"Kelley Eskridge - Alien Jane" - читать интересную книгу автора (Eskridge Kelly)

"Yes," I said. "It will hurt."

She looked at me like she was flFng, and then she went out the door.

I found *y jeans and a sweatshirt and sneakers and put them or, and packed my things into my duffel b"g
that had been stuffed into the back of the closet for so long. I went down to the nurses' station, passing
Terry Louise on the way. "Where are you going?" she said.

"To the beach."

"What?"

"8y.," I said, and I could feel her watching me all the way down the hall, so su{prised she forgot how
much she liked to have the last word.

"You can't leave," the duy nurse said uncertainly.
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"This is the open ward, amiga, I can walk out of here anytime I want."

"You aren't a voluntary patient, you have to have your doctor's signature."

I don't haoe a doctor onAftture, I wanted to say, and then Tommy Gee was there looking pale and
tense. He saw my b"g.

"I'll sign for this patient."

"Did you find Rousseau?" I said.

"I talked to her." He looked past me down the hall. "She's gone."

I wasn't sure who he meant, Rousseau or fane, but I nodded.

I walked down five flights of stairs to the lobby entrance doors, and stopped. I looked back across the
open space, full of people with flowers, new babies, people sleeping on couches, people cDnng, people
going home. Two women went past me, one with a new white cast on her arm, the other one saFng,
"Are you okay? Does it hurt?" The hurt one bit her lip and shrugged. "ft doesn't matter." "Oh yes it does,"
I said. I walked to the door and thought l uill be Rita ntnning in the gross and took the first step out.