“Help me! Help me!” Lily screamed in terror.
She felt her head lifted and placed in someone’s lap. She tried to roll away from the agony, yet she couldn’t get away from it. It was everywhere around her—within her—suffocating.
“Help me!” Lily’s screams were tortured, but she didn’t know how to stop them. She was too scared of the door opening. She couldn’t let it open.
“What do you need me to do?” the voice, neither male nor female, asked in her mind.
“Help me shut the door!” Lily screamed.
“What’s behind the door?”
“Everything. Help me. She can’t get out.” Lily sobbed as the door opened a small amount.
“I’m helping you, Lily.” Lily saw another pair of hands helping her to press the door closed again.
When it was completely closed, she told whoever had helped her, “I have to lock it.”
Lily locked the imaginary door while the hands held it closed. After she locked it, she slid down the door, curling into a ball as she rocked back and forth.
“It’s okay, Lily. The door is locked again,” the voice assured her.
“I can’t remember what’s behind that door,” Lily sobbed, rocking back and forth, trying to comfort herself now that all those memories were locked away forever.
“Not today, Lily, but soon,” the voice said sadly.
“Not ever,” Lily replied, curling into a tighter ball.
“Soon, and I’ll help. Sleep, Lily. Go to sleep.”
Lily felt herself relax as soothing warmth spread through her body.
*
Lily woke, turning her head on the soft pillow and rolling to her side before she opened her eyes reluctantly. She closed them then reopened them again, not sure what she was staring at. Surveying the room, she saw the black furniture was modern. The dark carpeting looked thick and expensive in a huge bedroom she had never been in before. To one side there were two large, black leather chairs with a coffee table sitting in front of them, and a flat screen television was mounted on a pedestal on the wall that could be turned toward the chairs or the bed. A small refrigerator sat on top of a dark cabinet and a huge armoire made of dark wood stood against the wall.
Her head turned and she saw a mirrored wall facing the bed. Her pale face and slender body, dressed in conservative pajamas, looked back at her from the huge, California-king, pedestal bed. The wall behind the bed was also mirrored. Lily swallowed hard.
She turned and saw a large dresser with nothing on top and a chair by the bed. The room was immaculately clean. She couldn’t see any personal belongings; there was nothing to give her a clue as to whose room she was inside.
A door stood open where Lily could see a bathroom with the light on. Seeing the bathroom made the fullness in her bladder more pressing. Pulling back the soft-as-silk comforter, she raised herself up before sliding her feet out of the bed.
Getting to her feet, she felt a wave of dizziness, but she slowly managed to walk to the bathroom, coming to a stop when she saw the luxurious suite. It had a double sink with dark colors swirling throughout.
Closing the door, she used the restroom. Hesitantly, she washed her face with a washcloth that had been set out.
She looked over at the huge shower, which took up easily half of the bathroom. It was tiled in black and gray and had three steps leading down into the glass enclosure. She saw it had faucets surrounding it with the rain-type one from the top. It also had a tiled bench on one side. It was a fantasy shower. Lily wouldn’t be surprised if it had surround sound.
Dropping the dirty washcloth into a basket, she left the bathroom, going back into the bedroom while wondering where she was.
She was halfway to the bed when the door opened.
Lily didn’t know whether to be relieved or frightened at his familiar face.
“Where am I?” Lily asked, taking a seat on the edge of the bed.
“My room,” Shade replied, coming in and shutting the door, carrying a tray.
Walking across the room, he set the tray on the coffee table. “Come and eat.”
Lily got up from the bed, going to the chair and looking down at the tray of food.
“How—did—why am I here?” She looked at Shade, not understanding why she was in his room.
“What do you remember?” Shade asked patiently.
Lily sat down on the chair, trying to remember what had happened before she’d woken up here. She searched her mind, trying to figure out her last memory.
“I was at the church helping Rachel.” Lily licked her dry lips. Reaching forward, she took the bottled water and opened it, taking a long drink.
Shade didn’t say anything as Lily set the bottled water back down on the tray, keeping her eyes on him.
“Lily, you had an episode at the diner after church on Sunday. That was two days ago,” Shade explained gently.
“An episode?” Lily’s greatest fear that she would lose her mind had begun.
“You became hysterical.”