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Wearing only light-blue pajamas with yellow rubber duckies all over, compliments of some generous do-gooder who’d donated them, Tessa tiptoed to her bedroom door. In Ward C, essentially a prerelease ward, security was minimal. If there were any hard and fast security measures to keep the younger and older sort-of-sanes separated from the children beyond a bend in the hallway, Tessa couldn’t see them.
Nevertheless, she had her own room, cubbyhole that it was, and could do pretty much whatever she wanted within the confines of Ward C—which equated mostly to zoning out in front of the television in the rec room—so long as she took her meds, attended group sessions and all roll calls, and met individually with a doctor every other day. She was not a danger to society, maybe not a danger to herself, but she wasn’t healed, whatever that meant, and doubted she ever would be. No one ever said anything about the hospital being a danger to her.
Maybe I am crazy. Maybe it’s all in my head. She recalled Jimmy’s furrowed brow and squinty eyes when she’d told him her suspicions. She shook her head. It doesn’t matter if he believes me. He promised to help me anyway.
She creaked open the door and peeked out. All clear. The dimly lit hall shrouded many of the stains on the worn, lime-green carpet. She swung the door open and slipped into the corridor, closing the door quietly behind her.
Jimmy’s room was a left down the hall, first right, five doors down. Tessa repeated the directions over and over again in her head, a mantra to keep her moving as her heart fluttered against her ribcage. On bare feet, she stepped lightly, her fingertips sliding along the wall, ears attuned to every creak in the floorboards.
Thud, thud, thud, thud.
Tessa froze. The noise grew louder, footsteps coming her way from around the next corner, heavy and plodding like Link’s. Hands trembling, she looked around for a place to hide, the hallway empty except for doors. Think! She turned around, sprinted for her door, and turned the knob. Locked.
Her breathing quickened, coming in short gasps. She didn’t remember locking the door before she’d left. Doesn’t matter! Hide, you idiot!
Voices carried ahead of the approaching steps. “The doctor gets who she wants when she wants them,” a woman said.
Tessa sprinted past her room to a small alcove on the left where a laundry chute was built into the wall. There, she crouched and placed a hand over her mouth. She had to get her breathing under control, her panting as loud as a dehydrated dog’s.
Another voice, this time male and much louder, echoed down the hall. “She’s just a skinny girl. What good would she be for anything?”
“Shhh! Keep your voice down,” Francine scolded, her tinny voice unmistakable even without the sickening syrupy sweetness to which Tessa was accustomed. “Do you want to wake up the kids?”
The sound of footsteps died. They’d stopped somewhere in the hall, but Tessa didn’t dare peek around the corner to look.
“Besides, it’s not our place to question the doctor.” Francine’s voice was clear, close. They were outside Tessa’s room. She’d been right. They had come for her.
Francine knocked. “Tessa, dear. It’s Nurse Francine. I’m coming in to check on you.”
Tessa heard the rattle of a doorknob. “Shit!”
“What is it?” The male voice asked. Tessa was sure it was Link.
“It’s locked, you moron. Give me your keys.”
“Use your own keys.”
“I don’t have my—” Francine groaned. “Just give me your damn keys!”
Tessa heard a jingling, then Francine said, “Tessa, honey, I’m coming in now.” The door squealed as it swung open. Link’s heavy feet thudded on the hardwood floor inside her room.
“Well?” Francine asked. “Where is she?”
“She’s not in her bed?”
“Do you see her in her bed?”
“Maybe she’s underneath it. Or maybe she had to go to the bathroom?”
“Well?”
“Well what?”
“Check, you freakin’...” Francine grunted in frustration.
I need to move. They’ll be looking for me now. Tessa chanced a quick look around the corner. Link’s back filled the doorway as he stood just past the threshold of her room. He disappeared farther inside.
Hand against the wall, Tessa rounded the corner and crept closer to her room. She paused and leaned forward to look in, her eyes exploding open and mouth clamping shut when Nurse Francine’s back appeared no more than a couple of feet away from her. Link was farther into the room, on hands and knees and peering under the bed.
“Find her!” Francine ordered, her shrill command stopping Tessa in her tracks but jumpstarting her heart. “The doctor does not like to be kept waiting.”
Tessa moved painstakingly slowly, one step at a time, until she thought she’d made it far enough past her room to sacrifice complete silence for haste. She hustled to the intersection ahead, turned right, and sprinted to Jimmy’s room. As she raised her hand to knock, she heard Francine’s voice again. “Check the halls. She’s gotta be around here somewhere. You go that way. I’ll check this way.”
Tessa rat-tat-tatted Jimmy’s door, a series of short, rapid, quiet knocks she hoped he could hear. She could feel sweat pooling at her hairline as she bounced on her feet. Again, she knocked, this time just a little louder. Please, Jimmy! Come on!
The door swung open and she flung herself through it, pressing herself into Jimmy and her finger over his lips. The door closed on its own behind them.
Thud, thud, thud, thud. Link’s heavy footsteps plodded by as Jimmy and Tessa stood still as statues.
Jimmy’s eyebrows were raised and his mouth hung open, but he blessedly waited for her to say something before he so much as twitched a finger. The rise and fall of his chest against hers was strangely comforting, an ally close to her when she desperately needed one. As the hallway quieted, her heartbeat began to slow.
When her panic had mostly subsided, her face flushed with warmth. She stepped back and swayed. “Thanks.” Her hands behind her back, she nodded and gazed at his knees.
Jimmy crouched to meet her eyes, his own containing a playful sheen as if he didn’t quite grasp the severity of her situation. “Who was it?”
Tessa nibbled on her lip. “That was Link. He’s looking for me. Francine is too.”
“So... the guy with the huge melon head and the nurse I almost bumped into today?”
Tessa nodded.
“Do you know what they want?”
“I ran before they could see me.” She rocked on her feet. “But I heard them talking. They said some doctor wanted to see me and that she won’t be happy if she doesn’t get to tonight.”
Jimmy huffed. “What doctor? We all see plenty of doctors.”
“I don’t know, but I have a feeling I don’t want to find out.” She looked over his room, which was a small cubbyhole just like hers. “They’re looking for me. They’ll be checking all the rooms soon. I’m not safe here.”
Jimmy’s boyish face lacked fear or perhaps the intelligence to know when to be afraid, the glint in his eyes remained hardened and indifferent.
“And now you’re not either. I’m sorry.” Chin against her chest, she turned and headed for the door. “I’ll just—”
Jimmy grabbed her arm and spun her around. “I promised you I’d keep you safe. If they’ll be coming here for you, the way I see it, we have two options—run or hide.”
“We can’t get out of Ward C. Those doors are locked at night.”
“A window maybe?”
Tessa shook her head. “You seen any without bars over them? We may not be in chains, but this is still a prison.”
“Then we hide you.” He darted about his room, tossing around his clothes and examining his belongings, quickly ruling out options, a sort of battle between hopefulness and defeat playing out on his face. Like hers, his room was empty except for his bed, a small dresser, and some books. There was no place to hide. It had been a mistake to go there.
He raised a finger, then pointed at his bed. “What about between the mattress and box springs.” He jammed his fingers under his mattress and lifted it. “You’re thin enough that you just might be able to squeeze... huh.”
“What?”
“No box springs.”
A knock came at the door.
“Oh, God.” Tessa chewed her thumbnail. “We’re too late. I’m sorry, Jimmy.”
He grabbed her by the elbow and put his finger over her mouth just as she had, then led her to the door. He’s handing me to them?
Too stunned by the betrayal to react, she allowed him to guide her to the door, then alongside it, where he pressed her shoulders gently against the wall. He mouthed the words, Don’t move.
Swinging the door wide open, he startled Tessa, who barely resisted the urge to throw up her hands to block it. She winced as the uneven wood at its bottom scraped over her big toe, turning her head sideways and biting on her knuckle to hold back even the slightest utterance.
“Hello?” she heard Jimmy say, the sound of his voice dulled by the solid mass between them.
“Uh, hi,” Link said. “Random inspection. Please step aside.”
“Oooo... kay?” Jimmy’s left side came into view. He was standing in front of the door, shielding her. “Um, isn’t that something the guard usually does?”
“Yeah, well, I’m helping out.” Link’s voice oozed sarcasm. He grunted. “Doctor’s orders.”
“What are you looking for? And why would it be under my bed?”
“Look, kid,” Link said, the floorboards groaning and his voice straining as he picked himself off the floor. “You want to shut up? I’m just trying to do my job here, all right?”
Tessa squeezed her fingernails into her palms. What are you doing? Stop provoking him.
Jimmy sneered. “Well, I don’t know what you’re looking for, but it ain’t here.”
Link snorted and plodded closer. His breath, warm and stale, seemed to permeate through the door. “You know, you may be here a while, so you might want to learn how to watch that mouth of yours.”
“It’s attached to my face, so pretty hard to see without—”
Tessa registered the groan a split second before the door hit her in the head. She yelped, her eyes exploding open with panic when she realized what she’d done.
“What was that?” Link asked.
“I didn’t say anything,” Jimmy answered, his words hissing through clenched teeth.
“Yeah? That’s what I thought.” Link’s plodding footsteps headed out into the hall where they paused. “You squeal like a bitch. Lights out, asshole.”
Jimmy slammed the door. His face was redder than his hair as he paced, arms swinging. “That guy—”
“Might hear you,” Tessa whispered more forcefully than she might have liked.
“I’m...” He ran his hand through his hair, then pressed two fingers into each temple, making small circles. “I’m sorry. I just have this strong hatred—”
“Strong hatred for bullies. I know. You mentioned that.” She put a hand on his forearm. “But you have to keep your cool. We don’t know what we’re dealing with here. Antagonizing Link like that makes me... well, it makes me afraid they might come for you next.”
Jimmy smirked. “I can take care of myself.”
“You promised to take care of me, too, remember?” Tessa sighed then smiled. She liked his temper—so much raw passion, so much fight. Michael never had a harsh word, never raised a fist to defend her. He was always treating her like she was delicate, a flower that would die without just the right amount of sunlight, water, nurturing, and love. She’d killed a man, stabbed him more than a dozen times. She wouldn’t be abused again. She would not be a victim. And she wouldn’t be treated as if she were one either. Because she knew if she were pushed far enough, she’d push back fast and hard.
She didn’t need Jimmy’s protection. She needed a friend, but if he wanted to play at white knight, well, that was sort of nice too. “Thanks.” She smiled then blew a strand of hair out of her face.
“For what?” Jimmy frowned, perhaps thinking her insincere.
“For letting me in here. For hiding me from Link. For keeping your promise.” She crossed her arms. “I don’t know.” She bumped him with her shoulder. “For being the only friend I’ve got in here.”
Jimmy smiled back. He shrugged. “Never had a girl back to my room before.”
“You jerk!” They both giggled, covering their mouths to keep their laughter quiet.
Then, they waited.
They turned off the light and sat side by side on the floor, backs leaning against his bed, listening as the hall traffic died down, then sitting in silence long after. At some point, Jimmy fell asleep beside her, his head lolling back and his mouth hanging open, wind whistling through his nostrils each time he blew out air.
She had no idea what time it was but figured the hospital would be waking soon. The daytime staff would be arriving. She could rest around her medication and treatment schedules, so sleep wouldn’t be an issue, but she had no idea how she could keep dodging the people snatchers who came at night. They would be on to her, and Tessa had gotten lucky with that door trick Jimmy pulled. She doubted she would be so lucky again.
She needed a more permanent solution. She needed to escape.
And what about Jimmy? He didn’t stir as she kissed his cheek and rose to leave. She would have to be back in her room before the day staff found her and pray that Francine, Link, and this doctor they’d referred to were all she had to avoid. If they were up to something shady, and she was convinced they were, maybe they couldn’t be up to it when the rest of the staff was around.
Maybe she could tell the daytime staff. Her eyes watered. Yeah, and who will they believe? Three of their coworkers or the teenage girl sent to the loony bin for killing her stepfather?
She was on her own. Looking at Jimmy, Mr. Hot Temper, Mr. Gonna-Get-Himself-Killed, she needed to remember that. She slipped out of his room without saying goodbye.
As she took the left into her hallway, a hand closed over her face, blocking her airways. Its owner spun around her as lithe as a dancer, keeping his calloused hand in place while the other secured her around her shoulders. But she’d gotten a good look at her attacker before he could get behind her, before the purple spots formed in front of her eyes—the Bandage Man, glowering at her through his mask of gauze, perpetual cruel scowl on his lips.
Darkness took her as she gasped for air. So much for boys and their promises. So much for their lies.