You've Been Warned

I’m sitting across from him in a small office near the waiting room. There’s no desk, no pictures on the wall, no phone—just two folding chairs. Cozy.

“You think I’m crazy, don’t you?” I ask.

Dr. Curley, a warm and fuzzy type with a mop of longish blond hair, taps his pen a few times on his clipboard before shrugging. “Do you think you’re crazy?”

“I must be if they called you down here to see me. Don’t you think so?”

“Don’t read too much into that.” He leans in as if sharing a secret. “Between you and me, the hospital is usually just trying to get their money’s worth from having a shrink on staff. And they like to protect their butts.”

“Though I suppose I can’t blame them in my case,” I say.

He glances down at the notes he’s been taking. He certainly seems nicer than my ex-therapist, Dr. Corey, and from what I can tell, he doesn’t smoke a ridiculous pipe.

“Well, you’ve definitely had an eventful week,” he says, looking up again with a reassuring smile. “I’d like to try something if you don’t mind. Won’t take long, I promise.”

I listen to him explain his “simple exercise.” All I have to do is fill in the blank.

“For example,” he says, “I consider myself a blank person. And you would answer...?”

Nothing.

I sit there like a lump. “It sure would be easier if this were multiple choice,” I say, stalling, trying to figure out what the game is here and if I really want to play.

He chuckles. “I suppose you’re right. Just remember there are no wrong answers, so don’t overthink it. All I ask is that you be as honest with your answers as possible.”

“Because there are no wrong answers,” I say.

“That’s right.”

He repeats the sentence for me. I consider myself a...

“Decent person,” I answer.

“See? Nothing to it. Okay, next one,” he says, picking up the pace. “The world is getting more blank.”

“Dangerous,” I say. No indecision about that one.

“I think most people are...”

“Lonely.”

“When I’m under stress I like to...”

“Work in my darkroom.”

“If I could change one thing about myself it would be...”

“My career. I mean, I’d like to be more successful at it. I’m a photographer.”

“The last person I got upset at was...”

“Myself.”

“The most important person in my life is...”

Without thinking, I open my mouth to answer “Michael.” I barely catch myself. I can’t tell him that!

“What’s wrong?” asks Dr. Curley.

“Uh, nothing,” I say, shifting in my seat. “I had to think about it for a second. The most important person in my life is Connie, my best friend.”

He nods. He’s been nodding all along, only this one is a little different, slower. Does he know I’m lying? Of course he does. The guy’s no dummy.

“Okay, last two,” he says. “I had a blank childhood.”

I hesitate before answering. “Difficult.”

“And last, the thing I’m most afraid of is...”

That’s easy. “Dying.”

Chapter 67

I WATCH AS Dr. Curley makes a few more quick notes, his pen gliding back and forth across his notepad. Given my lack of sleep, the effect is like the swinging pocket watch of a hypnotist. I can barely keep my eyes open. But I do not want the dream to come again!

“Still with me, Kristin?”

I snap to. The pen’s down, and he’s staring at me. “Yes. Sorry about that,” I say.

“Quite all right. No problem.”

“So, did I pass?”

“Like I said, there are no wrong answers. No trick ones either. But I do appreciate your honesty.”

“What now?” I ask. Speaking of honesty.

He adjusts his wire-rimmed glasses. “Here’s what I’m thinking,” he begins. “It’s getting late, you’re miles from home, you’ve suffered a minor concussion, and you’re clearly exhausted. How would you feel about spending the night here at the hospital?”

When you put it that way...

The thought of not having to make the trip back to Manhattan immediately appeals to me so much. So does the prospect of—at long last—a good night’s sleep. Who knows? Maybe being in a hospital will stave off that damn dream, the burning smell, the bug thing.

“Sure, why not?” I say.

Dr. Curley tells me to “hang out and relax” for a moment, as he needs to clear it with another doctor. He leaves, closing the door behind him.

I sit and wait. I’m getting a little bit antsy now. And paranoid? Of course.

A few minutes go by, followed by a few more. I’m hanging out, but I’m definitely not relaxing. Where is he? C’mon, c’mon. I’m clearly exhausted, remember?

I get up from the chair and walk to the door, opening it just enough to poke my head out. Sure enough, I spot Dr. Curley down the hall, talking on his cell phone. He’s standing with another man, who I assume is the doctor he mentioned. But I can’t quite see him thanks to Curley’s bushy blond hair.

Then Dr. Curley shifts his feet, and I manage to catch a glimpse of the other doctor’s face. I immediately do a double take, and my heart does a little flip-flop. Make that a big flip-flop.