26. Leo
“How are you today?” I ask once she sits comfortably in the chair on the other side of this white, squared table.
She appears content, but with the way her shoulders hunch, I can tell she is anything but. On the inside, she’s tense and nervous. I don’t blame her.
“I’m alright,” Ruby answers, keeping her hands in her lap. “Healing up pretty nicely.”
She tilts her head up, and I allow my eyes to assess the damage Veronica has done. Cuts scatter Ruby’s face from the punches, the white cast along her nose, and the purple tint to her under eyes. When my eyes fall to her neck, I don’t miss the fingerprint bruising around her throat.
While I stare at her wounds, images of Veronica beating her flash through my mind. Those images send shivers down my spine. How can Veronica scare the absolute hell out of me, but I can still find an attraction to her?
“That you are,” I agree because Ruby is healing. Slowly.
“Do you think...” She picks at her fingernail. “Do you think she’ll come after me when she gets out?”
Sucking in a deep breath, I mull over the question before I respond. I could have calmed her down if I had told Veronica about being Ruby’s doctor, not her finding out from the source herself. The answer that flicks in my mind is yes. I think Veronica will go after Ruby again.
“No, I don’t think so,” I lie. Since when do I lie to patients? “As long as you stay away from her and not try anything like you did before, she will leave you alone,” I add with a comforting smile. “I’ll make sure of it.”
“Thank you, Dr. Madden.” The corner of her mouth tugs upward. “I’ve heard stories about her. A friend of mine got out of here not too long ago and was telling me about Veronica.” Interesting. “My friend said that Veronica was the epitome of a psycho. She would tell me stories of everything she used to do to her doctors or some of the other patients.”
“And yet you still picked a fight with her.” Her eyes cast down to her lap when she shakes her head.
“I didn’t believe my friend. I didn’t think someone could be that bad and do all those horrible things I heard about. I guess I wanted to see for myself. How stupid is that?”
With the question, her full blue eyes meet mine. The fading of color makes me wonder if they were vibrant at one point. Did those eyes hold a brighter color the way her hair used to before she got admitted here?
“It’s not stupid, Ruby. You were curious. Maybe next time, don’t let your curiosity get the best of you.”
“Yeah.” She slowly nods. “Have you ever had a near-death experience?”
The question throws me off. I roll my lips together before I say, “No, I haven’t.”
“Neither did I until that fight.” Her voice and lower lip tremble. “People always say that your life flashes before your eyes.”
“Is that what happened to you?” The pen stays frozen in my hand.
“No,” she says. “As I struggled for air, I only saw one thing.” Her hand leaves her lap, resting on the table, when she lightly taps the tips of her finger on the surface.
“My grandma. She was smiling, waiting for me to come to her. I wanted to go to her so badly, but again,” her eyes turn glossy, “I didn’t want to. She died years ago, and I miss her, but I wasn’t ready to die.”
Nodding, I listen intently to what she is saying as a lump forms in my throat. Then a thought pops in my head about why she is in this place. It probably isn’t best to ask her this right now, but it’s my job.
“Do you think the man you killed saw anyone before you shot him?”
Ruby’s jaw tenses and then softens as she thinks about it. “Maybe. I never really thought about it.”
“Now that you are thinking about it, does it make you feel remorse for what you did?” The tip of my pen meets the notepad, no longer frozen from her story.
“Nope.” She doesn’t hesitate. “It was self-defense.”
“That’s not what your file says,” I remind her, watching her eyes fall. I studied her file less than I did Veronica’s.
It was a shorter amount of time I had to read up on her, but I gathered all the information I needed. She stated it was self-defense, but the man she killed was walking home late at night, minding his own business.
“Ruby, I know you admitted to everything in court. I’m not sure why you need to tell me anything other than the truth.”
With her elbows on the table, she lifts her hand and examines her nails. “Maybe I didn’t want you to look at me differently.”
“What do you mean by that? You should have assumed I already knew what you’ve done.”
“No, I know, but everyone looks at me like I’m crazy. For example, if they make one wrong move, I’ll flip. A ticking time bomb.” Her hands rub at her face before combing through her faded green hair. “I guess that for once in my life, I wanted someone to look at me like I was normal.”
“I never want to make you feel crazy, Ruby,” I reassure her. “I’m here to talk to you, to make you feel safe.”
“Thank you, Dr. Madden.” A real smile forms on her lips.
The session is short. It was an “I wanted to check on you after the incident” type of meeting. We will discuss what she was admitted for further in the next session. I didn’t want to keep her for the full hour, so I let her know at the beginning.
She thanked me again before leaving the common room.
The week is almost up. That means Veronica has one more day in solitary.
Gathering my things off the table, I pack them into my briefcase and head to my office to drop them off. There isn”t much for me to do for the rest of the day, seeing as I had a brief session with Ruby, and my other patient is locked away.
It’s midday in April, and the sun has been gracious with its presence. Most of the patients have taken advantage of the sun and spent most of their time in the courtyard, which means the walk back to my office was quieter. I enjoy the silence until I think about how deafening it must be for Veronica.
I shake the thought from my head as I turn the handle on the door and let myself into the office. I toss my belongings on the table and search for my cell phone.
In need of another distraction, because being alone with my thoughts has not worked out, I press my mother”s contact info and lift the phone to my ear.
“Hello, my dear.” Her voice is groggy and soft.
“Did I wake you?”
“I was taking a little catnap, but the alarm was due to go off at any moment,” she explains. I’ve never seen my mother take a nap before she was always go, go, go. “I was working out in the garden because the weather is nice. Is the sun shining by you?”
“It is,” I inform her. “I haven’t had much time to get outside myself, though. How is the garden looking?”
“Oh, it’s coming along wonderfully! Your father has been fixing up the greenhouse when he has time after work.”
“Is that the project he has been working on?” I recall her telling me he had been starting a project the last time we spoke.
“Yes.” She sighs. “He wants to get it in pristine condition before the summer months. Really, his deadline is my birthday, so we will see if it’s finished by then.”
“I’m sure he could have it done by next week.” We both laugh because it’s true. Once Dad has his mind set on something and goes into work mode, nothing stops him from getting it done. “Speaking of your birthday, I talked to Chloe the other day, and she mentioned a get-together.”
“Her and Carter will be coming over to celebrate.”
“I’m going to see if I can get some time off. I want to be there to celebrate with you guys.”
“That would be lovely, Leo, but if you can’t, that’s okay. With it being a new job and all...”
“I’ve been here for two months; I think I’ve earned some time off,” I state. “I’ll let Chloe know for sure, though. After I speak with my boss.”
“Okay.” Her sleepy voice has now been pumped full of life. “And don’t you dare get me a present. If you show up, that is the only gift I need.”
If.The word punctures me like a knife.
“If you say so.” I’ll still be getting her a present.
The sound of the front door closing filters through the phone. “Your father just got home, and he’s heading out to the greenhouse. I have to move some plants around for him.”
“Go enjoy the nice day, Mom,” I say. “I’ll call you in a couple of days.”
“Alright, sweetie. We hope to see you at the end of the month. I love you more than all the stars in the universe.”
“I love you too.”