Page 14 of Monsters Like Us
“Dr. Vale? Ward B needs you. Emergency. Timmy’s acting out.”
Vale’s jaw tightens. His hand hovers over the receiver. “Can’t someone else?—”
“There’s blood. He?—”
“I’m on my way.” Vale snaps to his feet, his earlier composure splintering. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.” He grabs hiswhite coat and yanks the door open, muttering, “Of all the times?—”
Then, he disappears out the door, his footsteps fading in the corridor.
Silence expands until it fills the corners. My hands ball in my lap. The office feels too small, the air too thin.
Part of me wants to leap up and run after Vale, curious about whatever mess has exploded in Ward B. Another part hopes this delay will last so he won’t come back and pry me open. I’m terrified of his questions. Terrified of what he’ll say if I tell the truth of why I’m here.
I sit frozen, while the hum of the lights and the distant clatter of the institute grind against my nerves. The name Timmy echoes inside my head. I remember the faces in Ward B when I first arrived. Staff move faster when someone screams in those hallways.
The intercom’s words replay:Timmy’s acting out.
I wonder what set him off?
A chill crawls up the base of my spine.What if Micah had something to do with this?He knew I had an appointment with Vale after breakfast. He was close enough to overhear Marcy speaking to me in the common area.
My brows furrow as I stare out Vale’s office window, a thought circling inside my head.
Why would Micah want to disrupt my session?
CHAPTER 12
Micah
The ward breatheslike a slow animal.
I sit at the edge of my bed, the cuffs on my wrist loose. Bruce stands by the door, his phone a small rectangle of light. The silence in my room is as sharp as glass. I watch the clock in the hallway like it’s a countdown.
Katana should be inside Vale’s office by now.
It’s time.
I wander down to the common area. Bruce follows, but is distracted by his phone.
Timmy sits by the nurses’ station, his hands twitching—always twitching. He’s the sort who breaks loudly when the right thing scratches him.
I watch him through the narrow window that gives me a perfect view of the action that’s about to unfold. He whispers to himself as he rocks on the chair.
I lean closer and whisper words that detonate him. “They’re here. They’ve found you.”
No one else hears me, but Timmy does. His reaction is immediate. His chair tips as he springs to his feet, his eyes wild, a frantic shriek turning into panicked screams. A nurse rushestoward him. He claws at her, his teeth bared like an animal, before he snaps.
The intercom screams for Ward B. Radios pop to life. Vale’s name comes through the speaker, clipped and urgent.
I don’t move. I let the chaos bloom exactly where I planted it.
Staff scatter. Bruce and the others run toward Timmy, their radios chattering. Vale bolts down the corridor, his long white coat flapping behind him.
I grin. I knew he wouldn’t resist this chaos. The man takes every opportunity to stroke his own ego.
I exit the common area, folding into the flow of bodies like a ghost. Sticking to the shadows, I head toward Vale’s office. The guard trailing Vale is distracted—following procedure keeps him busy.
No one notices me slip past them.
