God, my body aches. What did I do last night? I’m sure I was at Alice’s, wait no, she’s still Travelling, I keep forgetting.

And that god-forsaken alarm won’t stop ringing, I’m sure it’s Saturday, isn’t it? I rub my eyes, stretching my legs out as far as possible but an unspeakable wave of nausea and pain hits me, then as I open my eyes a sickening sea of white light hits me. I’m sure I shut my drapes, didn’t I?

Wait, that’s not my ceiling. I open my eyes fully, still blurry from fatigue. I look down at my legs, this isn’t my bed or my room. It hits in a rush that knocks me back down onto whatever I’m lying on, that I’m in hospital. My heart lurches when I spot the wires attached to a needle in my vein.

Why is my mind completely blank?

Okay, I’m not in a ward, I’m by myself. That's not good. They only give single rooms to critical patients, don't they? I search around for an alarm of some kind. Spotting a white call button I press it and ten seconds later a doctor enters the room, his stocky six-foot build taking up the doorway as he rushes in.

“Is everything okay Clara?”

His green eyes scan me with concern, as he looks over at what I’m guessing is my vitals on the screen next to me.

My words catch in my throat, his presence making this far too real, it seems it’s then that it hits me that isn’t a dream. He looks at me expectantly before saying, “Okay I’m just going to measure your blood pressure. Deep breaths for me.” He says in a soothing calm that seems to coax me down from my panic.

The band around my arms squeezes periodically, and his eyes keep sweeping back to my face as if he wants to ask something.

The machine beeps for attention and his eyes widen slightly at the screen. Is that too high? Too low?

“I..” my voice is scratchy and he snaps his attention back to me. I look at his tag, _Nathan_ written in italics.

He reaches for a cup of water immediately.

“Here, small sips.”

I eagerly take the water, letting it coat my dry throat with moisture.

“I don’t remember.” I manage to choke out as he takes the empty cup from me.

His brows furrow gently, “how much?”

“How I got here.”

“How did I get here?”

His expression turns pensive and I notice his chest rise when he inhales deeply, he grabs the glass chair placing it next to my bed.

His back is ramrod straight and his large palms smooth over his thighs. ”I need you to try and keep your breathing calm for me Clara.”

He meets my eyes again as if mustering up the courage to tell me, god what happened?

“You attempted to take your own life.” His voice is like gravel in the confined space we’re sitting from each other.

What? No, I- I would never do that.

My confusion must be written on my face, and he’s quick to respond, ”Take me back Clara, how much do you remember?”

“Okay. I can’t remember yesterday, or actually… the day before. But I had an essay due in January, late January, that’s the last day I can picture vividly.”

“Okay, okay that’s not bad at all. Today is the tenth of March, about a month's loss, it’s uncommon but memory loss is unpredictable.”

“This is a lot Clara, I apologise, but I have to ask. Were you ever considering taking your own life?”

I’m quick to answer because this is all so ridiculous. Did they get my name wrong, or get the charts mixed up? Wait no, he’s used my name already. “No. Absolutely not. I was happy, Well I **_am_** happy. What happened to me?” My voice croaks, my chest filling with agony.

His brows furrow slightly, he licks his lips, his throat dipping as he swallows, readying himself to tell me.

”You ingested something called aconitine. It’s a neuro and cardiotoxin, it essentially attacks the nerves and heart. With the quickness your body responded to it, and the herbal tea already inhabiting your body, by probability it means that someone spiked your tea.”

The vision of Nathan in front of me blurs slightly and I feel my throat getting tight, my skin hot and itchy. _Poison? _

Someone wants me dead.

The monitor starts to grow louder, the sound increasing pace and I realise it’s me causing it.

Warm hands envelope mine and green eyes eyes shroud my vision, ”Clara, look at me.”

“Breathe in, deep.” He performs the action with me and I follow his lead.

I hold it a moment and release it shakily, the monitor slowing down slightly.

“With the severity of this situation and the fact that your state of mind doesn’t reflect the action of ingesting this poison yourself. I need to inform the authorities of this. They’ll want to question you, but on your time okay?

Only when you’re ready.” There’s guilt in his voice as he says it. His expression is pained.

He leaves and a dull throbbing pain pulses behind my eyes, the gravity of the information suffocating me, I let it wash over me and I’m awoken by a soft knock at my door. The light from the window is now non-existent.

A soft knock sounds as an officer enters, taking up the place in front of my bed.

“I'm sorry before we carry on could you ask someone if they could increase the pain meds, I just can’t concentrate on anything with this feeling.” I breathe deeply, trying the rid the nausea rising in my stomach.

“Of course.”

She darts out of the room and a few seconds later Nathan returns with a clear drip bag.

After attaching it to the stand above me he twists the number increasing the dose, and a cold sensation begins at my arm and I’m grateful for the distraction.

He does a double take on my face before saying ”Nausous?”

I look my to left in the mirror on the bedside table and nearly gasp at the sight of myself, my grey complexion matching the paint on the walls.

“Yeah, it seems to keep coming in waves.”

He nods once, jotting something down on his clipboard before setting the jug at my bedside with the glass. “Small sips frequently, okay?”

“Okay.”

He leaves and the cop is quick to retrieve her notepad.

“You won’t be surprised to hear I want to ask about your peers Clara. Have you had any arguments recently, any disagreements?”

“No, none. None recently. I’m not a confrontational person, I hate conflict.”

She nods, writing quickly.

“Aside from arguments, can you think of anyone in your life, anyone who would wish you harm? Anything at all, nothing could be something.”

“My boyfriend, ex-boyfriend, we ended amicably, he ended things. But that was three years ago, he checks in, to see if I’m okay, but we’ve not even seen each other since. I honestly can’t think of a single other person.”

Her head tilts fractionally, her brown eyes shining with curiosity,” Why did the relationship end?”

I swallow immediately, the simple question forcing me back to that situation. “He just fell out of love, nothing more than that.” My mouth falls into a flat line, uncomfortable with the question didn’t cover it.

“I see.” She says quickly.

“I’ll leave you for now Clara, I don’t want to overwhelm you, you have a visitor here to see you, would you like me to let them in?”

“Yeah, okay.”

She turns to leave and the door opens as quickly as it closes, Theo steps through it.

His bright blue eyes now dimmed to a stark grey when he turns his focus to me. “They said you’d be bad, but Jesus Clara.” His eyes start to water immediately as he comes rushing toward me, taking my head to his chest.

He wipes his eyes aggressively, he never did like to show his emotions, not to me anyway, he’d always wanted me to see him as strong. Stable.

“They said it was poison, a miracle you survived it too. How the hell could that have happened?”

I shake my head at him , ”I have no idea. What would someone get out of hurting me? What’s the point?”

His face changes, and reddens, anger now radiating from him,”I don’t know.”

He sniffles, wiping at his nose quickly, ”My heart stopped… that call, they were certain you wouldn’t make it. I couldn’t lose you, Clara. I just couldn’t.”

Tears seep from my eyes, “I’m fine Theo, I’ll be okay, we’ll be okay.” I knew he was lonely. Our parent's death had changed him, he’d become a different person.

He nods quickly, squeezing my palm,”I’m going to grab a coffee, I’ll just be a few minutes, do you want anything?”

“I’m good, get some sleep if you can Theo, you look exhausted, there’s nothing you need to do.”

He gives me one long glance as he leaves, his expression almost reminiscent.

About five minutes after he leaves the door opens again, Nathan reappears, glancing behind himself before he shuts the door.

“How’s the nausea, any new sensations?” He says, and there’s a tightness in his voice when he asks it.

“It’s passed now thankyou, the water helped. My heart keeps pounding, not like it’s missing a beat but there’s a strange gap between some of the beats.”

He studies the monitor for a few moments, “Okay, I’m going to keep an eye on that, it’s expected with the poison but we’ll observe your pulse intensively. Stay positive Clara, you’re strong, I’ll do everything in my power to get you better.”

He sits down, and the air in the room becomes heavier, he removes his white coat, pulling his sleeves up his forearms.

“That was your brother just now, Theo?”

“Yes that's him, it’s just me and him after our parents. I hate that he’s having to deal with this by himself. He was so panicked.”

His lips are pursed slightly as he considers my words.

“I had a chat with the detective. She had to leave, urgently. She asked me to inform you of what’s happened.”

His sudden change in demeanour startles me, what’s going on?

“Do you know the conditions of your parents Will, Clara?”

What? Wait.

No.

**No**.

That couldn’t even be a thought. A possibility.

“Why would you ask that?”

“Do you?”

“Yes, they stated that once I turned twenty-five it goes to me. And I share it with Theo as I see fit. What are you suggesting, Doctor?

I sit up, feeling restless suddenly.

He surely wasn’t suggesting… no he couldn’t be.

“Are you aware that if you were to pass, everything would go to Theo, every cent. Liquid and otherwise.”

“Well of course but, but that doesn’t mean.. He wouldn’t. He’s my **_brother.”

_**

My heart stutters at the notion.

I shake my head at him profusely, my lips trembling.

My own flesh. The only person I truly trusted. Surely it couldn’t be.

He takes my hand in his, his thumb moving in circular motions in an attempt to soothe me.

“No, you’ve got it wrong. I don’t know what they’ve told you, but it’s wrong. I want to see my family lawyer, now.”

“He said he’d be back in a few minutes right?” He says, almost accusatory.

“What?”

“We watched him on surveillance, Clara. The FBI now have a warrant out for his arrest. He left the hospital as soon as he left this room, he’s headed to JFK.”