Rolling Away by Lynn Marie Smith

Author:Lynn Marie Smith
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: S&S
Published: 2005-07-15T00:00:00+00:00

Visiting Hours

A quick knock jolted me up from the bed. The slightest noise was a shock to my system.

“Lunchtime and visiting hours…” the voice echoed down the hallway to all of the other rooms.

More food? It couldn’t be that time again.

I was thankful I would be seeing my family, though—I needed them. I made my way down the hall. The smell of hot food hung in the air. My body was exhausted. I felt like I was walking through thick pea soup. Every step took colossal effort. I turned the corner and saw my family sitting at one of the tables, even my father was there. My mother jumped up and ran over to me, holding my body so tight that my breath shortened.

“You’re okay,” she said, continuing to rub my back.

“No, I’m not,” I said, pulling away from her. “I need to get out of here. You have to get me out of here…they locked me in a room…they made me eat runny eggs…they’re trying to force me to swallow pills…”

“Calm down,” she said, looking around the room. I guess I was screaming. I didn’t care. “Lynn, come over and sit with us while you eat.”

“I’m not hungry. I can’t eat this stuff.”

My mom guided me to the chair. Stephanie sat next to me with her eyes fixed down at the table. Stacey was sitting across from her. She smiled.

“Hey, how are you feeling?” Her eyes darted over me. I could tell by the expression on her face that I must have looked scary. My dirty hair was matted to my head and I couldn’t remember the last time I had brushed my teeth.

“Not good,” I said, looking down at my plate. A large square of crusty lasagna stared back at me. I could hear it laughing. I pushed the tray away. My father sat at the far end of the table. He wouldn’t look at me. The smell of beer was leaking from his pores. He began shifting in his chair, looking around the room. My mom sat on the other end, next to me.

“Maggie told me about last night. You tried to leave. Why would you do that?”

“Because this place is killing me. Look at what I am wearing. They won’t let me have my clothes…” I wanted to tell her about the nurse this morning in the bathroom, but I didn’t think anyone would believe me. I didn’t have much credibility at this point.

“Listen to me,” she said, holding my hand. “If you want to get better and get out of here, you have to start doing what they tell you. I know it’s hard, Lynn, but the longer you fight this, the longer you will be in here.”

I laid my head down on the table and began sobbing. I felt a hand on my back.

“Hey, dollface…what’s wrong?”

I looked up to see Sam standing by my side.

“She’s a good girl,” he said to them as he put his hand on top of my head.

I could see the discomfort on my mother’s face.

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