Chapter Six
Blaine
If I ever have to drink toilet water coffee from a Styrofoam cup again, I’ll go ballistic. At least I’ve sobered up. Nurse Ratchet won’t quit checking on me, throwing judgy looks my way.
She also has no useful information to give me. The FBI placed an agent outside of Keir’s door. He’s still out cold.
“Any word?” I ask the doctor passing by after coming out of his room.
“Sorry, no. We’re waiting for some scan results. Your friend took quite a blow to the back of his head.”
I appreciate his candor, even if that’s not the news I wanted to hear. Nodding at him I sit back in the hard plastic chair.
I’ve sent over a dozen texts to Matt. No response. I’m in a place between anger and despondency. Pushing him towards frustration is slowly losing its appeal.
I just need news on Eden.
One of the nurses turns up the television hanging on the wall in the waiting room as the local news comes on.
The screen shows a reporter standing across the street from the Wellness Center.
At the bottom of the screen is the scrolling headline.
‘Attacks and disappearances threaten the Horizon Wellness Center’
“Can you turn it up?” I walk closer to the television. How is this going to get spun?
“…the official statement given by the director of the Center, Dr. Richardson, is that misinformation was leaked earlier about an attack on a patient, and the disappearance of another patient and a graduate student involved with a documentary filming there. According to his statement the FBI has been onsite as a protective detail for one of the cult survivors and they have everything under control. No one is missing and the attack was a self-inflicted wound from a disturbed survivor.”
Fucking absolute bullshit.
Damnit.
My fists clench at the sudden rage I’m feeling bubbling under my skin.
“The FBI can’t be reached for comment, and none of the staff are willing to give interviews…” the reporter says with a grimace.
“Documentary producer, David Havland, states that they are remaining onsite to film, and the study is continuing at this time.”
They pan the camera around the perimeter of the Wellness Center, and it looks like business as usual.
Those fucking piece of shit liars.
The nurse raises her eyebrows. “Not exactly the God’s honest truth, eh?” She knows that Keir didn’t smash the back of his own head in. “That’s the media for you. Regurgitating garbage all the time.”
She flips the channel until she finds a sitcom rerun before turning it back down.
I make my way into Keir’s room. I’ve only been here twice since he was admitted. He’s hooked up to machines. Bandaged head. Bruising. I’m not good with this.
“Hey man.” I awkwardly slump into the bedside chair. “You’ve looked better. Hospital gowns aren’t your thing apparently. The headwrap is a little garish, too, to be honest.”
He’s not listening, I’m sure, and I have no idea what to say. It’s not like he’s going to laugh at my lame jokes.
We sit in silence, and I think about the fact that he has no one.
If it were me in this hospital bed, my parents, grandparents, circle of friends, and fellow graduate students would all be here.
He just has me and the FBI agent paid to stand watch. Eden would be here. Likely Caleb. But where are they? That starts a spiral that makes me even more miserable.
“Well, defying any rational reasoning the Center is lying about everything that happened. Imagine that. But, I mean, who am I to get angry about unethical behavior, right?” I pick at the loose thread at the bottom of my shirt. “Makes me want to throat-punch each and every one of those fuckers.”
I might need some anger management.
“Here’s to hoping you wake the fuck up and tell everyone and their Goddamn uncle the fucking truth.”
Keir could be the key to finding Eden. Plus, I like the idea that he might need me, too.
I didn’t intend to walk over to the Wellness Center after sitting by Keir’s bedside rambling to myself for an hour, but that’s what I did.
Each step drives home how badly I need answers.
I could care less if I encounter Dr. Hart, I’m going back to Eden’s room. Now that the shock of what I discovered has worn off, maybe something will give me a hint of where she might be.
The red-haired nurse, Kim, intercepts me as I stride into the lobby. “Excuse me…,” she calls out and waves her arm to get my attention. “Hello?” She cuts me off before I can march towards the doctors’ offices.
Being the only nurse we had started to trust our secrets to, I’m not about to ignore her. She was the one that gave Narcan to Eden, provided her information about the D wing, and who turned the other way when we were talking to the survivors outside of session times.
“I need to have a word with someone. Now.” I don’t mean to direct my anger at her, but she’s the one in my way.
“You may want to get control of yourself first,” she says with a biting tone. She looks around and nudges me to the intake office closing the door behind us. “You saw the news I take it?”
“You mean the blatant lies to cover up all the shit happening here? Yeah, you could say that.” She sits down at the small desk, folding her arms over her chest while she assesses me. “Did they tell the staff not to talk about what was happening?”
I lean against the wall and note all the framed motivational quotes hanging on it. A giant load of deceptive crap. The illusion that the Center will improve lives. Since we’ve been here this summer, I haven’t seen any proof of that.
“Common sense keeps the staff from talking.” Kim sighs rubbing her temple.
“You’d benefit from listening to me. I’ve been a psych nurse my entire career of twenty years.
I’ve seen some messed up things, but …” She rolls her eyes and then continues, “No establishment is to be toyed with. You aren’t going to single-handedly make them realize they’re doing something wrong.
I’m not going to either. The best you can hope for is nothing else happening during the rest of this ridiculous documentary filming. ”
“In the meantime, my best friend is missing. Two of the patients here are… well, who knows what their status is, and we’re supposed to ignore that? Pretend it’s not happening?” My voice rises, disbelief twisting my face.
“I didn’t tell you not to look for your friend. I told you not to get yourself arrested for disorderly conduct by getting aggressive with the doctors or staff here.” She stares me down. “I would have assumed you were smarter than that. You’re a Psychology graduate student, right?”
Well. Maybe.
Word has it that good ole dad handled the mess with Belmont, but it remains to be seen.
“Do you remember hearing or seeing anything strange before Keir was attacked and…” If I say it out loud, it becomes real. “You know… that evening. You were here. Do you remember anything?”
“Not a thing. Most of the graduate students went out. The staff was down to me, Ronnie, and Toby. Plus, the on-call doctor. I don’t remember seeing any of the residents wandering about. Nothing out of the ordinary.”
“Where were the other nurses that were on? Ronnie and Toby?” I pull my hand through my hair and settle into the other office chair.
Kim makes a face. “You think they did this?” She laughs. “Ronnie is a hundred pounds dripping wet and Toby should have retired a decade ago, he moves like a sloth.”
“Who was the on-call doctor?” I don’t know why I’m bothering with the questions. The FBI has probably interrogated everyone already.
“Dr. Wallen. He was having dinner with Mrs. Lassiter. I was instructed to call the restaurant if needed since he doesn’t get service there.
It’s only an hour away, but it’s an old speakeasy in an underground bunker.
Swanky place.” Kim chews the inside of her cheek.
“Did it ever occur to you that your friend and that kid ran off together? Maybe that other kid tried to stop them?”
Not a single fucking chance.
I understand her questioning it, but I know Eden. That’s not what happened.
“No. That’s not possible,” I say it with certainty, because I don’t have any doubt that Eden’s leaving was against her will. “You saw the message on the wall. What about that?”
She shrugs. “Intentionally misleading people? I don’t know, kid.”