Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
“I’ll walk with you.” Dr. Crane doesn’t leave me an option as he motions for me to go ahead of him.
“It's not the wolf that appears most dangerous, it's the wolf that most resembles the sheep.” Jamison says this as I walk past him but not before I pause and turn the page for him.
“Mia.” Dr. Crane hurries me along, and I get the sense from the glare he’s giving Jamison that this isn’t over between the two of them. I don’t understand why Dr. Crane would let a patient bother him. I assumed that since this is his profession, he would be used to this kind of behavior and things wouldn’t affect him so easily.
It’s not until we’re in the hallway alone that Dr. Crane finally speaks. “You should stay away from Jamison.”
“But he’s one of my patients,” I remind him. Besides, I don’t think I would even if I know I should.
“Do you remember what he did to you?” he asks.
That’s the problem. I can’t forget.
Dr. Crane stops walking and grabs my elbow, prompting me to stop with him. “He’s dangerous.”
I couldn’t agree more, but I think for a very different reason than Dr. Crane. “If I was worried about the possibility of being hurt, then I shouldn’t have taken the job.” I think it’s a given that with the patients here at Bellevue Asylum, the risk of being injured is not only high but likely. Hell, there were several waivers I had to sign.
“He has some kind of fixation on you.” Dr. Crane brushes my hair off my shoulder and looks at the faint mark on my neck. I want to smack his hand away, but I try to remain still. He’s making me uneasy, and I don’t want to provoke his irritation any further. Jamison's words about the wolf are starting to make sense.
“It was one time, and I took the initiative to approach him today,” I admit. The second I saw him, my feet moved on their own in his direction. I can't explain this intangible attraction to Jamison.
“Why?”
“I didn’t want things to be awkward. I thought it was best to confront him and move on. Especially if I’ll be working with him in the future.” I move my hair back over my shoulder so that Dr. Crane can stop creepily staring at my neck.
The Dr. Crane I experienced at university lectures is not the same as the one I’ve encountered outside of a classroom setting. Even when I bumped into him in the apartment building, things felt off. I found myself becoming uncomfortable with being alone with him. Then again, I wasn’t really alone with him before. After today, maybe I shouldn’t trust my own judgment.
“I only want you to be careful. Some of our patients are very dangerous. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to you.” Dr. Crane steps closer. “You’re a very special girl, Mia.”
“Thank you,” I manage to say as he crowds my space.
“No ribbon today?”
When he reaches out to touch my hair again, I take a step back. “I must have forgotten it.” His hand falls at his side, and I nod to the nurses’ station. “I should get back to my rounds.”
“You do that, Mia.” Dr. Crane gives me one of his signature smiles that so many of the students fawned over during lectures. “I’ll see you around.”
His words hold an unsaid promise that I’m certain I don’t want him to keep.
Chapter Six
JAMISON
It’s been a week since she touched me, but I’ve been on my best behavior as well. Mia comes into the group room regularly, but after they removed the cuffs, I didn’t need assistance with turning the pages of my book. I’ve made polite conversation as she does her rounds, but I’ve kept my distance.
Technically I’m one of her patients, but I don’t require daily medications. They tried them on me for the first few years, but I either didn’t respond to the drugs or found ways around taking them. My chart has an order for a weekly physical from my day shift nurse, but as luck would have it, she was unable to give it to me today. One of the patients in the group room needed medical attention when he smashed his hand in a window. Since she was dealing with that, my weekly physical has to be done by my night shift nurse. Little Miss Mia.
I know what you’re thinking, and it wasn’t me that smashed Dwight's hand. I’m not a monster.
Dwight was sitting by the window and mumbling to himself for hours. He always gets worked up after a visit with his family. This time, he was going on and on about spiders. All I did was helpfully point out that there was a spider crawling toward him. I even suggested that if he closed the window he could keep them out.