Page 22 of Madness

“He’s Alice; he’s utterly mad,” Harry says so nonchalantly that I almost gape at him.

This is Wonderland – aren’t we all a little mad?

Chapter Eight

I bolt from the cafeteria back to my room, but it makes it no better. The walls close in on me, and what should be my sanctuary in this place becomes a prison inside of a prison.

The delusions that plague me are stronger today, and just once, I wish I could control them, wanting nothing more than to experiencenormal.

Maybe the arrival of the twins is to blame?

Mad… I’m utterly mad.

I repeat the mantra, the words tumbling from my lips like a prayer, curling into a ball on top ofmy duvet, and pray that I get even the slightest reprieve from this insanity.

I’ve heard what the other say, the cruel whispers, but I’m no more insane than the others who reside here.

“You can tell yourself that, but you will never be thee Alice. She escaped while you are trapped here forever.”

“Trapped, trapped, trapped,”Queenie chirps, the voices in my head now seeming to work together to drive me to the brink of insanity.

Unless I’m already there.

I must fall asleep, my mind finally quieting enough for me to slip into unconsciousness.

When I wake, I lay on the bed, basking in the silence, and breathe in a deep lungful of air.

“Al?” Red’s tentative voice echoes through the wooden door, followed by a soft knock.

“Come in,” I sigh and sit up, leaning back against the headboard.

“Are you alright? You ran off pretty quick at breakfast.” She moves further into my room, sitting on the edge of my bed, and my breath hitches from having her in my space.

The room feels smaller with her presence but somehow warmer, too.

I run a hand through my hair, trying to shake off the last remnants of sleep.

I’ve been here for two days now, and just being close to her is enough for my heart to beat against my chest like a drum.

Her hand covers mine, and I stare at where we are connected, my cock straining in my joggers.

If there wasn’t enough evidence that I was a raging virgin, getting a boner from a simple hand hold is enough.

“I’m okay, Red. I’m still getting used to people.” I tell her, hoping to ease some of the worry in her eyes.

“Can I lay down with you?” she asks, surprising the shit out of me.

I nod, my mouth too dry to speak, and shuffle against the wall so she can lie on the outside.

I feel the bed dip from her moving next to me, and her hand interlinks with mine.

The touch is comforting and grounding.

“Sometimes…” she starts, then pauses, her breath hitching, “Sometimes when I first got here, I would ask one of the flowers to lay down with me, and I would feel a little less lonely in such a scary place.”

I nod, not sure if she’s even looking at me, “Why did you end up in here?” I ask, “You don’t have to tell me.” I rush to reassure her, but her soft giggle makes me relax back into the mattress.

“I have a sister who hates me. She convinced my family I was suicidal and that Wonderland was the best place for me. I wasn’t, by the way, suicidal, I mean. A little sad, maybe, but I didn’twant to die,” she rushes out, and I squeeze her hand.

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