Page 22 of Mad Love

“Why are you here?” I countered.

She didn’t look bothered by the turn of topic at all. “Oh, that’s easy. I’m the youngest of three. My older brother died in a car accident four years ago, but that wasn’t a huge deal, since there was this whole scandal where he thought it was okay to beat the shit out of his girlfriend and land her in a coma.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you serious?”

She nodded. “Yeah, but my parents were more pissed that he made our family look bad than that he hurt the woman he claimed to love and was going to marry. Then again, my dad has no problem using his fists to keep my mom in line.” She smiled coldly, cruelly. She wagged a finger. “But leaving visible marks is a no-no.”

I rolled my eyes. “Yeah. I have one of those, too.”

Joss took a deep breath. “Then there was my older sister. She shamed the family when some prick she met got her drunk and filmed them having sex. He did upload that to a porn site.” She looked down, jaw clenched. “My sister killed herself shortly after that.”

“Oh, my God,” I whispered, my hand coming up to cover my mouth.

She forced a bitter smile onto her full lips. “Anyway, I’m the last kid standing, so my parents sent me here to stay until they know for sure I won’t bring any more shame to the family name. Eventually I’ll be married off to a man of their choosing or…” She looked away for a moment before her gaze snapped back to me. “Now you know my life story.”

Fuck it.

“Eight months ago I found out I had a twin sister,” I started. “We met and decided to switch places for the summer. She died, and I took over her life. I fell in love with her fiancé, there was a sex tape scandal with an asshole that led to a massive misunderstanding, since the girl in the video was my sister, not me. My father—who I’m pretty sure had my sister murdered—threatened to kill my mom and best friend if I didn’t do exactly what he wanted.

“Instead, my fiancé and I got married and cut both of our dads out of a family inheritance. We staged a coup with our friends, took over their company, and thought we won… Until my father had me kidnapped, declared mentally insane, and sent me here.” I smiled benignly at her.

Jaw hanging open, Joss stared at me before picking up the tiny cookie on her tray and sliding it to me. “You win.”

A laugh burst from my lips, surprising us both and several people sitting nearby. I quickly smothered the sound, ducking my head.

“I’m not sure this is a competition I want to win,” I replied, pushing the cookie back at her.

She let out a long breath. “I wish I could tell you it gets easier, but this place…” She shook her head before leaning forward and lowering her voice. “Don’t fight back if you can avoid it. Trust me when I say there’s nothing you can do, and the sick fucks around here love reiterating that to people who try to push the boundaries.”

“It’s not in me to give up and roll over,” I answered.

“It needs to be if you want to survive,” she told me, deadly serious. “Maddie, these people aren’t right. Who’s handling your case?”

I frowned, not sure what she meant.

“Is there a doctor, or…?”

“Dr. Browne.”

She visibly flinched. “Dr. Browne is the chief of psychiatry here, but it’s a fucking joke, okay? She’s a sadistic bitch who gets off on trial-by-fire bullshit, and she’s as corrupt as they come. If she’s handling your case, then I promise, your father is pulling every one of her puppet strings. Don’t trust her. No matter what.”

My heart slammed against my rib cage. “I have to get out of here.”

“You can’t.” Joss’s flat tone was brittle. “I’ve tried it all, and there’s no fucking way. And your roommate? Don’t trust her either. She’s so far up Dr. Browne’s ass, it’s amazing she doesn’t smell like shit. Whatever you do, you need to at least pretend to play their game.”

“Joss—”

“I’m serious, Maddie.” She paused. “Is that even your name?”

“Yeah,” I managed to get out, a little amazed that she would bother to confirm my real name.

She gave a short, concise nod. “Okay, then just put your head down and weather whatever shitstorm they put you in. Maybe you can manipulate your father into—”

I cut her off with a snort. “He’s an idiot, but I don’t think he’ll buy me falling in line a second time.” No, Gary would probably be counting on my deceitfulness. I wasn’t interested in blurring any lines between Gary Cabot and myself ever again.

We were enemies now and until one of us—hopefully him—died.

And then, because my life was always in turmoil, above the soft thrum of conversations in the cafeteria…someone called my name.

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