Patient Twelve

Chapter Twenty-Three

The flight back to Canada was quiet. Oliver and Bethany sat on opposite sides of the jet. They had Ben and I separated from each other. They ignored each other, except to say the odd snarky comment.

I was getting to go back to Canada, but I did not know how long this fight between Oliver and Bethany would last. It will delay how long it will take for Ben and me to get out of this. While they're fighting they'll be keeping the two of us apart. I just had to focus on the important part: I was getting off that island.

We landed at the field in Canada that we had taken off from. Oliver took my glasses and handed me the dark sunglasses. We walked out of the plane, and the few workers were taking the bags out of the plane. One worker drove Oliver's car up to us. He got out and passed Oliver the keys.

"Get in the car," he said to Bethany.

"No," she said.

"Beth, we'll talk about this when we get to my house," he said.

"No." She shook her head. "I'm not going home with you. We have nothing else to talk about."

She ripped her ring off her finger. She threw it at Oliver and it bounced off his chest. He tried to grab it, but missed and it fell into the overgrown grass.

"You're overreacting," Oliver said. He reached out to grab her, but she stepped back. He lowered his head and bit down on his lip. "Come on, Beth. Please, don't do this."

"I'm going to call a taxi," she said. "Let's go, Ben."

She turned and spoke to one of the workers. He nodded his head and grabbed two bags out of the trunk of Oliver's car. He wheeled them into the building. Bethany looked over at us with tear-filled eyes and walked away. Ben's face was pale. He opened his mouth to say something but didn't. He turned and followed Bethany into the building.

"Get in the car, Diana," Oliver said.

I nodded and got into the passenger seat. Oliver got onto his hands and knees and was searching through the grass. I looked over at the steering wheel, but the keys were not dangling from the ignition as I hoped. I searched around the driver's seat, but there was nothing.

Oliver came back to the car. I straightened and fastened the seatbelt across my chest. He slid into the driver's seat. He tossed Bethany's engagement ring into the cupholder.

He drove us back to his house in silence. He gave me the odd glare, but I didn't notice most of them because I was too focused on staring out the window. I tried to memorize the way out from Oliver's house.

"Wait for me," Oliver said when he pulled into the driveway. He walked around to my side of the car and opened the door. He grabbed a fistful of my hair and pulled me out of the car. My hands went around his wrist, and I gritted my teeth.

"Let go of me!" I yelled.

He pulled me into the house by my hair. My scalp burned, and I clawed at Oliver's hand. My feet stumbled as he pulled me down the stairs to the basement. I reached out for the railing, but Oliver grabbed my wrist with his other hand. He pushed me down onto the floor. I screamed as my elbow broke my fall. Pain shot up my arm and tears filled my eyes.

"What were you thinking, Diana?" Oliver asked.

I looked up with my blurry vision to see Oliver towering over me. I cradled my arm to my chest and rolled onto my back.

"I'm sorry," I cried.

"How many times have you done it?" he asked.

"What?"