I shake my head. “No—real things. Well, not real. I think I’m hallucinating and talking to…a person. My sister.”

“You’re seeing your sister?”

A gurgle of laughter escapes, almost a snort. What am I doing here? “Yes. I saw my sister last week. In the middle of the night. And I haven’t slept properly since.”

“And you think it was a hallucination?”

“My sister’s dead. She died ten years ago. So yes, I think it was a hallucination.”

He frowns, taps something into his computer. “What was she doing?”

I laugh again, clamp my hand over my mouth to try to stop it coming out. What was she doing? That’s what he’s asking? The doctor looks flustered now, out of his depth. What can he prescribe for this?

“I haven’t been sleeping,” I say again. “I’ve been under a lot of stress at work. And there’s a serious illness in the family. But these dreams or hallucinations or whatever they are—they’re so real. So vivid. More than a dream.”

“Hallucinations, though—that’s fairly extreme. I think I need to refer you on. I’ll organize some tests for you; blood tests, a CT scan. And I’ll arrange for you to see a consultant.”

I shake my head again, reach over, and put my hand over his to stop him from typing in whatever he’s typing. He snatches his hand away like I’ve got something contagious. I think I’ve crossed a doctor–patient line.

“I’m sorry. Sorry. But…do you think it could it be real? No. That’s not what I mean. I know it’s not real. But there are so many things from when she died that I don’t remember. Do you think the strain I’m under could be unleashing some repressed memories?”

He’s frowning and there’s a sheen of sweat on his forehead. “Miss Cooper. Tess—this is something we have to treat. If you’re hallucinating…it could be a symptom of something else, beyond the insomnia. Repressed memories? I don’t know, but nothing said to you by a hallucination can be real. And if you’re at the stage where you believe that it is…” He pauses but he doesn’t really need to finish. I’ve just heard myself and I sound crazy. Full-on, bat-shit crazy. He pushes a prescription and a letter across the desk to me. “The prescription should help with the sleep issues and you may find the problem…disappears if you sleep. But I’ve also put in a request for a consultation for you. To rule out any physical issues first and foremost. If nothing comes from that, we can look at a psychiatric evaluation.”