"Do you want to get outof the car; I don't think this one is going anywhere." Yes," George said hesitantly. "Do you think the lamppostis safe?"I shook...the lamppost that the car was wrapped around andthe glass shade came loose impacting on the roof aboveGeorge. From inside the car was a muffled 'ouch' as theroof dinted and hit George."It might be safer outside," Mercer said gently. "It can'tbe any worse." I didn't feel it," I whispered as George cautiously gotout of the car. He had the look of a. She told me that she came from Newry a town on the border of Southern Ireland, where all her family lived and she had gone to school.I liked Carol; she was a typical Irish lass with lovely blue eyes, auburn hair and a lovely lilting Irish accent. I guessed that she was probably about 22 or 23 years old. She was always cheerful and very welcoming, and frequently she produced special offers of cake and items for us that were scarce. When we asked her where she got them from she would tap the side. ‘It’s just rehearsal.’ “What’s wrong?” She threw her arms out. “What’s wrong? Oh, let me see. I don’t have money for college. I don’t have a car. And I’m the only one who borrows her mom’s ’85 sedan…freaking embarrassing.” I crossed my arms. “We’ve been over this, April.” “Yeah, I know.’ She became animated. ‘You promised me a car for my 18 th birthday. Then you promised me a car for my graduation. Ever since your last boyfriend left, all you say is, ‘things are different’.” I stood my ground.. But I didn't want to stop, did I? I just had to find a way to live with it. So I embraced the excuse of being helpless — they'd robbed me of my freedom. I praised my glittering cage, secretly fearing the day someone might reveal that its door had never been locked.'Crazy year' might have been an excuse, but I truly was a mental case when I woke up at that hospital. The first face I saw wasn't a nurse or the psychiatrist I told Steve about. It was not even the police — it was Roger. It made me.