Total pages in book: 72
Estimated words: 68628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 68628 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 343(@200wpm)___ 275(@250wpm)___ 229(@300wpm)
One person sitting on the porch screams at an orderly that's trying to give her medication. "Leave me alone!" she hollers. "Somebody help! She's trying to poison me!"
"Dolores, this isn't poison," the woman with a little plastic cup says to her. "This is the medication that will help prevent you from having seizures."
I keep walking up to the entrance, my head down. Someone waves at me and claps her hands; I don't remember seeing her before. I see another older woman huddled in the corner, her head in her hands as if she's distraught.
Something about this place makes me feel depressed and anxious. As if everyone here is a reminder of what could have been. Especially my mother.
When I enter, there's another visitor checking in. I look at every doorway and exit and make a mental tally of possible items I could use as weapons, if necessary, because that’s what I’ve learned to do.
The entryway welcomes visitors with hand-painted artwork on the wall. Someone's cooking breakfast; the smell of bacon wafting through the air mingles with the sterile medical environment, nauseating me.
I mentally go through every single move Adriano ever taught me.
Watch your back. Note the exits. Use your voice. Use found objects if you don’t have a weapon. Move quickly, deflect, and unarm.
I don't know why I go through this now, but I think being in this sort of environment makes me feel on edge.
I need to be prepared in case Adriano himself makes an appearance and I need to get away from him.
He isn't the man that loves me. He's the man that stalked me. I casually look at the paper in front of the woman at the desk, listing the room numbers and names.
"Hello," she says, beckoning me to come to the front. "May I help you?"
I draw in a deep breath. "I'm here to see my mother." My throat tightens, while I get my mother’s room number. After all the supervision I’ve had lately, it makes me a little uncomfortable how easily they let me go to her.
"Excuse me. Excuse me."
I look up to see a nurse in scrubs standing in front of my mom's doorway with her arms across her chest. "One visitor at a time, please." I'm immediately ready to fight her.
"Since when?"
"We have those rules and regulations for every suicidal person here." She points with wide eyes to the sign right outside my mother’s door.
Suicidal. They haven't called her suicidal in a long time.
"Do you mean to tell me someone else is here?" I give her an incredulous look.
"Yes. He got here about ten minutes ago. His visit will be up in five minutes, then you may go in."
He. Fear prickles my spine. Who is he? The only man my mother still knew was her father, who is dead. I'm my mother’s only living relative, so why on earth would anybody be here?
"I'm her daughter," I tell the nurse. Painfully aware of how little time I have before I’m found. "Who is the person in the room?"
"I can't tell you that."
"But you called me and told me to come here." I shake my head. "I'm here because I was told my mother wanted to see me. And I want to see her."
My voice catches at the end. Adriano's gonna find me, and even though I won't let him take me, it's not going to be pretty. My mother called for me, and I'm here to see her, damn it.
"I'm sorry, ma'am. No one called you. There's been no change in your mother’s state for a very, very long time. We had no reason to call you. And unfortunately, there's no way that your mother asked to see you. She is still nonverbal."
At first, I begin to argue. "I was told she wanted to see me."
But as the nurse continues to shake her head, the reality strikes me.
Someone told me to come down here. We have no relatives that would be with my mother. Who is in that fucking room?
"Open that door, immediately," I tell the nurse. When she doesn't, I shove her out of the way. She screams and calls for security. "That's right, call for security!" I yell. I open the door.
My mother looks as peaceful as can be lying in her bed. There's a man I've never seen before sitting next to her. He turns to face me, a chilling smile on his face. "There you are."
I step into the room as security runs down the hallway. They're going to take me away, and I have no idea what this guy is going to do to my mother.
"Who are you?"
"Maybe you should ask Adriano."
Oh, shit. This is not good. I do what Adriano taught me, and quickly look around the room for anything I can potentially use as a weapon. Thankfully, there's a pen on a side table next to a clipboard, there's a metal can of air freshener in the bathroom, a ceramic coffee mug that's sturdy with a handle, and a folding chair. A pair of scissors and a fire extinguisher complete the ensemble. I am ready.