Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

KARMEN

Ilay on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. This place is bittersweet. I know that by being here, I get to see Rourk, but when he's not here, I hate it. He's been making an effort to be around more by coming in before his shift starts and staying later. Today, he said he had some things he needed to handle.

"Karmen." Olivia says my name as she knocks on my open door.

"Yeah?" I sit up on my bed as she comes closer.

"There's a detective here to speak with you."

I wring my fingers together because I don't want to talk to anyone without Rourk there. "Come on." Olivia motions for me to follow her, but I hesitate.

"Don't you think Dr. Rourk should be here if I'm talking to someone?"

Her brows pull together in confusion. "No, I don't think that's necessary."

I press my lips together so I don't ask another question. I probably shouldn't have asked that one to begin with. I don't need to draw attention to what the two of us have been up to.

Without another protest, I follow her out of my room and to her office. Detective Sybil Webb is back again, and she greets me with a smile. It goes a long way to put me at ease, but I'm still nervous without Rourk here.

"Karmen, I've got some news," she says, and her smile falters.

"Good or bad?" Any relief I felt at seeing her is gone, and I'm right back on the edge.

"It's a bit of both. That's why I came here today. I didn't want the hospital to release you without giving you an update on some recent developments."

"Release me?" I wasn't expecting her to say that.

"Indeed, your lawyer had the process expedited. The system's paperwork can drag, but he was able to move things along."

What? I didn't know I had a lawyer, but I'm not going to say that out loud. My first thought is that it could have been someone Rourk hired for me.

"And my lawyer got me discharged from the hospital?"

"He got all the charges dropped," she says with a satisfaction that I'm not sure I echo.

"So I don't have to go to court anymore?" They sent me here to Bellevue instead of jail, but I was still required to go to court because of the assault charges. There wasn't a bond, not that anyone would have paid that for me.

"Maybe, but that's part of what I want to talk about with you. I talked to a few more students from your school who also previously encountered problems with Andrew and filed complaints. With that information, I was able to develop a compelling case against him."

"That's good." Okay, so far none of this sounds like bad news.

"In order to see the previous complaints, I had to get a warrant for the school's records. We believe that once it was issued, Andrew was tipped off ahead of time."

"Okay…"

"After I collected everything and talked to some past students from the school, I knew I had enough for an arrest warrant and a warrant for his home. But by the time we got there, he was gone."

"So he's on the run?" I mean, it sucks they didn't get him, but at least he's out of the school.

"He is, but there's more. Do you want to sit down?"

"Okay, guess so."

I drop down into one of the chairs, wondering what else could be so bad. This all sounds good for me at least. She takes a seat in the chair across from me, and her expression is serious.

"We have reason to believe that Andew has a bit of an obsession with you. There are things we found in his home that are a cause for concern." Detective Sybil shifts in her seat, and I can tell she's uncomfortable with whatever it is she's about to tell me.

Her hesitation only makes me more curious. "What kinds of things?"

"It might be best to show you." Sybil grabs a folder off the desk beside her and pulls out a picture.

When I take it from her, I'm confused. In its entirety, it appears to be some sort of shrine with my picture in the center. There are candles around it, and when I look closer, I can make out some of the other photos. The more I look, the more my stomach cramps. There's one of me in my dorm room wearing only my bra and panties.

"What's that?" I'm not sure I want to know, but I point to the pile of stuff in front of the shrine.

"We believe those are your underwear," Sybil says.

"Gross." I hand her the picture back, completely creeped out. Andrew was disgusting, and this is a whole other level.

My thoughts go to what Rourk would say about this, and then I imagine him dedicating a shrine to me. For some reason, that sounds hot, and I'd be okay with it. Perhaps them locking me up here wasn't the worst idea.

"Yeah, that's why I wanted to give you a heads up. I don't know if he'll come looking for you or if he's headed out of state. He's got a couple of places he could hide, so he could be on the run. Either way, I thought it was best to inform you."

"Thank you," I say, and my shoulders sag.

"Here is my card." Sybil stands and then holds it out to me. "I want you to call me if you notice anything unusual. Or even if you want an update on what's going on."

"Okay," I say, then I put the card in my pocket and watch her leave.

"Are you ready to get checked out of here?" Olivia holds up a bag for me, and she's smiling like it's a ticket to Disneyland.

"Right now?" It's all happening so fast that I can't process leaving.

"You're no longer a patient here, Karmen," she says gently as I take the bag.

When I open it and look at what's inside, I see that it's everything I came here with. It's not much. The clothes I had on, my cell phone, and my wallet.

"Unfortunately I can't let you go back to your room. It's a security measure since you're no longer a patient," she says and nods to the bag. "But you can change in here, and I'll meet you in the hallway." I nod, and Olivia closes the door so I can get undressed.

It's strange putting on my school uniform, but it's all I have. When I try to turn my phone on, it's dead, so I toss it back in the bag. What the hell am I going to do?

When I'm finished getting dressed, Olivia is standing outside of her office waiting for me. "Now what?"

She walks to the exit door and taps her badge against it. When it beeps, she opens it for me. "You'll take these stairs down to the first floor. Don't worry, you can't access the other floors without clearance."

"What about Dr. Rourk? He's been helping me."

"You're no longer court-ordered to see a psychiatrist." She's not being mean; she's just stating the facts.

"But what if I want to?" The thought of leaving without talking to Rourk is making me panic.

"He works for Bellevue Asylum, Karmen. He can't see patients outside of this facility." She's looking at me with sympathy, but then she checks her watch like she's got other things to do.

"All right," I say, feeling defeated. If I push too hard to speak to him, it might raise a red flag. The last thing I want is to get him into trouble. He's been my saving grace while I was here, and I thought there was more between us. Was I wrong?

I have no choice but to do what she says and take the stairs. As I exit Bellevue Asylum, my heart grows heavy with sadness and loss. To make matters worse, by the time I get outside, the sun is setting. Dark gray clouds are rapidly rolling in, and I feel a drop of rain hit me on my cheek.

The only thing I can do is walk away, so I put one foot in front of the other. As I leave the asylum, I feel more alone now than ever before.