“Do you ever get tired of being an asshole, doc?”
“Keep it up, Adam.”
“No, really. Because I think being an asshole is a choice. You probably look at yourself in the mirror every morning and make the decision to be an asshole.”
“Did you think I wouldn’t figure out you’ve been stealing the keys to the rooftop?” Dr. Leo said. “How stupid do you think I am?”
“You want me to answer that question?”
“Why do we do this?” Dr. Leo shook his head. “Every time, Adam.”
“Because you don’t talk to me, you talk at me,” Adam said scathingly. “You don’t have your listening ears on.” He continued, as if talking to child. “See me? I have my listening ears on. And they’re telling me you’re only interested in filing paperwork, not in trying to figure out what’s really going on here.”
Dr. Leo pursed his lips and sat back. “I spoke to Timothy this morning.”
“My brother is dead to me.”
“He’s going to see this thing through this time. You will be taking your medication as prescribed,” he said. “And it won’t be the pills we’ve been playing around with for the past seven years.”
“Yeah? Well, Wilson,” Adam leaned forward and dropped his voice, “maybe you can make the nurses swallow, but you can’t make me.”
Dr. Leo’s expression darkened. “Get out of here.”
“I was done, anyways.” Adam stood with a grin.
“You are done,” Dr. Leo retorted. “We’re switching you to injectable meds as of today.”
“You can’t do that,” Adam said, his grin fading.
“I just did.”
“What the hell, Wilson?”
“This is your last stop, my friend.”
Cold realization dawned on him. Shit, he thought. If they do that, I’m done for good. Adam bolted for the office door.
“Oh, goddamn it, Adam!” Dr. Leo started.
Adam ran, his feet pummeling the carpeted hallway. He slammed the stairwell door open with his shoulder and hurtled down the stairs.
As he reached the first floor, he was cornered by two orderlies on their way up. The shorter of the two men lunged. Adam kicked at him and the man grabbed his foot. The other man leapt at him, attempting a headlock. Adam crashed against the wall and fell, disengaging them both. As he slid down the stairs, the shorter orderly made a grab for his T-shirt. Adam turned and punched the man in the face. Blood poured from his nose.
Adam bolted out the stairwell door towards the hospital front exit.
One foot from freedom, he was tackled. The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground. Someone yanked his arms back.
“Get the nurse!” The orderly slammed his knee into the small of Adam’s back. “Lay still, Adam!”
“The fuck I will! Get off!” He thrashed around, trying to free himself. Someone grabbed his legs and he kicked at them, rewarded with a yelp of pain. He had almost twisted himself out of the orderly’s grasp when he was overwhelmed by more bodies. Adam struggled as the sting of a needle hit his backside. His vision tunneled.