one of the handful of nurses that are hovering.
“What happened just now? You said, ‘he was here.’ Who were you talking about?”
A hot tear rolls down my cheek and my chin trembles with emotion. “Zach Covington. He’s here. He was in my room last night. He tried to kill me!”
She jerks back at my words as if I slapped her. “Mackenzie, that’s impossible. Are you sure this wasn’t some kind of…dream?”
“Of course, I’m sure,” I grit. “He put a pillow over my fucking face to suffocate me!”
She presses her lips together, looking unconvinced. An unsettling inkling lingers at the base of my spine as I glare at her.
“We had a long talk yesterday. I think that messed with your dreams last night. I can assure you no one is after you. Why don’t we get some food in your system, and we’ll go over this dream later.”
I grind my back teeth together so hard, I swear I feel my back tooth crack from the force.
My throat goes dry when she whispers something in hushed tones to the nurses then slips out of the room. Gary and Stephanie stay behind, but everyone else leaves. Keeping her word, my breakfast is delivered, but I sit there, staring at it, my stomach churning. I can’t think about eating when Zach was just here. If he’s here, the rest of them aren’t far behind.
Stephanie shoots me a friendly smile, trying to put me at ease and get me to eat, but I don’t return it. I’m wary of everyone.
Were they bought off? Is that why Dr. Aster dismissed the idea so easily? Is she in on it, too? I don’t know who to trust. Zach tried to kill me last night, and something tells me he’s not going to stop until I’m six feet under with Madison. Just as I was always meant to be.
I’m a nervous wreck when Steph wheels me out with everyone else after breakfast. Apparently, my episode this morning didn’t faze everyone as much as it did me. I must be doing better than the doctor anticipated because she’s allowing me out with the others. I think this is her way of fixing me. She obviously thinks I hallucinated everything last night, so if I’m out with everyone, seeing with my own two eyes that he’s not here, I’ll suddenly feel better. I’m sure speaking about Baz the other night must’ve also been a step in the right direction in her eyes.
This is literally the last place I want to be, but I’ll need to suck it up and hope that somehow this can work out in my favor. I can use this time out here with everyone else to do my research, learn who is who, find out if anyone has seen a man roaming around the facility who matches Zach’s description. Better to keep my enemies close, than not know who they are at all.
My plan goes to shit when Steph wheels me into a room with a TV and table stacked with board games. There’s a shelf in the corner filled with books. I was wrong. I’m not being let out with anyone else. The doctor is just giving me other privileges. She obviously doesn’t trust me around others, and I’m sure this morning only proved that for her.
“I’ll see you in twenty, okay? Gary is right outside if you need something.” She hesitates, like she wants to say more, maybe bring up what happened this morning, but in the end, she decides not to.
I heave a deep sigh as I watch her go. I really don’t want her to be in on this. I was starting to like her. That would be just my luck. I sit in the wheelchair, glancing around the room, trying to find something to keep myself busy with for the next twenty minutes, but I decide to go for the TV instead. It’s mindless enough, and the last thing I want to do right now is think.
I start rolling toward the remote when I spot the door open behind me in the reflection of the blacked-out TV screen. My eyes widen, and my stomach drops. The woman who made it clear she was working for Zach shuts the door behind her, a dark gleam in her gaze. I know something is wrong, just by the tension that now fills the air surrounding us. It’s thick, making it hard to breathe. Her intent is clear as she comes toward me.
Deciding to take