Gated (20 page)

“I mean how did you know which room?” I say as my face fills with heat. “Do they just let anyone have that information?”

His ears start turning red. He looks back at the door. “My dad kinda has some pull around here … but listen, if you’d rather I go, I will. I wasn’t trying to stalk you or anything. I just … saw you go down in the parking lot. I needed to know that you weren’t seriously hurt, you know?”

He flashes me a tiny smile and I smile back.

“So how are you?” he asks as he inches closer to my bed.

“Bored,” I say. “Hospitals are really, really boring.”

“Well, I think I might be able to help with that,” he says. He holds up the Walmart bag before handing it to me. Inside are three magazines and the book I was looking at in the store.

“Thought Mr. Spandex could keep things interesting.” He points to the book cover. We both laugh.

“Thanks.”

I don’t know what to do. I should give it back to him. I can’t exactly keep this stuff in plain sight for my mom to see. Plus, enough stuff’s gone wrong already, why make it worse? On the other hand, if I can manage to hide them and smuggle them out tomorrow, I’ll still be able to keep my promise to Marie and for once look like the daring, adventurous one, especially after they find out that I got hit by a car and survived. Cody obviously went to some trouble to bring them to me, and I don’t want to be rude and give them back.

The room has gone silent again.

“Um, I really wish you could stay, but my mom’ll be back any minute now and she isn’t real big on strangers.”

“I noticed. Protective, isn’t she?”

“Protective is an understatement,” I say. “At least when it comes to me.”

“How about if I promise to keep one eye on the hallway at all times? Can I stay then?”

I don’t respond, but he makes no attempt to leave. I’m disappointed with myself over how happy this makes me.

&gn=#x201C;I get it. You keep to yourselves at all costs, right? No fraternizing with strangers.”

I don’t know what to say to this, so I just ignore it altogether. “Thanks again for these.” I smooth my hand across the glossy book cover.

His mouth curls up at one end and my stomach rolls over. “My pleasure.”

I need to tell him to go. Now. Thank him and say goodbye. Mom’ll be back any minute
.

Cody sits on the edge of the bed. His hip touches my leg and a thrill runs through me when he doesn’t move it away. This is so stupid and yet I obviously don’t care. If I did, he’d already be gone. I would’ve kicked him out right away.

“Honestly, I’m glad I had an excuse to try and see you again,” he says.

“Why?” I really want to know. I can’t imagine why he would want to see me, even though I can name at least a dozen reasons why I want him to keep trying.

“Truthfully?” He blushes. “I don’t know. I mean, you’re not exactly like any other girls I know. And you might be fairly cute, which helps.” His blush spreads and he smiles. “But I think mostly it’s because you sort of intrigue me. You’re more smothered by your parents and your situation than I’ve ever been by mine, and yet you don’t seem to notice that much … or even really mind. I don’t get it.”

I’m not sure if this is a compliment or not. I decide to hold on to the part where he said he thought I was cute.

“I guess I want to figure you out.” He winks at me and I melt a little.

He looks toward the door. “Listen, my dad’s gonna be coming in here in a few minutes to talk to you about the accident and then I’m guessing your parents will be back in here too. I was thinking … maybe afterward—after your parents leave—I can come back?”

“Um, I don’t see how. My mom’s not leaving. She’s staying in here all night,” I sigh. It seems like all we keep doing is finding more ways to say goodbye.

He frowns and we both get quiet before a slow grin spreads across his face. “What if I can manage to get you out of your room with her blessing?”

I snort. “Impossible.” I lie back on my pillow and stare at the ceiling.

“We’ll see,” he says.

There are some noises out in the hall beyond the door, and both of us jump a little. Cody leans over and pats my shoulder. Our faces are so close that for a moment I’m sure he might kiss me.

“I’ll see you soon,” he whispers, and then he’s up and out the door before I remember how to breathe.

I hide the magazines and book under my mattress. I’m definitely keeping them now.

Cody isn’t gone for more than a minute or two before my mom emerges from the hallway. The time between
his leaving and her returning is short enough to make me squirm.
Did she see him?
She looks agitated but not completely flipped out. I barely have time to feel relieved, though, because the door opens all over again and Cody’s dad walks in.

I didn’t pay much attention to him when I saw him last. I was too wrapped up in Cody. He’s a great tree trunk of a mantru="1, much larger than I remember. Maybe it’s because I’m lying down and he’s standing up or maybe it’s because the room is fairly narrow, but he seems giant-sized. He leans over the bed and holds out his hand.

“Hey there, Lyla. Nice to see you again. Sure wish we were meeting back up over more pleasant circumstances, though.”

I shake his hand. His grip is firm and warm. I look for Cody in his face, but they don’t seem to resemble one another much. Cody’s features are sharper, finer. The sheriff’s are all broad strokes: wide nose, wider chin, full cheeks. His hair is close-cropped and equal parts gray and black.

“Mind if I sit?” He points to the chair before sitting in it. It creaks loudly under his weight. “So, how’re you feeling?”

“She’s sore, but fine. The doctor said that if she doesn’t show signs of swelling or a more severe concussion, she can go home tomorrow,” Mom answers for me before I can even open my mouth.

The sheriff smiles at her. “That’s good … real good.
Ma’am, I’d like to have a moment here with Lyla. Alone. If that’s all right?”

“Why? I’m sure I can help you more than she can. She’s a bit fuzzy about what happened,” Mom says with a smile that’s just a little too wide for her face.

“Strictly procedural stuff, ma’am. I just need her take on things so I know whether or not the driver involved needs to be charged with anything. You’re more than welcome to stay, it’s just I know the nurses needed to ask you some questions and I thought maybe since I’m here with Lyla this might be the perfect time. I’m sure it won’t take long at all and then you can help me fill in any gaps right after. I’ll be out of your hair just as soon as I get what I need for my report.”

His smile matches hers. His voice is firm. Reluctantly, my mom folds. She huffs out a breath. “All right. Fine. But I’ll be right outside if you need me.” She gives me a long look on her way out. I nod just a little to let her know that I’ll be careful.

The sheriff wrestles his way out of his seat and walks over to the door. He waits for my mom to go all the way out into the hall and then shuts it. He smiles at me as he returns to his seat. I try to occupy myself with straightening the covers over my legs so I won’t look nervous.

He watches me for a moment.

“There’s no need to be nervous. I’m just going to ask you a few questions. Nothing too difficult, okay?”

I nod. He seems satisfied and leans back in his chair. “Let’s start with what you remember about the accident.”

I tell him about our trip to the Walmart. I briefly mention seeing Cody inside and my cheeks burst into flame, but if he notices, he doesn’t react. He keeps his expression neutral as I talk, all the way up to the end, when I describe crossing the parking lot. I leave out the part about seeing Cody again and how it made me turn around. I say I forgot something in the truck and went back for it.

After I’m done, he asks me some questions about what I’d noticed about the car before it hit me. Did it seem like it was going fast? Had I noticed it at all when I crossed the parking lot the first time?

My nerves have just started to settle down when he leans forward and looks at my neloosseck. “Medics said you have a pretty ugly gash on the back of your neck there—not from this accident. How’d that happen?”

I can’t keep my hands from traveling to the fresh bandage on my neck. Pioneer’s punishment. “Oh, that. That’s nothing. Really. I don’t even really remember getting it.” I try to smile. “I think I brushed up against a nail or something in the barn and it scratched me.”

The sheriff looks at me carefully. “That must’ve been some nail. What were you doing—scratching up against it like a cat?”

I look away, out the window at the tree outside. “Uh … yep, I mean no, I just, um, brushed up against it … like I said.”

Turns out I am the world’s worst liar.

He nods to himself. I can see his head bobbing out of the corner of my eye. “Okay, Lyla, one more question and then I promise I’ll let you get some rest.”

I nod. I try to infuse my expression with innocence, banish any panic in it.

“Is there any chance that you walked in front of that car on purpose?” He looks at me closely.

I burst out laughing. “You think I just tried to
kill myself
?” This is the most ridiculous question anyone’s ever asked me. If he only knew the kind of extreme lengths my family’s been through my whole life just to survive the apocalypse, he’d think it was a hilarious and stupid question too.

“Maybe you only meant to get someone’s attention. Is anything going on out there in Mandrodage Meadows that I should know about? Something about your leader, Pioneer? ’Cause if there is and you need help—if you’re in danger—I can promise you that I will do everything in my power to keep you safe. You just say the word.”

He looks down at his fingers while he waits for my answer. He’s managed to pick at the side of one of them and now there’s a quarter-inch sliver of skin sticking up. He yanks at it with his thumb and forefinger until it comes off. I watch as a tiny red blood splotch forms in its absence. “All I need is for you to tell me what’s going on.”

I shake my head. “Nothing. Nothing’s going on. It was an accident. I wasn’t watching where I was going today. I
was distracted. That’s all. Nothing intentional about it, I swear.”

He stands up and brushes his hands over his pants. “If you’re sure. Well then, I guess we’re done here.” He smiles. “Just try to be careful from now on, okay? I sure wouldn’t want to hear about you having any more accidents. And watch out for those nails. I’m thinkin’ that it might be time for you to start paying closer attention to the world around you.”

I force myself to nod and smile back. He opens the door to leave and my mom practically falls in. “Ma’am.
” He nods at her to join him as he leaves.

My mom follows him into the hall. I can hear her voice and then her laughter, forced and high-pitched. I cringe. We’re doing a horrible job of convincing him that we’re not hiding anything. I replay the last half hour in my head. I dissect each of my answers to his questions. I tell myself that there’s no need to worry about anything. He has no real reason to be too suspicious of us. He’ll probably just write up his report and forget all about us once we leavs owore Culver Creek. In a few weeks he’ll have much bigger problems to deal with. So why do I feel like we’re a little piece of skin, sticking up just enough to make him want to pick?

After the sheriff leaves, my mom grills me for over an hour. She wants to know what he said and then what I said verbatim. I decide not to tell her about his last two questions. I’ll wait and tell her when my dad comes back instead. She can’t do anything about it now anyway—except freak out, and that’ll only make us look weirder.

She relaxes some after she’s satisfied that most of what he wanted to know had nothing to do with Mandrodage Meadows, but she doesn’t leave the room again. She’s convinced that the nurses know where we’re from and are whispering about us.

“I can’t wait to be back home. I absolutely hate being stuck out here. With them.” She wrinkles her nose like the whole place and everyone in it stinks.

“We will be tomorrow,” I say.

“Well, tomorrow can’t come quickly enough.” She sighs and goes to the window. “I won’t be able to relax properly until we’re halfway home.”

The afternoon lingers forever. There’s nothing to do,
so I make myself sleep a little even though it’ll mean being awake longer later. I can’t stand watching my mom pace and sigh and pace and sigh. I find myself wishing she’d just leave for a while. It’d be easier to pass the time without her hovering. And besides, the sheriff, the sound of traffic outside my window, the chatter of strangers down the hall, remind me too much of New York. Karen and all that happened back then feel too close here somehow. In Mandrodage Meadows we can keep our memories away, leave them outside the gate, but not here. Here we can’t avoid them. They snake around us, squeezing the air out of the room, making it impossible to really forget.

When they bring Mom and me a tray of food around dinnertime, I practically jump out of bed to meet them. Eating will give us something to focus on, something to do. We eat slowly, pretending to savor the tasteless meat loaf and mashed potatoes. I scrape my Jell-O cup until I can’t tell what flavor it was anymore. The cup’s completely clean. Mom plays with hers, pulling the spoon in and out like the sucking sound it makes fascinates or repulses her.