My brain failed to slide all the pieces into place. She sat still, waited.
I closed the door behind me. “Did you know I worked here?” My tone was hard and clipped, but I couldn’t help it.
She placed a book carefully on a pile. “You mean did I stalk you and admit myself to be close to you?”
Her words didn’t make sense, and yet, we were in a mental health ward. This time,Iwaited.
“Fuck no. I didn’t. And if I had, I’d have taken my shots and went home before you could even say a word to me.”
Lying was something I usually caught easily, and the night before, I hadn’t sensed anything off about her. I dropped her file on the desk and scrubbed my hands over my head. “Shit. I’ve got to move you. Or find another doctor.”
She snorted and continued stacking. “Don’t bother. They don’t actually expect you to do anything for me. Sign the forms, pretend to make sure I’m behaving myself, and you’ll get a nice bonus when I leave.”
I gestured at the chair, my legs suddenly feeling a little wobbly. “Do you mind?”
“No,” she said, not even looking up at me this time.
“What is happening here?” I grabbed the file and flipped it open again.
She chucked. “You haven’t gotten the call yet. It’ll come soon I expect.”
“The call?”
“The one from my mother’s staff outlining the parameters of my care. I’m sorry doctor, but your fancy degrees have been relegated to over-priced babysitting.”
I knew I sputtered. “Babysitting?”
She leaned toward me, and I flinched back. The memory of her still too strong to rectify with her sitting in front of me. “I’m not actually crazy or mentally ill. Maybe a tad depressed. I’m really only in here to keep me out of the way.”
“Who would do that?”
She chuckled softly. “My mother. Likely soon to be Madame President.”
Chapter Three
Kory
He didn’t stay very long after that revelation and thank fuck. I didn’t know how long I could hold this indifferent facade I’d learned from the best, but I wasn’t my mother.
Once he’d shut my door behind him, I shoved the books back in the trunk by my bed, grabbed the covers, and dove underneath. It provided the only barrier I could access. A mockery of privacy and protection, but it helped a little. Enough to calm my erratic breathing and allowed me think straight.
What the fuck was happening was the correct sentiment. I’d woken up in my hotel room this morning, still blissfully sore, and wishing I’d bought him back with me. Now…I wanted to scrub my body with steel wool. How could I see him every day and not remember what we did? I barely survived these little trips to the other side. Now, with him, a walking reminder of my freedom, it would be torture.
Last night, he’d said he’d have liked to make the choice about getting to know me for himself. It made this whole situation so much worse, since we’d flipped the coin. He’d gone from not getting to know me against his will, to knowing every last detail against his will. Every last mortifying detail.
I dragged a pillow over top the blanket. It didn’t help a single bit. For the first time in years, I wasn’t resigned to this. How could I be? I needed to get out. It had been five years since I tried to bust out of one of these places. That’s when she switched from regular old hole to the super max mental places.
I jerked the covers down, leaned over the bed, and found a fat volume at the bottom of the trunk.The Count of Monte Cristo. A well-loved antique edition my mother sent me for my birthday years ago. What would Edmond do in this situation?
I imagined one of my literary heroes flashing a dashing grin and using the pretty doctor to get him out of this situation. I couldn’t do that though? Right? No. It was a bad bad bad idea.
And the plain cotton uniform they stuffed me into didn’t really lend me any style points.
No, I wasn’t really equipped for seduction. But maybe Edmond would lend me knowledge later on. I hugged the tome to my chest taking comfort in its presence. If I did this, tried to escape, and screwed it up, they could strip me of my books. It was one of the few ways my mother learned she could control me when I was locked away. And the threat of their removal always kept me in line.
But that was before.
Before I knew how Ash’s hands felt on my skin. Before I woke with his name on my lips.
