Page 62 of Ward D
“Get in the car.” She nods at the passenger’s seat. “I’ll show you.”
Every fiber of my being is telling me not to get into Jade’s Dodge. But at the same time, I must admit that I’m curious. When Jade is determined to do something, she’s very good at making it happen.
So I open up the passenger side door, climb into the car, and before I’ve even got my seatbelt buckled, she zooms away.
38
PRESENT DAY
Idecide to go to the patient lounge this time to try to sleep, if only because the couch looks a little more comfortable. There are fewer springs visibly sticking out of the cushions. Maybe I’ll be able to sleep there.
There are plenty of empty patient rooms available with perfectly good beds and even blankets folded on top of them. But I’m not spending the night in a patient room. I’mnot.
The patient lounge has a bathroom inside of it, and I make a pit stop there. But when I flip on the lights in the bathroom, I almost pass out. I don’t know what happened to me in the last few hours, but I lookterrible. My hair has come partially loose from its ponytail, and the stray strands are wild and frizzy around my face. My eyes are just as bloodshot as Will’s, and there are dark purple circles underneath. No wonder Dr. Beck and Ramona seemed so concerned.
If I were to fall asleep in one of the rooms, I could easily be mistaken for a patient. All I’m missing is the wristband.
I get a jolt of fear at the thought of having that laminated bracelet around my wrist, revealing my name, medical record number, and date of birth, and declaring me to be a patient of the hospital. For one dizzying moment, I wonder if I’ve got it all wrong. What if…?
No. Stop it, Amy. Stop having crazy thoughts.
I lift my left wrist. There’s no wristband there. I take a few deep breaths, forcing myself to calm down. I’m fine. I’m going to befine. I just need to get through the rest of the night.
After I empty my bladder, I splash some water on my face, although it doesn’t help. What I need more than anything is some sleep. And to get out of here.
I wish Cameron hadn’t left. I don’t believe Will’s paranoid theory about him vanishing into one of the seclusion rooms. I’m sure he just had a family emergency and left. That’s by far the more logical explanation.
But at the same time, why didn’t he tell me he was leaving? He knew how freaked out I was. Why would he leave without even saying goodbye?
There are plenty of negative things I could say about Cameron. But he’s not the kind of person who would do that.
I step out of the bathroom and make my way to the sofa. Thankfully, there’s a folded blanket lying on the side of it. I shake out the blanket, which is more of a quilt and not even long enough to cover my entire five-foot-four frame. But it’s better than nothing.
I curl up on the sofa. And to my surprise, my eyelids start to droop. I might actually fall asleep. It’s a small miracle.
Except just as my eyes have started to drift closed, I hear footsteps.
At first, I can almost ignore it. But then they start getting louder and louder. Until I’m convinced that there is somebody right outside the room. And then the footsteps stop.
I scramble off the sofa, clutching the quilt. I stare at the closed door to the lounge. “Hello?” I call out.
No answer. Of course.
I creep across the room to the door. I press my ear against the door. I hear only silence.
I place my hand on the doorknob. My fingers linger there, while I work up the nerve to twist the knob. I count to three in my head, then I push it open.
The hallway right outside the lounge is completely dark, except for the glowing light from the keypad to the locked exit. I squint into the black corners, but I don’t see any hovering figures, waiting to pounce. I don’t see anything.
“Hello?” I call out one more time. I clear my throat. “Mr. Sawyer?”
No answer.
There’s nobody out here. Nobody I can see, anyway. Or should I say, nobody who wants me to see him. I slam the door shut, wishing to God there was a lock on it. I dart back across the room to the sofa and bury myself under the quilt.
I’m never going to fall asleep. It’s impossible. No matter how tired I am, there’s just no way.
And those are my last thoughts before I drift off.
