A Beautiful New Life (13 page)

“Going somewhere?” He asked sarcastically.

“Yes, actually I was coming to see you.” She said. She felt cornered.

“Oh.” He said as he took a step back. She exhaled the breath she had been holding. He turned and allowed her to pass and followed her down to his office.

“I’m
sorry;
I didn’t realize you already had someone here.”
She said as she walked in and saw he already had company.
She tried to walk past
Mark, who was blocking the door,
but he did not move.

“Megan. My,
my
,
it’s been awhile.” Vince said as the expected drool dripped from his lip.
What bothered her more, however,
was that she had only seen him once and that was months ago when she first moved into the dorm
,
b
ut as she stood there looking at him licking the drool off his lips a scene flashed before her eyes.

He laughed at her and raised his arm
. She froze as his arm came down and his
fist
connected with
her face. She fell to the floor and he was on top of her before she
knew
what had happened
. His hand was at her throat holding her down. She struggled against him as he ripped her shirt with his free hand. He did not seem to notice her slapping at him as he now worked to get her pants off. He pulled back a little too far and her foot caught him in the groin.

“Oh god, I’m going to be sick.” She pushed past Mark and ran. She took the steps two at a time and only paused long enough to unlock the door to her room. She rushed in and turned slamming the door and locking it. She grabbed the chair from the desk and jimmied it under the doorknob. She climbed on her bed, pulled her knees to her chest and sat rocking back and forth. It was not until she heard Gwen at the door that she realized she had been sitting there for hours. She got up and
opened the door
.

“Hey did you forget about
lu
…Oh my god what happened?” She walked
into the room,
grabbed Megan’s hands
,
and led her to the bed. “What happened?”

“I don’t know. I thought about what you had said and went to call the doctor
, b
ut there was this guy
,
a b
ig, ugly scary guy
,
and a vision of him attacking me popped in my head.” Megan broke down and sobbed.

“Who was this person? Where did you see him?”

“Mark’s office.
Red skin…he was big.” She knew she was not making sense. She took a deep breath. “I can’t remember his name but I met him once before when I moved into the dorms.

“It’s Vince, he is head of security.” Gwen laughed. “I’m sorry to laugh but I can see why he scared you. He is a scary person.”

“But it wasn’t that, it was the vision. It seemed so real.”

“Was it another dream?”

“NO! I was awake standing in Mark’s office when I saw it.” She did not mean to yell but Gwen was not getting it.

“Okay, okay. How about I go and call your doctor and we see if we can get you in to see him today?” She sat next to her rubbing her back.

“Will you? I can’t go back down there.” She took a deep breath, trying to calm herself.

“Yes, where is your doctor’s number?”

Megan gave Gwen the number and as Gwen left the room
,
Megan locked the door and went into the bathroom to clean up. She really hoped there was a plausible explanation for all this. She changed her shirt and sat
,
waiting
for Gwen who returned a short time later.

“Come on, he said he has an opening right now.”  Gwen grabbed her hand and they ran down the stairs and out the building.

“Slow down.” Megan yelled at her.

“Sorry, Vince was still in Mark’s office and I didn’t want you two to run into each other again.” Their run slowed to a fast walk and they talked about what Megan should tell the doctor once they arrived.

“Will you come in with me?” Megan asked.

“Of course.”
Gwen said and gave Megan a quick squeeze. They walked into the doctor’s office and told the clerk the purpose of their visit. The clerk told them to take a seat that it might be a few minutes but as they went to sit down, the doctor came out.

“Megan Strauss.” He said. Both Megan and Gwen turned.

“I’m Megan.” She said to the doctor that she recognized as her doctor from the hospital. “Dr. Howe, right?”

“Yes, this way please.” He directed her through the door he held open. “I’m sorry, Miss, you’ll need to wait out here.” He told Gwen. Gwen looked at Megan and Megan nodded her okay. He led her down the hall and into an examination room.

“So tell me about these dreams.” They both took a seat and she began with the first dream she had that she questioned whether it was a dream or a memory. When she finished, Dr. Howe got up and walked across the room.

“I want to do a sleep study on you. It sounds like it may be just dreams but with the one you had today while you were awake it makes me wonder.” He paused.

“What will a sleep study tell you?” She wanted to know the truth. It had been months since she woke from her coma. She was ready
to know her
past.

“Your dreams come from a different part of your brain than your memories. By monitoring your brain while you sleep
,
we can see if it is dreams or memories. Or maybe even both.”

“What is involved in a sleep study? Do I sleep in my own bed and you monitor me from there?”

“No, we have a facility here that you will stay for the night. We will put electrodes on your head.” She shivered at the sound of electrodes and unconsciously put her hand to her head. “It won’t hurt.”

“Okay, well when can we do this?” She tried to put up a brave front but her voice gave her anxiety away.

“Tonight.
I’m
going to have my nurse come in and have you fill out some paperwork. Is your friend willing to get you some stuff you
’
ll need from your place?” He asked.

“Can I go get it? I still have laundry in the wash and…” Dr. Howe cut her off.

“It’s late and we would like for you to get settled so you relax and are able to sleep. The room you will be in is similar to your dorm room.”

Dr. Howe allowed Gwen to come in and see Megan, who gave her a list of items to bring. She felt bad asking so much of her but Gwen was more than happy to do it.

“I only wish I could sleep over too. It would be like a slumber party.” They both laughed. She was glad she had Gwen as her friend. She had a bubbly personality and always had a way of relaxing Megan when she needed it. Though she thought of her as a close friend, she held back
on one thing. Gwen did not know about Michael. Megan pondered on whether to tell her now; she really did not want him to worry if he came over and found her room empty
, b
ut something was gnawing at her and she did not know if it was the pending sleep study or something more.

Gwen returned a little later with her clothes and toiletries. Megan thanked her for her help and asked if she would be there in the morning. Gwen ensured her she would be there, they hugged and Gwen wished her goodnight and left. Megan settled down in a lounge chair and turned on the television. She did not watch television much since she did not have one in her room and did not like going to the common area to watch. She was about to dose off when Betty walked.

“Hi Megan.”
The motherly nurse from the time Megan spent in the hospital walked over to her.

“Betty!” Megan jumped up from the chair and gave her a hug. “What are you doing here?”

“I was working a shift at the hospital and heard you were doing a sleep study so I thought I would come over and see how you were doing.” They both sat down on the edge of the bed.

“I’m good. I think I might be getting my memory back.” She fiddled with her fingers. “That’s why I’m here.”

“Is that a good thing?” Betty
noticed
the nervous tension.

“I don’t know. The dreams…or memories I’m having are scary.” She put her arm around Betty. “I’m so glad you are here. Maybe you were right, maybe my past life was one I don’t want to go back to.”

“Well let’s just wait and see.” She gave Megan a hug. “Would you like some tea? It always relaxes me.”

“Yes that would be nice. Thank you.” Betty got up, left the room and returned a short time later with two cups of tea. She handed one to Megan and they made small talk as they both sipped on their tea. After a short
time,
Megan was yawning.

“Wow, I’m sorry.
I’m
so tired. I hate to cut our visit short but I think I’m going to bed.” She stifled another yawn.

“That’s fine sweetie, I’ll be here in the morning. Get some sleep.” Betty walked her to the bed and tucked the blankets around her. She headed for the door and turned out the light before walking out the door.

“Is she out?” Dr. Howe asked.

“I’d give her another fifteen minutes and then she’ll be ready.” Betty replied.

Megan stretched and rolled over. She felt unnaturally refreshed. She does not ever remember feeling this rested. She climbed out of bed and went to the door. As she reached for the doorknob
,
it turned and the door swung open.

“Well good morning. Did you sleep well?” Betty greeted her.

“I have to say that was the best sleep I have ever had. I don’t remember dreaming though so…did the sleep study go okay?”

“Get dressed and collect your things and then come out here so we can go over the results with you.” Megan
collected her things
and sat waiting patiently for the doctor and Betty to come back.

“Good morning Megan.” Dr. Howe said as he came in the room. “I won’t keep you long but wanted to go over the results of the sleep study with you.”

“Were you able to get any results? I don’t remember dreaming last night.” Megan just wanted to get this over with so she could decide how to move on with her life.

“You did dream and shouted out a few times while having them. They seemed pretty intense but as I said they were just dreams.”

“Then how do you explain the episode the other day in Mark’s office?”

“I think you stressed your mind so much
over whether these were dreams a
r
e
real that you started mixing your dreams with reality. Vince is a scary looking guy and your dreams were scary, so it made sense that your mind put the two together.” Megan laughed at what he said. Vince was definitely scary looking. Maybe he was right.

“So what do I do?”

“Keep a journal of your dreams. Write down everything, including how you felt when you had them. I want to see you in three months to review them, but if you feel there is something specific or bothersome then come see me earlier.”

“
T
hank you Dr. Howe.” She shook his hand as he got up and left the room. She turned to Betty now. “Thank you for being here for me.”

“No problem sweetie. Your friend is in the waiting room.” They both got up and walked out of the room. Megan turned and hugged Betty, said goodbye, and walked over to Gwen.

“So how did it go?” She asked as they walked out of the building. Megan told her everything the doctor said.

“I’m just relieved that it is over. I feel like if I have these dreams again that I
won’t
over react as much. Dr. Howe said if I hadn’t got my memory back by now, likely I won’t and I need to get that off my mind so I don’t have these mixed emotions.” The morning air was
cool;
fall
was just around the corner. She had wasted too much of her time worrying about her past. It was
end of summer and with the fall harvest soon upon them, she decided it was
time to make
changes
. She picked up her pace and did not slow down until Gwen yelled at her to wait up.

“Sorry Gwen. I just feel alive and am ready to let go of my past completely and start a new life.” They intertwined their arms and ran together back to the dorm.

Chapter Twelve

Megan had finally saved enough money that she
could
go apartment hunting. She wished she had a car, she would not mind looking for a place out of town. She was tired of seeing the same people and places. She went downstairs to the lobby
to
grab a paper
. It was no
surprise
to see
Mark was there.

“Is there anything good in the paper today?” He tried too hard to get her to notice him.

“You know probably the same old stuff. I’m not sure why I buy it.” She and
Michael
had decided it
might
be best if she tried to be friends with him. It seemed to have worked. As long as she made an effort to talk to
him,
he stopped leaching on to her every time they were in the same room.