“Thank you.” I rest my hand on the syringe next to me. “Thank you for letting them go.”
“I did it for you, Judy.” She leans against the doorframe. “My advice to you now is to stop thinking about them. Try and be happy here. Soon, this place will be ours. We are Mrs. Potter’s girls, and this is our home. And we will help so many kids.”
At hearing her speak, my fingers curl around the syringe. I can’t use it. Not yet. I need to be careful, to make sure I won’t fail. This is my last shot. And she’s too far from me. Lunging for her from across the room would not end well.
“So, what’s next?” I release my grip on the deadly weapon until it’s time.
“For you, nothing yet. As much as I want to trust you”—Megan crosses her legs at the ankles—“we haven’t been in each other’s lives for many years. I don’t really know who you are. And after what you did, I don’t think I can trust you just yet.”
“But you asked me to stay.”
“I did, but we need to rebuild trust, and that might take a little while. This won’t work unless I can trust you fully.”
I nod. “What can I do to prove myself?”
“I’m afraid I’m going to keep you in here for a while. Just so you can do some thinking and get your priorities straight. Then you will formally apply for a position as our in-house child psychologist, a position I will immediately approve.”
Before she can continue, the same guard who took Gabriel and Sadie away shows up in the doorway.
He announces that a new guest has arrived and Megan is needed in the reception lounge.
“I’ll be there soon.”
Megan looks back at me and I feel her slipping through my fingers.
She smooths down the sides of her jacket, and does not seem to notice that the syringe is gone.
“I’ll be right back for our heart-to-heart.”
When she leaves, I breathe in the musty air, counting the time again in my head.
A few minutes later, I hear a sound outside and the door is opened only briefly. It’s long enough for me to see the plastic tray of food slipped inside. I catch sight of Quinn’s face before the door is closed.
She had already given me tainted coffee. There’s no way I will touch the food or drink in this place again.
When Megan comes back, maybe an hour later, I’m even more faint with hunger and thirst.
Her eyes flick to the untouched food. “You haven’t eaten your food. We both need to make an effort here. I’m trying to trust you, and you need to trust me enough to know I didn’t put anything in your meal.”
“I’m not hungry,” I lie. “I’m fine.”
“We both know you are not. You need to drink at least.”
“I’m feeling fine,” I repeat. “I’m just a bit lonely in here. Would you mind…would you sit with me for a while?”
She looks surprised by my words, but then she clears her throat and nods. “Sure. I’d love to continue catching up, rebuilding trust.”
She comes to sit next to me. Before her guard shows up again, I reach my hand under the pillow and clutch the syringe, which I have already uncapped.
“You need to know that I really did miss you, Megan. Over the years, I thought about you and wondered where you ended up. I’m happy that you are happy here. I hope I’ll learn to be as well.”
“I’m so glad to hear that.” I can hear the tears in her voice. I can’t believe how attached she is to this place and to me. It’s a sickness that can only be healed one way.
Making my plan so much easier for me, she opens her arms for a hug.
I wrap my arms around her and, just as we are pulling apart, I take my chance, jabbing her in the side of the neck, squeezing whatever poison she put into the syringe into her body.
FORTY-EIGHT
