Chapter 5 New Arrival pt 1

I stirred awake to the sound of Three’s steady breathing. I wound my pale fingers through her red hair that covered my chest. My face was buried in the silken fabric of her royal purple gown, my tears leaving permanent stains. I sighed, it was such a beautiful dress and I ruined it… 

She woke as if on cue and took my face into her small hands. She stared into my eyes with her own clear blue ones. Sadly, I saw that the brightness and the swirling colors from my dream were a complete fabrication. 

“Are you alright now, Emily?” Her voice was lyrical, just as I knew it to be. 

“Yes, Three… I think I’m ok now.” I winced at the sound of my own dry, cracked voice and she hugged me tight. 

“Emily, there’s nothing to be ashamed of. It was a dream…dreams are quite deceiving and at times tears are all we can do to cope.” She ran her hands through my shameful hair and I shied away from her, tugging uselessly on my bonds. 

Slowly, she slid off of my bed and walked over to my mirror. Her angelic face was completely blank, her slender, short form almost statuesque in her stillness. Her eyes shifted to stare at me and she tapped her heart-shaped lips thoughtfully. 

“Tell me about your dream, Emily.” 

“No,” I responded brusquely. She recoiled as if I had struck her. “I—I’m sorry, Three… I’m…disoriented?” I frowned as I searched for a better word but came up with nothing; but Three smiled again and walked slowly back to my side, laying her hand over mine. 

“Worry not, dear one. It must have been a bad dream to have vexed you so.” 

I only nodded, but said nothing more. Suddenly, Three’s eyes shot towards the door and she jumped back from my bed and hissed. She had heard what my busy mind had not—the locks on my door unlatching, the knob turning. 

She growled low in her throat and stepped into the darkest corner of my small cell, leaving me to wait alone. Three was sweet, but a bit of a coward. 

It was Doc who entered; her gray hair looked shorter than usual, like the ends were singed. “Emily, you are eating in the Recreation Room with the rest of the hospital residents today,” she said simply as she removed my bonds. 

She huffed and waved at the door in frustration, there, Orderly Peter stared wide-eyed at me. She waved at him again; the young man paused, but he made his way to my bedside. He was holding a bundle of old clothes. 

“Emily,” he greeted. I saw the thick bandage on his hand and smiled evilly. 

“Peter.” 

He winced and looked pleadingly at Doctor Pottervine. She shook her head, denying his plea, before she helped me sit up. She neglected to use the buttons on the bed today. Breaking routine? I had to force myself not to gasp. She pushed me into a hunch on my bed and began untying the bows of my hospital gown. With another frustrated wave, she ordered Peter to hand her the bundle clothes. He blushed. 

He was staring at my large breasts, and not doing what he was ordered to do. I glanced at my naked, pale chest and found it hard to see what interest he had seen there. I was emaciated, weak, my breasts looked awful. This man was clearly out of his mind. Doctor Pottervine dressed me in a brown wool sweater and a pair of blue jeans and Converse shoes. The clothes felt good on my skin, and for a moment, I didn’t care that Peter was still gawking at me. 

“Come on, Emily. Lunch hour is just that, an hour. Laine has been…eagerly waiting for you.” 

I understood everything then. Laine, my pyrokinetic best friend—pyro in her own mind at least. She must have gotten a hold of a lighter and set Pottervine’s hair on fire. I couldn’t help but laugh. 

When I got to the Rec Room, I saw what you normally see in a mental facility. A bunch of psychos whose shifty eyes were glancing about the room, still in their fear, eating only what they could when no one was looking. The doors closed behind me and locked. There would be no escaping today! 

“Raise your hands to the sky or I’ll burn them off, traitor!” 

I raised my arms straight up and smiled as Laine’s tan arms wrapped around my waist and hugged tight. I twisted in her grasp to face her with a wide smile. Laine was gorgeous, and probably more insane than me. Her bright red lips were stretched in a smile over pearly white teeth, her long blonde hair almost glossy in this super-bright light. She had managed to snatch a red dress from the Orderlies, but seeing as she had got me here with fire, I didn’t doubt how she’d done it. 

“Laine! I saw Doc’s hair! What did you do?” I asked, pretending to be shocked. 

“I burned it of course. Duh. Besides! You just had to see the new guy!” Laine was only 19 and still full of hormones. 

“New guy? When has that drawn so much attention?” 

“When he walked in! Oh my god, Emily, he's such a tasty muffin!” 

I giggled, “Muffin?” 

“Yes! But he hasn’t said a word to anyone! Look! He’s right there, getting his food!” 

She pointed with a long red fingernail towards the counter and my eyes followed. Standing there was a young man, maybe twenty-five, in a light blue pair of jeans and a brown t-shirt. The first thing I noticed were the muscles on his back. The shirt seemed to cling to its every groove; contour to his very shape…it was intoxicating. Even his hair was perfect; black and wavy, trimmed recently.

As if feeling us staring at him, he glanced over his shoulder. I actually gasped; his eyes pierced into my own, the dark green color captivating me. I could feel Laine turn quickly and giggle into my shoulder, but I couldn’t look away from him. 

He picked up his tray and walked towards us. He was even more gorgeous from the front! His muscled chest, his five o’clock shadow… As he approached, his eyes never left mine, his expression completely blank, but he walked right past me and I blinked for the first time since seeing him. He smelled like cinnamon chewing gum. 

“Let’s go sit with him!” Laine demanded and started pulling at my elbow before I could even take a breath to argue. She towed me over to where he had sat and she sat across from him. I sat down slowly as she began to chatter. I just poked at a crumb at the table and avoided drowning in his eyes again. 

“What’s your name? Where’d you come from? I’m Laine! How old are you? Do you like it here? What got you here? Can I ask these questions without you getting mad? Forget that, I don’t care. This is Emily. She’s a schizophrenic. I’m a pyro! Pyro’s are much more fun than imaginary friends! Want to be my new boy toy?” 

My mouth dropped and my eyes shot to him, suddenly Laine’s safety was all I could think about. But his eyes were still on his food, his jaw working on tough meatloaf. When he noticed she had stopped talking, he looked up and his eyes sent a chill down my spine. He looked, blank faced, at Laine and Laine only. 

“My name is Mathew. I came from a womb, just like you. I’m 26, I hate it here, I’d rather not say, yes you can ask, no I can’t promise I won’t get angry, pyro’s are imaginary, and hello, Emily.” His eyes slid over to me, the corner of his mouth rising slightly into a grin that took my breath away. 

“Hello,” I said, my voice small. 

I couldn’t believe he’d answered her questions! I looked over at Laine to find her jaw dropped in shock. Mathew looked down at his food again and pushed the tray away. 

“My friends call me Matty, or Marcus, depending…” He let his voice slip away, as if wanting us to guess why. Neither of us did, but Laine continued. 

“So, how about that date, Matty?” she purred, pressing her breasts against the table so they almost popped out of her dress.

“No,” Matty said curtly, making it very obvious that he was not going to look at her cleavage.

“Why?” Laine demanded, her red lips pouting.

“Because I won’t be here tomorrow.”