Page 41 of Heart Sick

“Sick of me already?”

It’s a joke, but when her bottom lip trembles, I realize my sense of humor is only funny to some.

“What about the stuff you said about heart memory transfer? We didn’t discuss that. The donor—”

“I really have to go. Can this wait for our next appointment?” The needle screeches across the record as she practically rips it off the player.

I recoil on instinct because I treat my records like they’re the most precious thing in the world because to me, they are.

“Sure,” I reply, wondering what’s going on.

I don’t even have the gown tied up properly before she’s shoving me out the door and rushing down the hallway, leaving me unsupervised—the first time she’s ever done that since I’ve been admitted.

I wonder if I should chase after her and make sure she’s all right. Something obviously spooked her. I think the correct phrase there would beIspooked her.

The way she looked at me and touched me, it was like I was someone else.

Jesus fucking Christ.

This heart has done nothing but cause me problems. Now my doctor can’t even look at me without freaking out.

The corridor is quiet and any other dutiful patient would return to their room, ready to be spoon-fed their lunch. But not me.

I could make a break for it seeing as today was a total waste of time. I thought seeing Dr. Norton would help, but all she did was confirm that I’m as batshit crazy as I feel. But if I do that, that means Luna will be stuck here alone.

I don’t want to do that to her, especially after last night when she chose this prison over freedom. And the truth of the matter is that I don’t want to leave here without her.

This is getting weirder by the second.

I decide to go find her because the thought of seeing her calms me down.

Trying my best to remain as inconspicuous as possible, I blend in with the settings and any nurses I pass by, I simply smile and continue walking as if I’m supposed to be here. I turn the corner but quickly backtrack and use it as a barricade as I peer around the wall.

It shouldn’t surprise me, but it still fucking pisses me off when I see Old Timer talking to Noah. They’re clearly up to no good.

Noah peers around, ensuring they’re alone, and extends his palm out where Old Timer places a bag of pills into it.

Explains where our pills are going. I hate that I had a part in helping this asshole out.

Noah quickly pockets the bag and in return, gives Old Timer a carton of cigarettes and a few bars of chocolate. I wait for more, but there is none.

We’re risking our asses so Old Timer can smoke himself to death? This is a bunch of bullshit. The exchange is over as quickly as it occurred and the two men go their separate ways.

I have two choices—follow Old Timer and smack some sense into him. Or I can see what Noah is up to when he skulks off because I have a feeling he’s not going back to work. I decide to go with the latter because Old Timer can wait.

Noah is clearly offering to turn a blind eye and grant Old Timer special privileges, as well as his bogus payment of smokes and chocolate. But for Noah to be in a position to do so, he clearly has some pull around here.

And that makes him dangerous. It especially makes him dangerous because he seems to have taken an interest in Luna.

He hasn’t harmed her yet because of Old Timer; I’m sure of it. We are in his “circle,” but that doesn’t mean I trust either of them. The sudden realization that we should have got the fuck out of here hits hard and protecting Luna just becomes all the more serious.

I follow Noah, who is in a hurry to get to wherever the hell he’s going to notice he’s being followed. And when he heads toward the projection booth, I know this isn’t going to end well. He enters casually.

I wait thirty seconds before following.

I hold my breath, hoping he isn’t inside and gone down into the tunnels. I open the door and let out a breath when I see he’s gone. But when I realizewherehe’s gone, I realize that breath was taken in vain because whatever he’s doing down in those tunnels is going to be bad news.

I try my best to silence my footsteps, but everything down here is amplified.

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