Page 32 of Ward D
“You have no idea.” He grins at me. “One of the patients—this guy built like a linebacker—followed me around the unit the entire night. He didn’t try to hurt me, but wherever I went, he was there. Like my shadow.” He cocks his head. “In retrospect, he just wanted to talk to me. But I was too scared to realize it.”
“Has… has a patient ever tried to hurt you? Like, physically?”
“Yes.” His brown eyes darken slightly, but he decides not to elaborate. “But that was a completely different situation. Nothing bad is going to happen here tonight. Nobody here wants to hurt you.”
“Except Damon Sawyer,” I blurt out.
Dr. Beck’s eyes widen. “He… you didn’t open the door to the seclusion room, did you?”
“No! Of course not!”
“Good.” His shoulders relax. “Look, it’s unusual to get patients like him here. But he’ll be gone in the morning. And he’s not going to hurt anyone as long as he’s locked in that room. He can’t get out—trust me.”
Except he already got out of the restraints.
Dr. Beck looks down at his watch and back up at me. “Soon everyone will be going to sleep. Try to get some reading done, and if it’s quiet, you’re welcome to sleep in one of the empty patient rooms.”
There is no chance in hell I’m going into one of those patient rooms and sleeping in the bed. Noway. I’ll tough it out on the sofa in the lounge. Cameron is still trying to make nice after what he did to me, so he’ll definitely let me have it.
Dr. Beck goes back into his office, leaving me all alone in the hallway. He’s right. I should try to do some reading and then get some sleep. Soon enough, it will be morning.
I turn around to go back to the staff lounge, hoping to finish my sandwich. But the second I turn around, I realize somebody has been standing behind me.
It’s Jade.
18
EIGHT YEARS EARLIER
Jade and I are supposed to be meeting at the library in the school, and of course, once again she’s late.
I stand by the entrance to the library, sipping on the remainder of my peach iced tea. When we were in trigonometry last period, Jade promised we would meet after school to study. The school library is open until five, so I thought that would be a good place to do it. No excuses.
And apparently, no Jade.
I finish the last of my drink and toss it in the garbage by the entrance to the library. I check my watch. It’s three-thirty, which means most kids and teachers are already gone except for a few afterschool clubs running. Jade is probably gone too. Or out back, smoking pot. I was stupid to think she might actually show up this time.
I should just go home.
Except I need her help. My mom tried to help me last night, and that was a joke. She was even worse at understanding the material than I was. The two of us both ended up frustrated and shouting at each other. She promised that we would get a tutor, and I finally cracked and agreed to it. Still, the midterm is a lost cause.
But on the plus side, I haven’t seen that little girl anywhere today.
“Amy!”
Oh my God, it’s a miracle—Jade is dashing down the hallway in the direction of the library, her backpack slung over one shoulder. She’s waving frantically at me. “So sorry I’m late, Amy!”
“That’s okay,” I say.
When she gets close, I do detect a whiff of marijuana, but it’s not as strong as yesterday. Hopefully, she can still do math while slightly baked. Jade is somewhat of a math prodigy, so I’m sure it will be fine.
“You ready?” I ask.
She bobs her head. “Yes! Oh my God, we are going to dosomuch math today. Like, you have no idea how much we’re going to do. We’re going to study for the next eight hours. I’m telling you, eight straight hours of doing math. You are going to be vomiting up sines and cosines by the end of this!”
I laugh. She doesn’t seem like she’s on pot right now—she’s like a ball of energy. “Okay… so let’s get started.”
“Yes! We need to get started right away.” She starts to walk into the library but then stops herself. “Oh, wait! Stupid me, I forgot my textbook in the classroom. Let me just go grab it, okay?”
