16---Tell me to find Patient No. 13

I stumbled back when he pressed his lips against mine. He put his arm around my back to keep me from falling, but he also took the opportunity to pull me closer. I put my hands on his chest and pushed him to take his lips away from mine.

"Ben, what are you doing?"

"Stay away from me!" He took a step back. He shook his head and ran his hands over his face. There was a smudge on the lens of my glasses that fell off his nose. Be

He poked his fingers into his eyes and let out a shaky breath.

"I'm sorry," he said. "I don't know what happened to me."

He walked towards me and I took a step back. I ran my hand along the wall until I felt the doorknob. When Ben saw me open the door, he lunged forward. He reached across me and closed the door. He glanced back and put his other hand on the other side of my head.

"Dee, don't be angry with me," he said softly.

Ben leaned toward me and I inhaled sharply. A heavy feeling of fear settled in my chest. Ben slept with Bethany to gain her trust.

What does he want from me? Was everything he told me to do part of a plan to benefit him? He's the one person I can at least trust.

He touched my cheek, which brought me out of my reverie. I grabbed his wrist and pushed him away, but he came closer. He rested his cheek against the top of my head. I turned my head as my face was pressed against his chest. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done this. I just...I was so alone. I was stuck at Bethany's house or on this island. I never thought I could actually get out of here, but you gave me hope. "

Ben's voice was hoarse and he was sobbing. I realized he was crying. I've never seen a man cry before. I've seen my mom and Marcy cry a lot. I've never had male friends so this was new to me.

"I haven't tried to escape in over a year," he said. "I had nowhere to go. My parents basically disowned me when I moved to Toronto. My sister was teaching in Africa and all my friends had forgotten about me. If I left Bethany, I would Homeless. No one will want to be with me because of these experiments."

Ben's tears fell into my hair and ran cold onto my scalp. I pushed Ben back and he released me from his arms. His eyes were filled with red. He quickly wiped the tears from his face and turned his back to me.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" I asked.

Ben shrugged. "I can probably figure it out."

"What about the medicine?" I asked.

"They're just immunosuppressants. Bethany and Oliver have a huge stock of them. I might even be able to find prescription pads."

He turned around and grabbed my shoulders. He took a sharp breath to stop himself from crying.

"You're going back to Canada," he said. "We're going to come back to Canada and we're going to get out of this."

I nodded. "I always thought that was the plan."

Ben smiled and then pulled me in for another hug. My mind was racing as I pulled his arms away from me. He frowned. I looked down at the floor, then he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. His face was pale and his cheeks were stained with tears.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"Can you go?" I asked. "I need to be alone."

He nodded and kissed the top of my head. He let go of me and walked through the door connecting our rooms. I locked the door. I pulled the sheets over my head, a strange chill running through my bones.

Ben has been lying to me. I know it's weird that he and Bethenny were together for three years, but I seem to accept it. He was helping them kidnap me. He might have the key to get us out of Oliver's house. We could have gone out. He is the reason I may be imprisoned on this island forever.

Tears rolled down. I put my glasses on the bedside table and put the blanket over my head.

What was the meaning of that kiss? Does Ben like me? What does he want to do? What is his plan for us?

I spent the rest of the day curled up in a ball. The doorknob shook as Ben tried to come back. I'm glad I locked the door. Most of the day passed before I heard a knock on the door. I didn't answer and Rita opened the door.

"Diana, dinner is ready," she said.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"What's the matter?" "I just have a headache."

She said nothing, but I heard the door click shut. I wrapped the blanket tighter around me. The sun was setting, filling the room with a dark orange glow. There was silence in the room. After some time, the door opened again.

I looked up and saw Oliver. He holds a glass of water and a book in his hands. I let myself fall back onto the bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand beside me.

"I heard you weren't feeling well," he said.

"It's just a headache," I said. "I need sleep."

"Can't you sleep at night?"

I knew I was digging a hole for myself. If I pretended that I couldn't sleep, he would start drugging me at night.

“It’s just the normal struggle of sleeping in a new bed,” I said.

He nodded to my side while rubbing it. It was meant to comfort me, but instead it made my stomach twist.

"Dr. Alexander is very impressed with you," he said. "He thinks you'll be a hit at this dinner."

"Please, don't let him buy me," I said.

"I won't," he said. "I need you."

The wave of relief is short-lived.

"What do you need me to do?" I asked.

"You won't be my only experiment," he said.

I sat shaking as the blanket fell from me. Oliver smiled and placed the book in my lap.

"You told me your sister was a nurse," he said. "Hopefully you got something from her."

I looked down and saw that it was a nursing textbook. A series of colorful labels stick out from the top of the book. I grabbed my glasses and opened the first page of markings. It's filled with pictures and colorful text boxes. This is a chapter on vital signs.

"You want to kidnap others?" I asked. "Yes," he said. "I know what to do now and having another big hand will help me. Haha."

"I don't know what I'm doing."

"That's why you have this." He tapped his fingers on the textbook. "You'd better study hard to prevent Patient No. 13 from dying. You are my baby No. 12."

Oliver stood up from the bed. He handed me my medicine. I swallowed them and opened my mouth for Oliver to inspect.

"You'd better start studying," he said. "I'll try to find you some notebooks and pens."

"I don't know anything," I said.

"You're a smart girl. You'll understand," he said. "I asked Lita to bring you dinner."

He left my room and I knew I had to start studying.

Rita brought me a bowl of soup and a plate of food. She took away the plate of untouched waffles that Ben had brought me. I have no appetite to eat!

I tried to focus on the book, but the conversation with Ben lingered in my mind.

I read through the chapters marked by Oliver. Vital signs, aseptic technique, assessment, and transfusion are all labeled. I read for hours until I got a headache. I threw the book aside and turned off the light.

Moonlight streamed into the room. I turned my head and stared at the locked door.

Ben said get out of here. He knows how to get out of trouble. He has to get us out of here before Oliver goes out and kidnaps someone. He wouldn't take us out if he thought I was angry with him.

I was angry with him, but should I be? He doesn't get out of this mess because he has nowhere to go. I had mom and Marcy and he didn't have anyone. I can understand why he kissed me. I was the first person (not the psychiatrist) to be nice to him. He doesn't deserve this. He is a good man.

I took off the sheets and sat down. I can't imagine how Ben feels. I've only been here a week and my chest aches when I think about my family. Ben was a good person who stopped me from living alone.

I walked across the room to the door that separated our rooms. The lock turns and clicks. I was worried he would lock his side, but the door opened.

Ben lay on his back on the messy sheets. The dim light in the room allowed me to see that his eyes were closed and his chest was rising and falling. I lifted up the corner of the sheet and slid into bed.

His arms wrapped around me, pushing me into his bare chest. The rough scales of his chest pressed against my cheek.

Neither of us said a word and just fell asleep.