Page 60 of Pretty Cruel Love

“I’m going to ask you some questions, Miss Pretty.” Dr. Weiss’s voice slips through the dark like silk. “Answer clearly. Truthfully.”

I fight the serum, but it’s too strong.

“Have you ever killed someone?”

Say no, just say no.

“Yes.”

Silence. No gasps. Just weighted, unnatural stillness.

“Did you kill Jonathan Baylor?”

“No.”

“Heath Baylor?”

“No.”

“Gregory Sorenson?”

“No.”

The pause this time is longer. Unsettling.

“So… you’ve killed someone else?” Robin’s voice slithers into my ear. Too close.

“I think we gave her too much of the third serum,” Dr. Weiss says. “Let’s wait.”

I can’t tell how long the silence lasts. The drugs turn seconds into syrup, and I’m slipping under—fast.

“Okay, Sadie,” Robin whispers. “Let’s try it differently. Why did you murder Jonathan Baylor?”

“I didn’t.”

“But you’ve murdered someone?”

“Not him,” I say. “Not his dad. Not that awful friend, either.”

Another pause.

“Jonathan deserved to die anyway,” I say. The words aren’t mine, and yet they are. “He was a bad person.”

“Sadie…” Robin’s voice softens, coaxing. “You never really knew Jonathan outside the classroom. You don’t know that.”

“Jonathan Baylor raped me,” I say. “He got away with it. He deserved to die, but I didn’t kill him.”

The collective gasp this time is audible, and it’s followed by quick murmurs and rustling.

“That’s enough,” Dr. Weiss cuts in, his voice slicing clean through the tension. “Hit the lights.”

26.5

DR. WEISS

Night Nine

A few hours later

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