The Ninth Floor

by Liz Schulte

  Aiden hooked a finger under my chin and tilted it up until I looked at him. “It’s okay to be scared.”

  I was scared to go back to her room, I was scared to go home, and I was scared to stay, but I had to keep going. “Just tell me it’s going to end.”

  “I promise.”

  He walked me all the way to Bee’s room. Briggs and Blair were quietly talking while Bee slept. I ignored the boys and pulled the minister’s cross out of my pocket. As carefully as I could, I hooked it around her neck and watched her. I didn’t know what I expected to happen, but nothing did. I’d never felt like a bigger idiot.

  I looked back at the guys. They were both staring at me like I’d lost my mind.

  “You left like that just to accessorize Bee?” Blair said, and Briggs smothered a laugh.

  I smiled. “Apparently.”

  Chapter 22

  My father was waiting for me in the lobby at noon. We walked to a café nearby and sat at a table while Aiden waited outside, despite my insistence he should join us.

  As my dad perused his menu, he said, “Don’t go back to the hospital.”

  “Excuse me?”

  “I mean it, Ryan. Don’t go back there.”

  “I don’t have choice. Bee needs me.”

  “There are things you don’t know.”

  “That’s why I’m here. Explain them.”

  My father’s mouth pinched. My phone vibrated, but I pressed end without looking. I didn’t want to give him an out.

  “I’m sure by now you’ve heard most of the stories about St. Michael’s.” His voice was hushed so it wouldn’t carry. “I can’t speak to their validity, except for one.”

  I nodded.

  “The children who were born on the ninth floor did all die—except for one.” He reached a hand toward me, but I didn’t take it. “You were born there, and your mother was adamant that we move you to a different hospital, even against her doctor’s recommendation. So we did.”

  “And what happened?”

  He gave me a helpless gesture. “You lived.”

  “But everyone else died?”

  He nodded. “I made sure the floor was closed after that and donated money to build a new maternity ward.”

  “And the newspaper?”

  “What?”

  “Why did you buy the newspaper?”

  He shook his head. “People had to stop talking about it. Even with the new maternity ward, the SIDS rates were still high. The quieter we kept about what happened at St. Michael’s, the less things went wrong.”

  “So you’re saying the hospital is what? Evil? Trying to kill me?” My phone rang again, and I flipped it to silent.

  He folded his hands together on the table. We’d both forgotten our menus now. “I’m not saying anything of the sort, but Ashley told me what he saw. I hoped it wasn’t true, but I see the fatigue on your face. I don’t know why these things happen, but they seem to around that place. We’ll get Bee out, but no good can come from you going back. It takes over the weak and drains the life from the strong.”

  It all sounded crazy, but it explained some things. “What about everyone else there?”

  He pressed his lips together. “I spoke with the board about the recent ‘accidents.’ They started after you arrived. Before that, it had been quiet for years.”

  I took a drink, feeling amazingly calm about everything he told me. “Aiden thinks my stalker’s behind it.”

  Dad licked his lips and nodded. “It could be, but the attacks are still taking place in the hospital. We did our best to keep you away from here, but it found a way to bring you back.”

  The way he kept saying “it”—like he was referring to a specific entity—was scaring me. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

  My father closed his eyes. “We thought it would be better for you not to grow up with this over your head. We hoped if we sent you away that people would forget. Do you remember what it was like before you left?” He gave me a sad look. “I didn’t know how to tell you. First you were too young, then it felt like it was too late, and you were doing so well, sweetie. I didn’t want to burden you if I didn’t have to.”

  I shook my head at the server who asked if we were ready to order yet, and he disappeared politely. “It was normal, right? Ashley and I played. I remember running down to Bee’s house.”

  He shook his head. “Everywhere we took you, people stared. One particular woman, who lost her daughter around the time you were born, kidnapped you.”

  “Samantha Cobb.”

  “You know about her?”

  “Not much. Just what I read online.”

  “You were gone for two weeks before the woman was caught and took her own life. After that we sent you away, and you may not have been aware, but ESG has provided your security since the day you left.”

  I swallowed hard and bit my lip. “Did Samantha have any other family?”

  He shook his head. “We looked into that when we started receiving the letters, but we couldn’t find any living relations. It’s that hospital. It gets into people’s heads and makes them do things they wouldn’t otherwise do.”

  “You should’ve told me. I thought I was going crazy between this stuff and Bee acting weird. No wonder people are afraid to talk to me. They all probably know and think I’m on some hit list.”

  “No one else knows,” he said.

  “Everyone knows.” My whole life was spinning around me. Dad’s phone rang somewhere in the distance, pulling me back to the present. “This is crazy. I want to see the letters.”

  He reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a small stack held together with a rubber band. I took the envelopes and gripped them in my hand. “What about Briggs?”

  “What about him?”

  “Why is he here? Why did you offer him the paper? And don’t tell me he’s back because he loved me too much to stay away. He was doing just fine before I came home.”

  Dad sighed. “Your mother thought it would be good for you if he came back, so I spoke with his father and it was arranged.”

  Fresh anger washed over me. “You don’t get to interfere with my life. I don’t care if Mother likes or doesn’t like who I’m dating.”

  His phone rang again. “I should probably get this.”

  I nodded and leaned my forehead against my palm. I thought having everything confirmed and out in the open would be a relief. It wasn’t.

  “Hello? She’s with me.” My father inhaled sharply and I snapped to attention. My stomach sank and fluttered. Whatever it was, it was bad. “I understand. I’ll let her know.” Dad hung up and looked at me with glassy eyes.

  I stood up and pushed my way outside through other guests and servers without seeing them. I needed air.

  “What happened?” Aiden asked.

  I ignored him and waited for my father to follow. Someone had died, I was certain of it, and it was better for him to tell me here, more in private. Dad came out slowly, dabbing his eye with his handkerchief. He handed me my forgotten jacket and letters.

  “Is it Bee?” I asked, my voice cracking.

  Dad swallowed a couple times. “She isn’t doing well. She’s declining rapidly and they think we should …go say goodbye.”

  I nodded fast, my throat constricting. My eyes spilled over. He held out his arms and I hugged my father for the first time in eighteen years. My bones turned to jelly and the ice cracked around my heart. No, no, no. She can’t die.

  The three of us quickly headed back to the hospital. Aiden waited outside the door. My father went to stand behind my mother, Ashley and Melissa stood together, and I took Blair’s hand in one of mine and held Bee’s hand with my other. I cried so hard I began to hiccup. I have been wrong about so much. If I hadn’t come back, would she still be alive? Is this my fault?

  Her monitor slowed and she took one last deep breath before everything went still. Jack flipped it off when she flatlined.

  “I will give you a moment of
privacy,” he said, and I vaguely heard the door open and shut.

  No one moved or said anything. We all stood around Bee as a family, not fighting, not talking, just being together—exactly what Bee always wanted, just too late. Slowly people began to trickle out until it was just me, still holding her hand. She was so pale and lifeless. I wasn’t able to save her. All of this had been for nothing.

  I left the room, numb. It was my fault she died.

  Dad tried to stop me. “Ryan—”

  I brushed his hand aside and headed for Aiden’s car. I just wanted to go home.

  *

  Another stupid box sat by my front door. I fumbled with the key for the lock, ignoring the package, unable to see through my tears. “Agh,” I shouted. A hand folded over mine, taking the keys from me. I turned toward Aiden and buried my face in his chest. I had killed her—killed the only person I knew who always loved me. I woke up the hospital and now Bee was dead.

  Aiden held me. “It’s not your fault,” he said, his voice competing with the accusing rant in my head. He rocked me gently until my mind quieted, and all I felt was exhaustion. My shoulders sagged and I took a step back. He opened the door for me. Then he stooped to get the box. I rolled my eyes and went inside. I didn’t care anymore.

  “I can’t believe she’s dead.” I collapsed on the couch and leaned my head back against the wall. The dogs climbed up on either side of me and rested their heads on my legs.

  Aiden put the box on the counter and sat in a nearby chair. “I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “What do I do now?”

  “Whatever you want.”

  All I knew was that I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life knowing someone wanted to kill me or being scared of a hospital. “I want all of this to end.”

  “Then let’s catch this person.” He retrieved the box and pulled out his knife.

  I held out my hand. “I’ll do it.” I slit the tape and pulled back the flaps. The note said:

  Roses are red, violets are blue,

  You can’t see the dead, but they can see you.

  I handed Aiden the note and removed the tissue paper. Inside was a vase filled with rose stems with no flowers. I stared at the macabre bouquet. “Do you think he knows Bee died?”

  Aiden looked inside the box and shook his head. “It’s possible.”

  Something shiny caught my eye. I reached in. Thorns scratched and tore at my arm, but I kept going until my fingers clasped the thin metal object. I eased it out—but dropped it on the floor as soon as I saw what it was.

  Aiden picked the cross pendant up and dangled it from his finger. “Does this mean something to you?”

  I explained that it was the cross I’d put on Bee. I told him the whole story about visiting the chaplain. Aiden leaned back in his chair as he listened, the cross still swinging from the end of his finger in a small circular pattern.

  “So whoever’s doing this has definitely been coming to the hospital.”

  I snorted. “That narrows it down.”

  “It does. Only a limited amount of people have been in and out Bee’s room.”

  “Well, she isn’t exactly available to answer our questions.”

  “Ryan, you were there most of the time with her. The two women who died were her nurses. Make a list of everyone who came in while you were there. We’ll start with them.”

  “What if he didn’t come during visiting hours? I’m going to go out on a limb here and say my stalker probably doesn’t care about rules.”

  “Rules, no. You? Yes. I think this person has wanted you for a long time. He wouldn’t miss an opportunity to ingratiate himself to you. However, if I’m wrong, it won’t hurt to eliminate those it couldn’t be before we worry about unknown others.”

  I had two names jotted down when Vivian burst through the door, making the dogs bark. She ignored them. “I just heard. I’m so sorry. Why didn’t you tell me?” She stopped when she saw Aiden. “Who are you?”

  “Vivian, this is my bodyguard, Aiden.”

  She pressed her lips together. “And you just forgot to mention that you have a bodyguard?”

  “Have a seat.” I explained everything to her. “I swear, I didn’t know I had a stalker before you moved in. I’m sorry.”

  She brushed my apology away. “I don’t know if now is a good time or not, but I should show you what I found.” She picked up the scrapbook and handed it to me. I made Sid and Nancy get down from couch so she could sit beside me.

  “First,” she said. “Did you look through the whole thing?”

  “Yeah, mostly.”

  “Did you add anything to it?”

  I frowned. “No. Why?”

  “Look.” She nodded to the book.

  I looked down and it took a second for my eyes to focus. It was a newspaper article. I was about to say “So what,” when the picture caught my eye. It was Peggy. I scanned the headline and the date. This was new. I flipped to the previous page. It held an article about Leigh. I looked at Viv. “How is this possible? I got the scrapbook before they died.”

  “I don’t know. It’s fucked up.”

  Aiden frowned. “You got that from the stalker?”

  “Yeah.” I stared at the book. It couldn’t have updated itself. A terrible thought made roots in my mind. What if my stalker left me the book and was updating it for me? I shuddered.

  “There’s more,” Vivian said.

  “Of course there is.” I tried to smile, but it felt ghastly.

  She handed me a yearbook from the year we graduated with a page marked. Aiden moved to the other side of me so he could look too. I opened it to the senior class. I scanned all the names, but nothing stood out to me. “What?”

  She handed me another yearbook with yet another page marked. I looked at the new group of pictures and names. “Viv, I’m not getting whatever you want me to see.”

  She held up a finger. “Don’t ruin the reveal.” She handed me still another yearbook—six years older than the first one. I opened it to the marked page of the senior class, only this time I recognized the faces—but the names were different. I reopened the first yearbook and compared. “Why are they the same pictures?”

  Vivian picked up the scrapbook and brought it back to me. She opened it to the pages of obituaries for the babies that died and started pointing to the names that matched.

  “Holy crap. They faked graduating classes. Why?”

  “I have no idea, but it’s pretty fucked up, isn’t it?”

  “I was thinking that Aiden might want to take the other room.”

  She let out a relieved sigh. “I can’t think of a better roommate. How the hell did those articles get in that book?”

  “I took it to the hospital with me once and forgot it there overnight, so that’s a possible way. However, I also lost my purse for a little while and one night when I couldn’t sleep, the dogs and I thought we heard a noise out here.”

  “You failed to mention that to me,” Aiden said.

  “Well, I thought it might’ve been Vivian—and I’ve had a lot on my mind.”

  “So this stalker could have keys to our house. Great.” Vivian was trying to hide it, but she looked terrified.

  “I’ll change the locks today.” Aiden stood up and cracked his knuckles. “Is there anything else you forgot to mention?”

  I shook my head.

  “Vivian, go back down to the store. You’ll be fine there. It’s a public place. Ryan and I will hit the hardware store.”

  We were back in twenty minutes. Aiden worked on the door, and I went to hang out with Vivian. While she helped customers, I sat behind the counter and people-watched through the window. Jack’s car pulled into a parking spot outside. I went out to meet him.

  “What are you doing here?” I asked as he walked toward me.

  “We have a date.”

  I’d forgotten all about it with everything going on. It was also a little strange that he would assume I’d still want to go out. “I
don’t know that I’m feeling up to it.”

  “It will do you good to get out tonight.” He leaned in to kiss my cheek. “I’m so sorry about Bee.”

  I closed my eyes, my heart squeezing. It was easier to not think about it. “Thank you.” I knew what I needed to do, but I hadn’t planned on doing it today. I took a step back. “I don’t think we should see each other romantically anymore.”

  He gazed at me for a moment before nodding. “I thought you might say that.”

  “I’m sorry.” Guilt settled in with the grief and made me want to cry again.

  He brushed a hair off my forehead. “You don’t need to apologize. It’s fine. We had a good time, but things just didn’t work out.”

  I nodded and sniffled. “Thank you for understanding. “

  He seemed about to kiss me one last time, but then he gently traced my cheek with his finger instead. “I’m sure we’ll see each other around.” He squeezed my shoulder and walked away. I trudged upstairs, no longer wanting to be in the shop.

  Aiden was finishing with the lock, both my dogs lying at his feet. The fact that the dogs didn’t hate him made me trust Aiden even more. I poured myself a glass of wine, settled on the couch, and pulled my knees up underneath my chin.

  He looked at me and flipped the toothpick in his mouth. “Everything okay?”

  “Yeah. Jack stopped by. I told him we shouldn’t see each other anymore.”

  Aiden looked back at the door and tested the locks with both keys. He then shut the door and handed me both sets. “You decided on Briggs then?”

  I shook my head. “I decided on neither of them.” I took a drink. “So how do we do this? How do we find out who’s behind everything?”

  “We set a trap.”

  Before I could question that, my phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Sweetie, I think you should come home.” My father paused. “You belong with us.”

  I bit my lip. “I just want to be alone right now.”

  “I really don’t think you should be.”

  “Aiden’s here and Vivian’s downstairs. I need to process everything that’s happened.”

  “Just … please talk to me before you do anything.”