Midnight Ruling Read Free Page A

we require some basic information. The second page is a waiver stating that you will not sue Windmane Asylum if…well, if you should slip or hurt yourself.”
    Or get attacked by a patient , I thought, taking the clipboards from her.
    I wiped my sweaty palm on my skirt to try and hide the anxiety. There was no use lying about who I was, so I wrote down everything.
    After a brief once over and giving us back our ID’s, she forced the plastic grin. “You’re family too?” she asked Aidan.
    “Please,” I said before he could speak, “he’s with me. I need some…support.”
    She eyed me for a long time before the older woman nudged her. The younger woman passed us two laminated badges.
    When we clipped them on, we were officially Visitors .
    “Alright,” she said, charging up the brightness with another smile. “I’ll call ahead, and there will be someone waiting for you.” She gave us brief directions and a map.
    Stepping back outside, Aidan and I headed down the sidewalk to the far end of the campus-sized lot in silence. He held my slick hand without complaint.
    “Told you I’d get in,” he said smugly.
    “You’re welcome,” I said.
    The building dominated my vision, and my rubbery knees started acting up again.
    “Nora,” Aidan said softly, catching my attention.
    My eyes unhinged from the sliding doors that were only twenty paces away.
    “Nora, listen.” Aidan let go of my hand and grabbed my shoulders to make me face him. “I’ll go in alone. I can ask the questions and record them. You can stay out here. You don’t have to do this.”
    Puffing up with a deep breath, I almost caved. I was glad I held my breath before I could blurt it out.
    “No,” I said, exhaling. “I have to go in there, Aidan. She won’t talk to you. But she might remember me.”
    “How do you know?”
    “I don’t,” I admitted, feeling the doubt threatening to breach. “But I know the consequences if we fail.”
    Our gazes leveled in several prying seconds’ understanding. His pale eyes were so stern and full of concern, I had the unexpected urge to lean in and kiss him. His constant concern for me over the previous weeks had been flattering, but I had to stand on my own here. I had to stop being afraid of being alone.
    They were brave words. If only I felt them too.
    I felt myself leaning closer. In that instant, he appeared startled but didn’t back away, his face drawing closer to my own. I felt my eyes close when the sound of repetitive pounding caused us both to pause in mid-motion.
    My face an inch from his, I opened my eyes. The moment we made eye contact, it was like we’d been caught masturbating.
    Jerking away from each other, we both looked up at one of the large windows of the High Security Facility. A figure, maybe a man, pounded on the window. It wasn’t long before another figure showed up and led him away. By then the damage was done; the moment was over.
    Sighing, I began to walk toward the front door, Aidan at my side. We weren’t holding hands anymore, so I curled mine into fists and crossed my arms.
    Aidan kept clearing his throat until we were close enough to alert the sliding doors.
    A woman in her early thirties at a similar front desk as the previous building hung up her phone and smiled, all teeth and sunshine. “My name is Susan.” Stepping out from behind the crescent desk, she said, “So you’re here to see Eleanor Fuller, correct?”
    We nodded together.
    “I’ll be escorting you to her room,” she said, motioning to the double doors behind her. It was equipped with heavy deadbolts and a security pad beside the wall.
    When neither of us said anything, she gave a little nod and turned. The white slacks and top were too tight for her, though she wasn’t a big girl. Probably picked them out that way. Her light brown hair was in a tight bun. She had a sharp nose that pointed downward to the pert, ruby lips. She wasn’t wearing any make-up, making her lips a surprising