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

"Ben, what are you doing?"

"Stay away from me!" He took a step back. He shook his head and stroked his face with his hand. I had a smudge on the lens of my glasses falling off his nose. Be

Poke your fingers into your eyes and exhale with a trembling breath.

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

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

"Dee, don't be mad at me," he whispered.

Ben leaned over to me, and I took a sharp breath. A heavy sense of fear gripped my chest. Ben slept with Bethany to win her trust.

What does he want from me? Was everything he told me to do part of a plan that was good for him? He's the least I can trust.

He touched my cheek, and it brought me back from my contemplation. I grabbed him by the wrist and pushed him away, but he got closer. He pressed his cheek against the top of my head. I turned my head as my face pressed against his chest. "I'm sorry," he said. "I shouldn't have done that. I was just...... I was so lonely. I've been stuck at Bethany's house or on this island. I never thought I'd actually get out of here, but you've given me hope. ”

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

"I haven't tried to escape in over a year," he said. "I have nowhere to go. When I moved to Toronto, my parents basically cut ties with me. My sister teaches in Africa and all my friends have forgotten about me. If I left Bethany, I would be homeless. No one wants to be with me because of these experiments. ”

Ben's tears fell into my hair and ran cold down my scalp. I pushed Ben back and he let me go of his arms. His eyes were full of 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 large inventory. I might still be able to find a prescription pad. ”

He turned around and grabbed me by the shoulder. He took a sharp breath to keep himself from crying.

"You're going back to Canada," he said. "We're going to go back to Canada, we're going to get out of it."

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

Ben smiled, then pulled me over and hugged me again. My mind raced as I pulled his arm away from me. He frowned. I looked down at the floor, and then he grabbed my chin and forced me to look at him. His face was pale, and his cheeks were covered with tears.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

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

He nodded, then kissed the top of my head. He let go of me and walked through the door that connected our room. I locked the door. I pulled the sheets over my head, and a strange chill ran through my bones.

Ben has been lying to me. I know it's weird that he's been with Bethany for three years, but I seem to accept it. He's helping them kidnap me. He may have had the keys to take us out of Oliver's house. We could have gotten out. He was the reason why I might 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's the point of that kiss? Does Ben like me? What does he want to do? What does he have in store for us?

I curled up for the rest of the day. When Ben tries to come back, the doorknob shakes. 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 didn't speak, but I heard the door "click" shut. I wrapped the blanket tightly. As the sun sets, the room fills with a dark orange glow. There was silence in the room. It was a while before the door opened again.

I looked up and saw Oliver. He had a glass of water and a book in his hand. I allowed myself to fall back into bed. He sat on the edge of the bed and put his hand beside me.

"I heard you don't feel 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 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 rubbed and nodded. It was meant to comfort me, but it made my stomach twist.

"Dr. Alexander is very impressed with you," he said. "He thinks you're going to be a big 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 was short-lived.

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

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

I sat shivering as the blanket fell off me. Oliver smiled and put the book on my lap.

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

I looked down and it was a nursing textbook. A series of colored labels protrude from the top of the book. I grabbed my glasses and opened the first page of the marker. It is full of pictures and colored text boxes. This is a chapter on vital signs.

"You're going to kidnap someone else?" I asked. "Yes," he said. "I know what to do now, and there's another big hand that's going to help me. Ha ha. ”

"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 lest patient number thirteen die. You're my twelfth baby."

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

"You'd better start learning," he said. "I'll do my best 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'll ask Rita 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 a plate of untouched waffles that Ben had brought me. I don't have an appetite for food!

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

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

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

Ben said to get out of here. He knows how to get out of trouble. He has to get us out of here before Oliver goes out to kidnap someone. He won't take us out if he thinks I'm mad at him.

I'm mad at him, but should I be angry? He didn't get out of this predicament because he had nowhere to go. I have Mom and Marcy and he doesn't have anybody. I can understand why he kissed me. I was the first person to be nice to him (not a psychiatrist). He doesn't deserve it. He's a good guy.

I took off my sheets and sat down. I can't imagine how Ben feels. I've only been here for a week, and the thought of my family makes my chest feel a dull ache. Ben is a good person who prevents me from living alone.

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

Ben lies on his back on a messy sheet. The dim light in the room allowed me to see him with his eyes closed and his chest heaving. I lifted the corner of the sheet and slid into it.

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

None of us said a word, and we fell asleep.