Page 62 of One Flew Over the Omega's Nest: Part One
Trust them, I mean.
But if today has made one thing clear, it’s that there are only two sides in this place, “us”, and “them”. And as employees of the Thornfield Asylum for the Criminally Insane, Sam and West land firmly on the “them” side.
“I’m a patient. You guys work for the men abusin’ us. You may not participate, but you’re not doin’ anythin’ to stop it either. Tell me, if I went to Brooks right now and filed a complaint that an orderly has just started blackmailin’ me for sexual favors, would I be taken seriously?”
Both men stiffen.
For the first time, West looks…angry. “Who—”
“Answer the question,Doc.”
His jaw clenches. “No. You wouldn’t.”
“And that’s okay with you?”
“Of course not!” Sam roars, his chest heaving like he’s holding himself back from something.
“Then why do you work here?” I throw my hands up in the air. “Is the money really that good?”
The two of them exchange a look, and I catch Sam give a slight shake of his head, making West grind his teeth.
“We will…respect your wishes.” West’s voice is tight as he turns his attention to me. It sounds like the words actually pain him to say.
“Good,” I snap, and we spend the rest of the session with my nose in a book, West and Sam having some sort of silent conversation with their eyes. I swear I can feel their gazes drill into me every so often, but I dutifully ignore them.
The minute the hand turns to noon, I grab my shit and get out. Sam and West are speaking in angry, hushed whispers before the door even swings shut.
I don’t make it five steps before Hayden rounds the corner, bounding up to me like an excited puppy. The sight of him makes the knot in my chest ease slightly, and I find myself smiling up into his sparkling hazel eyes. “Hey there, Darlin’.” I take his hand as he offers it to me. “Is this some kind of new escort service you’re offerin’?”
“Only to you, Fireball.” He grins his lighter flicking open and shut in his free hand. “But, I think someone is worried about you.” He conspiratorially opens the little breast pocket on his jumpsuit, and Turnip pokes her little head out.
I gasp, scooping her out of the pocket and holding her to my face. “Turnip!” The rat chitters and rubs her face on mine, then proceeds to scold me in rat for taking her back to my room before my therapy appointment. “I know, girly, I’m sorry,” I tell her, letting her run up to my shoulder. “I thought it would be better, but I was wrong.”
Hayden gives me a brief look of incredulousness before he shakes his head and takes my hand again. “She…she’s really smart. She must have used the air vents to get to my room, because when I went back in there after breakfast, she was squeaking in my air vent.”
“I know she is,” I coo, rubbing under her chin while Hayden and I walk to lunch.
“You really don’t know where she came from?” He asks. It’s not an accusation, the question seems to be more out of curiosity than anything.
“I bet she belongs to someone,” I say, turning my attention to him. “She has that little collar, and she sniffed out a bunch of bugs hidden in my room when I first got here.”
He wrinkles his nose. “Gross. What kind of bugs?”
“The electronic, listenin’ kind.”
Hayden’s brows furrow. “Why would they want to spy on you? Though, you are a bit of an anomaly.”
I shrug. “That’s all I can think of. There’s no way they know—” I stop myself, shaking my head as I check our surroundings. There's only a few people in the hallway, but I lower my voice anyhow. “—Why I’m really here.”
Unless Banesworth has anything to say about it.
We enter the cafeteria, and I scoop Turnip off my shoulder and into my pocket as an idea hits me. “Hey Darlin’? I gotta go talk to Fuzzy real quick, alright?”
Hayden frowns at me, but nods. “Sure. You want me to grab your lunch?”
A smile takes over my face as I grab his cheeks and pull him down into a kiss. “Aren’t you just the goodest boy? That would be amazin’.” His cheeks flush red and he nods before getting in line for food. I make my way around the back, letting myself into the kitchen.
“Hey Fuzzy?” I call out, then a loud clatter in the corner of the room has me whipping around. I turn just in time to see Nurse Helaena coming around the corner, her cheeks flushed and her hair mussed.
