Page 71 of No Safe Place
‘If she won’t talk to me, she won’t want to talk to you,’ he said, voice hoarse.
‘She’s upstairs,’ Zara said. ‘In David’s office.’
Field took a seat next to Simon, careful not to touch him, but sitting close. ‘We’re not here to question her, or you.’
Simon exhaled, shakily.
‘We’re just here to lend support,’ Zara added.
Their heads snapped up in unison, as glass shattered somewhere above them.
Chapter 48
Friday | Morning
Callum
Callum stretched out on the bed, feeling the aches in each limb at a time.
He remembered being awake for a few hours last night. He’d spent some time speaking with Dr Maxwell, been given a higher-than-usual dose of his normal meds, then went back to sleep.
Slowly, it felt like he was coming back to himself.
The last time he was sectioned was twelve years ago – when he was twenty. His nan got sick, and then they lost Paige, and everything became too much. He didn’t remember being admitted to the adult unit, or his first few weeks there. David immediately took Callum back on as a patient. Lily visited, once he was up to seeing people.
There were just so many compulsions, and they were so contradictory that he was entirely unable to function. It mostly felt like it was happening to someone else.
Callum sat upright. Being sucked into memories wasn’t going to help. David’s usual words rang in his ears:
OCD-brain wants you to dwell on those times, to obsess over them – rather than focusing on tackling today.
At their next session, David would praise Callum for recalling his voice, his advice, despite everything.CBT is alive and kicking. One of his favourite phrases whenever Callum showed the faintest sign of resisting a compulsion.
Callum hoped someone had seen David’s name on his file, and put a call in. He’d forgotten to ask Maxwell.
Callum closed his eyes. He was tired. Dog-tired.
A hangover from the sedative.
Closing his eyes brought back images of blood and the sound of Sam’s gasping breaths.
His eyes flicked open.
It didn’t make any sense. He hadn’t seen Sam for years, hadn’t spoken to her – although she was probably friends with Lil on Facebook. Then she was outside his house.
What if they think I did it?
His brain went into overdrive and within seconds he had lived an entire lifetime as a guilty man. What if Sam never woke up, or she didn’t remember who attacked her? What if he went to prison? What if he died in prison? What if he had done it, but he couldn’t remember doing it? What if—
Two knocks on the door.
Dr Maxwell edged his way into Callum’s room like he was intruding on a private moment – which, in a way, he was.
Callum sat up, and Maxwell took the hard plastic chair opposite the bed.
‘The police are here.’ Maxwell spoke in a very soft, very gentle way. The way you might address someone with advanced Alzheimer’s, Callum thought. ‘They want to speak to you.’
He rubbed his head, trying to clear the last of the sedation-fog. ‘Okay.’
