They were enough to induce nightmares.
But hey, we get college credits, right?
“What do I need to know?” Harlow broke the silence. It was a question we all should have asked upon arrival. But when I got here, I barely uttered a single word and went into everything unprepared.
“Don’t give too much away to these doctors,” Layne said honestly, her voice pitched low so Nurse Drew didn’t overhear. She’d moved to the nurses’ station to give us a moment to get to know each other. Probably so she could gossip with the others. But at least we didn’t have a nurse that hovered. “And don’t leave your room at night. No matter how curious you might be or what you hear.” A shudder ran through her, and Harlow raised her eyebrows.
Something off to the side caught Harlow’s eye, and she gave a halfhearted smirk that turned into a glare. She mouthedfuck offbefore looking back at us.
Talking to things that we can’t see? Yup, she’ll fit in just fine.
Even Drake who was watching this unfold with his usual quiet intensity sat up straighter at that. She was under too much scrutiny for it to go unnoticed.
At least by everyone but Crew who continued the conversation like nothing happened.
“We have pretty strict schedules. We have breakfast, online classes, therapy, lunch, group therapy, more classes, dinner, then the night is ours to spend in here bored out of our minds,” Crew added on. “But don’t worry, I have a feeling we’ll be fast friends.”
“Friends. Interesting thought,” she said with indifference.
“We all felt like that coming in,” I admitted.
“And we are all looking out for ourselves,” Layne added on. “But sticking together comes in handy.”
“Enough of this bullshit,” Drake growled, shooting Layne a glare that could melt steel before stomping his way down the hallway.
“Don’t mind him, they can’t find the stick up his ass,” Layne said with an eye roll. “How about a grand tour?”
“Sure,” Harlow said. She stood up then, her long legs shaking, and for a moment, I thought I saw a trail of blood on her thighs. My heart dropped at confirmation of my earlier suspicions. Roman took over for me the moment Dr. Vane turned his cold eyes on me, but I could put the pieces together. Bruises, scratches, and now seeing her, I knew he attempted to rape me. And he’d succeeded with her. She didn’t have a protector like I did, and it made me feel like someone punched me in the gut.
Helplessness.
Another feeling I was far too familiar with. What could I do as a patient? Yet I knew I’d never see Vane the same again. At least I rarely attended sessions with him. Roman wouldn’t allow it.
Layne started her tour with the common room we were already standing in. “We have games, video games, though, not any decent ones, and TV. There are books and a library system so you can request new ones sometimes. I’d always ask for library time if you do though, otherwise the nurses will ban them before you can get them. Snacks and drinks are always full, art supplies if you’re the art-therapy type.”
“Hm,” was all Harlow said. Her eyes were starting to liven up a bit as she gradually took everything in.
“Down the hall are our rooms, it’s past the nurses’ station,” she said as she led us all that way. “Drake, Hiro, Crew, me, and now you. We have another empty room, but they don’t fill up quickly here. Dr. Vane is pretty picky on who he lets in.”
“They let you in,” Crew joked.
“Try not to kill us all next time you see a flame,” Layne shot back, both of them laughing easily. On her good days, Layne easily led our conversations.
“Any big rules?” Harlow asked as she peeked inside her room. I knew what she saw and recognized the disappointment there. A wooden desk, a standard chair, one dresser, a bed that was made for a dorm, and a window that had thick black bars on the outside of it. The white cinder block walls were the worst, and the entire room could be described as drab at best.
“We’re allowed to add things to it. We get paid for our participation in Dr. Vane’s case studies, which are pretty much mandatory, and we get a prepaid debit card so no worries with banks and shit. If you earn your outings, you can grab rugs and shit so it doesn’t feel so...” Layne trailed off as she searched for the right word.
“Prison-like,” Crew supplied with a chuckle.
“Bathroom?” Harlow asked as she glanced around. The moment Layne pointed it out, she slipped inside without a glance back. We all heard her talking to herself, and I had a feeling she just needed a moment to process and breathe after being forced to go from Vane, to us, and right on to more, if I knew this place.
When she stepped out again, her face was wet like she’d splashed it. Her clothes were smoothed out a bit, and she looked a bit more put together than she had when she stepped onto our floor.
“Can I see your room?” Harlow asked curiously, focusing on Crew. Jealousy panged sharply in my chest, and I wanted to bring her attention back to me. But I didn’t push it because she seemed to finally be relaxing. Harlow was no longer biting out her words and the rasp was even stronger now. It was a soulful voice, and I loved how it sounded.
“Stop drooling, Hiro,” Layne teased as we walked toward Crew’s room. He took the lead, telling her all about what he’d decorated his room with, and I’d hung back, giving Layne ammunition to move in.
“I’m not,” I said easily. “Just studying her. She’s interesting.”