Total pages in book: 24
Estimated words: 22280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 22280 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 111(@200wpm)___ 89(@250wpm)___ 74(@300wpm)
My grandmother always told me when opportunity lands at your feet, take it. I thought once again that it was fate and I was having some luck for a change. It’s easy to say I was more than a bit surprised to learn that Emily was the niece.
“Places are often what you make of them.”
Emily rolls her eyes at me. “You say that because you grew up in a halfway house.”
“I didn’t grow up in one,” I mutter, knowing she isn’t paying attention to what I’m saying. One night, I even tested it. She went on and on for two hours before noticing I hadn’t responded to anything she'd been saying. Maybe that’s why it’s been so hard for her to find a roommate.
"Yeah, you did.” Emily grabs a bowl for herself and pours some cereal into it.
“It’s called a group home. I wasn’t in jail.” I spent four years there before I left for college. Sometimes it did feel like jail, but there was no other place for me to go. My grandmother was all I had, and when she died, my options were limited.
“Tomato tomahto.” Emily pours the milk over her cereal, and it splatters onto the counter. I force my feet to stay glued to where they are. Emily can get snippy when I clean around her. “My mom is in jail.”
I want to ask her if she’s joking, but I really don’t have the time. I can’t be late on my first day. Well, I guess technically for my first night.
Chapter Two
JAMISON
The people who work the day shift are okay, but the night crew is my favorite. Mostly because they leave me alone. Well, until Jimmy wants to play. Thankfully for the past couple of months he’s backed off and left me in peace. I guess as much peace as can be found in a psych ward.
When the chime comes over the speakers, I don’t bother looking in the direction of the door. Visiting hours are over, and it’s not like I’d have one anyway. The second I turned eighteen my father had me locked up in this place, and he hasn’t come to see me once. It’s probably for the best.
At night, the group room is quiet, and it’s where I like to sit and read until they force me to go to bed. Currently there are only two other patients in here with me, so it’s not likely Alton is coming in to kick me out. Alton is the head of security on the night shift, and he’s probably here to do rounds early.
There’s a show playing on the television, but I’m not watching it. Instead I keep reading my book until a pair of shoes stops in front of me. Most of the staff I could recognize with one glance at their shoes, but these are new. Crisp white nursing clogs peek out of pink scrubs, and the shock of color in this place is almost alarming. Then I see Alton’s familiar shoes come up beside them, and I close my book.
“Jamison, I’d like you to meet our newest night nurse, Mia.”
My head slowly tilts back, and I take my time looking Little Miss Mia over. In a place that’s somewhere between stark white and dismal gray, she’s fluorescent pink with flashing neon lights. I can’t remember the last time I saw color, and I have to blink a few times to make sure she isn’t something I’ve imagined. It wouldn’t be the first time someone in here was seeing things.
“Mia, this is one of our long-term patients, Jamison. He’s under the care of Dr. Crane.” Alton’s eyes flicker between Mia and me before he moves a tiny bit closer to her.
I bet she doesn’t even realize he’s done it, but Alton and I go way back. I’ve been here for ten years now, and he’s been here almost three times as long. I know his tells, but he knows mine even better.
“Nice to meet you,” Mia says in a soft voice that sends a warm stream of syrup down my stomach.
My abs clench as I lick my lips and place the book over my lap. No need for her to see how much her presence is affecting me. At least not in front of Alton. Her dark hair is so silky, and the thought of touching it is overwhelming. Could Alton stop me before I could get to her? As if he can read my thoughts, he takes another step closer, this time almost slightly in front of her.
“Mia, is it?” I ask and lean forward in my seat. When she nods, it sends some of that dark hair over her shoulder, and I see a bit of pink entwined with it. More intrusive thoughts come barreling forward, and Alton really should have known better. “Do you mind if I ask you a question?”