Camila shakes her head. “You can’t do that.”
“Actually, Ican. I’m anadult. I’m allowed to go out on my own. I wasn’t going to take the car.”
Camila and Pete exchange knowing looks. I am getting so sick of everybody exchanging those looks. Like they’re all in on some secret that only I don’t know. And I find it even more interesting that Harry knew I wouldn’t make it out of here successfully.
“I want to leave,” I say through my teeth. “I’ll call the police if I have to.”
“Lady,I’msecurity,” Pete says.
I snatch my phone out of my pocket, glad I took the time to delete Harry’s text messages. “I’m calling 911. You can’t keep me prisoner here.”
“Tess, please.” Camila rests a hand on my arm before Pete can react. Her touch is gentle, at least. “Can we talk? Privately?”
I look between Camila and Pete, weighing my options. I want to try to make a run for it, but I don’t think I’ll make it. My best chance is to talk to Camila about it and explain how crazy this is. That I’m not some sort of dangerous mental patient who’s going to get myself killed if I’m alone for two seconds.
“Fine,” I agree.
Camila looks over at Pete. “You can go. I’ll handle it from here.”
His eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. “You sure?”
“I’m sure.”
Camila gently nudges me past customer service, down the hallway that leads to the bathroom. I follow her, my heart pounding so hard that I’m feeling dizzy. She stops and turns to face me, and all of a sudden, I’m not sure if I want to hear what she has to say to me.
“Tess.” Her voice is gentle but firm. Like a mother speaking to a naughty child. “Graham hired me to look after you today and every day. You’re not supposed to go off on your own. It’s not safe.”
“I just wanted to take a walk.” My voice has taken on a whiny tone, like Iamthat disobedient child. “I know where we are. I’ll be fine.”
“No.” Her dark eyebrows knit together. “Youwon’tbe fine. You’ve wandered off before and haven’t been able to find your way back. Graham was worried sick about you. That’s why I’m here, Tess.”
Of course, I can’t contradict her. It’s hard to make an argument based on things I’ve done or haven’t done in the past when I can’t remember a thing before this morning. That alone is troubling. Okay, maybe I’ve had bad days when I got lost or confused—I can accept that. But today isnota bad day. And I desperately want to get to the dog park. Harry won’t stay there forever. He may have left already.
“I’m not going to get lost,” I say as calmly as I can. “And honestly, it’s not your decision to make. Like I said, I’m an adult. You can’t stop me from leaving.”
Camila’s plump lips set into a straight line. “Actually, I can.”
“Excuseme?”
“Graham is your legal guardian.” She stares at me,unblinking. “We have the court documents to prove it. If you try to leave here, I’ll call the police and they’ll bring you back to the house.”
My breath catches in my throat. “You’re lying.”
“We’ve had to do it before.” She purses her lips. “Several times. It wasn’t pleasant—trust me. I hope we don’t have to do it today, but I will if I have to.”
“How…” I can barely choke out the words. “How could you do that to me?”
Her eyes soften. “It’s for your own safety, Tess. You’re not competent to—”
“Bullshit!”
A few people in the grocery store turn to stare at us, but I don’t care. Camila is lying to me. I am an adult. I could walk out of here anytime I want and there’s nothing she could do to stop me. The police won’t stop me. If I called them, she would be the one who ended up in jail.
But Camila doesn’t seem perturbed by my outburst. She looks like she expected it. There’s a weariness in her expression, like she’s had this conversation with me dozens of times before. The crease between her eyebrows grows deeper.
“You think you’re okay,” she says, “but you’re not, Tess. Your memory is badly impaired. You get confused easily.”
“I’m not confused…”
