Page 73 of Wildling

I pick at a piece of fluff on my sweater. “How to kill discreetly?”

She barks out a small laugh. For the first time, I see the person underneath the façade. She’s just as broken as I am. Maybe even more. “How much I love you,” she says. I don’t know how to respond to that.

She sits and runs her hands through her hair. “I’ve made a few phone calls. I am taking you to a facility up in Three Valley where you will stay for the foreseeable future. They can’t get you in yet, so while we wait for a room to open, I am taking you to the hospital where they’ve agreed to commit you.”

I stare at her blue-green eyes. Same eyes as mine. She and I used to be so close…We used to be so similar. A sense of relief washes over me, and a bitterness hits my tongue.

I can’t turn out like her. I don’t want to be anything like Beth Ashby. At least somewhere deep down I have a conscience. The guilt eats me alive, driving me to insanity.

“It’s for the best,” she says, squeezing her eyes shut. “You can’t hurt yourself there, and no one can hurt you. Most importantly, you can’t hurt anyone else. I don’t know how to protect you anymore.”

She squeezes my hands and tears well up in her eyes. Real emotion that makes my heart hurt.

I keep my eyes on hers. “If you do this, I’ll never speak to you again.”

She shakes her head; the decision is made. “I’m not going to fight with you anymore. I’m finally going to protect you like a mother should.” She saunters to the dark hall past the bathroom. “The way I should have protected you from the very beginning.”

Chapter 31

Irefuse to speak to anyone. Not Regina, not the nurses, and definitely not my fucking mother. It finally happened—Beth committed me. And now I’m in a hospital on the outskirts of town, getting poked and prodded even though I’m physically fine. I’m numb to it now, as I lose myself in the ebbs and flows of my memories. I dream of what Nick and I used to be.

Since the Stormwood Hospital is small, they can’t properly monitor me. As a result, a Stormwood police officer is stationed outside my room, watching me around the clock as if I were a dangerous criminal. They think I’m a murderous psycho on the brink of slaughter—maybe I am.

Three full days go by like this as I lie in my bed. I have no phone, nor any contact with the outside world. They offer me food, which I refuse. My body is accustomed to eating very little because of the months I spent in captivity. The antiseptic smell is worse than anything I encountered in that bunker, where the air, at least, had a hint of alpine.

On the morning of the third day, I awake from a nap. The wind outside is blowing snow from a storm that blew through last night. I’m still in the same spot staring at the same white wall, and I curl my fists at the hushed voices outside my room, which are ruining my serenity.

“I can’t let you in. Ms. Ashby said no visitors.” I recognize the voice of my nurse who is overseeing my care.

“I’m not a visitor. I’m here on official police business.”

A smile hints at my lips. Sarah Crawley has a way with people. When she turns it on, she’s terrifying. Sarah and the nurse argue for a few seconds, and it’s not long before Sarah bombards her way into the room, pushing by the distraught nurse who follows her in like an annoying mosquito, folding her arms and tapping her toe.

The nurse says, “I can’t let you in here. My job is on the line. Ms. Ashby was clear with me; no one is to enter this room. I could get fired for this.”

Sarah cuts her a terrifying look, shifting to her full height before pulling out her badge, causing the nurse to retreat. “Leave this room, lady. I’m here on official police business, and I need to speak with Layla Ashby.”

The nurse’s face turns a hushed pink but stands firm. “That’s not my understanding of things.”

Sarah says in a low, grating growl, “You’re getting on my last nerve. Get out of this room before I slap handcuffs on you and haul your ass in for interference.”

The nurse’s faint blush deepens to a furious red, and she stammers, “I’ll be calling Ms. Ashby.”

Sarah waves her off. “Please do. I’d love to chat with my old friend.”

The nurse finally leaves us alone, and I turn to face Sarah. Her hair is pulled back in her usual tight ponytail, and she looks like she’s in a terrible mood. She walks toward the bed and sits in the chair next to me. “You got your badge back?” I finally say. My voice comes out hoarser than I expect. My throat is dry and parched.

She flips her ponytail. “They reinstated me for a short time to deal with an emergency.”

I stay quiet for a long moment, not sure if I can trust her. I’m also afraid to ask. “What…what emergency are you talking about? Does this have to do with me?” This doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Gabe anymore, not with the grim look in Sarah’s eyes, which can only mean one thing.

“I’m not going to sugarcoat this for you. Layla, your friend Keely is dead.”

I push myself up fully alert now. Dread fills my stomach. “What? When?”

“She went missing last night around eight PM. She and her friend Gabriella were trying to find Keely’s dog who got out. Gabriella said she disappeared in thin air. She got lost in the woods and froze to death. We recovered her body this morning and are verifying her story.”

Keely was trying to get a hold of me before I came here…Did we ever talk? I feel like we did, but pieces of my life are missing. Chunks of my day. My reality is clearly fragmented. Slowly our conversation comes crawling back.