Over (16 page)

"I need to get back to them after we get out of here. They have to be worried sick. I've been gone for months now."

"How are we going to get out? There are heavy, locked doors everywhere. You have to have a card to open them and the nurses don't leave those lying around. Trust me, I've looked."

"I have two ideas. Maybe together we can come up with more. But I thought we could either steal one of those cards to get out the doors or we can work to convince the nurses that you're cured."

Heather laughed. "Cured? There's nothing wrong with me. They're the jerks who won't listen to me. Dad has had everything covered, down to finding someone who sounds just like Mom to talk to everyone over the phone, pretending to be in Paris with her new love." She scowled. "I hate him so much. Anyway, that's why I'm so quick to believe that he replaced me with someone who looks exactly like me. Did you go to my school? Did my friends believe you?"

"He never let me out of the house. Can you think of another way to get us out?"

"It's going to take forever for them to believe that I've changed. I'm their trouble patient—and that's saying a lot around here. I just stopped caring. They wouldn't listen to me about Dad. He knows how to make people think what he wants."

"Do you think it's possible to sneak one of the key cards?"

"I've tried. They only ever keep those clipped onto the nurses' shirts."

"You don't think they have extras in that front desk somewhere?"

"They're not going to let us just walk up and go through the drawers."

"No, but they don't keep it manned all the time. When Candice brought me in, no one was there."

"Really? That's pretty rare. There must've been an incident. I've never seen it empty."

"What if we cause an incident? You act up and then I'll run to the desk when everyone is busy."

Heather looked like she was considering it. "The only problem with that is that if I act up, I'm going to solitary for a long, long time. What if they find both of us? Then they'd be forced to listen to us. I mean, really, if you've been kidnapped, they have to be able to find that out. They can pretend Mom's in Paris, but they can find out about you."

"Yeah, but then we're back to
you
being locked up here." Macy frowned.

"But you could tell them I'm not crazy. You've seen what Dad is capable of. If you tell them everything he did, they'll have no choice but to believe me and everything I've been saying all along. They'll know why I act out—because they won't listen to me. You'll get to go home, I'll get out of here, and Mom will finally get justice."

"Where will you go? Who will you stay with?"

"Either my grandparents or with my aunt and uncle. I guess it depends on who wants to take me. As long as I get out of here, I don't care."

"What do you think our best option is?" Macy asked.

"You know what? It would be fun to mess with the nurses and doctors here. After everything they've put me through, treating me worse than a criminal."

Macy groaned. "I just want to get home to my family. It's what, March? Your dad took me in November."

"Please help me mess with them. It's going to take us a while to get out of here anyway. We may as well have some fun."

"If we march out there together and tell them everything, they have to listen to us. The cops were just at your house this morning. Your dad is the one who needs to be taken care of—all of this is his fault. Everything he did to you and your mom, he needs to pay. He also needs to pay for kidnapping me. The staff here, they're nothing more than another one of his victims."

Heather snorted. "Trust me, girlfriend. They're not innocent. Come on, what's another day? We can screw with them and then tell them the truth after."

"And then have them pissed at us? They won't listen to us."

"You think they'll listen to us now? How long have you been here in my room posing as me? I was on the second floor all day. You know how to pretend to be me."

Macy put her face into her hands. Why was Heather being so difficult? She looked up and stared Heather in the eyes. "I've been pretending to be you for practically half a year. I just want to be me again and go home. I haven't seen my family in so long."

"At least you get to see yours." Tears shone in her eyes again. "My mom's dead and my dad's going to jail—not that I want to see him. I've had everything ripped from me, too, but when I leave here I'm not getting it back."

Macy's anger melted somewhat. "I'm sorry about that. I really am. But don't you want out of here? I want to
help
you get out. That's why I didn't fight Candice much when she tried to bring me here. I did try telling her I was kidnapped, but she wouldn't hear anything of it. She was convinced that I was you. Forget about getting back at them. Let's just try to get out of here. I know your grandparents would be more than happy to have you home with them. Think about them."

"How are they? I haven't seen them in, like, a year."

"Good. Ingrid taught me how to make some meals from scratch. She couldn't believe that you forgot."

A corner of Heather's mouth curled upward. "I'll bet. I've been cooking with her since I was little. Mom used to get so nervous with me so close to the stove. How's Grandpa?"

"Crotchety, but good."

"That sounds about right. Does he still bump heads with Dad all the time?"

"Yeah, they annoyed each other constantly."

"It would be good to see them." Heather ran her hands through her tangled hair. "I really would like to get back at the nurses, but you're right, it's not fair to you. You've had to deal with Dad all this time. So what are we going to do? Just walk out there together and say
listen to us
?"

Macy shrugged. "I've been trying to figure that out ever since I got here."

"I don't know if you noticed, but they locked us in. We either have to wait till morning or make a scene to get them in here. Then we have to hope they don't separate us."

"No one is going to check on you before morning?"

"Not unless I give them reason to."

"But it's a hospital. Aren't they supposed to check on you?"

Heather shook her head. "I'm locked inside with no way to get out. If I was on suicide watch or something, they'd have me in a room with a camera, but otherwise, nope. They just let us sleep and think."

Macy leaned her head against the wall. "I just want to get home."

"You may as well get comfortable. We can think up ideas before morning. Do you want the bed? I've slept in a padded room wearing a tight jacket. I can handle the floor."

"I've slept in the barn's cellar and in the back of your dad's truck. I can deal with the floor too."

Heather's eyes widened. "He put you in the storm cellar?"

"Until I agreed to call him Dad and answer to your name."

She looked like she was going to be sick. "I always wondered if he put Mom down there when she was missing. When she came back she kept saying the barn."

Macy remembered that from Heather's diaries, but wasn't going to say anything. "I did find a tube of lipstick down there."

Tears ran down Heather's face. "You know what? You're right. Screw the nurses. It's my dad we need to focus on." She got up and walked toward the door.

"Wait. What are you doing?"

"I'm going to pound on the door. With you here, they have to listen to me. They have to listen to
us.
"

"Hold on." Macy's heart raced so much she started to have trouble breathing. "Are you sure they'll listen to us? The last thing I want is to end up a patient here, too. They wouldn't send us to solitary? I don't want to be locked up anymore."

"We're already locked up, in case you haven't noticed."

"Yeah, but at least we're not alone. Do you know how long it's been since I've had someone to talk to? To actually plan something out with someone else?" It had been Luke three months earlier. "We'd better think this through."

Heather narrowed her eyes. "Why are you changing your mind all of a sudden?"

"Last time I acted rashly trying to escape, someone died."

"What the hell? Who?"

Macy went over to the bed and sat. "You'd better get comfortable. This is so crazy. You're going to want to sit."

Would Heather even believe that Chester had taken her to a cult's compound and had nearly risen to one of their top leaders?

Talking

Alyssa rolled over in bed, feeling more refreshed than she had in a long time. The alarm clock next to the bed showed it was 8:37. How could she feel so refreshed after so little sleep? She had probably gone to bed after three, and it was probably after four by the time she fell asleep.

She stretched and realized she had to go the bathroom really bad. It was so bad that she was afraid she wouldn't make it across the hall. Alyssa scrambled out of bed, holding her breath. She barely made it.

Once she was washing her hands, she looked at herself in the mirror. She looked better—not back to normal, but better than she had in a while. The circles under her eyes had faded. She really felt rested too. It didn't make any sense.

How could she feel and look so much better after only a few hours of sleep?

Alyssa touched her face. It was oily. In fact, her hair felt the same way. On the inside, she felt great, but on the outside, she was gross. She needed a shower, especially since Rusty was bound to check on her soon.

She poked her head out the door to make sure he wasn't in sight and then she ran to the bedroom and grabbed her bag. She locked the bathroom and then got her supplies out of the bag, getting ready for a much needed shower.

Once Alyssa was cleaned up, she stepped out of the bathroom and the smell of bacon, eggs, and coffee greeted her. Her stomach rumbled.

Alyssa smiled as she threw her bag on the bed. Rusty was making
her
breakfast? Maybe she felt so rested because she was still asleep. No one cooked for her unless it was someone bringing the family dinner.

"Good morning," she said, announcing her presence as she walked into the kitchen.

Rusty turned around, wearing a red apron and holding a spatula. He smiled. "Did you sleep well?"

"I did, actually. I can't believe it's so early."

He gave her a funny look.

"What?"

"You slept for more than a day. You missed yesterday completely." He turned back to the stove, stirring something in a pan.

"I—you mean I slept over twenty-four hours?"

"Obviously you needed it. Have a seat. What do you take in your coffee?"

She sat down in the same chair she had sat in the night before. No, two nights before. "Creamer or milk and sugar. Whatever you have is fine. Not that I really need any after such a long sleep. Breakfast smells great. Can I help?"

"Nope. Let me take care of it. I'm almost done. It's nice to have someone else to cook for again."

Again? He was gorgeous and a cook? Lani had been one lucky lady. "I'm not going to complain about that."

"Glad to hear it." He used the spatula again and then moved over to the coffee maker.

As she watched him, her stomach growled again, and it was loud. Her face warmed up, hoping he couldn't hear it over the sizzling bacon. If he did, he didn't respond.

After a few minutes, he set a cup of coffee and a plate full of food in front of her. Alyssa's mouth watered. "That looks delicious."

Rusty sat down across from her with his own food. "I try, but don't rave about until after you eat it. Dig in. You must be starving after sleeping so long."

Looking at the food, she felt overwhelmed by everything. Why had he gone out of his way to take care of her? He hadn't had to tow her twice for free, bring her home, or cook this delicious meal. Voice cracking, she said, "Thank you."

He winked. "Again, not until you've tried it. Staring doesn't count."

She blinked back some tears. "No, really. I mean for everything. You haven't had to do anything for me, but you've done so much."

"People have helped me out also when I needed it. You know what they've asked me to do? Pay it forward. You're better than the decisions you've been making, Alyssa. I can see that much. I've been there, drowning in despair."

"That's it exactly."

"So eat now, before it gets cold. I want you to try it while it's still hot."

She cut a piece of the veggie filled, cheesy omelet. It nearly melted in her mouth.

Rusty looked at her expectantly.

Alyssa swallowed. "It's divine."

He smiled. "Perfect. Eat as much as you want. I made plenty. We'll probably warm it up and turn it into burritos later."

Later? How long was he expecting her to stay? Was he just being hospitable or did actually want her there? Not wanting to offend him or let the food get cold, she dug back in.

"Want more?" he asked as soon as she emptied her plate.