Patient Twelve

Chapter Nineteen

 After talking to Candace, I hurried back to my room. The halls were empty, so I thought I could sneak into my room unnoticed. I was wrong and saw Ben sitting on the bed. He had his book open across his lap. I wanted to turn around and slam the door, but I knew there was nowhere to run in this locked wing of this house.

"Where were you?" he asked.

"Where were you?" I asked back.

Ben looked shocked at my response. He closed his book and motioned for me to sit beside him. I shook my head.

"Are you okay?" he asked raising an eyebrow.

"Can we talk?" I asked.

"Of course," he said. "Why don't you sit down?"

"Why did you not tell me about Alexis?"

I silently cursed myself for asking that. I was never smooth, but that was painful.

Ben let out a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair.

"Who told you about her?" he asked.

"Candace," I said.

He was silent for a few moments before getting off of the bed. He walked toward me, but I stepped back. My knees shook as I stepped out of his way. I was not going to let him trap me against the wall again.

"Diana, you can't believe what she says," he said.

He kept walking forward. His body blocked me from being able to go out of my door or being able to jump over my bed and run into his room. I looked behind me to see that the bathroom door was wide open.

"Candace hates me," he said. "She has always hated me. She had a crush on me when I first came to this dinner and I didn't feel the same way. Ever since she has been a nightmare."

"That doesn't explain why you never told me about Alexis," I said.

"What did she tell you about her?" he asked.

"That she killed herself," I said. "She didn't say much."

We stood in silence for a few seconds. My heart was pounding in my chest. I extended my one leg back. I was ready to run.

"I didn't tell you because I was afraid you would do the same," he said. "I was afraid you were going to kill yourself too in order to get out of this."

"You thought I would kill myself?" I asked.

"I didn't know, and I was so worried. I can't lose you, Diana."

I let out a shaky breath. Ben's blue eyes looked at me softly. He raised one hand, but I pushed it away.

"Leave me alone," I said. "Get out of my room."

"Di, please don't be mad at me," he said. A sense of panic was behind his voice.

Ben bit down on his lip and it looked like he was trying to stop himself from crying. My chest ached as I saw Ben's pain.

I was upset that he never told me about Alexis, but I guess she would have not naturally come up in our conversation. He probably did not want to upset me.

That is not all that Candace said though.

She said Ben was acting polite and respectful for all of these dinners. He told me he was always trying to escape. She could just be jealous and trying to spread lies about Ben. From how everyone else talks about her she does not seem like she should be trusted.

"I just need to be alone to think," I said.

"Please," Ben said. He grabbed my shoulders and pulled me into a tight hug. "Please, don't let Candace come between us. I told you I would get both of us out of here. We're getting out of this together."