not to stand up for prolonged periods, to remain hydrated and maintain my blood-sugar levels. Commonsense precautionary measures I have largely neglected since we arrived in Saltwater. It’s hard to be diligent when I have so many other things on my mind.

‘I’m sorry, darling,’ Charles says as he screws the lid back on the bottle. ‘I should have spotted the warning signs earlier. I was too distracted by the thought we might have been burgled to appreciate how much pain you were in.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.