Part 14: The end... for now

Molly’s eyes slowly blinked open. The florescent lights above her made her wince and she turned her head to avoid them. Her eyes landed on her dad.

“What happened?” she said. “Where am I?”

“You don’t remember?” he asked.

She started to sit up, but her head swam and she set it back on the floor.

“You’re at the hospital,” said a voice that wasn’t her dad’s. It was Lizzie’s. “Does that ring any bells?”

“Elizabeth,” her dad said. “Give her a few minutes.”

Molly stopped listening. As her head became clearer, so did her memories of what had happened with Irene. Her heart dropped into her stomach.

“Irene!” she said, bolting up, then gripping her dad’s hand as dizziness overtook her once more. She had to bury her head in his shoulder to keep from collapsing to the ground.

“Ah,” Lizzie said. “She does remember. Now does she have an explanation?”

“Give her a few minutes,” her dad repeated.

Lizzie ignored him and turned to Molly. “I thought you were getting help.” Tears gathered in Lizzie’s eyes as she glared down at her sister. “So what the hell was this? We get a call that you’re drunk and in the hospital? That you attacked your supervisor? What exactly were you trying to do?”

Molly backed away from her dad, eyes wide as she remembered. She had shouted all the things she’d heard in the vision. And since she’d been knocked out, so much time must have passed. Which meant she’d failed. Despite all her planning and her faith that she could save Irene, everything had gone wrong. And now Irene was dead, or would be soon. And her dad, her sister… she didn’t have to guess what was going through their minds. The tears and the anger and the fear in their faces said it all.

“I’m sorry,” Molly finally said. It was the only thing she could say. Her gaze dropped to the floor. If she could burrow beneath the chilled linoleum floor and disappear forever, she would.

Because at this point, she couldn’t make this better. If she told them why she’d come, they’d never believe her. Why should they? It was insane to believe that she could have known Irene would die. How had she even believed it for this long?

“I’m so sorry. About everything,” she continued, eyes flicking between her dad and Lizzie. “The drinking, and everything getting so out of control, and not getting help when I should have.”

“Everything’s going to be fine,” her dad said. He put a hand on Molly’s arm and gave her a reassuring smile that didn’t quite meet his eyes.

She wasn’t even sure they knew yet that Irene was dead. Would they be so understanding when they found out? Another thought crossed Molly’s mind and it stopped her from breathing. Had Irene’s death been a result of fate or Molly’s obsessive behavior? If Molly hadn’t been there, Irene’s night would have continued as normal. And without a stressful event so out of the ordinary, she probably would have been fine. Molly thought back to all her other ice block patients. Could she have contributed to those deaths as well?

A tear rolled down her cheek followed by a flood as she gasped for air. “What’s wrong with me?”

Neither her sister’s nor her dad’s eyes held the answer. But in their lack of response, she found it.

“I have an idea. Why don’t you come stay with me for awhile?” her dad said. Lizzie started to object but her dad pressed forward. “For a week or so, not forever. We’ll figure out a plan and before you know it everything will be back to normal. What do you say?”

Hope had come back to his eyes, but Lizzie leaned against the far wall, shaking her head. Molly was going to disappoint one of them. By now, disappointment had become her default. But she had a small sliver of confidence as she said, “No.”

Lizzie looked up hesitantly and her dad crumpled.

“But I do know what I need to do,” Molly continued.

_____

Her family hadn’t abandoned her. That had been her first fear. It wasn’t enough to keep her from shaking though as they accompanied her down the stark white hallway. There weren't even pictures.

As the front desk came into view, she stopped. Her dad and sister paused as well and held their breath, probably thinking they might have to push her inside against her will.

But that wouldn’t be necessary. She needed this problem to disappear. The visions, the ice blocks, all of it. Until they did, she knew she would continue to buy into her delusions. Her desire for a normal life outweighed the fear she felt in this moment.

She took a deep breath and continued forward.

“Checking in?” the woman at the front desk asked.

Molly nodded.

Tears ran down her cheeks as they went over procedures. But as she hugged her dad and sister and walked through the security doors into the psychiatric hospital, she felt a weight drop from her shoulders. She had come to the bottom of the cliff. Things could only go up from here.