I woke up in the room without windows, not realizing, where I am.
A tall chair was turning around, without anyone in it.
- I hated that look in your eyes from the start, you know, - a low voice sounded from above. I raised my head and saw a familiar pale face, covered with cascade of bright yellow hair. - You can be more polite now. We are not in the bar anymore, and your friends are not here.
Manequins with cut mouthes, broken glass, alcohol shots, shimmering with red tints, drunk voices… I recalled the bar, where Lyse introduced me to her fiance, who turned out to be a classmate of Pierrot.
- Vicky, this is Dan. Daniel, this is Pierrot's doctor I told you about.
- Lyse!! We are not talking…
- Vicky, you can trust Daniel as myself.
Later, in the restroom, I was arguing with Lyse.
- Patients' names and identities are supposed to be secret, and you just ruined It, - I said angrily.
- Yeah, and doctors are not supposed to fall in love with their patients.
- Hello, Dan, - I said, turning up from the river of memories into the room without windows.
- Pierrot managed to slip away from "Atlantis", - my colleague's fiance said, without introduction, - and I want to get him back there.
- When patients get better, they leave hospitals. Could you, may be, explain, why my hands are tightened?
- Of course, - Daniel smiled. - You know, Lysie has always been unlucky with guys...
- How dare you, - I said quietly clutching my teeth, so that he won't hear me.
- I broke up with, like anyone else, of course, - Dan continued, not hearing me. He walked in front of me, here and there, and my eyes began hurting. - Anyway, I'm here not for Lysie.
Don't you think that the case of mister Pierrot is irreparable, miss Venedetti?
Terry Sydney used to admonish me about psychiatric ethics. My method of emotional connection usually worked on neurotic patients, and there was hope, that it would also work on psychotics.
- I just want to make sure that you won't help Pierrot run away again.
- Why do you even need him?
I snaped knuckles of my tangled wrists.
- Victoria, I'm sure that we can come to consensus.
- What exactly do you want to know?
- I want to know where is he.
- I do not know. Since he escaped, he didn't give me a sign.
- Are you sure? Well…
Grids grew up around me. Dan's face was washed away behind it – or was it my distorted perception, I didn't know.