Free Exit Light by Megan Hart Page A

ago, I guess. Nobody was here.”
    “What do you mean, nobody was here?” Ava frowned. “You know someone’s always at the desk.” She tilted her chair to call back into the meds room. “Marco? Did you go somewhere?”
    Marco, a tall bald man who liked to play solitaire and kept his pockets full of peppermints, stuck his head around the corner. “No.”
    Ava looked back at Tovah. “You still need to sign in.”
    “But I—” Tovah looked at the clipboard Ava was pushing toward her. The last signature had been written with the same memorable purple ink she’d used, but it wasn’t her name. “I thought I signed in already.”
    Ava sniffed. “Well, you didn’t. C’mon, don’t give me a hard time. You know the rules.”
    Tovah thought about making a smart comment about the rules saying someone had to be at the station at all times, too, but she didn’t. She just signed her name, making sure each letter stayed in its place, and handed the clipboard back to Ava. “See you.”
    “He could use some new air fresheners, next time you come,” called Ava after her as she headed down the hall to Henry’s room. “And take away some of those books today. They’re gathering dust, that’s all they’re doing.”
    Tovah nodded and moved toward the hall to Henry’s room. She looked over her shoulder, hoping for another glance at Dr. Goodfellow. She had a clear view into the lounge, but he must have left it because she didn’t see him anywhere.
     
    “Did you see the paper?”
    Tovah’s sister meant well, but that didn’t make Tovah feel any better about the article she had, indeed, seen. “I saw it.”
    The real question was how Adina had seen an article from the Harrisburg Patriot-News from her home in Syracuse. “Tessie’s cousin’s sister-in-law sent it to Ma. Ma said we shouldn’t call you about it, but I told her you’d have seen it.”
    Tovah smiled into the phone. Her mother was a big fan of avoiding uncomfortable situations. She routinely ignored Tovah’s prosthetic leg and referred to her daughter’s hospital stay as the time Tovah had “been away.”
    “Yeah. I did.”
    Adina snorted. “You okay? It’s pretty ballsy of him to put his engagement announcement in the paper, considering you two aren’t even divorced yet.”
    “He wants to sign the papers.”
    “It’s about time, the mamzer! ” Adina had never liked Kevin.
    Adina next launched into a long discussion about men and their failings. It was an old speech and required only that Tovah murmur in the right places.
    “But so, what about you?” Adina said at last. “How are you doing, aside from Kevin-the-bastard?”
    “I’m fine.”
    Adina snorted. “Really?”
    Tovah laughed at her sister’s blatant disbelief. “Yes, Dina. Really.”
    “Do you need anything?”
    “No.” Tovah waited, knowing that answer wouldn’t suffice.
    “Just checking. You know, if you lived closer—”
    “I know.” It was an old argument. Tovah had been the one to move away from the family. To break away. And look what had happened to her?
    “We miss you, that’s all.” Adina sounded sincere, and though Tovah knew her sister wasn’t deliberately trying to make her feel guilty, she did anyway. “Maybe you’ll come home for Thanksgiving, no?”
    “Sure.” It was easier to agree than flat-out say no, and the answer satisfied Adina enough for her to end the call.
    The truth was, Tovah didn’t want to go home. Returning to her parents’ house, her childhood home, trying to ignore the way her mother glossed over her injuries and what she’d been through—it was too much. She loved her family better from afar, that was all. It was easier that way. For all of them.
    She pulled the paper closer, still folded open to the announcements page. Kevin Connelly and Jennifer Petrucci looked happy in their photo, and why shouldn’t they? Tovah wanted to cough out the senseless bitterness choking her. Her mother wanted to pretend nothing had happened. Her