Page 29 of Sour
Ziggy smiled back. “And then, we do the very thing we always dreamed of doing.”
My eyes sparkled at the long lost thought. “You promise?” I asked. He nodded. I grabbed his face and kissed him. “Never leave me, Happy.”
“Never,” he moaned. “I’m going to take away all that pain, and I’m going to make sure no one can ever hurt you again, Koven. Just like we always planned. You and me. Forever.”
I nearly came at his beautiful promise.
“Forever.”
Koven shot back her daily meds, swallowing them with such skill as the grumpy old nurse watched her. She extended her tongue with a smile and clasped her wrists behind her back. I noticed her freshly bruised wrists and smiled with pride as I watched from a nearby wall.
“Next!” The old nurse ushered Koven away.
Her green eyes instantly spotted me from across the room, and she grimaced. It made my dick jump seeing her classic little attitude.
“What’re you doing here?” Koven asked with a sour tone as she approached me. “Shouldn’t you be somewhere else, causing all sorts of trouble?”
I crossed my arms and grinned down at her. “You’re more than enough trouble for me, Skittles. Besides, where else would I be? I already got my treatment today.” I pointed to my temple and made a buzzing sound.
Koven huffed, unamused.
“I’m curious, what kind of pills they got you on anyways?” I asked.
Koven made a face. “Lithium and Prozac. And on the days I’m feeling extra blue, they love to shove a Xanax down my throat or just sedate me.”
I eyed her closely. “You know you shouldn’t mix those.”
Koven scoffed. “I don’t think anyone here cares, Ziggy. They just dope us up with whatever they can so they don’t have to worry about what we’ll do. They don’t care to treat us or help us, not really. This place is a prison to house the insane…forever. Healing is just the smokescreen label they slap over it all to keep people from asking questions.” She shook her head. “No one’s healing in here, because everyone here is broken beyond repair.” Her voice lowered. “You just find what little bit of peace you can and hold on to it for dear life. Real or not.”
I didn’t like the way Koven spoke. It felt like her words were tainted with a bitter resentment, as if she’d given up on everything.
My body pushed from the wall, and I approached her. “You’ll never see clearly if you focus so much on those dark clouds. Don’t let them plague you, Skittles.”
She gazed up and into my eyes. “All I see is midnight storms and haunting shadows. In here, out there, they’re always present. These pills they force me to take, the ridiculous therapy I have to sit through, none of it mutes them. They’re alwaysthere. I’m not crazy, Ziggy. But being trapped inside this rotting prison is making me crazy.” She stepped closer and tilted her head. “I want out. Ineedout.”
I felt excited by her words.
“Then let’s get out of here,” I whispered. “Together.” My thumb pinched her lower lip. Koven didn’t move. She just kept staring up at me, as if considering my words.
“There you two are!” We both snapped our eyes away and separated as Dream suddenly appeared, all bright eyed and chipper. God, it was too fucking early for that kind of attitude. “Oh.” She glanced between the two of us. “What’s going on here? Everything okay?”
Koven tucked her hair behind her ear. “Fine. Everything is fine.”
“Koven Carter.” We all turned to see a shockingly attractive female doctor. She was standing in the doorway of a nearby hallway, wearing a pencil skirt and maroon button-up underneath a classic lab coat. Her dark hair was twisted up on top of her head, random curls hanging around her taupe colored face. Her dark eyes were glued to Koven, staring from behind thick, cat-eye glasses. She just stood there, fixated on Koven. “It’s time,” she shouted in a British accent.
And who the fuck is this?
Koven looked back at me with an odd look painted across her face. She didn’t say a word and just walked away towards the doctor.
“Hey Dream.” The white-haired woman looked up at me. “Who the fuck is that?” I asked.
We both watched as Koven approached the female doctor. She looked back, but the woman gently guided her away, her own eyes lingering for a moment before her head snapped away. The way she looked at me, and the way she commanded Koven around, well…it didn’t sit right with me.
“That’s Dr. Sable,” Dream stated.
Ah, of course. The psychiatrist for their wing. The one who tends to overly favor select patients.
“Does Dr. Sable usually whisk Koven away for therapy?” I asked. She nodded. “Interesting.”
