An Act of Love Read Free Page B

fifteen-minute watch on your room, to be sure you’re not doing anything harmful.”
    “This place must be expensive.”
    “Is that relevant? If it is, it might help to know that your school health insurance will probably cover everything.”
    After a moment’s pause, Emily got it. “You’ve had Hedden students here before. You know the drill.”
    Dr. Travis only smiled and recrossed her legs, sending her voluminous skirts into a flurry. “If you decide to stay with us, you’ll have a complete physical checkup tomorrow. You’ll meet the various people on the team who will be helping you. You’ll be given a schedule that we’ll work up for you. You’ll be restricted to the ward until the team decides you’re ready for other privileges, such as—”
    “You mean I can’t go back to school?”
    “Do you want to go back to school?”
    “What about Thanksgiving?”
    “I’m sure the dining room will serve turkey, cranberries, and pumpkin pie on Thursday.”
    “So you’re saying I have to stay here for a while.”
    “You have committed an act that indicates that you can’t function on your own right now. Something is bothering you. We’re here to help you work on that. There are other adolescents on this ward who are working on their own problems and you might find it helpful to hear what they have to say.”
    “No one can help me.”
    “I know you feel that way now. But if you’ll give us a chance, I think you’ll find that we can help you. You’re not hopeless. You are not without choices in your life. We might help you find a new way to look at your problems, or a new way to defeat that which seems to be defeating you.”
    Emily stared at the psychologist, then bent her head over her 7UP, making a gross sucking noise as the straw hit ice. She flushed with embarrassment.
    “Emily, your parents are going to be here fairly soon. As you can imagine, they’re worried about you.”
    “I don’t want to see them.”
    Dr. Travis waited for Emily to say more, and when she didn’t speak, continued, “I’m sure they’re worried about you. I’m sure they want just to see that you’re okay. I’ll be with you when they come in. The important thing you need to do now is to decide whether or not you’ll sign yourself in, voluntarily, for treatment here.”
    “For how long?”
    “We don’t know yet. I can say that it often takes a while to work things through.”
    “I’ll sign the form,” Emily said.

Chapter Three
    Basingstoke Hospital stood at the outskirts of the historic town of Basingstoke, home of Hedden Academy. A small building, only five stories high, it was constructed from stone and cement and glass, very practical and no-nonsense looking. A sign directing traffic to it from 93 North pointed the McFarlands toward a long driveway and instructions to a parking garage that was as large as the hospital and apparently as automated. Owen stopped the Volvo and took a ticket from a machine, then steered upward through the dark, low-ceilinged, Stygian aisles until he found a space.
    Linda’s door was open before Owen had the key from the ignition. He ran to catch up with her and together they passed through the sliding glass doors and into a lobby bright with color and people and sound. While Linda spoke to someone at a desk, Owen looked around. An elderly woman nodded off in a wheelchair, head drooping on her chest. A couple sat side by side on a vinyl sofa, staring out in terrible shock. A pair of blissfully ignorant children fussed over a bag of candy while their parents consulted each other in sharp whispers.
    “This way,” Linda said. “She’s already in the psychiatric unit.”
    They found the elevator, ascended three floors, walked down a long yellow hallway until they were halted by wide double doors bearing a sign in huge red block print:
    STOP. NO ONE ALLOWED ON WARD WITHOUT DOCTOR ’ S PERMISSION. THIS DOOR LOCKED FROM MIDNIGHT TO 8 A.M.
    Pushing through, they entered a world of