Read Online Tentyrian Legacy by Elise Walters - Free Book Online Page A

I don’t understand!”
    Ari could see her father’s eyes fixated on
the black and white clock that hung beneath the crown molding. He
was probably counting the seconds until he could get back to the
office. Her mother, on the other hand, was fuming.
    “After everything we have done for you,
Arianna! How can you not understand? And where are your manners?
Please apologize to Dr. Wilson,” scolded Gloria.
    “No, I will not apologize,” Ari replied
defiantly.
    “If I may interrupt,” said Dr. Wilson.
“Arianna, I sense that you are angry. Can you tell us why?” he
asked.
    She stared at his white coat embroidered with
his name. The prefix “Dr.” gave him all the power that mattered. He
could keep her there forever. She should have controlled her
temper, she silently chastised herself. If she had any hope of
leaving, she would need to appease them.
    “Dr. Wilson,” she said apologetically, “I’m
sorry. I’m not angry. I’m just tired. I feel upset because no one
will tell me how much longer I am staying here.” Ari was ashamed at
how pathetic her voice sounded. “I need to speak with your parents
about that, but before I do, would you like to stay here, Arianna?”
Dr. Wilson asked. She could almost see the dollar signs in his
eyes.
    “No,” she replied. “I want to get back to my
dog and my life.” Whatever sad life she had, Ari thought.
    “Arianna, you can’t get back to your life
until you realize how important it is that you take your medication
and come to terms with your anger at your illness. You said
yourself that you don’t think your medication works and that you
are a ‘lab rat,’” said the doctor. “Can you tell us more about
that?”
    What else was there to tell? Breathe,
breathe, breathe, she chanted silently.
    “Dr. Wilson, I’m not angry about my illness.
I accept it. I just want to go home. I’ll take my medication. I
promise.” Ari felt the hard shell she put around her begin to
crack. She knew she sounded desperate— but she couldn’t take it
much longer. The knot in her throat was rising and threatened to
burst into a sob.
    “I misspoke, Dr. Wilson. Sometimes it feels
like the medication doesn’t work. I am feeling much better, though,
since I got here,” she lied. “And it’s just that I’m undergoing so
many tests all the time. Can’t you understand that I’m tired of it?
I’ve been poked and prodded with needles and machines since I was
little.”
    “I hear how you feel, Arianna. I’d like to
talk more about this. I think we can make some real progress
together,” answered Dr. Wilson like a robot reading a script. The
lack of feeling made Ari wanted to slap him. The doctor then turned
to her parents and asked them if they could speak privately.
    “Arianna, we are going to go back to my
office. You are welcome to stay here or return to your suite,” said
Dr. Wilson. She knew they were going to decide her fate, which was
clearly out of her hands.
    “I think I’d like to go for a walk outside,”
said Ari in a detached voice. The inevitable outcome was
sealed.
    “We’ll have things wrapped up in forty
minutes or so. I’ll send a nurse to get you. Please stay on the
main pavilion,” replied Dr. Wilson as he escorted her parents out.
Ari stared after them as they walked down the hall to Dr. Wilson’s
office. They didn’t even say good-bye. No, “We’ll see you in a few,
sweetheart.” Ari left the therapy room that was wallpapered with
peach floral. She expected some people found the walls soothing.
She found them disgusting. In fact, the whole situation she was in
disgusted her.
    Ari pushed open the doors to the pavilion
with a frustrated shove. It was warmer now, but April’s showers
left the beautiful grounds looking soggy and muddy. A few patients
strolled about, and a small group played croquet. Ari looked for a
place to be alone. She sat on an iron bench next to the fountain of
stone water nymphs. She hoped no one would talk to her. She