Read Online What She Left Behind by Ellen Marie Wiseman - Free Book Online Page B

the doctor’s black Buick, her jacket and winter boots tossed onto the backseat beside her, her luggage thrown into the trunk. She remembered looking out the car window at the stone entrance of her parents’ house, the familiar granite balustrade and carved fleur-de-lis above the doorway. She wasn’t sure why she looked; maybe a small, hopeful part of her expected her mother to be crying on the steps, upset that her only daughter was being taken away. But the only thing she saw was the hem of her father’s smoking jacket as it disappeared through the entryway, the brass knocker bouncing with the slam of the door.
    Now, Clara chewed on the inside of her cheek, trying to think of a way to convince Dr. Thorn to let her go.
    “I’m sorry,” the doctor said. “But I’m afraid our time is up.”
    “But I . . .” Clara said.
    The doctor stood and went around the desk. “We’re finished for today, Clara.”
    Clara stood. “That’s it?” she said, throwing up her hands. “You’re going to make decisions based on a twenty-minute conversation?”
    “We’ll talk more at your next appointment,” he said, opening the door.
    “When?” she said. “Tomorrow?”
    Dr. Thorn smiled and shook his head. “I’m afraid I have to see some of my other patients tomorrow. We’ll meet again next week.”
    Clara’s stomach dropped. Next week? The thought of staying a full week nearly caused her to cry out. Surely her father didn’t mean for her to stay that long.
    Out in the hall, a young nurse waited to take Clara back to her room. Clara walked down the hall with her arms crossed over her middle, trying to keep herself from falling apart. It wouldn’t do any good to appear emotionally unstable in front of the nurse, even if the woman had smiled at her when she came out of the office, her soft blue eyes filled with pity.
    A block of fear settled in Clara’s stomach and her skin prickled with goose bumps. The corridors seemed to stretch on forever, the red and green carpet and crystal sconces reminding her of being inside the Funhouse on Coney Island, where patrons were harassed by a clown with an electric wand through crooked rooms and dark corridors with tilting floors and moving walls. She’d always hated the Funhouse, remembering her panic when an air jet burst across her ankles. After turning and clawing her way past the other patrons to get back outside, she vowed never to go inside again, no matter how much her friends made fun of her. The Long Island Home was a thousand times worse. Here, there was no way out, no exit, no way back to sunshine and corn dogs and laughing friends.
    When Clara reached her room, she stood at the door waiting for the nurse to let her in. She stared at the floor for what felt like a full minute before realizing the nurse had stopped a few steps behind her. The young nurse looked at Clara with a furrowed brow, as if trying to make a decision.
    “Have you been out on the grounds yet?” the nurse said.
    Clara shook her head. “I just got here.”
    “I know when you arrived,” the nurse said. “I was with Nurse McCarn when she led you to your room last night. I helped unpack your things.”
    “I’m sorry,” Clara said. “I don’t remember. I . . .”
    “It’s all right,” the nurse said, smiling. “Would you like to go outside for a little while? We’ve got a little time before lunch and it might be one of the last warm days before winter comes. The lawns are beautiful.” The nurse looked up and down the hall, as if worried someone might hear.
    Clara shook her head. “I just want to be left alone for a little while.”
    “Are you sure?” the nurse said. “The sun is shining and it’s so warm you don’t even need a sweater. Tomorrow it’s supposed to start getting cold and . . .”
    Clara sighed and let her shoulders drop. If nothing else, maybe she could learn her way around the Long Island Home and find a way out. She nodded and they started back down the hall, then