When The Heart Sings

Chapter 7

"I was talking to a friendly man for most of the evening. Nothing seemed wrong, but he suddenly got very mad and ran out the door. I took off towards the forest in case he came back. I remember entering the forest, but it kind of goes dark after that."

The man was scribbling in his notebook, "Do you recall what made him mad?"

I frowned as if in confusion, "He said he heard a radio. I don't get why it was such a big deal though, we were close to a back alley and lots of cars drive by with their windows down."

I knew Darien had meant the communication radio of the guards, but I wanted to mislead this man into thinking that I wasn't quite aware of what was going on. The man didn't seem at all confused by my misunderstanding, as if it had been expected. They weren't surprised that Darien had heard a communication radio from inside a shed, neither did they shed light on my mistaken assumption.

The man looked at me again, "What did you think of Darien?"

I tilted my head as if examining the idea. I was not about to blurt out the first words that came to my mind. They would send me off to a nice padded room if I started throwing out words like amazing, kind, loving, and breath-taking. "He was polite and courteous. Much like many of the customers who pass through the café where I work."

The doctor gave me a look as if he wasn't sure we were talking about the same person, "He didn't seem upset?"

I shook my head, "No, not until just before he ran out of the shed. Is he okay?"

The doctor nodded absently as he kept writing, "Yes, he is also in this building. He has some other... medical complications that require him to stay here indefinitely. His mental state makes helping him difficult. We had some people mention that they had seen you two holding hands, which is quite remarkable since Darien detests direct contact from anyone. He has injured many nurses and doctors who accidently touched him."

The doctor paused and looked directly at me, "You are the first person he has not reacted negatively to. Would you be willing to help as a caretaker? We would be willing to pay, of course, and it would be much more than a waitress would make."

Really? Bribery was the best they could manage? He couldn't even put a caring spin on helping someone? That alone showed one of the many things that were wrong with this place. His last sentence was also kind of an insult...

I shook my head, "Thank you, but I will decline. If needed, I could come and visit him if it helps, but not as a job."

The man frowned and sighed, "I don't think you understand. He won't even talk to anyone else. He doesn't listen to us in the least either. He is strong enough that we can't force him to cooperate. There are a lot of medical tests that he needs, but he fights us every step of the way. He spoke with you for hours and held your hand. You could probably convince him to cooperate."

They had watched us for a long time... That thought creeped me out. I rubbed my temple as if I wasn't following his train of thought, "I saw him for only a few hours. I fail to see how I could force him to do anything he doesn't want to do. Besides, I have a job and I plan to move shortly, so I won't even be in the area by the end of the year."

The man dropped the friendly guy act as he grew serious, "I am afraid you don't have a choice. You aren't leaving here."

I gave him a shocked look, "What? I hate to break it to you sir, but I am pretty sure kidnapping is illegal."

He smirked, "Only if you get caught. I highly doubt that anyone is going to overly miss a homeless person with no immediate family."

My jaw dropped in shock at the insult. It may have been the truth, but it still hurt. How did he manage to find out so much about me anyways? He turned and left the room. I jumped to my feet as the door closed with a faint click, "Hey! Let me out of here!"

I rattled the doorknob, but it was locked. I gave it a half-hearted kick and it didn't even make a sound. It was designed to hold strong adults, so someone like me wasn't going anywhere by normal means.

"What the hell is going on?! What kind of place kidnaps people? Shoot, he never even told me where I am!" I was pretty sure the cameras in the room also had microphones. Those comments might get me some wiggle room if they thought I didn't know their dark secrets.

Well, at least I knew Darien was around. I hoped that I could see him at some point. The doctor's words confused me though. His description of Darien was nothing like the man I had spent six hours with.

I explored the tiny room, which took all of twenty seconds. It was about the size of the shed. No pictures, and absolutely nothing to look at or think about. Four walls, a door, a tiny nightstand, and a bed. All in pristine white.

It was the epitome of boredom.