Page 33 of Drop Dead Gorgeous

Twenty-five! “I don’t know.”

The shrink leans forward and presses me. “You had a strong reaction to being told you’re thirty. Why?”

Because not only did Edie steal my spot in heaven, she robbed me of five years of my life. I sit back and pull up the sheet. “It just sounds old.”

The doctors take a momentary pause to chuckle before launching into more questions.

“Do you recall your last visit to Livingston?”

“Where’s that?”

“It’s a psychiatric hospital.”

“Edie was in a psychiatric hospital?” I correct myself and say, “Me?” I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Edie was crazy and tried to kill herself.

“Where did you attend college?”

Chip Daniel’s College of Hair. “I don’t know—where?”

“Wellesley.”

I’ve never heard of it so it’s easy to give them a blank stare.

“What’s your current address?”

Probably Detroit, not that it matters. When I leave the hospital, I’m heading to Marfa. I can’t tell Momma I’m Brittany—at least not right off, but I’ll figure it all out once I’m home.

The doctors just look at each other and whisper; then the shrink asks, “What are your parents’ names?”

“I don’t know, sir.”

“Your brother’s name?”

“I have a brother?” I always wanted a brother.

“Where did you spend your gap year?”

“What’s a gap year?”

The shrink gets an alert on his tablet and frowns. “Did you hide your medication in your bedsheets?”

Oh yeah. I forgot to get rid of those.

Both doctors look at me like I’m a felon.

“I don’t want to take pills.”

“They stabilize your moods and help with your depression, impulsivity, and suicidal ideations.”

Wow. All those meds and Edie was still crazy. “No.”

“We can’t force you, but stopping your medications led you here.”

They can’t force me? Good to know. “I don’t remember what led me here. But I can tell you that I don’t need that stuff.”

Dr. Perez and the shrink busily type something in their notebooks as a middle-aged couple walks into the room. We eye each other suspiciously as they move to the end of the bed. They look wealthy and snooty, and offhand, I’d say Edie’s folks have arrived.

“Your parents are here to see you.” Dr. Perez states the obvious and smiles like he expects us to fall on each other’s neck.