care of.”
“That sounds awful ,” I say. We both laugh.
“ Urgh, if you two end up getting off with each other, please do it away from me.” Lacey wrinkles her nose in disgust.
Mo makes a face but his eyes linger on mine long enough to make me wonder if he doesn’t mind the idea of getting off with me. I can’t decide if I like the idea or not. His lips are full and his eyes are brown and deep. There’s something kissable about him. Maybe it’s this place. Maybe it’s because I’m supposed to be here to get better and figure things out. I shouldn’t be going around snogging boys and getting my emotions in a mess. That’s not what I’m here for. Before I make up my mind, Marcus and Yasmeen burst in. Yasmeen’s hair is dishevelled.
“ See, these two decided to get it on in private before coming here. Follow example, lovebirds,” Lacey says.
I glower at her and shove her arm. “Shut up, Lacey.”
The door opens and Tom and Anka join us. Helen is right behind them.
“If these two get off with each other.” Lacey points at me and Mo. “And you two get off with each other.” She points at Tom and Anka. “Then it’s just you and me, Hels.”
Helen looks her up and down. “Meh, I’ve had worse.”
“Come on, get the ceiling open, man. I’m parched for a drink, yeah,” Marcus says.
“The addict has spoken. All right, I’ll get it open. Keep your knickers on.”
Marcus notices my expression. “I was a crack addict, not alcohol. Alcohol doesn’t even touch the sides, so don’t worry.”
“I, umm … wasn’t,” I mumble, all too aware of his bad temper.
Lacey loosens the ceiling tile. It leaves us with a space that appears way too small for a person to fit through. The others follow Lacey up. Miraculously, they don’t have any trouble getting through. I hang back. Fear creeps in. What if I have a claustrophobia freak out?
“You all right?” Mo asks. “You don’t have to , if you don’t want.”
“I want to. I t’s a bit narrow, though.”
“You’ll be fine. I’ll go up first and help you through.” He climbs onto Lacey’s bed and pulls himself up through the fairly low ceiling. When I stand on the bed I can put my palms on it, and I’m pretty short. Mo is quite tall and lean, so he makes it seem easy.
“Come on.” He extends a hand for me to grab.
I climb up onto the bed and take his hand. It’s warm and strong. With one hand on the ridge of the tile, I pull myself up, and let Mo take some of my weight, wiggling into the cavity on my belly.
“Follow me. There’s some crawl space and then we go up into the next floor.”
With my heart hammering in my chest, I watch Mo turn around in the confined space and crawl along the boards and fibreglass. With every ion in my body I hope to goodness that there aren’t any spiders. Luckily, it isn’t too far. We reach an open air vent and Mo helps me out.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“Believe it or not, the old psychiatric ward,” Mo says.
It’s clearly disused. There are cobwebs all over the place. The carpets are threadbare and the sofas sit abandoned, strewn with old magazines. A layer of dust covers everything. There’s an atmosphere to the place, like someone left in a hurry. Medical notes are strewn across the floor. A mop and bucket stand upright against a wall, still with its dirty contents inside. The glass in the TV has been smashed.
“Why would they leave it like this?” I say. “Surely the hospital needs the space.”
“No one knows,” Lacey says. “I don’t think anyone comes up here. Maybe it’s haunted or something.”
As we pad across the room , I get the same creepy sensation as when I first arrived, that badness seeps through the cracks in the walls and floors. I imagine that if I could see it, it would be like treacle. It would coat the floor in a sticky layer, pulling my feet into it, chilling them to the bone. I wrap my arms around my body. I haven’t brought my hoody. Mo
“That sounds awful ,” I say. We both laugh.
“ Urgh, if you two end up getting off with each other, please do it away from me.” Lacey wrinkles her nose in disgust.
Mo makes a face but his eyes linger on mine long enough to make me wonder if he doesn’t mind the idea of getting off with me. I can’t decide if I like the idea or not. His lips are full and his eyes are brown and deep. There’s something kissable about him. Maybe it’s this place. Maybe it’s because I’m supposed to be here to get better and figure things out. I shouldn’t be going around snogging boys and getting my emotions in a mess. That’s not what I’m here for. Before I make up my mind, Marcus and Yasmeen burst in. Yasmeen’s hair is dishevelled.
“ See, these two decided to get it on in private before coming here. Follow example, lovebirds,” Lacey says.
I glower at her and shove her arm. “Shut up, Lacey.”
The door opens and Tom and Anka join us. Helen is right behind them.
“If these two get off with each other.” Lacey points at me and Mo. “And you two get off with each other.” She points at Tom and Anka. “Then it’s just you and me, Hels.”
Helen looks her up and down. “Meh, I’ve had worse.”
“Come on, get the ceiling open, man. I’m parched for a drink, yeah,” Marcus says.
“The addict has spoken. All right, I’ll get it open. Keep your knickers on.”
Marcus notices my expression. “I was a crack addict, not alcohol. Alcohol doesn’t even touch the sides, so don’t worry.”
“I, umm … wasn’t,” I mumble, all too aware of his bad temper.
Lacey loosens the ceiling tile. It leaves us with a space that appears way too small for a person to fit through. The others follow Lacey up. Miraculously, they don’t have any trouble getting through. I hang back. Fear creeps in. What if I have a claustrophobia freak out?
“You all right?” Mo asks. “You don’t have to , if you don’t want.”
“I want to. I t’s a bit narrow, though.”
“You’ll be fine. I’ll go up first and help you through.” He climbs onto Lacey’s bed and pulls himself up through the fairly low ceiling. When I stand on the bed I can put my palms on it, and I’m pretty short. Mo is quite tall and lean, so he makes it seem easy.
“Come on.” He extends a hand for me to grab.
I climb up onto the bed and take his hand. It’s warm and strong. With one hand on the ridge of the tile, I pull myself up, and let Mo take some of my weight, wiggling into the cavity on my belly.
“Follow me. There’s some crawl space and then we go up into the next floor.”
With my heart hammering in my chest, I watch Mo turn around in the confined space and crawl along the boards and fibreglass. With every ion in my body I hope to goodness that there aren’t any spiders. Luckily, it isn’t too far. We reach an open air vent and Mo helps me out.
“What is this place?” I ask.
“Believe it or not, the old psychiatric ward,” Mo says.
It’s clearly disused. There are cobwebs all over the place. The carpets are threadbare and the sofas sit abandoned, strewn with old magazines. A layer of dust covers everything. There’s an atmosphere to the place, like someone left in a hurry. Medical notes are strewn across the floor. A mop and bucket stand upright against a wall, still with its dirty contents inside. The glass in the TV has been smashed.
“Why would they leave it like this?” I say. “Surely the hospital needs the space.”
“No one knows,” Lacey says. “I don’t think anyone comes up here. Maybe it’s haunted or something.”
As we pad across the room , I get the same creepy sensation as when I first arrived, that badness seeps through the cracks in the walls and floors. I imagine that if I could see it, it would be like treacle. It would coat the floor in a sticky layer, pulling my feet into it, chilling them to the bone. I wrap my arms around my body. I haven’t brought my hoody. Mo
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