The Test

Chapter 20

That night I fell into a deep sleep, lulled by the familiarity of Derek's old room, and the gentle beating of his heart as I rested on his chest.

***

I woke up the next morning to the light filtering in from the curtains in Derek's old room. Stretching out sleepily I moved my hand trying to find him, frowning when I realized the bed was empty.

The door to the bathroom opened as I sat up and Derek came out, a towel in his hand as he dried his hair.

"Good morning," he said with a smile, and I smiled back sleepily. He came and sat down on the bed beside me, running his thumb along my cheek. "How did you sleep?"

"Good. Where are you going?" I asked him as I realized he was fully clothed.

"My mom wants me to come with her for some last minute funeral arrangements. It shouldn't be long, maybe a couple of hours," he said as he pulled me into his arms, and rested his hands on my stomach. "Will you be okay by yourself?"

I rolled my eyes even though he couldn't see it. "Yes, Derek, I'm pregnant not an invalid."

He chuckled and turned me to face him so that he could kiss me softly. "I'll see you later, babe. We're taking my mom's car, so if you need to go anywhere you can use the rental."

I gave him another kiss as a goodbye and watched him as he left the room. I waited until I heard the door close downstairs before throwing the covers off of me. I quickly got dressed, throwing my hair in a messy ponytail, before grabbing the keys to the car. I punched in the address on the GPS and I was ready to go.

It took about an hour for me to pull up the large building in front of me. It was a light grey colour, and looked completely normal except for the chain-link fence that surrounded the building, with several signs letting me know that there was an electric current running through it. There were armed guards positioned around the entrance, each one intimidating with their blank stares and strong stances.

With my heart pounding in my chest, I lined up at the entrance where I could see some other visitors as well. I watched as each person got their belongings checked, and walked through an x-ray machine, similar to those at the airport. When I got to the front of the line, they checked me thoroughly, and then directed me to another area where I would have to sign in.

I wiped my hands on my jeans as I got closer, trying to dry them of the moisture that was collecting on them. When I got to the check in desk, the lady there smiled at me.

She was dressed in light blue scrubs with little butterflies that looked out of place in the stark white of the building. She was an older lady, with kind brown eyes, and grey hair that was pulled back into a neat bun. On her nametag Leila was written in bold, black letters and there was another little butterfly after her name.

"Hello there, sweetie! I'm just going to need your name, and the name of the resident you're here to see."

I cleared my throat before I spoke, "My name's Layna Jackson, and I'm here to see Timothy Thornton."

She typed something on the computer in front of her then, with another smile, she pointed me in the direction of a large room, where she told me to wait while they brought the patient out. The room was white, as all the walls in this institute and several tables were spread around the room where the visits happened. There were only a couple of tables occupied, so I sat down at an empty table near the back of the room and watched the seconds tick by on the clock on the wall. The longer I sat waiting there, the harder my heart pounded in my chest, and I just wanted to run out of there. I felt like I was going to be sick.