Page 25 of Bleed for Me

She gave me an exaggerated pointed look, then motioned around the room. “There’s nowhere to hide in here. You came in here on purpose.” She frowned. “Hide and seek isn’t fun if only one of us is playing right.” She propped a hand on her hip.

My chest tightened. Fuck. I missed her. I missed her sassy, little attitude. I missed her giggle. I missed the way she’d jump on Alex’s back and tell him where to go like he was her horse. I missed the games we played.Everything.

“It’ll be okay,”I’d said. “I’ll protect you.”

“Promise?”

In the end, it was me she had to fear the most. A lone tear pooled along my waterline and trickled down the side of my face. Wiping it away as quickly as possible, I hauled my belongings to the door where Gloria stood waiting. She shot me a small smilebefore taking one of the bags from me and hauling It over her shoulder.

“Thanks,” I murmured.

She opened the door wider and stepped out, leaving me to follow behind her. With heavy breaths and lazy footsteps, I trailed after her. White walls, white marbled floors with black specs, random doors with plaques on them. There was nothing interesting about this place.

The building felt like a giant maze. There was no way to memorize how I’d gotten to my new room. Every hallway looked strikingly similar to the last. The only difference was that some halls contained more doors than others.

Gloria led me to a bland looking door before stopping and turned to face me. “This is your room.” A soft smile lifted her lips. “Down that hall, take a right, and that’s the cafeteria.” She pointed in the direction she was talking about before moving to unlock the door and pushed it open.

The only difference between this room and my last one was that this one was bigger.

“You can decorate it how you’d like,” she explained. “The art room has some supplies they don’t mind parting with. You’re welcome to paint the walls and hang up pictures.”

I nodded. At least that was something. Glancing around the room, my gaze snagged on a large, digital clock. That was another thing my last room didn’t have. At least I’d know when mealtimes were now. I made my way inside and placed my bags on the bed. Gloria waited by the door, shrugging off my last bag and extending her arm in offering. Reluctantly, I took it and tossed it with the others.

“I’m going to leave you to get settled. Don’t forget, breakfast is at seven-twenty.” She shot me one last smile before slipping from the room and pulling the door closed behind her.

Glancing at the clock again, I sighed. There were still fifteen minutes left before I needed to be in the cafeteria. Moving over to my new bed, clad with a white comforter and white pillows, I took one of the bags and started sifting through it.

I hung the majority of my clothes up in the closet and placed my undergarments in the dresser on the opposite side of the room. I didn’t go through all the bags Mom had sent me, so now seemed like a good time to do that. There were more books, most of them romance novels from the neighbor’s daughter, along with body wash, shampoo, conditioner, and lotion.

When I reached the last bag, I tugged out a stuffed animal, my breath stuttering out instantly. My fingertips ran over the worn, brown texture of its fur, tears attacking my eyes immediately. This was Daisy’s bear. She slept with it every single night. Hell, the thing even played hide and seek with her. Pain sliced through my chest. Mom should have had this buried with her. Why did she give it tome?

I propped the stuffed animal in the corner of my bed, making sure it was in a secure location and wouldn’t fall over. Afterwards, I took my bags and tossed them on the closet floor before casting one last glance toward the clock on the wall.

7:18 AM.

Damnit. Grabbing my hairbrush, I ran it through my hair a few times, making sure I at least looked presentable and then headed for the door. I stepped out into the hallway and glanced both ways. Patients littered the pathway, talking amongst each other as they made their way to the cafeteria. My heart rate increased, nerves trickling through my veins.

“Rosalie?” A familiar voice called out from behind me. I turned, coming face to face with Cheyanne. Her hair was thrown into a messy bun today, a few strands falling out of the updo.

“Hi,” I replied with reluctance, my gaze sweeping over her outfit. She was wearing a black T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants. “Are you headed to the cafeteria?”

She nodded. “You can sit with me and my friends if you want,” she offered.

“Sure.” I smiled, trying to rid my thoughts of the current of emotions that had consumed me moments before.

We walked side by side down the hallway and once we reached the end, we took a right. The room was easily the largest one I’d stepped into so far. Circular tables took up the entirety of the floor with the food station at the far end of the room, lunch ladies occupying the space behind it as they dished out food onto plates.

We stepped into the long line, my gaze bouncing around the room as we waited.

“So, they let you out of your cell at last, I presume?” she asked from in front of me.

“Yeah.” I breathed. “Finally.”

“It’s not so bad once you get used to this place. They’re extremely understaffed here, so we have a little more freedom than other psychiatric facilities.”

I thought about that for a moment as the line moved. I wasn’t so sure that was a good thing. More freedom meant more opportunities to find yourself in a screwed-up situation. A chill swept down my spine as my mind conjured up out of pocket scenarios. Things that weren’t likely to happen butcould.

The room was loud with voices and laughter, the sound making my skin crawl. It was hard to imagine being able to laugh or have a good time after what happened. It felt like a disservice to my sister’s memory.

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