Straightjacket by Meredith Towbin Read Free Book Online Page B

Anna forced herself back to the common room and sank deep into the upholstered chair in the corner. She didn’t know how to feel. Mostly she was numb; it was her mind’s way of protecting her after especially brutal interactions with her parents.
    She spotted Caleb across the room. The urgency to go talk to him—to be near him—was the only thing that could find its way through the numbness. She scooted her way to the edge of the chair, ready to pop up and go to him.
    But he wasn’t moving.
    He was staring dumbly at the window, perfectly still with one arm suspended in the air. As she sunk back into the chair, the loneliness settled right in next to her.
     

Chapter Five
     
     
    Caleb could see the window a few feet away and the suggestion of his arm resting easily in space, but he wasn’t really there. He’d detached himself from his body for now. Every now and then a figure would zoom by, moving too quickly for him to see who it was. He felt something next to him, its weight sinking into the couch, and he was vaguely aware of its warmth.
    “Caleb?”
    The voice was very clear inside of him. He knew right away that it belonged. He answered yes with his mind, and then he was standing in what seemed like an empty room. Instead of walls, he was surrounded by a dazzling light that extended out into infinity. The light should have blinded him, but he was able to stare straight into it without having to squint. Somehow he could make out millions of variations of color within it, and it all made sense. The air around him was warm and comforting, and it felt like home.
    “How’s it going?” Samuel’s figure materialized right in front of him. He wore the same white polo shirt, the same patchwork madras pants, the same clean white golfing shoes that were as much a part of him as his smirk. This was this longest he’d ever been away from heaven; he’d almost forgotten Samuel’s voice. It didn’t sound like the voices that assaulted him in the hospital. It was strange to think of it as somehow restful. He had missed it.
    “Oh, great. Everything’s fantastic.”
    “Oh, come on now. I thought you had it covered, that you were prepared.”
    “It’s different than the first couple of times. Those were practice runs. The real thing is…it’s just different. Anyway, where are we? Can’t we meet in the commons?”
    “Nope.” Samuel pulled a golf club out from behind his back. He moved into his stance—knees bent and legs spread slightly with the club resting at an angle in front of him—and swung hard. He heard a swish as it sliced through the air. “You can’t come back, really come back, until you’ve done what you’re supposed to do. I guess you’d call this limbo. Your own little slice of heaven.”
    “Huh. Wish I could see the studio, though, just for a second. I miss my stuff.”
    “No.” Samuel assumed his stance again. “It would make things harder. You wouldn’t ever want to come back down. That’s why you’re here.” This time he swung the club even harder, and Caleb felt the vibrations in the air around him. “Anyway, I see you’re making some progress.”
    “I’m not sure I’d call it progress. One minute she thinks I’m an artistic genius, and the next she looks at me like I’m a lunatic,” Caleb said glumly.
    “Like I said, it’s not going to be easy.”
    “I’m trying, I really am. It’s hard. There are so many…bad feelings. Bad things that get in the way. Things get to me, make me angry. It distracts me.”
    “You just need to focus, filter out all the other stuff.”
    That was easy enough for Samuel to say. He wasn’t there, living it.
    “But she thinks I’m crazy.”
    “Of course she does, dumbass. You’re in a psych ward. Just think of it as an added challenge.” He laughed as his club sliced through the air again.
    “I’m glad you think this is funny.” Caleb was truly angry. He had never associated that with Samuel before. “Go back to your golf game and