Page 14 of The Bad Man
“Why don’t you ride to work with me?”
“Oh...” I hesitate, trying to come up with a reason why I can’t ride to work with him. “You’re going in for the night shift?”
“I need to check on a few things.” He puts his hand on my back and leads me out of the building. He’s not giving me a chance to refuse. “How is it working at Bellevue?”
“I enjoy it,” I say politely while he opens the car door for me.
“You always have adorable scrubs,” he says when he gets into the driver's seat and pulls out of the parking lot.
“Thanks.” I’m not sure how else to respond, so I press my lips together.
“They look soft,” he says and then reaches over and rubs my thigh.
My whole body tenses, and my throat feels like it’s going to close.
He must be sensing my unease because he takes his hand away quickly. “Are you always this shy?”
Is it really considered shy when you don’t want a stranger to touch you? “Sorry,” I mutter and instantly want to kick myself. Why am I apologizing? “Guess I’m not used to being touched.”
Dr. Crane nods. “That’s right. You’re all alone.” I try not to fidget in my seat. His words are making the situation more uncomfortable. Which I didn’t think was possible. “It must be hard.”
“It was at first, but I’ve gotten used to it.”
“You know I’m only a few floors up. You’re more than welcome to come over anytime if you want company.”
“It’s not so easy when we work different shifts.” I let out an awkward laugh because I don’t want to make this worse.
“I’d make time for you.” He winks, and I realize he’s hitting on me.
My first thought is of Jamison and how he would feel about that.
“I’m pretty exhausted most of the time I’m away from work. I’m still getting used to working nights.”
“You know I’d be happy to help you get on the day shift.” His hand comes down on my thigh again. Only this time, he leaves it there. “If that’s what you want, all you have to do is ask.”
“No, I don’t want any favors.”
Dr. Crane says something else, but he’s pulling into the parking lot at work, and I practically jump out of the car when he stops. In the process, I nearly trip over my own damn feet to get away from him.
“Mia?” he calls after me, but I’ve already got my things in my hands and I’m backing away from the car.
“I just don’t want to be late.” I’m on the verge of running, but he hurries to catch up to me before I can enter the building.
“We’re not.” He grabs my elbow and halts my steps. “Are you sure you’re okay?”
He continues to touch me even though he knows I don’t like it. The way he’s looking at me makes me think he enjoys making me uncomfortable. My inner thoughts betray me as I remember all the things Jamison did when I told him to stop. But something about Jamison is different, and I don't know why. At least not yet.
“I'm fine.” I force myself to smile again, and thank god, the phone in his pocket starts ringing.
“We’ll talk about this later,” he says before releasing his hold on my elbow.
I walk fast to get inside and hope that I won’t run into him again tonight.
After I put my things in my locker, excitement to see Jamison makes me take the stairs two at a time. It’s almost embarrassing how much of a rush I’m in to get upstairs. My heart races with anticipation, and I feel alive.
When I enter my floor, I hear someone singing loudly. I follow the sound and see a young woman singing and dancing to her own song. She has to be over eighteen if she’s in this wing of the asylum, but she’s petite. Her long hair spins out around her, and the way she moves makes me think she might be a professional dancer. Or at least she was before she came here.
Everyone's watching her, so I do a quick scan of the room to see if Jamison is here. When I find him, he’s sitting in the corner with a book in his lap, but he’s not reading. He’s watching the girl too, and a rush of jealousy fills me.