Ward D: A gripping psychological thriller by Freida McFadden

Author:Freida McFadden [McFadden, Freida]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Hollywood Upstairs Press
Published: 2023-05-07T16:00:00+00:00

27

Oh my God.

Will is going to come out and realize that I’ve been going through his books and discovered his secret. He’s already got paranoid schizophrenia, and now I have discovered he is not on medications. What is he going to do when he realizes I know the truth?

I slam shut the cover to the copy of Garp and shove it back in the pile of books. Then I balance Owen Meany back on top. I’ve got them just barely positioned correctly when Will emerges from the bathroom.

Will blinks a few times at the sight of me, like he’s not certain if I’m a figment of his imagination or not. Which makes sense, considering he has been pocketing his medications since he’s been here.

“Amy?” he finally says.

“Sorry,” I say quickly. “I was trying to get a little sleep, and I couldn’t, so I thought I could borrow a John Irving book for the night. But I understand if you don’t want to lend me one.”

Will adjusts his glasses on the bridge of his nose. “Uh, sure. That’s fine. Which one do you want?”

I’m tempted to ask for Garp, just to see what he’ll say. But that would be tempting fate. The two of us are all alone in his room right now—and he’s mentally unbalanced. “Maybe… Cider House Rules?”

“Sure.”

He walks over to the stack of books. As he sorts through them, he hesitates on the copy of Garp. He shoots me a look, his eyes narrowing, and I hold my breath. He opens his mouth, and I’m sure he’s going to ask me if I was looking through the book… but then he doesn’t. He goes right past it and plucks one of the paperbacks out of the stack.

“Here you go,” he says. “Enjoy.”

“Thanks.” I take the book out of his hands, and my fingers brush slightly against his. “Appreciate it.”

Now that I’ve got the book, I recognize that I should get out of here. Nothing good can come out of lingering in this room. Yet part of me wonders if I can help this man. Maybe I can get him to confess what he’s done and realize that the only way he’s going to get better is to take his medications. After all, Dr. Beck mentioned that most patients with schizophrenia don’t even recognize they have a problem.

“So that was crazy what happened earlier with Miguel,” I say. “Wasn’t it?”

Will’s expression is still wary, but he nods. “Yeah, it’s the second crazy night in a row. Every time they lock somebody in one of those rooms, it’s a big event.”

“Yes,” I agree. I shift the copy of Cider House Rules between my hands. “That definitely seems like something you want to try to avoid at all costs.”

“Yeah.”

“I mean,” I say, “you wouldn’t want to do anything to make them think you should be in one of those rooms, right?”

He takes a step back as he sucks in a breath. “Why do you think they would want to put me in there?”

“I don’t,” I amend.

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