Finding Forever (34 page)

Please, God. Give me strength.
Then came nine rings—the brass bell from atop Casa Bell signaling it was Rest Time.

The nurse entered Taylor's room as if on cue. “You need to get your rest. Trouble sleeping?”

“Yes.”

“Try these.” The nurse handed Taylor two large white pills. “It's melatonin, an herb. It will help regulate your sleep.”

“Thank you.” Taylor sat back onto the mattress and dropped the pills into her mouth, washing them down with water from the cup on her nightstand. “What's your name?”

“Mary.”

“And your last name?”

“Darling,” the nurse whispered. “Mary Darling. But we aren't supposed to share our last names with patients.”

“Our little secret,” Taylor whispered back with a wink.

Nurse Mary looked away and reached for the curtains. She snapped them shut. “Tomorrow is a big day. Visitor's Day.”

“Who's visiting?” Taylor asked.

“That I don't know. Only Dr. Kensington knows.”

Taylor reached for the nurse's hand and squeezed it. “Am I going to be okay?”

Nurse Mary squeezed back. “Yes, you will. But you must do as Dr. Kensington tells you, Ms. Prince.”

Taylor sat up. “What happens to people who don't finish the Program?”

The nurse shook her head. “Dr. Kensington believes failure is not an option. I've been here since Kensington opened eleven years ago. I have seen a lot of young stars like you, with varying results. My best advice, Ms. Prince, is to just focus on
the Work.” She patted Taylor on the wrist. “Dr. Kensington likes to say, ‘Nothing is really work unless you would rather be doing something else.' My advice is to not want to do anything else.”

“Are you afraid of him, too?” Taylor whispered.

Mary pulled her hand away.

“Has he hurt you?”

Mary locked eyes with her young patient.

“What's he going to do to me?”

Mary rolled her eyes up toward the security camera and back down to Taylor.

“I understand,” Taylor said. “Thank you, nurse. Good night.”

“Wakey, wakey. Eggs and bakey!” Brooklyn said.

Simone's eyes blinked open. “What the . . . What happened?” She sat up on the couch, pushing away the ice pack that Brooklyn had been holding on her forehead.

“Dude, a ginormous can of soup fell on your head and it knocked you out. You've been in and out for the last few minutes. You don't remember anything?”

“Not really,” Simone groaned.

“You had me worried there for a while.”

Brooklyn didn't mention the bomb of information that Beckett dropped while Simone lay in her stupor. Nor did she mention how Beckett had carried Simone from the pantry to the couch, leaving a minute before she fully came to. Brooklyn didn't consider not sharing all the information a violation of the ninth commandment. It wasn't
technically
a lie. And she had promised Beckett total anonymity.

“I sort of remember showing you the security footage, but it's all foggy, to be honest,” Simone said.

“Yeah. You showed me those guys with the guns. And I saw Pretty Boy on the tape, too. You have helped a lot. I think just having that footage is enough to start back-reporting.”

“Back
what
?”

“Back-reporting is when you go backward to figure out the story. Like I will start with trying to identify those guys, and from there figure out who they are, why they were there, why they took Taylor away, and ultimately, where Taylor is now.”

Brooklyn placed the ice pack next to Simone on the couch.

“As for you, sleepyhead, you just need to relax here for a while. I gotta get back to Twin Oaks, hopefully before midnight.
Tamara's waiting outside for me.” She handed Simone two Advils from her purse. “Take these and get some rest. I'll text you tomorrow.”

Simone took the tiny pills. “Thanks. But what about Pretty Boy?”

“I'm on it. I emailed Holden some screen grabs from the footage, and he is already back home researching. I'm going to track down Taylor, don't worry. We had a breakthrough tonight. We are much closer to finding her. Much, much closer.”

“I want to help.”

“You already have,” Brooklyn said. “And I will need more of your help. I have a plan.”

“What is it?”

Brooklyn smirked and love-tapped Simone on the cheek four times. “Let's just say that as soon as I find out where she is, we're all going on a little field trip.”