Taryn was removed from her room to attend a group counseling session, requested by Miss Morrell. That was the last thing the brunette wanted to do. Being in her room gave her plenty of time to think about that boy who knew her, something about him gave Taryn chills up her spine.
Now, sitting in front of him, she felt the same chills every time his eyes flickered to herself. Though she chose to ignore them and him for the time being as Morrell read over some notes she had on her group.
"Okay," Morrell started, her voice soft as she spoke, "I wanna start out asking how everyone has been doing."
She went around the circle of patients and when it came to Taryn she folded her arms and glared at the boy in front of her.
"Taryn?" Morrell smiled to the girl near her, "how have you been?"
The girls lips puckered for a second before she sputtered out, "I was doing better." The brown eyed boy glanced up from his hands and furrowed his eyebrows at the teen girl. She watched as he started fumbling with his hands, his forehead sweating. He was nervous. Taryn was getting the same way, but she wouldn't show it to that boy.
Everyone else went, giving out short fines. Others complaining about something minor, but making it a huge deal. Miss. Morrell was patient with everyone and as it grew quiet, she decided to go to her next subject. "I'd like to go over the topic of guilt today. It might surprise you to hear me say that guilt is a good thing. It's a rather mature emotion."
Next to Taryn, a girl named Malia, who was a decent person with Taryn beside her blunt opinions, sighed.
"Malia, you said something about guilt the other day." Once again the girl sighed, refusing to look at Morrell. "You said it came with a visceral reaction."
She huffed, "I said it made me feel sick to my stomach."
Across the room, next to the boy, Oliver started coughing. Taryn saw him yesterday doing the same thing. He never liked Taryn, believing she was a nutcase, so she didn't bother to question if he was alright.
"Guilt often becomes physical." Morrell glanced at Stiles and Taryn, who were both turning their heads towards something behind him. "It's not just psychological."
Behind Stiles stood a man with bandages all over his body, his silver teeth grinning as he spoke to a patient in front of him. Taryn's heart rate spiked and Malia glanced to the girl, noticing her odd behavior. When she blinked, the bandaged man was gone.
"How does guilt make you feel, Stiles?"
"I'm sorry, what?"
"Guilt." Morrell spoke calmly, noticing the twos odd behavior as well, "how does it make you feel?"
He rubbed his hands together, "nervous."
"Like a sense of urgency?" He slightly nodded, "you feel an urgent need to make up for something you've done. To apologize."
Morrell noticed Taryn fading off and brought her back into the conversation, "you were talking about feeling guilty, Taryn." The brunette girl glanced at Morrell, "how does it feel?"
She bit her cheek, the boy watching her as she thought, "it makes me feel horrible. I have no way of fixing what happened, so I'm always anxious."
Flashes of Taryn's family passed over her eyes, sights of her parents dead and bleeding at her feet to her brothers life fading from his eyes. The brunette had to do everything to remain calm and rigid as the session went on.
"So like how Stiles feels, you feel an urgent need to apologize for something you've done." Taryn narrows her eyes but nodded nevertheless. Her voice faded out as Stiles noticed movement beside him. Taryn watched the confusing boy for a moment before seeing a bandaged hand grip his thigh and the face turning to grin at her. Both teens turned away from the creature, refusing to look in the direction of the figure, just positioning in the chair again.
"Do we know what we call someone who doesn't experience guilt?"
Oliver raised his hand, "sociopath."
"That's right Oliver." The councilor noticed Stiles rubbing his neck and as he pulled away she noticed the markings all over his neck. "I'm sorry, everyone, but we need to take a break." She stood up and took a step towards the Stiles kid, "come with me Stiles, I'd like to talk to you for a minute."
◇◆◇
Taryn never got called back in for a session. Neither did any of the other patients in her group, they all went their separate ways. And then an hour later, Taryn was roaming the halls, hopefully to stay away from any orderly. They have been watching her movements since she had punched Stiles, Brunski had said that if she got into another fight and she was on top, she'd be going to the quiet room. Where she'll be locked up and put to nap time.
Walking the corner, Taryn noticed the sound of a doorknob clanging, she took a few more steps around the corner and saw Stiles banging on a door. At first she thought he really was just crazy, but then noticed him muttering come on over and over again.
"What are you doing?" her skin creasing between her eyebrows.
The boy jumped and spun around. Once he noticed it was Taryn, he stared at her for a moment, confused why she was even here. Though after a good long eye contact, he relaxed. His eyes softened a bit, as did his voice, "I need to get through here. To the basement."
"Why?" She questioned, but continued on, "Brunski's the only one who would have keys to this door, not even doctors have a key."
"The head orderly?" Taryn nodded, feeling uncomfortable, "does he keep them on him all the time?"
She sarcastically nodded, her eyebrows shooting up, "if you really need to get down there, and you tell me why, I can help you." His light brown eyes watched the girl with close eyes, it was like he was remembering things about her. Finally he nodded, "you'll have to figure out a way to trick him."
She hated the word trick since what had happened to her, so she visibly grimaced at the word, "well, part of me is getting very good at playing tricks."
◇◆◇
"So what's the plan?" Taryn asked after Stiles explained to the brunette that Malia is going to help. He, according to Stiles, walked in on the hostile girl showing, and after they talked Stiles managed to con Malia into helping. Taryn knew the girl wants something that can only be repaid through Stiles, forcing her to help him and Taryn.
Malia leaned against the wall by her bedroom door narrowing her eyes on Stiles' back, "Malia is going to taunt one of the residents here, and when she's in the fight and Brunski is working to stop it, you're going to grab the keys off Brunski and bring them to me."
"When are we going to do this?" Taryn tilts her head to look up at Stiles, his eyes roaming around her face.
He sighed, "tomorrow morning." She didn't miss the fact that he was upset about doing it tomorrow, but she didn't question him on it. He'd already have enough to answer tomorrow when they make it in the basement.
◇◆◇
"You're lying, you're a liar!" Oliver pinned down Malia after she taunted him with trepanation, which was Taryn's idea. She knew Stiles said something to Oliver about the whole ordeal and he was acting, but she somehow got the feeling that Oliver truly was crazy. "You're a liar!"
Taryn was across from Stiles, on the other side of the room, watching and waiting for Brunski to step in.
"Get this nut job off of me!" Brunski came with other orderly and grabbed a fighting Oliver, away from Malia. Taryn took her chance and walked behind Brunski, seeing the keys jangling in his back pocket, Taryn took a deep breath and pulled them quickly from his pocket. She sighed in relief, everyone was too busy watching Oliver, that they wouldn't notice Taryn's act.
She walked off calmly, the keys in her right hand.
"No! She said that they drill holes in your head."
Taryn walked to the pillar Stiles was standing beside and put the keys slyly into his hands, then his pockets. Malia walking her way. Brunski watched the three with a grin.
"You okay?" Taryn questioned, rubbing the cold girls arms.
"Yeah." Malia could feel her heart rate speeding up and for the first time in a long time Malia was happy.
◇◆◇
Stiles had asked Taryn to keep watch for him as he tried to get into the basement. Taryn had then asked Malia to keep watch a little farther, in case the plan went south on the two.
Stiles was now at the end of the hall with the keys, trying to get into the doorway. Taryn was hiding behind a pillar, much like the one Stiles was hiding behind earlier. Her brown eyes glanced in every direction anxiously, she felt like she had eyes on her, but every time she looked behind her nothing was there.
"What are you doing here?" A familiar voice whispered beside her and the brunette jumped. Her head whipped to the side and she saw a male orderly. Her eyes widen as she glanced where Stiles was and saw Brunski giving her a smirk and started walking towards the unknowing boy.
She went to yell out to him, but the orderly covered her mouth and picked her up and dragged her over to the middle of the hallway. Taryn wasn't sure if it was because he was waiting for orders from Brunski, or so Stiles could see how pitiful she was. Either way she squirmed in the orderly's hold.
The head orderly took the keys from Stiles and dragged him by the upper arm in the direction of Taryn. The boy was starring wide eyed at Taryn, noticing how she was being held against her will. He didn't like the feeling he got when he saw Taryn held up like that. He glared at the orderly man holding her and mentally cussing out Brunski.
"Let's take them down to the closed unit."
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not well edited
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Destiny xx