Page 23 of Visions of Darkness

The woman reached across the desk and set her hand over his. Her mouth tipped up in a soft smile of reassurance. “Please don’t worry, Mr. and Mrs. Rialta. If Aria needs the help, we are going to get it for her, no matter her age. We can get a transfer to the adult unit if necessary. Her care is our greatest concern. You can rest assured in that.”

Panic split me in two.

A white-hot blade.

“No.” It wheezed from between my lips. “No. You can’t do this. I’m not a child. Let me go.”

I didn’t even realize I was on my feet and standing at the doorway. “Mom, you have to see. Look at me. Please, look at me!” Desperation bled into the words.

“Aria,” she begged when she turned around. Red splotches covered her cheeks and nose, her pain so great it nearly dropped me to my knees. “This is because I doseeyou.”

“No!” I raced back for the door they’d brought me through. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew I was only making it worse. But I couldn’t ignore the voice in my head that shouted at me to fight.

Somewhere inside me, I knew this was different.

The other two times I’d been left here had been for less than a week.

This?

Their intentions rang out like a sentence.

Like permanence.

A gavel slamming down on a wooden block.

I yanked at the handle. It didn’t budge.

I pulled harder, again and again. My movements were frenzied as I slapped my palms against the metal. “Please, someone let me out of here! You can’t do this to me! Help!”

Footsteps pounded behind me, and a needle pierced my flesh.

“No!”

Pax.

Pax.

My brain silently shouted his name.

Willing him to come.

To help me.

To save me.

But it was useless.

Useless.

“It’s okay, we have you. This will help you relax.”

I could feel the detachment run through my veins, and a fuzziness began to cloud my mind.

Two orderlies took me by the arms and turned me around.

Through the haze, I met my mother’s agonized stare.

“Help me,” I begged, though the words were slurred.

---