Page 74 of Ward D
“Amy,” Ramona interrupts me. “There’s something you need to see.”
I told Will that I would be back in five minutes, but I’m not sure I’m going to make it. Still, I have to see what Ramona wants to show me. Although I get a horrible feeling in my stomach when I realize where she’s leading me.
Mary’s room.
“I saw him slip out of her room not that long after her episode of agitation,” Ramona tells me. “And then later I came in to check on her, and this is what I found.”
She throws the door open to room 912. It looks about the same as it did when I checked in here earlier. Mary is gone, the blankets are still on the bed, and the scarf is arranged in a way that almost looks like a body. But then Ramona flicks on the lights.
Oh my God.
There’s blood all over the bed. I didn’t even see it when the lights were off.
I cover my mouth with both hands. I think I might be sick. I lean forward and gag a bit–it’s a good thing I didn’t manage to eat much for dinner tonight.
Jade’s hand is on my back. She rubs my back in circles, which sort of helps. But not really. The only thing that would help at this point is toget the hell out of here.
I straighten up, looking away so I don’t have to see all the blood on Mary’s bed. I don’t know what happened to her, but there’s no way she’s okay. Not with all that blood soaking the sheets.
“Where is she?” I gasp.
“She’s lying down in a clean empty room,” Ramona says. “She’ll be all right, thank goodness, but she told us Will attacked her with a weapon.”
I breathe a sigh of relief that at least Mary is going to be okay. I still can’t believe Will would have done anything like that to her, but I don’t believe she’d lie about that.
“Will has always been off balance,” Jade says softly. “But I’m scared now he’s really lost it. I’m scared of what he’s going to do next.”
“We need to talk to Dr. Beck about this,” Ramona continues. “We need to make sure Will can’t hurt anyone else.”
Ramona and Jade are both staring at me, waiting to hear what I have to say. Five minutes ago, I trusted Will. I trusted him, even though I hardly knew him. And now I realize he has tricked me. All along, he had me just where he wanted me.
I wipe my lips with the back of my hand. “What do you need me to do?”
49
When I get back to Will’s room, he sets down his copy ofOwen Meanyand stares up at me. “That was more than five minutes.”
“I know. I’m sorry.”
He presses his lips together. “What did they say to you?”
Of course, I knew he would ask me that. I have to play this very carefully. “She was feeling anxious about everything that happened. She just wanted to talk to me.”
“That’s it?”
“That’s it.”
He narrows his eyes at me. The diagnosis in his chart is paranoid schizophrenia, but he claimed it was a lie. That he was faking it. But in retrospect, everything he has done or said since we’ve been here has been incredibly paranoid. He has created an entire conspiracy theory. When, in fact, he is the most suspicious person of all.
“Your hands are shaking,” he notes.
“Is that so surprising?” I retort, as I try to get my shaking hands under control. It’s not easy. “I mean, given everything that’s going on here…”
“Yeah, but they weren’t shaking before you went out to talk to Jade.” He hops off the bed, keeping a distance of a few feet between us. “What did you talk to her about? Tell me the truth.”
“I did.”
“I don’t believe you.” Now his own hands are shaking as he tugs at the hem of his worn T-shirt. “Look, I know this whole thing is crazy, but I swear to you, Amy, everything I’ve told you has been true.”
