Chapter 7

Maribel laid the commitment folder on the kitchen table and opened it. The papers were crisp and white. Emergency custody. Involuntary hold. Medical necessity. I saw my name printed in the blank spaces, and Luke’s name, and Maribel’s signature already inked at the bottom of one page.

“You need to sign here,” she said, sliding a pen toward me.

“I’m not signing anything.”

“You don’t have a choice. This is for your own good.”

Rhonda came in from the porch, shaking sleet from her coat. She looked at the folder, then at me. Her face was careful, neutral. She was Maribel’s cousin. She had already written the false notes. She had already chosen.

“Cora,” Rhonda said. “We’re worried about you. You’ve been confused. You left the stove on.”

“I didn’t.”

“You accused Luke of poisoning you.”

“He did poison me. You know he did. You wrote it down before I said it.”

Rhonda’s eyes flickered. Maribel stepped between us.

“That’s enough,” Maribel said. “Rhonda, get the sedative. It’s in my tote.”

Rhonda hesitated. For a second, I thought she might refuse. Then she walked to the tote and came back with a syringe and a small vial.

“This will help you relax,” Maribel said. “Then we’ll go to the clinic.”

I looked at the syringe. I looked at the papers. I looked at Luke standing in the doorway with his arms crossed. The monitor was broken on the floor. The card was in Walter’s pendant. The trooper was coming.

“I’ll take the pills,” I said. “The blue ones. I’ll take them.”

Maribel’s eyes narrowed. “What?”

“The blue capsules. I’ll take them. Just don’t use the needle.”

She studied me. I knew she wanted the needle. It was faster, cleaner, easier to explain. But I also knew she wanted me compliant before the trooper arrived.

“Fine,” she said. “Rhonda, get the bottle from my tote.”

Rhonda brought the blue bottle. Maribel shook two capsules into my palm. I put them in my mouth. I took the glass of water she offered. I tipped my head back and swallowed.

But I didn’t swallow. I’d learned that trick in high school, and I’d practiced it in the bathroom mirror for two weeks. The capsules stayed tucked in the pocket of my cheek. I drank the water, smiled, and opened my mouth to show her it was empty.

“Good,” Maribel said. “Now sit down and wait.”

I sat. The capsules sat against my gum, bitter and slick. I kept my face still. I kept my breathing even. I watched the clock.

At 8:30, the phone rang. Maribel answered it. “Yes. Yes, she’s calmer now. Thank you.”

She hung up and looked at me. “The clerk says the trooper is ten minutes out.”

Luke came into the kitchen and stood over me. “Where is it?”

“Where is what?”

“The card. The one from the monitor.”

My heart stopped. “It’s gone. You smashed it.”

“No. You took it. I know you did.”

He grabbed my hair and pulled my head back. I gasped. The capsules slid against my cheek. I bit down on them, hard, to keep them from falling out.

“Luke,” Maribel said. “Not now.”

“She’s lying.”

“She’s not lying. She’s confused. Let her go.”

He let go. I slumped forward, coughing. The capsules stayed in my mouth. I swallowed them down, then coughed them back into my cheek. I didn’t know if I could keep this up much longer.

“I’m going to check on Walter,” I said.

“No,” Maribel said. “You stay here.”

“He needs his blanket. He’s cold.”

“Rhonda will check.”

Rhonda looked at me. I looked back. For a second, I saw something in her eyes that might have been guilt. Then she turned away.

“I’ll go,” she said.

She walked down the hall. I heard her open Walter’s door. I heard his slow voice. Then I heard him cry out.

“Blue pills! Blue pills!”

Rhonda’s voice, sharp. “Walter, calm down.”

“Blue pills!”

Maribel froze. Luke turned toward the hall. I stood up.

“What’s he saying?” Maribel said.

“He’s confused,” Rhonda said from the doorway. “He’s just confused.”

But Walter kept saying it. Blue pills. Blue pills. The words carried through the house like a bell.