Cracked by Louise McCreesh
Author:Louise McCreesh [McCreesh, Louise]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781473699342
Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
Published: 2020-05-07T00:00:00+00:00
Chapter 16
Before
29 January 2007
5.38 p.m.
I’m sitting in the lounge with Tom, trying to play a game of Scrabble. Heidi, Tony and Olivia are outside smoking but I wanted to stay inside and Tom agreed to stay with me. We’ve already gone through all the crossword puzzles we could find, having been here a while.
It started this morning. The early wake-up call. The canteen. Nick, kicking me under the table. Sally and Ryan arrived shortly after that and took us all down to Phil’s office, where he was waiting with questions.
Each of us denied stealing Sally’s key. All six of us. Heidi, Tony, Tom, Nick, Olivia and me. Phil looked disappointed; warned us that if we were lying, we’d be found out and the consequences would be severe. Still no one spoke up, so they questioned the rest of the Hillside patients. They all denied stealing it too.
We’ve been on this lockdown of sorts ever since. More nurses were called at midday and every room in the building searched, though it seems they haven’t found Sally’s key yet. They hadn’t found Heidi’s secret lighters either, so I don’t put much faith in their searching skills.
My eyes dart towards Nick who’s sitting in the corner, suspiciously quiet for once. Tom sighs and picks up a letter tile, tossing it lazily into the centre of our already constructed words.
‘Should we stop?’ he asks. ‘I’m sick of this now.’
‘Me too.’
I stop looking at Nick and focus my attention back on Tom, whose own eyes are now wandering. They settle on a group of addicts in the corner. I can tell they’re addicts because they’re the quietest, twitchiest group in the room.
Tom nods towards them. ‘You’d think that Alicia would have been brought down here too. They’ve obviously emptied the rest of the medical ward.’
‘Mmm,’ I say, dumping my own letter tiles on to the board between us.
I hadn’t seen Alicia since our fight last week. She isn’t Phil’s patient any more but she is still in Hillside, her only treatment being the food they’re forcing inside her.
‘It’s not fair how they’re keeping her,’ Tom adds. ‘Tied down like that.’
Feeling awkward, I pretend not to hear him.
I feel bad about what I did: grabbing Alicia’s leg and storming out straight afterwards. Maybe I should go to the medical ward and apologise or maybe I shouldn’t. I was just trying to help Alicia get better, and the nurses tying her down – although Tom disagrees with it – they’re just trying to help too.
I continue to ponder my Alicia dilemma as Heidi, Olivia and Tony re-enter the lounge. I look towards Nick again and see that he’s watching Olivia, as he had done this morning.
Tony waves to me. Seconds later, Sally appears behind him and taps his shoulder, signalling for him and the others to take the nearest seats.
Sally then takes a deep breath and addresses the room. ‘You can all leave. Go straight back to your rooms until visiting hours start.’
Tony sticks his hand in the air.
Download
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.
Shot Through the Hearth by Kate Carlisle(18077)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt(16606)
Who'd Have Thought by G Benson(15494)
The Betrayed by David Hosp(11661)
Red by Erica Spindler(11375)
Scorched Eggs by Childs Laura(10800)
Kathy Andrews Collection by Kathy Andrews(10503)
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher(7778)
(2T) A Bone to Pick by Harris Charlaine(7306)
Two Kinds of Truth by Michael Connelly(6853)
Small Great Things by Jodi Picoult(6084)
The Space Between by Michelle L. Teichman(6078)
The Thirst by Nesbo Jo(5777)
Pandemic (The Extinction Files Book 1) by A.G. Riddle(5583)
The Vegetarian by Han Kang(5295)
Assassin’s Fate by Robin Hobb(5228)
The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion(5182)
The Shadow Of The Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón(4932)
Dresden Files 01 - Storm Front by Jim Butcher(4528)