Page 13 of The Lost Girls of Willowbrook

She shook her head, her face growing hot. “No, I gave the change from the bus token to some homeless guy because I thought I’d be coming right back and—”

“According to Dr. Whitehall and the attendant who brought you in, you didn’t have a purse or wallet with you. So where did you keep your money?”

“In my purse,” she said, starting to shake. “But it was stolen when I was on the bus.” If only she’d put her purse in her lap or kept the strap around one arm, they wouldn’t even be having this conversation. Then she remembered something. “Wait. I still have the return bus token.” She reached for her pocket, then realized she was no longer wearing her coat. The attendant had yanked it off before putting her on the gurney. She glanced around the room. Her coat was draped over a chair in the corner. She pointed at it. “The other token is in my pocket.”

Hazel picked up the coat and held it out to her. “We didn’t find anything in it, honey.”

Sage grabbed it and searched the pockets, an icy sense of dread swelling inside her chest. The token was gone. “It must have fallen out somewhere.” Desperate, she scanned the floor, peering into the far corners of the room and the shadowy spaces under the chair and cabinets. The token was nowhere to be seen. Then she remembered grabbing the change from her pocket. She must have dropped the token in the homeless vet’s soup can along with the coins. Her eyes flooded. “Please, I’m telling the truth, I promise. Call the bus station. The driver took down my name and number after my purse was stolen. He can tell you I was on the bus.”

Dr. Baldwin looked doubtful. “Okay, let’s say you came back here on a bus somehow. And your purse was stolen. Did anyone witness your purse being stolen?”

“I don’t know. I had my eyes closed.”

“Did you tell the driver your name was Sage Winters?”

“Of course I did,” she said.

Dr. Baldwin said nothing, instead watching her with knowing eyes, waiting for her to realize what she’d just said—that she’d told the driver the same thing she was telling him now.

“Itismy name,” she said, her bottom lip trembling. “Sage Joy Winters. And yes, Rosemary and I have the same middle name.”

“How interesting,” Dr. Baldwin said. “I’ve never heard of sisters with the same middle name before.”

A frantic mixture of anger and terror quaked through her body, making her tremble all over. “What about the telephone number I gave the driver?” she said. “How would I know my stepfather’s number if I’ve been in Willowbrook for six years?”

“Many people can easily recall their childhood phone numbers. Or it’s possible you memorized it when we let you call your mother every year on your birthday and Christmas Eve. One of the nurses always helped you dial the phone, remember?”

Sage recoiled as if slapped, a fresh wound piercing her heart. Before she died, her mother used to take phone calls in the other room on Sage’s birthday and Christmas Eve. Her mother always said it was her aunt, who only called to ask for money, and Sage wasn’t allowed to say hello because her mother didn’t want to ruin the festive mood. Now Sage knew why. It hadn’t been her aunt calling. It was Rosemary.

“Will you please let me call my stepfather?” she said.

“I don’t think that would be wise,” Dr. Baldwin said. “Perhaps sometime in the future, but right now I feel it would only add to your delusion.”

“I’m not having a delusion,” she said, trying to control her emotions. “And if you’re so sure I am Rosemary, why won’t you let me call him? How could it hurt?”

“There’s no need for you to call him. I already let him know you’ve returned safe and sound.”

“And he believed you?”

“Of course he did. What reason would he have not to?”

Her heart dropped like an anvil in her chest. Of course Alan believed him. “What about my friends? Can I call one of them?”

“Your friends are here, remember? I’m here and all your friends in House Six are waiting for you to come back. I’m sure your best friend, Norma, has been missing you. You two are like sisters, remember?”

“I have no idea who Norma is. My friends’ names are Heather and Dawn.”

Dr. Baldwin nodded agreeably. “Yes, Heather and Dawn are on your ward too.”

“That’s not what I meant. I’m talking about the girls I go to school with, Heather Baily and Dawn Draper. We’re in the same class. We’re going to be seniors next year.”

He furrowed his brow, thinking. “I don’t recall their last names at the moment, but I’m glad to hear they’re your friends too.”

She slammed a fist on the gurney. He twisted her words and had an answer for everything. “That’s not who I’m talking about,” she said. “I’m talking about my real friends. The ones who go out to the bars with me. The ones who drink shots and smoke weed with me. The ones I talk to about my stepfather and my sister. The ones I share secrets with, like having sex with my boyfriend.”

“Did you meet those friends while you were away?” Dr. Baldwin said. “Did they make you do things you know are wrong and try to get you in trouble?”

Sage looked at Hazel with tearful, pleading eyes, hoping she’d show some sympathy. “You believe me, don’t you? Please, someonehasto believe me.”

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