Page 9 of Ward D
I raise my eyebrows—hewouldthink so. “So it doesn’t bother you at all that we’re going to be locked in there all night?”
“Why would it? It’s not like they’re going to torture us or do shock therapy. Anyway, we’ll have the code to get out.”
“What if one of the patients attacks us?”
“That’s pretty unlikely.”
It doesn’t surprise me one bit that Cameron isn’t sympathetic. There’s clearly something wrong with his empathy gene. Is that a thing? I think I may have learned about that in genetics. I also learned about a disease where your urine tastes like maple syrup. “Fine. Whatever. I guess nothing bothers you.”
And then we’re just standing there, awkwardly. I wonder if he buzzed to get inside. Well, I’m not going to be the one to do it. I’ll stand out here all night if I have to, claiming ignorance.Nobody let us in—oh well!
“Look.” Cam’s cheeks take on the slightest tinge of red—his face always gets splotchy when he’s feeling uncomfortable. “Amy, I—”
I don’t know what Cam was going to say to me, and I never will, because at that moment, a deafening alarm blasts from the door in front of us. We both leap backward, and a second later, there’s a loud click. The door to the psychiatric unit is unlocked.
Cameron steps aside. “Ladies first.”
Yeah, the one time he acts like a gentleman…
As the door swings open, my stomach drops. All I can think is that I don’t want to be on this unit. I want to turn around and run down the stairs until I’m out of the hospital. It takes every fiber of my self-control to keep from doing it. I really,reallydon’t want to be here.
And nobody could possibly understand why except for my former best friend.
5
EIGHT YEARS EARLIER
Jade is late.
That’s nothing new. At least, it’s nothing new lately. In the last year or two, my best friend has been constantly leaving me hanging. This afternoon, I’ve been standing in front of our high school for the last twenty minutes and there is no sign of her anywhere. At first, there were kids all over, but it’s cleared out enough that I can verify that she is nowhere in sight.
Great.
Jade and I are supposed to be studying together today. I am absolutelydrowningin Mr. Riordan’s trigonometry class, and Jade has always been better at math than me. I need this study session, because we’ve got our midterm soon, and I’m going to fail if I don’t start knowing a lot more trigonometry than I do now.
My phone vibrates in my jeans pocket. I pull it out and a text from my mom is waiting for me.
Home soon?
I peck out a text to her:
On my way. Jade is coming back with me to study.
Okay, see you soon. Love you.
I shove my phone back into my pocket, then I take a swig from my bottle of peach iced tea as I look around for Jade. My eyes wander over to the fence that encloses the schoolyard. But Jade wouldn’t be there. That’s where all the after-school sports take place, and she’s never been an athlete. I can’t even imagine Jade Carpenter running laps around the yard. And she’s never been into athletic boys. She likesbadboys.
As I scan the length of the fence, I realize I’ve got company. Much to my surprise, a little girl is standing there in the grass. In fact, it’s the same little girl with blond curls who I saw over the weekend when we were at Ricardo’s. The one who told me to steal that sweater from the store.
Once again, the little girl is all alone. She seems even more out of place here than she did at Ricardo’s—standing outside a high school yard, wearing the same exact pink frilly dress she had on the other day with a matching pair of Mary Janes on her little feet. She notices me staring at her, and she flashes me that gap-toothed smile. I raise a hand in greeting, and she waves back.
Maybe she’s the sister of one of the students here. That would explain why she would be in Ricardo’s, if she were shopping with a big sister who left her alone. And again, they have left her alone here. I should make sure she’s okay.
“Amy!”
A sharp nail jabs me in my shoulder, and I whirl around. Jade has finally materialized, again wearing far too much makeup for our study session, as well as a short black skirt paired with ripped fishnet stockings. There’s a smell emanating from her that I can’t quite identify.
“Geez, what’s with you?” Jade rubs her slightly bloodshot eyes. “I was calling out your name, like, ten times!”
