My eyes trail down to see what I’m stuck in…
A straitjacket.
I’m stunned, motionless. What’s happening?
“Help!”
I thrash about, trying to break free. My heart speeds up, but my head still feels awful.
I choke on my panic.
“Help!”
The yelling makes my skull throb. I notice the pain in myside too—
I hurt all over.
Phone.Torren!
I was on the phone with him. He knows. He’ll do something. He—
“I should have done this when you dug that hole.”
My father’s voice snatches me from my panic, and pure unadulterated rage blasts through me. “What are you doing?” I scream, my voice harsh and raspy.
Father approaches, holding a syringe, while Robert hovers in the doorway.
“Cleaning up another mess,” my father explains in a demented tone. He turns to Robert. “Come on.”
The two of them approach. “He’s awake,” my father yells. Not to Robert, but to someone else. Someone in the hall—
Doctor Franklin reveals himself. “You’ll need to put it in the meaty part of the thigh. He’ll thrash about, so hold him down.”
Robert grips my leg. “Fuck off! Don’t touch me!” I try to kick, but I’m weak. The screaming alone is exhausting.
Father stabs me in the thigh, the searing pain bringing forth a wail of anguish.
The deed is done, and the three of them stand in a row, observing me.
“How long?” My father asks.
Doctor Franklin cocks his head. “A dose that large administered intravenously? I’d say 7 to 12 hours tops.”
“Then we unstrap him?” my father adds.
Doctor Franklin nods. “Unstrap him. Leave him alone for another twenty-four hours, and we’ll see what he does.”
Father sneers, looking at me with hatred in his eyes. “Andif he doesn’t kill himself?”
My eyes go wide, a high-pitched buzzing sound ringing in my ears.
“He’ll be in a state of psychosis. You can have him committed. That was the plan with Belinda, was it not?”
“Could he call for help?”
Doctor Franklin laughs. “He’ll be completely psychotic. I can’t imagine he’ll have the wherewithal to do anything but crouch in a corner and cry.”
My father searches my face. “You really think the psychosis will last a week?”
