Forgotten: a truly gripping psychological thriller Read Online Free Page B

little. Her chair, she noticed that she thought of everything in the room as hers , was green vinyl over foam cushions and pale wood – intended to be more practical than comfortable. How had her world become so small?
    Kai glanced down at the open diary. She’d only been reading for half an hour but she felt exhausted by the effort. Tired and struggling with a depression that threatened to shift easily from a vague cloudiness to a black void, she dragged the pillow out from behind her back and pulled it behind her head as she slid down the bed.
    Even her sleep was free from memories.
     
    ***
     
    She sensed a presence in the room even before she was fully awake. The doctor smiled down at her as he pulled the chair closer to the bed.
    ‘Sleeping again? We will have to make sure we find you some entertainment.’
    ‘Just get me out of here, I’ll find my own. I can do without the type of entertainment you left me last time.’
    He looked at her, his head cocked on one side, expecting an explanation without having to ask for one.
    Kai leaned over to her bedside cabinet, grabbed the book and threw it down on the covers. ‘What the hell was this supposed to do?’ As soon as she spoke she could hear the accusation in her voice. What exactly did she think the doctor had done? It wasn’t his fault, Kai knew that, but she had trouble reining in her anger, wanting it to spill over and swamp the room in fiery, lava-like spite. With a huge effort she managed to calm her erratic thoughts and face Ekachai with some semblance of composure.
    She hauled herself up into a sitting position and studied his face. His expression was kind and he didn’t seem overly worried about the state of her physical health; she knew it was her state of mind that bothered him and she’d probably just given him more cause for concern.
    ‘What is the problem with this diary?’ he asked, his eyes flicking to the book as though it might suddenly rear up and add to Kai’s accusations.
    ‘It makes no sense. I don’t understand what’s going on here.’ Her voice broke on ‘here’ and she felt traitor tears battering the defences behind her eyes.
    Ekachai picked up the diary, allowing it to fall open across one of his palms, scanning the page he’d found. ‘I don’t understand.’
    ‘Read it,’ Kai snapped. ‘Read the first two pages.’
    He thumbed quickly to the front of the book and slowly scanned the pages keeping his eyes focussed on the words. Kai watched as his eyes slowly crossed each line then returned to the margin. It took him a few minutes and Kai suspected her close scrutiny made him read more slowly to make sure he missed nothing.
    Eventually he raised his eyes to hers and frowned. ‘I have told you that I do not read English well. I am not sure what is worrying you. You have been in hospital before? Is that why you feel confused?’
    Kai sighed, ‘I suppose so. I didn’t get it at first. It felt like she– I– was writing about now , this hospital– I just–’
    ‘But that is impossible,’ Ekachai interrupted. ‘You could not have known about this hospital. The book clearly refers to some past incident.’
    ‘Do you think so?’ Kai asked, examining his face for any signs that he might be lying to her or laughing at her.
    ‘I think so. I think you just panicked because the situation you are in is so strange.’
    It was logical. The diary couldn’t refer to this place. She was just confused by the whole situation. She’d been driving herself crazy thinking about what it all meant and now the meaning was so obvious. She’d been in hospital before. Where and why might be buried in the diary somewhere. It was in the past: it wasn’t now, it wasn’t here.
    ‘I’m sorry the diary didn’t help,’ Ekachai said, placing the book gently on the bed and stuffing his hands into the pockets of his spotless white coat as he leaned back in the chair.
    ‘It just confused me. I’ll give it another try later but it gives me