Page 25 of Good Half Gone

She produces a yellowing bottle of Tylenol from the drawer and shakes it. Popping the lid, she scrutinizes the contents for several seconds before shucking two pills between her lips.

“I keep this bottomless pit of despair running.” She swallows the pills dry and flinches. “I’m gonna tell you right now that I run a tight ship. None of thatmy car broke down,my kid has the flushit. I’m hiring you to be here. So be here. You miss the water taxi, it’s not my problem. Camp at the dock if you have to, just be here on time.”

“Yes, ma’am,” I say.

“Our patients are our priority, and they function better—the hospital functions better—when we stick to the schedule. There’re no ifs, ands, or buts about it.”

She finds a half-full water bottle among the files and takes a sip, sucking it between the gap in her front teeth.

“We have forty patients at HOTI, each one a violent offender. These individuals have been deemed mentally incapable of standing trial and thus have been sent here to receive necessary treatment for their buffet of disorders. We have rapists, we have murderers, we have arsonists, and most importantly, we have rules.”

Rules!Yes of course. I hate that word. When you play by the rules you are deemed a team player—virtuous. I have no intention of obeying the rules. I am entirely here to break them.

“Do you have any questions so far?”

“A few,” I say. “What’s HOTI?”

“It’s an acronym for hospital on the island. Just the nickname most of us give this place. Insider jokes, and boy, do we have them…” She drops the file she’s been holding in front of me.It is textbook-thick.

“Training handbook. You read a chapter and fill out the answers without cheating. I’ll know if you cheat because you’ll get shit wrong—I’m very impatient with people who get things wrong. In a place like this, I need accuracy.”

“I’m accurate,” I offer. I am.

She leans back, and I’m pretty certain she’s sizing me up, already deciding that I’m not the right candidate for the job. Thankfully she doesn’t comment on my size, which is five feet two inches; instead, she says, “It takes a certain amount of mental strength to work this job. The patients are one thing, but the island itself is another. This is a dangerous, isolated place. Do not wander off, especially at night. The cliffs are less forgiving than D hall.”

“The cliffs, right,” I say, only now thinking about the cliffs. “So where do employees take walks—exercise?”

“We have a small gym, there are treadmills.”

I think she’s joking. My smile drops.

“We’ve had some problems over the years with erosion along the cliffs. The pathways that were walkable are no longer safe.”

I feel immediately disappointed. I’d imagined myself exploring the island on my breaks, taking long head-clearing walks in the fog.

“The building itself is teetering on the edge of a cliff, the fog makes vision difficult most days, and—” she lowers her voice and her eyebrows “—there was an accident a few years ago. A patient snuck out and threw themselves to the waves. We don’t want repeats of that situation, if you know what I mean, so be on your guard.”

Ominous. My skin erupts in goose bumps. A dozen questions rest on the tip of my tongue, but I remember my panic attack in the lobby not even thirty minutes ago. When I close my eyes, I can still see the pity on Bouncer’s face when she slipped me the pill.If it gets back to Jordyn that I freaked out during my first five minutes on the job, she might question my ability to perform long-term. I nod and smile, smile and nod, but I keep my questions to myself, making a mental note to search the subject online later.

“We don’t get many paid interns,” she admits. “Ten years ago, we had four or five, but the board has cut back on our funding. Dr. Grayson approves two every year, and we never heard back from the other guy. More work for you,” she warns.

I shrug it off. “I feel lucky to be here,” I say.

“We have a staff of a hundred, and he is the only doctor on staff, so that gets a bit tough—spread thin. They’ve tried to get another doctor out here but…well, you’ve seen what a trek it is to get to the island, and most people have families.”

It’s time for me to say something. “Dr. Grayson must be dedicated to his work.”

“That he is.” She switches her gaze to the window.

Too small to escape from, I think.And then those poor pregnant girls…

“This place is special, and we’re doing special things here. We’re understaffed and tired, but we’re doing it. Welcome to the team, Iris.”

I’m impressed when the door cracks open. The baby/man who collected me from the lobby leans in. I wonder if he’d been waiting right outside the door to be cued…

I happily stand. Jordyn’s office feels like it’s getting smaller by the minute.

Crede’s pale blue eyes meet mine.

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