Blood Stains and Burn Marks

Chapter 19

Our eyes shift back and forth. Both of us rather confused of what she means.
"Excuse me?" Tate's voice once tender now holds a certain anger. The type of anger that comes from years of abandonment and distrust. The type of anger that doesn't just form overnight, but rather several nights of heartache wrapped in a package not even the bravest souls would dare touch.
"You see Tate, can I call you that?" He shakes his head in approval. "Very well. You see Tate, you and Devena were never suppose to be in the same room, let alone fall in love. And if word gets out that the ward placed two patients of the opposite sex in one faculty, well, that could become rather complicated for everyone involved. We tried to break you two up by throwing several forks in your road, like your good friend Chase for instance. You remember him right?" Tate and I exchange a look. How could we possibly forget? "Of course we paid him to take you to his room and have his way with you for the night. We knew it would cause a dilemma between him and Tate from the start."
"But...how did you know Tate would come help me?" Even though she's speaking perfectly fine, I have a hard time understanding what I'm being told.
"Because even the most broken people will still help a pretty girl."
"So that's all I am? A pretty face?" A new anger boils inside of me. I wish I could take her by the throat and lift her enough that her feet no longer touch the ground. Maybe then she'd finally realize how it feels to be completely hopeless. Completely unable to control the events as they play right before your very eyes.
"Well that was really all you were suppose to be, but Tate over here had to get all attached and well, eventually you did too and we realized that we had an even bigger problem on our hands. Which leads us here to today. But now that our problem has subsided it's not really that big of an issue anymore." She says, flaunting her signature smile.
"What do you mean the problem has subsided?" Tate asks, pulling my hand towards his own. A grin begins to form on her face. Her eyes shine a vibrant blue. I'm waiting for her tongue to slither out between her teeth finally revealing the cold blooded snake she truly is.
"You're pregnant Devena. And once the ward finds out about this, they'll kill the baby...and of course they'll kill you for going against their policy."
"But that's impossible-we never-I mean-one time but that wouldn't-they can't kill her-."
"Oh it wasn't your doing Tate. It wasn't your doing at all. One night while you were sleeping we took a sample from you and injected Ms.Winters over here and viola, the master plan had started."
"You can't do this!" Tate screamed. "This has to be against the law! You can't just take things from people and decided to ruin their lives because they're in love! That's inhumane! You can't kill her because she broke some policy that she knew nothing about! Especially because you set her up!"
"Oh sweet Tate." She walks up to him and slowly cups his face in her hands. The gesture sets me ablaze. "We already have." And with that she turns around and heads for the door, leaving me planning for my funeral and Tate planning for a way out.

*****

Night falls quickly upon our tired eyes but as hard as we try to rest the constant worry of life or death fuels our minds. My heart still beats at an alarming rate and I've started to lose my breath. It catches in between words and thoughts of regret. How foolish we were to believe that anything good could come out of a love story that from the beginning, already had a bitter end.
I look over at Tate. His mind must be full of horrid thoughts because even though his eyes are shut I can see him squeezing them tighter, trying to cancel out the horrendous pain. I can't tell if my heart is aching from the lack of oxygen, or from the thought that we really could of have it all. Of course it was stupid to think that we'd have a fairytale ending. I mean for goddsake we met in a mental ward, but I swear we almost made it. We were almost something unbreakable. I close my eyes only now to realize that Tate is mumbling to himself. He probably was all along but only now do I stop to listen to his voice.
"What if we-or I-but they both wouldn't survive-I guess I could-but that's not right-do I leave her?" I'm not completely sure at this point if Tate knows I'm awake or asleep, but by the way he's talking I don't think he realizes I'm listening. He's seriously thinking of leaving me again. Just after I decided to take him back? It's like the world is one big game and as hard as I try I just keep getting played as a pawn.
My mother once told me that if you want to win a game of chess you first must use the pawns. Because even though they are the least important they surely will protect the king. I'm starting to wonder if that's all I'm good for. If protecting Tate is my only destiny in life, because at this point it seems to be the only thing I'm good at. Just then I hear Tate yell.
"I've got it! I've got it! Devena I've got it!" He rushes up and hurries over to me. I pretend to be asleep. I figure at this point it's best for both of us. He begins to shake me awake.
"What?" I pretend to still be half asleep.
"I know how to get out!" A surprised expression fills my face while a smile fills his own. It quickly vanishes though before he speaks again. "But you're not going to like it."