Psycho Hot (BoyxBoy)

NINETEEN

The feeling of his fingers rubbing into my skin soothes me. When he stays silent, I continue, "I can't get to those realities unless I play detective."

"Then what's the plan, baby?" he speaks up, changing his mind.

"Well," I hesitate for a second. "I don't really have a set plan, but tomorrow, I'm going to talk to Edward about this."

His grip tightens on my shoulders. "What?"

"Ow!" I yelp as he squeezes too hard.

"Sorry," Darren quickly apologizes. "I didn't mean to do that."

"Edward is not the bad guy here. You need to start trusting him. He's here to help us."

"He's said things to me that make me feel otherwise."

"Like what, Darren?" I mock, annoyed at his constant envy.

My boyfriend stops the massage. Instead, he walks out from behind the desk to be face-to-face with me. Is he really going to throw another tantrum over my straight friend?

"When we were on our break, Edward purposely teased me about how he got to spend time with you while I was stuck inside my cell."

That confession, in no way, sounds like something Edward would do. Sure, he does have his moments of arrogance, but I don't think he'd take time out of his day to taunt Darren. Maybe it was a misunderstanding? After all, he is keeping my relationship a secret. He'd report it right away if he were out to get Darren.

"He may be an asshole at times, but he's reliable. I know that he wouldn't betray us. He's kept our secret for a while now..." I reason. Am I persuading Darren or myself? I don't want to answer that.

"You trust Edward over your boyfriend?"

"That's not what I meant I-"

"Fine, Kenneth," Darren interrupts me, holding the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "If you absolutely believe he can be trusted, then go ahead. I just don't want him to be the cause of our funeral."

"I swear that he won't. I have to do this," I say. "For us. If we want a future together, then you need to have faith in him like I do."

"I don't have faith in him. I have faith in you, darling."

***

     As the bus drops me off at the parking lot, I take a deep breath. I'm not sure what lies ahead of me. Although I'm entirely relying on Edward to clarify the incident report, I'm still hesitant. Whatever he decides to reveal to me could change the fate of Darren's release.

The transport drives off to its next spot, which motivates me to enter the cafe. Once I step inside the building, I survey the area and eventually land on Edward. He notices me from his booth and waves me over.

"Good morning," my coworker greets me as I slide into the opposite side of the table.

"You're awfully cheery," I point out.

"I'm trying to be positive before I tell you the negative." He shrugs then sips at his beverage. "I grabbed you a cup of tea."

"Thanks," I acknowledge.

Earl grey. He got it right.

Silence takes over us. For a moment, I observe the couples at the surrounding tables enjoying each other's company. My heart aches thinking about being with Darren outside the asylum walls.

"So..." Edward snaps me back to the present. "Tell me what you thought about patient 317's file."

"The whole thing was peculiar. Why was Lennon able to murder Dr. Peterson so easily? There's no way that the guards just let that happen," I ramble on.

"Makes no sense, right?"

"Right..."

"The last psychologist-" he remarks. "-wasn't murdered by Lennon."

"Then who did it?" I interrogate, eagerly leaning in closer.

"It was Catherine."

Catherine, the warden, slaughtered the psychologist.

Defeatedly, I sit back in my seat. A sickening sensation bubbles in my gut. There was something deep down that told me she was hiding a nasty secret. Though, I didn't think it was as extreme as being a murderer.

"What're you thinking?" Edward asks.

"I- Um-"I cough, trying to regain my train of thought. "I just- I'm confused? And shocked. And afraid."

"I know it's difficult information to process."

"Why did she-"

"She was getting revenge."

"Stop being vague, Edward."

"Sorry. Catherine killed Dr. Peterson out of jealousy. She was madly in love with him, but he was infatuated with someone else. And, worst of all, she did it in his own home."

"Who did he like?"

"Patient 317, Lennon. She wasn't always a patient. She started as a nurse. That's how their love began. When the warden found out about the two of them, she snapped and stabbed him," Edward claims.

Everything's beginning to come together. The missing puzzle pieces are snapping into place. Catherine is evil. More wicked than I first thought.

"So, then, Cathy blamed it on the nurse to save herself?" I reply.

"Sadly, yes," he confirms. "The entire incident report and diagnosis is fake."

"How did she even get the position here? She's clearly not qualified for it. And, quite frankly, I've never seen a woman take on such a big role."

"From what I've heard, her father got her the job. He was the warden that came before her. There was a lot of negotiating involved. That's as far as I know."

There's so much information flying at me at once. Dr. Peterson's murder. Lennon's prison sentence. Catherine's narcissism. I need a moment to dissect it all. That will have to wait.

"Everything's so screwed up here..." I bite the nail of my thumb. Bad habit, I know.

"Everyone found out eventually. Worst of all, she threatened all of the employees with the same fatal fate if we don't keep our mouths shut."

I remark with a pinch of shock, "You must trust me then."

"I trust you to do the right thing with everything I've told you."

"Of course, I will. I still have so much to process before we move forward."

"I think it's best that you sleep on this information then talk to Lennon once you're ready," Edward suggests. "She knows way more than me."

"But I don't have a key to the isolation cells? There's no way I'll be able to get to her without someone knowing. What if I get caught?" I ramble out of fear.

The doctor snickers at me, "I'll help you out. Just don't stress over it right now, yeah?"

"You're right. Thank you for all this, Eddie."

Despite my words, I feel as though my head is going to explode any minute now.