Cecelia Ahern - Perfect

“I didn’t realize it was there until too late. Mary May removed everything from my bedroom. I don’t think she knows it’s in the snow globe, though, otherwise I wouldn’t be here. Where would she have put it?”

“I don’t know.” She thinks, eyes panicking. If they find the footage in the globe, it will land her in a lot of trouble.

“Please, Tina, I need to know. Please find out for me.”

The door opens.

She reaches out and I think she’s going to slap me but she pushes my head back down on the pillow and places her hand over my eyes so that I instantly close them.

“She’s still sleeping, Dr. Greene,” Tina says quietly.

“Goodness, I’ve never known somebody to sleep so heavily.”

“I suppose she has been on the run for quite some time. I imagine she’s exhausted,” Tina says, and I hear the pity in her voice.

“Hmm.” Dr. Greene doesn’t sound so certain. “Are you sure she’s not on any medication?”

“I wouldn’t know, Doctor,” Tina says carefully. “I’ve just been asked to keep an eye on her.”

“Usually I prepare for weeks in advance, to make sure the medication doesn’t interfere with the blood’s ability to form clots.” She talks to Tina like she distrusts her, like she is giving her a chance to fess up to drugging me.

There’s an awkward silence. They’re watching me.

“I’m afraid Judge Crevan is the person to ask about that.”

“I already did.”

And they both know that they can’t ask him twice.

I try to keep my breathing steady. I’m reminded of being under the ground in the cooking pit. At least now I can breathe. Things are looking up. Though the paralysis is a new one.

“Have you seen the brand?” Dr. Greene asks in a hush.

“I was there at the time, Doctor.”

“I can’t believe that the girl would do this to herself. How did she get the branding tool from the guard in a moment like that? Aren’t the Flawed supposed to be restrained in the chair?”

“Excuse me?” Tina asks, surprised.

“Judge Crevan tells me you were all unable to stop Celestine from branding herself.”

Silence.

“It’s important that we remove it immediately. Her accusations against Judge Crevan would have serious repercussions. You know she’s telling people that he did it to her? No wonder he’s been going out of his mind to find her.”

Tina is completely silent.

“It is what happened, isn’t it?” Dr. Greene asks uncertainly.

“Is she awake?” Crevan’s voice booms as he bursts into the room.

“Not yet, Judge,” Dr. Greene says, startled.

“Call me as soon as she is. I don’t want her talking to anyone, spreading more of her lies.”

“Yes, sir,” Tina says quickly.

“All is in order? The operating room is to your satisfaction, Dr. Greene?”

“Yes, Judge, thank you. May I ask, what is this facility? I wasn’t aware of its existence.”

“This section is new. Secret government stuff, Dr. Greene.” I hear the smile in his voice and imagine his face. I used to think he was handsome, too, before the mask came off.

“I’d like to take a look at the scar before surgery, if I may,” Dr. Greene says firmly.

Tina and Dr. Greene roll me to my side. I hope that Crevan isn’t standing by and watching. Dr. Greene sucks in air.

“Gosh, that looks painful. Like torture. Why would a young girl do that to herself?” she asks.

“Who knows what goes through the mind of a Flawed? We’ll reconvene after surgery, Dr. Greene,” Crevan says. “I’m afraid I must prepare for this dreaded interview that the prime minister has asked me do ahead of the election. I must prove to the public I’m not the big bad wolf the Vital Party is making me out to be,” he jokes again, trying to play it down.

If the government has asked him to do this interview, then he is in a lot of trouble indeed. Damage control.

“Oh, indeed, a sit-down with Erica Edelman. She’s”—the doctor stalls—“an efficient interviewer. I wish you luck.”

“Luck indeed,” he says. “She’s out for my blood, I think, but I’ll get around her.”

His footsteps die away as he leaves the room.

“What is entailed in the surgery?” Tina asks in a small voice.

“When Celestine wakes we’ll place an IV in her arm, to administer the general anesthetic and fluids. I’ll inject medicine into the IV and she’ll go to sleep; she won’t feel any pain. I’ll be doing a split-level thickness graft; I’ll remove skin from her inner thigh, then I’ll fix it to the brand with stitches. I’ll cover the donor area with a dressing. We’ll take her back here to recovery, where we’ll administer her pain relief, anything to make her feel comfortable. I’ll need to observe her for a few days to make sure both the donor site and the graft are healing well. She’ll have to avoid strenuous activities for three to four weeks and the donor site should heal within two to three weeks.”

“She’s been there before, treating her wounds,” Tina says quietly.

“You seem … forgive me for saying this, but you seem concerned about her. Fond of her, perhaps?”

“My daughter is her age,” Tina says.

“Interesting,” Dr. Greene says. “You sound just like her.”

“What do you mean?”

“I watched Celestine’s trial. She said the reason she helped the old man on the bus was because he reminded her of her granddad.”

“I believe it’s called empathy,” Tina says gently. “We may have lost that as a society.”

“Not all of us,” Dr. Greene says.

Her footsteps squeak on the linoleum and then it’s just me and Tina.

“You’ve got one hour at most to get yourself out of here,” Tina says quickly in my ear. “Any longer and Dr. Greene will start asking Crevan questions and then she’ll be in a world of trouble. I’m going to take a coffee break. I’ve left my car keys beside my bag on the chair in the corner of the room. My car is outside in the parking lot. I’ll distract the others. But that’s all I can do for you, Celestine,” she says, almost apologetically. She leaves quickly, before I beg for more. Which I would.

I don’t waste any time. I use my elbows to sit up. I reach for the curtain to use it to ease myself to the floor but I’m too heavy and it comes away from the rings on the rail. I topple to the floor with a grunt, hurting my side, and doing who knows what to my legs, but I can’t feel them as they bang to the ground. I roll onto my belly, trying to ignore the pain, and pull myself on my front, using my elbows, dragging my legs behind me.

My body feels heavy and sluggish, like it’s dead; it won’t listen or obey my commands. Sweat breaks out on my skin immediately from the effort and my skin slides along the polished floor. I can’t feel the floor against my legs. It’s as though my body has been halved, I’ve no feeling at all below my waist. I have no idea where I am; I’m wearing just my underwear beneath the red gown; I can barely make it to the door of my hospital room, never mind attempting to escape the building. I know that I’m not in Highland Castle anyway.

I get to the chair with Tina’s black leather bag and reach up to grab the set of car keys.

I have visions of Crevan walking in on me, finding me sprawled on the floor, moving like a slug at his feet. Helpless and at his mercy, right where he wants me. This thought gives me more strength and I increase my pace, pulling myself along faster.

The door has been left ajar, enough of a gap for me to reach my hand in and pull, thankful I don’t have to stretch to the handle, which would have been impossible. Tina has given me more of a chance than I’d thought. I look outside to the corridor. It’s empty. I hear voices down the hall, from a staff room.