Vengeful Desires

6-

An hour passed, or maybe it was three. The truth was, time seemed to stop for a moment as steps sounded around them. Amirah's fingers twitched.

The harsh fluorescent lights slowly bled into focus as Amirah drifted back into consciousness. She blinked groggily, eyelashes fluttering against the persistent throb pulsing behind her temples.

Where...?

Bleached white walls and the pervasive reek of industrial disinfectant greeted her sluggish senses. A hospital room, by the looks of the utilitarian furniture and muted, institutional color scheme.

Confused murmurs and muffled activity filtered in from the corridor outside as Amirah turned her head slightly, wincing at the twinges of discomfort radiating from her stiff neck and shoulders.

That's when she registered the presence in the hard plastic chair beside her bed - the rangy inmate from her cell, head bowed over an open paperback novel while one hand idly toyed with the black locs cascading around her shoulders in thick ropes.

As if sensing the subtle shift in energy, the woman glanced up. Her gaze sharpened momentarily before relaxing into a faint, almost playful smirk as she dog-eared her page and leaned back with a put-upon sigh.

"Well well, look who decided to rejoin the land of the conscious..." She eyed Amirah appraisingly. "Though after that little 'episode' you had back at the jailhouse, I wasn't sure which version of you was gonna wake up - Night of the Living Psycho or Daytime Amnesia Chick."

Amirah's brow furrowed as flashes of disjointed memory began trickling back through the fog shrouding her mind's eye. The cell...convulsions...brutal restraints and being hauled away like a rabid dog quarantined for euthanizing.

She turned her head away, unable to meet the other woman's piercing stare. Shame and confusion warred for dominance within her increasingly muddled headspace as she struggled to orient herself once more. Where was this...?

The inmate seemed to sense her discomfited state. With an indelicate snort, she swung her feet off the visitor's chair and leaned forward - elbows propped casually atop her thighs as she cocked her head to better study Amirah's profile.

"You, uh...you with me or back over there in la-la-land?" She gave a dismissive flick of her fingers towards the remaining traces of Amirah's inner turmoil playing out across her drawn features. "Don't worry, Princess. I'm not just gonna let some crazy broad go straight back into one of her mind-melting fugues less than six hours after they scooped her up off the floor."

She shrugged, a wry grimace twisting her lips briefly. "Gotta let the nice hospital folks finish running their tests and stabilizing you first before I leave you to your own demented devices once more."

Amirah remained silent, her gaze drifting towards the rain-speckled window panes lining the far wall. In her mind's eye, unwelcome memories of the cell block quickly transformed into phantom snapshots from her former, luxurious existence. Happier vignettes of breakfast spreads served upon fine china, sunlight filtering through the manor's parted silk drapes as she-

The sudden, involuntary image of Dami wandering across those same woven paths flashed behind her eyes like a lightning strike, sending fresh spasms rippling across her torso. She convulsed slightly, drawing in a hissing breath between clenched teeth.

"Easy there, Ms. Hysterica," the other inmate drawled, watching her intently. "Don't need you slippin' into another frothing mouth fit before we even get to the good stuff."

She reached over, snatching up a thermos from the bedside tray and uncapping it before holding it out towards Amirah with an arched eyebrow. "Thirsty? Ice water's not exactly glamorous, but the service here leaves a lot to be desired too."