A Cure for Madness by Jodi McIsaac

Author:Jodi McIsaac
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub, azw3
ISBN: 9781503951624
Publisher: Thomas & Mercer
Published: 2016-01-19T05:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWELVE

Nine years ago, Wes and I sat across from each other, a small square table between us, as nurses and orderlies bustled around, going about their business while keeping a close eye on the visitation room. He’d only been in the psych hospital for a month.

“So, listen, I’m, um . . . moving,” I said.

“Oh yeah?” he said. “New apartment?”

“No . . . well, yes. But I’m moving to London. England.”

He scowled at me, as though he wasn’t sure he had heard me right. “What do you mean?”

I laughed nervously. “I mean I’m moving to London. In a couple of days. I came to say good-bye.”

He stared at me, dumbfounded, for a moment. “Do Mom and Dad know?”

“Not yet.”

“What about your friends?”

“I’m going to tell them all soon. I wanted to tell you first.”

His face hardened. “You can’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I need you here!” he said. A couple of nurses looked in our direction.

“You’ll be fine,” I whispered, hoping that would coax him to keep his voice down. “You have really good care here, and Mom and Dad will visit lots, I’m sure.”

“Are you fucking kidding me? After what I did for you? I kept it a secret because I promised you I would. And look where it’s gotten me! If you’re going to take off, the least you could do is tell them the truth, and maybe they’ll let me out of here earlier. They’ll know I’m not crazy.”

But you are crazy. You need this place.

“It wouldn’t change anything,” I said. “It doesn’t matter why you did it—or even what you did. You’re not here because you beat up Myles; you’re here because you’re sick and you need help.”

“So that’s it? You’re just going to leave me?”

“It’s not like you’ll be alone. Like I said, Mom and Dad will visit you lots. I bet Uncle Rob will, too. I’ll call and send postcards. I might not be gone that long.” This wasn’t true. I didn’t ever want to come back.

His voice changed. It was no longer defiant. He was begging now. “Clare, please. You don’t know what it’s like in here. If you don’t want to tell them what happened, the least you could do is stay.”

“What, in here?” I asked, alarmed at the thought.

“Hell no. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. Here in Clarkeston, where you can visit me . . . and I can call you if I need you.”

“You can still call me if you need me,” I said, tracing the grain of the wooden table with my eyes.

“What good will it do if you’re in fucking London?” he said, slamming his hand down on the table.

“I’m sorry,” I said. I pushed back my chair and stood up. “I love you. This is just something I have to do. For myself.”

“You bitch!” he screamed, his chair clattering to the floor as he jumped to his feet. “This is the thanks I get for protecting you?”

“Wes, calm down,” I urged. A couple of orderlies were making their way toward us.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.