The Philistine

Chapter Eighty

"I'm sorry, guys," whispered Jeicen.

A nurse exited J.J.'s room, whispered something to the doctor, and then parted down the hallway with a stern expression I was certain never changed. The doctor returned her attention to us even though she had yet to address us in any way. She spoke to a pair of security guards while we waited nervously. I did not know if we were in trouble or if they were going to let us go with a warning.

Whispering Willows, we learned after J.J.'s scary meltdown, was a mental institution. We were unregistered guests who had been snuck into the facility by a girl who clearly had serious mental issues. An irrational part of me feared that we were soon to find ourselves spending unwarranted time within its walls as patients rather than just mere guests.

The nurse who's facial expression seemed permanently stuck on stern returned to convey more whispered information to the doctor. The doctor nodded, said something, and the guards parted along with the nurse.

The doctor looked at us and said, "Follow me."

We followed her, and she continued, "We contacted J.J.'s uncle, and he vouched for you."

"We're free to go?" I asked as I wiped my sweaty palms on my pants legs.

"Yes. It's not the first time J.J. has lured unsuspecting people here, and it seems we'll have to revoke her privileges for even longer this time."

"We're terribly sorry for any inconvenience we've caused," said Taye.

At the nurse's station the doctor left us with a cute male nurse who guided us out of the building. My eyes were on his butt the entire way, and I shrugged with a smile when Taye caught me. Taye knew I was always going to look, but that I would only ever be sexually intimate with him.

"It's my fault," said Jeicen as we walked along the driveway toward the front gates. "I didn't think to check the minds of anyone else in the area. If I had, I would have known where we were."

"And you couldn't get anything from J.J.'s mind?" asked Taye.

"I got plenty from her mind, but she's seriously mentally ill. She honestly believed she was at a private school."

When we got to the car, I handed Taye the keys because I was in no position to drive. The four hour drive was filled with silence until we dropped Jeicen off at his house. He apologized once more, but we reassured him that it was not his fault.

Taye drove to his place where he wanted me to spend the night with him. I knew my father was home, since he did not have to work that night, and I was in no mood to deal with the drunk. I also figured that Rebus would be fine until I checked on her in the morning.

Taye's room was bigger than mine because his parents lived in a two story house on the beach. His room was also decorated to his taste, which I thought was an extension of his personality. The walls were painted orange, his favorite color, but it was not a bright, annoying neon. Rather, it was a dark shade that reminded me of rust.

Floating shelves were built into one wall. Upon the shelves were football trophies and framed photographs. Posters of football players unfamiliar to me also adorned the wall. One of the posters depicted a shirtless muscle hunk whom Taye had informed me was a British rugby player.

The wall opposite the door had a window with a desk in front of it. Upon the desk was an open laptop which currently displayed an image of me I think he had taken with his phone. Opposite the poster and trophy wall was his king sized water bed. I still was not accustomed to sleeping in it, but usually with my arms around Taye I slipped effortlessly into unconsciousness.

Above the bed, on the wall, was painted a mural of a black panther lying splendidly on a thick tree branch. Taye had informed me that it was painted when he was six years old because the animal seemed to resonate deeply with him in a way his younger self could only express verbally as I like it.

I did not believe in fate, but until recently neither had I believed that someone could construct invisible barriers with his mind. I was still ambivalent about Taye being a were-panther and me being immortal, and I had a feeling either reality was unfolding in a new way or I was literally losing my mind.