It's so dark. My legs feel extremely weak, and it's getting harder and harder to breathe. I squint my eyes in attempt to see at least a little bit. Despite my tired legs and my mind telling me to stay still, I blindly walk forward. As I'm walking my foot hits another snag, and I fall to the floor. I already know what's in front of me, and I don't want to look at it. I close my eyes tightly. Laughter fills the room, and a mocking voice follows. "Are you afraid?" I nod my head yes, and there is laughter again. I feel someone stroking the back of my hair, and a sickeningly sweet voice whispers in my ear. "You should be." I open my eyes, and light fills the room. The first thing that I see is the knife in my hand, covered in blood.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
I jump out of the bed, my chest heaving up and down. Panicked, I look down at my hands. No blood. I nervously run my hand through my hair, and sigh. Just a dream. But it felt incredibly real. I take a glance at the small digital clock that sits on the tall dresser next to my bed, and see that it's 5:00. The first morning rays of sunlight creeps through the curtains on the window in my room.
It's no wonder that I'm up this early. Back in the asylum, Dr.Sullivan made all of the patients wake up as soon as the sun had risen. He said that it was to "make sure that we use all of the day to recover."
Instead of climbing back on the bed, I sink down to the floor in front of it, throwing my head back to rest on the mattress. I can't sleep and I don't know what to do until one of my brothers wake up. I allow my head to sink back into the soft mattress of my new bed. It's not as hard and uncomfortable as my old bed. I can tell that the sheets had been recently washed because they smell like lavender and something that I can't quite place. It doesn't smell like days of filth like my old bed did. Back in the asylum, it was a privilege to get your sheets washed. Another form of punishment was forcing us to sleep in dirty sheets and clothes. Whenever they made me do that I would just strip and sleep on the floor. I hate messiness and the feeling of dirt. Of course, if Dr.Sullivan found me naked and sleeping on the floor, he would get a bucket of ice cold water and have the bald man throw it on me. The intense coldness was worth it though.
Eventually, I hear footsteps walking down the hallway, and stop in front of the door to my room. The door opens, and Jason walks in. His hair is messy, and he is rubbing the sleep out of his eyes. Once he's fully awake, he notices that I'm sitting on the floor in front of the bed, and walks inside of my room, not bothering to ask for permission.
"Oh you're awake already? I thought that you would've slept in." I continue staring at him, not replying. He shuffles awkwardly, then gives me a kind smile. "Well since you're up so early, would you mind help me make breakfast?" I nod and stand up, grabbing my notebook and pen from inside of my backpack. Together, we walk downstairs and into the large kitchen. Jason opens the cabinet, taking out pots and pans. He turns the stove on, and suddenly turns to me. "How does bacon, eggs, and grits sound?"
I stare at him weirdly before writing something down in my notebook, then show it to him. "What's grits?"
"You don't remember what grits are?" He asked shocked. I shake my head no, and he looks at me in disbelief. "Seriously? We used to have them all the time! Mo-" he cuts himself off, not finishing his sentence. He looks down sadly, then returns to cooking the strange food.
I watch Jason as he cooks, and I can't help the sadness that comes over me. I can't help but feel like I upset somehow. Even if it was something as silly as food, I can't erase the image of his sunken face. Alex walks into the kitchen, looking exactly like Jason except for the fact that his mop of hair is black. He notices Jason's sad form and immediately walks over to him. "Hey Jay, you okay?" Jason nods, and whispers something into Alex's ear that I can't hear. Alex nods, and glances over at me sadly. I scoff, and sit down at the round table in the big kitchen.
Eventually, Alex and Jason take a seat at the table, setting the food down in front of us. Alex hands me a plate full of eggs, bacon, and some kind of white clump of food. Is this the grits that Jason was talking about? Alex must notice my curious gaze because he says, "It's grits." My head snaps up at him, and he smiles at me. "It used to be your favorite," he says happily.
I shrug, and pick up my spoon and dig in. Out of the corner of my eye, I notice as they both clasp their hands together and how their heads, praying silently. I don't pray with them. Instead I continue to eat my food. I haven't prayed in over 2 years. My mom and dad used to pray though. But that's in the past now...
Breakfast is silent and uncomfortable. Other than the light conversation that passes between my brothers, everything is quiet. When I'm finished, I stand up, and carry my dishes to the sink, washing them. Before I can leave the kitchen though, Jason suddenly grabs my arm. I yank it back, glaring at him harshly. He looks shock for a moment, but recovers quickly. "I um," he stutters. "We were wondering if you wanted to go out somewhere." I nod my head slowly, even though the thought of going anywhere is utterly terrifying to me. I may not exactly like it here, but I'd rather stay here than have to go out in public with who knows how many people. Still though, something about the hopeful look that Jason gives me keeps me from saying no. It's a stupid feeling, but it's still there nonetheless.
"Great," he says smiling. "Why don't you go get dressed, and then we'll head out. I nod, and go upstairs to my room. Opening my backpack, I realize that even though it's been almost a week since I've started living with my brothers, the only articles of clothing I have is the white patient uniform of the asylum. Right now, I only wear a large t-shirt and a pair of shorts. I take out the clothes, and carry them with me to the bathroom.
I turn on the shower, and take off my clothes, taking notice of the large mirror over the sink. I stare at my reflection for a while, looking at the scars and lumps that have been left on my body from the various "treatments" that I've been given. I turn around, looking at the long -still red- scar that is the length of my entire spine. The skin blistered in some places, and peeling in others. The freezing showers that I've been forced to take has marred my body, and made it a horrific sight to see. I shake my head, and get in the shower. What's done is done. I can't change that.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++
My heart thumps erratically, and my hands are sweaty. I look at the smile on Jason's face, and for a brief moment, I think about taking the plastic bag that he holds, and suffocating him with it. I know that it might not be the most sane thing to do, but in my case, it's completely justified. When Jason said going out, I thought that he would mean to go to the park, or to just walk around. I didn't know hat he would want to go to the mall, with thousands of other people. I've only been to a mall once, and even then, I remember hating it.
I glare at a woman when she bumps into my rudely, not even glancing back to say sorry. Alex only laughs at my anger, and puts a hand on my shoulder. I move away from his touch. He sighs, and we walk to another store. Jason picks out a bunch of different outfits, showing each one to me. He shows me a pink tutu with purple ruffles on it, and I look at him strangely.
"You don't like it?" He asks. Alex laughs, and puts his hand on Jason's shoulder. "She's nine, not five. Let's go to another store, and pick out something else." Jason nods sorrowfully, and we start to make our way out of the store. An orange shirt catches my eye, stopping me in my tracks. It has large green print on it and reads, "Rock Out." Jason walks next to me, pointing at the shirt. "You like that?"
I'm about to nod when I catch myself. I'm not allowed to like anything. At the asylum, everything was chosen for me. What I eat, what I wear, and sometimes, even how I sleep. Liking something strictly forbidden in the walls of that place. Jason picks up the clothes, and walks away. I follow him to the counter, and a woman rings up our items. Once she's finished, we leave the store, a white bag having loosely from my arms. We come towards a large crowd of people, and Alex looks at me seriously. "Stay close to us okay?" I nod, and follow them close enough to where I don't have to touch them. There's too many people around. Dozens of bodies bump into me, people telling me to "move out the way", and "fuck off." Alex turns around, and offers me a kind smile.
I stare at my brother, confused. I remember how he laughed at my silly moments of anger, and how Jason did his best to find me an outfit, even going as far as to pay for it. The extreme feeling of guilt is heavy on my chest, almost making it to where I can't breathe. Him and Alex have been extremely kind to me the entire time that I've been here. Maybe, just maybe, I can forget my anger towards them, and finally live a happy life.
Alex tries to grab my arm, but he doesn't reach me in time and someone walks in front of him. Alex disappears from my sight, and I frantically try and search for him. I'm too small though. The only things that I can see are people's shirts and pants. I want to call for Alex or Jason, but I can't.
I stand helplessly in the crowd, and I shrink. There's too many people. I don't want to be here, I think. I want mommy and daddy.
Someone pulls my arm roughly, and I cry out in pain. Before I know it, the crowd is gone, and I'm standing in a white hallway. "Are you okay kid?" A voice asks. It is deep and husky. I look up to see a man who's taller than both Alex and Jason. He smiles down creepily at me. I nod my head, and attempt to walk towards the exit of the hallway. He only walks in front of me, blocking my path.
"Where are your parents?" He asks. I shrug my shoulders, attempting to leave again. He only continues to stand in front of me, and I instinctively wrap my arms around my small frame. I don't like this man. He takes out his keys, and smiles even wider. "Come on, I'll take you with me to the cops and we can go find your mom and dad." Something in my gut tells me not to trust this man, and I follow it. Turning around, I sprint down the hallway at full speed. I only make it a few steps, when the man grabs my arm again. He turns me around so that I'm facing him while I yell and struggle in his grip. "Kid, calm down! I'm just trying to help!" His grip is tight, and it hurts really bad. I'm facing him now, and he smiles, leaning down towards me.
Fear and anger rush through me, and I knee the man in the groin. He cries out in pain, letting me go, and holding the injured area. I swiftly take the keys from his hand, and blindly swipe at him. I don't see where I hit him, and I don't care. I only continue to swipe and stab. The man falls to the ground, his blood and tears mixing together. I stab the keys into his arm, his stomach, his throat. Anywhere that I can reach, I stab him. I can't stop.
Someone yells, and soon, a pair of arms wrap around my body, picking me up. I scream and kick wildly, wanting to be put down. "Adeline, calm down!"
It's either Alex or Jason. I'm too hysterical to tell. I still kick and scream. Through all my screaming, I hear one of the twins yell, "We have to use it on her!"
Something sharp pierces my neck, and I whimper. My body suddenly grows tired, and my legs are too weak to kick. My loud screams turn into pitiful whimpers, and someone lays my on the floor. Next to me, the man that I stabbed cries quietly. Alex and Jason stand above me, watching worriedly. I don't miss the small needle that Jason holds in his hand. Even with my sudden fatigue, I can still the anger swirling around inside me. The brothers who abandoned me, and practically left me to die, the brothers who claimed to care about me, used the same methods as my doctor in the insane asylum who hurt me. I thought that I could trust them...
Hi guys!! I really hope that you're enjoying the book so far. Tell me what you like and what you don't like. Do you think that I could change anything? Or are there things that you would like to see more of? Leave a comment and a vote so that I know you're liking the story! Bye my lovelies!!-Ny