An Anonymous Girl by Greer Hendricks and Sarah Pekkanen Read Free Book Online Page B

getting in a bit of work while his wife bastes the turkey and his grandkidsset the table. He could be so committed to his job that he finds it hard to turn off, kind of like the way I’m beginning to find it difficult to stop think­ing about moral issues.
    A lot of the young women doing this survey would probably love the chance to go back for more sessions. I wonder why Dr. Shields chose me.
    My bus ticket back to the city is for Sunday morning. My parents wouldbe disappointed if I left early, even if I told them it was for a big job.
    I don’t reply yet. Instead, I tuck the phone back in my pocket and open the bathroom door.
    Phil is standing there.
    “Sorry,” I say, and try to squeeze past him in the narrow hallway. I can smell the beer on his breath when he leans closer to me. Phil went to high school with us, too. He and Gail have been togethersince he was in twelfth grade and she was in tenth.
    “I heard Shelly wants to set you up with Keith,” he says.
    I give a little laugh, wishing he’d move aside and stop blocking my path.
    “I’m not really interested in Keith,” I say.
    “Yeah?” He leans closer. “You’re too good for him.”
    “Uh, thanks,” I say.
    “You know, I always had a thing for you.”
    I freeze. His eyes lockon to mine.
    His wife is eight months pregnant. What is he doing?
    “Phil!” Gail calls from the kitchen. Her words shatter the silence. “I’m tired. We need to get going.”
    He finally steps aside and I hurry past him, hugging the wall.
    “See you tomorrow, Jess,” he says, just before he shuts the bathroom door.
    I pause at the end of the hallway.
    My wool sweater suddenly feelsitchy and I can’t get enough air into my lungs. I don’t know if it’s from the pungent candle or Phil’s flirtation. The feeling isn’t unfamiliar; it’s why I left home years ago.
    I make my way to the back porch.
    As I stand outside and gulp in the cold air, my fingers reach into my pocket and feel for the smooth plastic encasing my phone.
    My parents are going to run out of money eventually.I should stock­pile as much of it as I can now. And if I turn Dr. Shields down, maybe he’ll find another subject, one with more flexibility.
    Even I recognize that I’m coming up with too many rationalizations.
    I pull out my phone and respond to Dr. Shields:
Anytime Sat or Sun works great for me.
    Almost immediately, I see the three dots that mean he is writing a response. A moment later,I read it:
Wonderful. You are confirmed for noon on Saturday. Same location.

CHAPTER
EIGHT
    Saturday, November 24
    You have no idea how eagerly your third session has been anticipated, Subject 52.
    You look as lovely as ever, but your manner is subdued. After you enter Room 214, you slowly slip out of your coat and place it on the back of your chair. It hangs unevenly, but you don’t adjust it. You sit down heavily and hesitate before you touch the
Enter
key to begin.
    Were you lonely on Thanksgiving, too?
    Once the first query appears and you open your thoughts, your true nature asserts itself and you grow more animated.
    You are learning to enjoy the process, aren’t you?
    When the fourth question emerges, your fingers move across the keyboard swiftly. Your posture is excellent. You do not fidget. This all indicates that you haveespecially strong and clear feelings on this par­ticular subject.
    You see your friend’s fiancé kiss another woman a week before the wed­ding. Do you tell her?
    What I’d do is this,
you type.
I’d confront him and say that he has 24 hours to confess, or I’ll tell her myself. It would be one thing if he were with his buddies at a bachelor party at a strip club and he put a twenty in a G-string.A lot of guys do that sort of stuff for show. But outside of a situation like that, there isn’t any excuse. I couldn’t look the other way and pretend I didn’t see it. Because if a guy cheats once, you know he’s going to do it again.
    After you write those words, you stop