"You're not like the rest of these drooling whack-jobs."
Her presence had cut through his mental fog like a razor. The rest of the common room was a hazy blur, but she was as clear as crystal. Her pixie-cut blonde hair. Piercing green eyes that were homed in on him. She might've been about his age, but it was hard to tell in here.
"What?" Yeah. He had a knack for eloquence.
"I'm Eve." She sat next to him, ignored his request for clarification. "You're Jeremy, aren't you? I hear the orderlies screaming it at you when you piss them off." A wicked grin curled her lips, like she was sharing a secret story of past misdeeds.
"Um...yeah. I'm Jeremy." What did she want' He never talked to anyone. Never made a move to get to know anyone.
"Cool. I love your hair. Do you color it yourself" I didn't think they'd let us do stuff like that." She looked him over like he was a piece in a museum. Or a weird animal in a cage.
"It's not...I don't...it's just my hair."
"Really' That's wild. It looks like an over-ripe strawberry." She reached out a hand to touch it, rubbed some between her fingers as if it might come off.
"Um...thanks?" He was too stunned to move. She had no sense of personal space whatsoever, leaned in to inspect his hair. Then almost as quickly it was forgotten as she slumped back into her seat.
"This place is so boring. You're probably the most interesting thing in here." Was that supposed to be flattery' He couldn't tell. It didn't really sound like it. Why would she think he was interesting, anyway.
"Um...thanks?"
She laughed at him. "You're a sucky conversationalist, though. You haven't even asked anything about me yet."
Why the heck would he want to ask her anything" She was the one who came over to bother him.
"It's ok. You're probably just overwhelmed, huh?" She dropped him a lascivious wink. "I get that. I've seen these Philly girls. They're kind of skanky, aren't they' I'm from Virginia. My parents moved here about five years ago?"
He started to think that she was just incapable of not talking. She didn't even take a breath to let him say anything. Maybe if he ignored her she would leave him alone.
———————————————-
"Hi, Strawberry!"
Eve bounced her way over to their table. She was the one who started calling it that, and it seemed that's what it turned into.
The week since she had forced her company on him had flown by. And against his will, he actually started to look forward to common room time. They sat together at meal time, too. But if there was food around, she was always more interested in that than anything else.
"Hi, Eve." He smiled up at her. It still felt weird to smile. His face wasn't really used to the gesture.
She flopped into the seat, causing it to skid right up against his. It was a surprise when she grabbed his arm and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "I'm getting out of here. I want you to come with me."
"What are you talking about' They're not gonna let us leave." She had always seemed pretty lucid to him. Which in turn affected his own awareness for the better. But now she started to sound like one of the loony tunes.
"I made a deal with one of the orderlies," she hissed quietly. "He's on watch tomorrow night...but he's going to take a bathroom break at midnight."
He didn't want to think she was delusional. Eve was probably the closest thing he had to a friend since...pretty much ever. And maybe more than a friend. Sometimes when he looked at her he thought he saw something. A mirror of a feeling that he was starting to have for her.
So what the heck" The orderlies hated him anyway. If he gave them one more reason by wandering the halls past curfew it wasn't like they could do much worse to him.
"Well, how about it?" Her eyes pleaded with him to say yes.
"Yeah, sure. Let's do it." He smirked at her.
"Great!" She beamed at him. "I have it all worked out. I have a friend who lives not too far away. We can hop on the subway and stay with him for a day. Then I think we should just keep going. See the country?"
She rambled on about her insane dream. And he played along, because it was a nice one.
———————————————-
"Psst! Hey! Come on, Strawberry!"
He sat on the edge of the bed while he waited for midnight to roll around. The quiet and solitude had made his brain drift away, and he thought he might have partly fallen asleep. Her harsh whisper snapped him out of it. She was serious about going through with this.
The long neglected street clothes felt weird. He hadn't bothered with anything other than the hospital pajamas for so long. And Eve in jean shorts and a purple t-shirt kinda blew his mind. They looked like real people.
As they padded through the halls, he expected shouts and grabbing hands to stop them at every turn. But they didn't run into anyone. Even the crazies were sound asleep. And when they made it to the guard desk only to find it empty, he finally believed that she might not actually be nuts.
The entrance was unlocked. They were somehow leaving through the front door without any resistance. Did she have mafia connections or something" This seemed completely impossible.
After they descended the nearest subway entrance, she paid for their fare and led them onto the platform. She actually did it. He was free! Her arms were suddenly around him, and she laughed excitedly before a kiss was planted on his cheek.
"We did it! Oh man. I'm so glad you came with me!" She let go of him and twirled around in place, a shout of joy which echoed along the tracks.
All he could do was watch, a grin on his face. He was glad he was with her, too.
She came back over and punched him playfully on the arm. "I can't wait for you to meet Charlie. He's awesome. And he does tattoos. We should get tattoos before we travel around the country!"
.———————————————-
"I'm paying for them, Strawberry. So I decide what you get."
Their stay at Charlie's had been more like three days instead of one.
He looked like what Jeremy thought of as a stereotypical biker. Wife beater, old jeans, and scuffed up leather boots. But the guy never mentioned having a motorcycle. And he was a guy. He must have been in his 30s, at least.
The man had been none too happy when Eve showed up with Jeremy in tow. It took her having words with Charlie in private before he was allowed to stay. And there was a sneer every time she called Jeremy by the fruity nickname.
He only began to warm up to Jeremy when the decision to get tattoos was made. He even seemed slightly sympathetic when she refused to let him make his own choice.
"Dude. You're outta luck. When Tinkerbell here sets her mind on something, it's just gonna happen." He gave Jeremy a heavy pat on the back.
Eve stuck her tongue out at Charlie, but didn't really seem phased by his remarks.
"I want you to do a strawberry vine on his left arm. Because obviously." She reached up to ruffle Jeremy's hair.
He just grinned sheepishly. The excitement of the initial escape was wearing off. He wanted to move on. Charlie's place was not comfortable. Especially with the tattooing equipment taking place of a living room. But more than that. It was obvious he wasn't really welcome.
"And on his right arm...a heart locket. With my name over it." There was a mischievous grin on her face. And was she blushing" Maybe. She was skipping away before he could really tell.
"Awright. C"mon, man. This is gonna take a while."
Jeremy was led to the chair. He gripped the arms nervously. A while" How much longer was he going to have to stay here"
———————————————-
"Oh my god! I love them!"
If nothing else, Charlie was an amazing tattooist. It had taken almost the whole day, with several breaks. And Eve hovered around them, cooed at the work. But Jeremy had a fresh set of ink on each arm. And even though he hated to admit it, they were awesome.
When they finally finished it was close to midnight. Jeremy felt drained. But Charlie...well, he was Charlie. The guy seemed to exist on bourbon and cigarettes. He wrapped some loose bandages around Jeremy's arms, telling him to keep them on overnight, along with instructions on how to take care of the tattooes.
Jeremy tried to follow what he was being told, but his eyes struggled to stay open. Eventually he was able to collapse into the spare bed he used.
As he lay there, eyes closed, he couldn't help but think about Eve. The way she always seemed to be at his side. The smile that lit up her face when she looked at him. How she insisted the tattooes be something personal that the two of them shared.
He had fallen for her a while ago, he realized. It dawned on him that she must feel the same way. The thought made him feel light, as if he could float around the room. Happy. He felt happy. It was these thoughts of her, of how he felt, that followed him into sleep.
The dream came to him almost immediately.
He lay on a bed, and Charlie was positioned above him. Naked. A leer on that smug face. "Awright. It's time to pay up."
His hand reached up to touch Charlie's chest. Not to push him away. But tenderly. Only it wasn't his hand. It was a girl's hand.
"I'm all yours," came Eve's voice.
Charlie's face loomed closer, and there was a rough kiss.
A scream locked in Jeremy's throat as he thrashed himself awake. He knew he was awake. His eyes were open. He was sat on the bed, and looked around at the darkened room. But the dream was still playing in his mind.
He knew then. It wasn't a dream. It was what Eve saw. In real time. And he couldn't shut it out. He was forced to watch every moment. A repeated stab in his heart.
I made a deal with one of the orderlies.
I'm paying for them, Strawberry.
The truth struck him. And the truth was the worst pain ever. What he felt for her. What he thought she felt for him. It was all a lie. She was just using him.
His face warped in a mask of anger and hatred and hurt. The tears streamed down his cheeks unheeded. How could he have been so stupid" She didn't care about him. As soon as she got what she wanted, she would move on to her next victim.
Every cry of pleasure she uttered. Every grunt from Charlie. They drove him mad with betrayal. How he hated them. Both of them. They should suffer. The way he was being made to suffer. They would suffer.
He let out a gut wrenching scream, and the images finally stopped.
———————————————-
"Keep him sedated. I want him under constant surveillance."
His room was quiet again. The familiar bed comforting. He couldn't remember what was going on. It was difficult to focus on anything, even the ceiling.
There was a dream. He had floated through the city. And she was with him. Eve. Did that mean he was Adam' That made him giggle.
But it wasn't really a dream. It was a nightmare. Their garden of Eden wasn't a garden, it was a trash dump filled with bourbon and cigarettes and needles. But there was a snake. Its name was Charlie. It looked like a biker.
Charlie and Eve had been in bed together. It broke his heart. When he found them later, they were laying in very weird positions. And their chests were blown open, like shotguns went off from the inside.
Someone had broken their hearts, too.
Her presence had cut through his mental fog like a razor. The rest of the common room was a hazy blur, but she was as clear as crystal. Her pixie-cut blonde hair. Piercing green eyes that were homed in on him. She might've been about his age, but it was hard to tell in here.
"What?" Yeah. He had a knack for eloquence.
"I'm Eve." She sat next to him, ignored his request for clarification. "You're Jeremy, aren't you? I hear the orderlies screaming it at you when you piss them off." A wicked grin curled her lips, like she was sharing a secret story of past misdeeds.
"Um...yeah. I'm Jeremy." What did she want' He never talked to anyone. Never made a move to get to know anyone.
"Cool. I love your hair. Do you color it yourself" I didn't think they'd let us do stuff like that." She looked him over like he was a piece in a museum. Or a weird animal in a cage.
"It's not...I don't...it's just my hair."
"Really' That's wild. It looks like an over-ripe strawberry." She reached out a hand to touch it, rubbed some between her fingers as if it might come off.
"Um...thanks?" He was too stunned to move. She had no sense of personal space whatsoever, leaned in to inspect his hair. Then almost as quickly it was forgotten as she slumped back into her seat.
"This place is so boring. You're probably the most interesting thing in here." Was that supposed to be flattery' He couldn't tell. It didn't really sound like it. Why would she think he was interesting, anyway.
"Um...thanks?"
She laughed at him. "You're a sucky conversationalist, though. You haven't even asked anything about me yet."
Why the heck would he want to ask her anything" She was the one who came over to bother him.
"It's ok. You're probably just overwhelmed, huh?" She dropped him a lascivious wink. "I get that. I've seen these Philly girls. They're kind of skanky, aren't they' I'm from Virginia. My parents moved here about five years ago?"
He started to think that she was just incapable of not talking. She didn't even take a breath to let him say anything. Maybe if he ignored her she would leave him alone.
———————————————-
"Hi, Strawberry!"
Eve bounced her way over to their table. She was the one who started calling it that, and it seemed that's what it turned into.
The week since she had forced her company on him had flown by. And against his will, he actually started to look forward to common room time. They sat together at meal time, too. But if there was food around, she was always more interested in that than anything else.
"Hi, Eve." He smiled up at her. It still felt weird to smile. His face wasn't really used to the gesture.
She flopped into the seat, causing it to skid right up against his. It was a surprise when she grabbed his arm and leaned close to whisper in his ear. "I'm getting out of here. I want you to come with me."
"What are you talking about' They're not gonna let us leave." She had always seemed pretty lucid to him. Which in turn affected his own awareness for the better. But now she started to sound like one of the loony tunes.
"I made a deal with one of the orderlies," she hissed quietly. "He's on watch tomorrow night...but he's going to take a bathroom break at midnight."
He didn't want to think she was delusional. Eve was probably the closest thing he had to a friend since...pretty much ever. And maybe more than a friend. Sometimes when he looked at her he thought he saw something. A mirror of a feeling that he was starting to have for her.
So what the heck" The orderlies hated him anyway. If he gave them one more reason by wandering the halls past curfew it wasn't like they could do much worse to him.
"Well, how about it?" Her eyes pleaded with him to say yes.
"Yeah, sure. Let's do it." He smirked at her.
"Great!" She beamed at him. "I have it all worked out. I have a friend who lives not too far away. We can hop on the subway and stay with him for a day. Then I think we should just keep going. See the country?"
She rambled on about her insane dream. And he played along, because it was a nice one.
———————————————-
"Psst! Hey! Come on, Strawberry!"
He sat on the edge of the bed while he waited for midnight to roll around. The quiet and solitude had made his brain drift away, and he thought he might have partly fallen asleep. Her harsh whisper snapped him out of it. She was serious about going through with this.
The long neglected street clothes felt weird. He hadn't bothered with anything other than the hospital pajamas for so long. And Eve in jean shorts and a purple t-shirt kinda blew his mind. They looked like real people.
As they padded through the halls, he expected shouts and grabbing hands to stop them at every turn. But they didn't run into anyone. Even the crazies were sound asleep. And when they made it to the guard desk only to find it empty, he finally believed that she might not actually be nuts.
The entrance was unlocked. They were somehow leaving through the front door without any resistance. Did she have mafia connections or something" This seemed completely impossible.
After they descended the nearest subway entrance, she paid for their fare and led them onto the platform. She actually did it. He was free! Her arms were suddenly around him, and she laughed excitedly before a kiss was planted on his cheek.
"We did it! Oh man. I'm so glad you came with me!" She let go of him and twirled around in place, a shout of joy which echoed along the tracks.
All he could do was watch, a grin on his face. He was glad he was with her, too.
She came back over and punched him playfully on the arm. "I can't wait for you to meet Charlie. He's awesome. And he does tattoos. We should get tattoos before we travel around the country!"
.———————————————-
"I'm paying for them, Strawberry. So I decide what you get."
Their stay at Charlie's had been more like three days instead of one.
He looked like what Jeremy thought of as a stereotypical biker. Wife beater, old jeans, and scuffed up leather boots. But the guy never mentioned having a motorcycle. And he was a guy. He must have been in his 30s, at least.
The man had been none too happy when Eve showed up with Jeremy in tow. It took her having words with Charlie in private before he was allowed to stay. And there was a sneer every time she called Jeremy by the fruity nickname.
He only began to warm up to Jeremy when the decision to get tattoos was made. He even seemed slightly sympathetic when she refused to let him make his own choice.
"Dude. You're outta luck. When Tinkerbell here sets her mind on something, it's just gonna happen." He gave Jeremy a heavy pat on the back.
Eve stuck her tongue out at Charlie, but didn't really seem phased by his remarks.
"I want you to do a strawberry vine on his left arm. Because obviously." She reached up to ruffle Jeremy's hair.
He just grinned sheepishly. The excitement of the initial escape was wearing off. He wanted to move on. Charlie's place was not comfortable. Especially with the tattooing equipment taking place of a living room. But more than that. It was obvious he wasn't really welcome.
"And on his right arm...a heart locket. With my name over it." There was a mischievous grin on her face. And was she blushing" Maybe. She was skipping away before he could really tell.
"Awright. C"mon, man. This is gonna take a while."
Jeremy was led to the chair. He gripped the arms nervously. A while" How much longer was he going to have to stay here"
———————————————-
"Oh my god! I love them!"
If nothing else, Charlie was an amazing tattooist. It had taken almost the whole day, with several breaks. And Eve hovered around them, cooed at the work. But Jeremy had a fresh set of ink on each arm. And even though he hated to admit it, they were awesome.
When they finally finished it was close to midnight. Jeremy felt drained. But Charlie...well, he was Charlie. The guy seemed to exist on bourbon and cigarettes. He wrapped some loose bandages around Jeremy's arms, telling him to keep them on overnight, along with instructions on how to take care of the tattooes.
Jeremy tried to follow what he was being told, but his eyes struggled to stay open. Eventually he was able to collapse into the spare bed he used.
As he lay there, eyes closed, he couldn't help but think about Eve. The way she always seemed to be at his side. The smile that lit up her face when she looked at him. How she insisted the tattooes be something personal that the two of them shared.
He had fallen for her a while ago, he realized. It dawned on him that she must feel the same way. The thought made him feel light, as if he could float around the room. Happy. He felt happy. It was these thoughts of her, of how he felt, that followed him into sleep.
The dream came to him almost immediately.
He lay on a bed, and Charlie was positioned above him. Naked. A leer on that smug face. "Awright. It's time to pay up."
His hand reached up to touch Charlie's chest. Not to push him away. But tenderly. Only it wasn't his hand. It was a girl's hand.
"I'm all yours," came Eve's voice.
Charlie's face loomed closer, and there was a rough kiss.
A scream locked in Jeremy's throat as he thrashed himself awake. He knew he was awake. His eyes were open. He was sat on the bed, and looked around at the darkened room. But the dream was still playing in his mind.
He knew then. It wasn't a dream. It was what Eve saw. In real time. And he couldn't shut it out. He was forced to watch every moment. A repeated stab in his heart.
I made a deal with one of the orderlies.
I'm paying for them, Strawberry.
The truth struck him. And the truth was the worst pain ever. What he felt for her. What he thought she felt for him. It was all a lie. She was just using him.
His face warped in a mask of anger and hatred and hurt. The tears streamed down his cheeks unheeded. How could he have been so stupid" She didn't care about him. As soon as she got what she wanted, she would move on to her next victim.
Every cry of pleasure she uttered. Every grunt from Charlie. They drove him mad with betrayal. How he hated them. Both of them. They should suffer. The way he was being made to suffer. They would suffer.
He let out a gut wrenching scream, and the images finally stopped.
———————————————-
"Keep him sedated. I want him under constant surveillance."
His room was quiet again. The familiar bed comforting. He couldn't remember what was going on. It was difficult to focus on anything, even the ceiling.
There was a dream. He had floated through the city. And she was with him. Eve. Did that mean he was Adam' That made him giggle.
But it wasn't really a dream. It was a nightmare. Their garden of Eden wasn't a garden, it was a trash dump filled with bourbon and cigarettes and needles. But there was a snake. Its name was Charlie. It looked like a biker.
Charlie and Eve had been in bed together. It broke his heart. When he found them later, they were laying in very weird positions. And their chests were blown open, like shotguns went off from the inside.
Someone had broken their hearts, too.