Still, "a bit" was a joke. The moment the disinfectant touched my skin, the pain shot through my body like fire. It felt like I was being thrown into the flames all over again. My fragile veins burst open and the entire bed was soaked with blood and pus. My mother stood there watching, clutching her mouth, her whole body shaking as she sobbed. Jacob's eyes were red. His fists clenched so hard his knuckles turned white like he wished he could take the pain for me. Their concern looked so real, but I knew the truth. It was all fake. The only real things were the lies and the pain.
When I woke up again, two days had passed. I could hear Jacob and my mother talking outside the ward door. "Jacob, Lily's condition is already this bad. We've been delaying treatment for two days. Do we really have to give her that new experimental psychiatric drug? The doctor said the drug hasn't been fully tested yet. The side effects could be seizures and incontinence."