Patient Twelve

Chapter Eighteen

"I didn't get to see you yesterday, Diana," Jane said. "I hope you're liking it here."

"Sorry, I had a headache yesterday," I said.

"Are you feeling better now?"

I nodded. I jumped when Ben put his hand on my knee. He continued to eat his breakfast unaffected.

"What was up with Candace?" Ben asked.

"She's a bitch," Elias said with a shrug. "What else can I say?"

"Forgot about her already, Ben?" Matt said.

Ben chuckled. "Never."

I picked at the food on the plate before pushing it away. Ben squeezed my knee. It was a warning that I should eat more, but I ignored him.

"Haven't gotten an appetite yet?" Elias asked. "You'll learn to eat once you got a feeding tube down your throat a few times."

"I've already experienced it," I said. "Don't try to threaten me."

Elias smirked and I crossed my arms over my chest.

"I'm not threatening you," he said. "It is just a warning."

I pushed my chair back and stood. I already knew that I wasn't going to be sold, so I did not have to try and make friends. If anything, I should be studying in case he makes me be a part of this grotesque surgery. Ben moved to stand, but I held out my hand signaling for him to stop. He stayed as I walked out of the dining room.

When I got to my room, I picked up the textbook and started reading.

--

I rubbed my temple. The hours of reading the dense medical text were giving me a real headache. I set the book down and stretched out my limbs. I opened the door connecting my room with Ben's, but he was not there.

I went down the hall and looked in the lounge. It was empty. I furrowed my brows. I expected at least Jane or Elias to be in this room. I went down the hall to the next room I could think Ben would be in: the swimming pool was at the end of the hallway.

Candace was spread out across a lounge chair. She had on a bikini, her blonde hair was tied up, and a magazine was open in her hands. The sun was pouring through the dome glass ceiling. She turned to look at me. She moved the sunglasses up off of her face and rested them on the top of her head.

"Are you alone?" she asked.

"Yes," I said.

She swung her legs over the side of the chair and sat. She slipped her arms through the sheer robe.

"Sit down," she said. She lifted her chin and motioned to the next chair.

I looked behind me at the empty hallway. From the way she stormed out at breakfast, I don't think I want to hear what she is going to say. She gave me a slight smile and it seemed out of place. It piqued my interest in what she was going to say and I sat in the chair.

Candace's eyes scanned my body.

"They gave you my old dress," she said. "I'm surprised Dr. Alexander kept it."

I looked at myself.

"Anyways," she said, regaining my attention. "I want to talk to you about Ben."

The way she said his name made my skin crawl. She said it with venom.

"Why?" I asked.

"I can see he is already trying out his mind games on you," she said. "I want to warn you so it doesn't happen. Alexis was a really sweet girl before she got caught up in all of this."

"Alexis?"

Candace's brown eyes grew wide. My stomach was twisting itself into a knot. I curled my fingers into the soft fabric of the dress.

"He never told you about Alexis?" she asked.

"No." I shook my head. "Who is she?"

"Dr. Phillips' second subject after Ben."

"What? I've never met her."

If Bethany had brought Ben to Oliver's house then why did she not bring her? Was she coming to the dinner?

"You won't," she said. "She died almost a year ago."

"How?" I asked. "Was it because of the surgery?"

"Overdose. They think she killed herself."

"But you don't?"

She shook her head.

"I don't trust him," she said. "Ben has always seemed off to me."

"He told me he was fighting against Dr. Phillips and trying to escape for the first few years he was here."

Candace scoffed and rolled her eyes.

"I remember Ben's first dinner," she said. "He was nothing but smiles and respect."

"How long have you been here?" I asked.

"Seven years," she said. "I was studying abroad in France when Dr. Lacroix abducted me."

Her fingers grazed along the scar running down her chest.

"He replaced my heart, and two years ago he sold me to Dr. Alexander," she said. She swung her legs back onto the lounge chair and leaned back. She opened the magazine, and I could catch a glimpse of the cover. It had news about a celebrity couple that was a few years old.

"I like you, Diana," she said. "I hope you don't fall for Ben's plan. I would hate to hear that you died."