Patient Twelve

Chapter Nine

Sweeney had left us a tray for breakfast. Two bowls of cereal sat on the tray next to two glasses of orange juice. Ben took one of the glasses and swallowed his pills. I grabbed a bowl and sat down on Sweeney's squeaky office chair. I didn't want to go to the bed he had restrained me to. Ben took his bowl and leaned against the counter across from my chair. We both ate our cereal in silence. Only the crunch of our chewing filled the air.

"Why did you come into my room?" I asked.

"I heard you crying and screaming," he said. "I thought you may be having a nightmare. I used to get them every night."

"Oh." I looked down at my bowl in my hands.

Ben cleared his throat. I looked to see him set down his bowl, and cross his arms. He rubbed his hand along his jaw.

"Oliver didn't hurt you, did he?" Ben asked.

I shook my head. I set the bowl down next to Sweeney's computer.

"Do you still get nightmares?" I asked.

"Sometimes, yeah," he said. "Not nearly as much as when I had my first surgery."

"Did you tell Dr. Phillips?"

"No, but she figured it out. Don't tell Oliver if you have any."

"Why?"

"They want to believe that you are settling in here. I've been to two of these dinners, and they expect their subjects to be worshipping them. They want a respectful and polite subject at their feet."

I rolled my eyes. A dull ache was still spread across my temple.

"What does that have to do with telling Sweeney about my dreams?" I asked.

"We want to get out of here," he said. "That's not going to happen right now. You need to gain privileges from Oliver, and the only way for you to do that is to get him to trust you. That's not going to happen if you fight against him and tell him about your nightmares."

"It took you three years to get to leave the house," I said. "I can't wait that long."

"It took me three years because I acted like an idiot for most of the time. It resulted in me getting restrained and sedated all day."

"I can't just pretend to be loving this."

"If you want to get out of here that is what you're going to have to do."

The lock to the door clicked, and I looked over my shoulder to see a blurry shape come down the stairs. When it came closer, I recognized it to be Phillips. Her lips were painted pink, and with a wide smile. Her hair was twisted into a low bun. Her lab coat was covering her blouse and skirt.

"Good morning, you two," she said.

"Good morning, Dr. Phillips," Ben said.

"Did you take your medication? I gave them to Dr. Sweeney."

"Yes, I did. Thank you."

Phillips glanced at me before walking toward Ben. She put her hand down on the counter beside him. She propped her glasses on the top of her head and batted her eyes.

"How has Diana been?" she asked.

"She's been good," Ben said. Ben's eyes connected with mine, and he flashed me a smile. "I think she'll do great at the dinner."

"Really?" Phillips asked. "Dr. Sweeney told me that she had a meltdown this morning."

Ben rolled his head to the side so that he was staring at her. My fingers curled into the pant leg of my pajamas. I couldn't take my eyes off of them as they talked about me.