Total pages in book: 116
Estimated words: 110624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 110624 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 553(@200wpm)___ 442(@250wpm)___ 369(@300wpm)
“How are you feeling?”
“So good…so good,” she said leaning her head on my chest.
“I want to spend the whole day with you before I have to go back to New York, but I’ll be back again this weekend.”
She pulled back abruptly. “Where were you last night?”
“I was here the whole time until you nodded off. Then, I went to Allison and Cedric’s to sleep.”
“Why did you leave?”
“I just told you.”
“What were you really doing?”
“Sleeping, Ivy.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Here we go. It was always like a light switch.
“Where do you think I was?”
“I think you were with them.”
“With who?”
“With the police.”
“No, baby girl. No police.”
“You’re trying to get me out of the country again, aren’t you?”
It was pointless to defend myself in any great detail when Ivy’s paranoia started up like this. I learned over time, it was better to just simply deny what she was accusing me of with one or two word answers. If she became overly upset at me, I would just leave until she calmed down.
“No, Ivy.”
“I can’t believe you’re doing this again. Why are you trying to get rid of me?”
“I’m not.”
“Don’t you love me?”
“I love you very much.”
“Then, why are you trying to hurt me?”
“Ivy—”
“Get out! Get out of here before I scream!”
I looked up at the ceiling, focusing on a crack in the paint as she continued to yell. I really didn’t want to leave her since I had to go back to New York tonight. When she started to push me, I left the room to see if I could talk to the doctor. After a fifteen- minute wait, Dr. Greally came out to the sitting area and asked me to go back to her office.
“Have you made any decisions about trying the Clozapine?”
“I am still on the fence. I am not around during the week because I work out of state, and I am worried about the side-effects. I don’t know if I can trust the workers at the group home to keep tabs on her.”
“We’ll have the social worker make sure she gets to the lab safely each week for the blood work. I can also do daily check-ins with the supervisor over there. If there is any indication that she’s experiencing anything abnormal, we can always stop it.”
“Okay…I’ll let you know in a couple of more days, if that’s okay?”
“Take your time.”
When I returned to Ivy’s room, she had the television on and was watching an episode of House Hunters, that real estate show where the people have to pick between three houses to buy. I sat down next to her and searched her face to see if I was welcome again.
She looked at me. “I don’t know which one they are going to pick. It’s a tough decision.”
I half-smiled.
Yes, it is.
I leaned my head on her shoulder, and we spent the next hour watching television, before she sent me away again.
CHAPTER 23
Nina never responded when I texted her from the airport about six o’clock that night, letting her know I was getting on the next commuter flight home. That was unlike her and made me uneasy, especially knowing I was going to be coming clean to her about everything tonight.
By the time I landed at JFK, there was still no response. It was raining, and I couldn’t seem to catch a cab.
Fuck.
When I finally hailed one, I texted her again.
I am in a cab on my way to Brooklyn. Please let me know you got this.
No response.
After five minutes, still nothing.
I dialed her number three times in a row and her phone went straight to voicemail each time. I left a message after the fourth call.
“Nina, it’s me. I’m starting to worry. You haven’t responded to me all day. I’m almost at the house. I guess I’ll see you in a few. Call me if you get this. I love you.”
She never called me back, and by the time the cab pulled up to the house, a feeling of dread came over me.
When I opened the door to the apartment, I yelled, “Nina?” before realizing that no one was home. I double-checked her bedroom. It was empty.
Sitting on her bed with one hand on my head and the other on the phone, I texted her again.
I am home. Where are you? You’ve got me worried sick.
I lay down on my back, tossing the phone across the bed.
Five minutes later, I looked over at her closet and noticed that the small pink suitcase she normally kept underneath her hanging clothes was gone.
Her suitcase was gone.
What the fuck?
I began to pace the room, rubbing my temples.
Think.
Think.
Think.
Then, the front door slammed shut, and I ran out to the living area to see Ryan standing there.
“Ryan, where is Nina?”
He shook his head with a smug look. “You have got some nerve, you know that?”