Hollow (Perfect Little Pieces) by Ava Conway Page A

attention. Somehow, that didn't make me feel better.
    Jayden dropped my hand and stuck it in his pocket as we neared the reception desk. He nodded to the woman sitting there and walked up to her with confidence. He dropped something on the counter and the receptionist almost immediately picked it up. The exchange happened so fast that I couldn’t tell what Jayden had given her. In the end, it didn't matter. She waved both of us onward with a nod. Jayden winked at me, then strode from the reception area and into the operation wing, his head held high.
    I marveled at how Jayden looked like a real doctor, as if he belonged in this place.
    I tried to copy his movements, but they felt forced and unsure. The receptionist gave me an odd look but didn't stop me. I let out a long breath after I passed the desk.
    "In here," Jayden said as he took my hand.
    I followed him through a side door and into a stairwell. He removed his mask and grinned. "Almost there."
    "What did you give the receptionist?" I asked as we started to descend the stairs.
    He shrugged. "Klonopin, Zoloft and a little Oxycontin."
    "Antidepressants? But why?"
    He reached the landing and turned to face me. "Money has no meaning in a place like this. Medicine is the true currency." He shrugged. "If you skip your meds a couple of times, you can go anywhere." He squeezed my hand and led me through a doorway before I could think too much on the subject.
    We emerged into a section of the hospital that was much busier than the mental ward. Patients, doctors and families walked through the halls and stood around the coffee stations.
    "How much farther?" I whispered to Jayden as he dropped my hand.
    "Just around the corner is the cafeteria. Come on."
    He led me through the sea of people. It felt so odd to be wandering around outside the Ward, as though I was an escaped convict trying to mingle with the crowd to get away from the cops. Adrenaline pumped through my veins and I felt as if I could take on the world. It was exhilarating.
    Jayden stopped in front a double door and held it open for me. "After you."
    I walked through the open door and pulled off my mask. The place was huge and reminded me of a college cafeteria.
    "This hospital’s a teaching hospital," Jayden explained. "Not only do they have patients, families and doctors, but med students as well."
    That explained the internship program Mia talked about earlier. The hospital must have had some sort of connection with her graduate school which allowed her to apply for an internship here.
    Jayden walked up to the ice cream dispenser and grabbed a cone. "Chocolate or vanilla?"
    "How are we going to pay for this?"
    He flashed me that ‘Trust Me’ look again. "Chocolate or vanilla?"
    "Vanilla." I watched him pull the level and fill the cone. When it was finished, he handed it to me and made himself a chocolate cone.
    "Jayden, I don't have any money."
    "Don't worry about it." He moved toward the registers. "All of the students are on a meal plan."
    "But we're not students."
    He frowned and pulled out a small card. "Don't be ridiculous." He flashed the card at the cafeteria worker. She ran it through the register and waved us through.
    I followed Jayden to a pair of seats over by the window, questions filling my head. How did he know about this place? How did he get the card? If Jayden could leave whenever he wanted, why didn't he just run away and never come back?
    He took the chair closest to the window and motioned me to sit next to him. I did.
    "How did you get the card?”
    “Flynn likes to collect things. Try the ice cream. It's excellent."
    I took a lick from my cone. It was just as he described—delicious. I took two more licks before asking him what was on my mind.
    "How did you find out about this place?"
    "I stumbled upon it with Flynn when we first arrived. He was the one who taught me how to be resourceful."
    I thought back to how distracted Flynn looked in the common room, and how Jayden had seemed to