Lecile walked into the lobby, throwing her jacket on a hanger in her locker. She wasn't really looking forward to seeing Matthews this early in the morning. Angela approached her munching on a pop tart. She handed Lecile another one she had been carrying.
"Here, eat this. I know you always wake up late and never have enough time to eat." Lecile thanked her and they sat down in the plush chairs around the room. None of the patients were awake now so they were allowed to roam any of the rooms. Angela chattered about something she and her boyfriend had did the other night, Lecile wasn't really listening. A tall balding man walked up. He had wrinkles creasing the sides of his eyes and his hair had grey weaving through it.
"Good morning Phillip." Lecile greeted him.
"Mrrd mornim morrip!" Angela exclaimed, crumbs flew from her mouth in the process. Phillip smiled warmly and went over today's schedule. As he walked away Lecile stood and stretched. She turned to Angela and said her farewells and made her way towards Matthews room with his anti depressants. She zipped her card into the lock and found the man huddled in the same corner as yesterday. He had a bruise added to his pale cheek though.
"Hello..." She greeted him nervously, wheeling the cart in. "Are you going to fight your medicine?" He didn't so much as lift his head. Lecile walked over and knelled down infront of him. She saw his purple eyes glance at her from under his shabby bangs. Lecile waited for him to lift his head. When he didn't she sighed lightly.
"I'm not taking them." He said bluntly. She eyed him thoughtfully. Maybe she could make a deal with him.
"Would you make a deal with me?" He lifted his head slightly to look at her suspiciously. She decided to go on. "If you take your medicine without fighting me, I might be able to get this jacket off of you for an hour or so. How does that sound?" She was bargaining with him as if he were a child. She couldn't guarantee anything. He looked at her blankly for a second, but then started to open his mouth slowly. She walked back over and picked up the small pill and the glass of cold water. "Ready?" He nodded his head. She placed the pill into his mouth and put the glass up to his lips. She leaned it up and saw his Adam's apple bobbing with the drink he took. Some of the water dribbled from the sides of his mouth, Lecile noticed. She plucked up a napkin and dabbed at the liquid. "There." She announced proudly. He really wasn't so scary now that he was sitting calmly.
"You'll get this wretched coat off of me?" He asked earnestly. Lecile nodded her head. He stared at her for a moment, seeming to try and tell if she was lying. He dropped his head again. "Do you like animals?" The question startled her. Where had that come from?
"Um... I guess so..."
"What's your favorite kind?" She looked at him weirdly.
"Cats?"
"Mmmm... Mine too. Do you have any brothers or sisters?" Was he trying to make conversation?
"Yes...I have two younger brothers. They're both 13, twins." He made a humming sound.
"I hav- had a sister..." He took in a sharp breath. She walked a step closer and leaned down.
"Why...I mean, why did you?...You know..." Lecile trailed off. His head stayed in it's permanent spot between his knees.
"I loved my sister, more than I probably should've. She was always sick. She had kidney cancer. My mother wouldn't help her to get treatment. The voices told me neither of them deserved to live... I was supposed to kill them. I wanted to show my sister how much I loved her first. Mother screamed and yelled, Rebecca cried. After I killed them both I can't remember what happened..." His shoulders shook. It wasn't with sobs though. Lecile stumbled backwards. Matthews' head bent backwards as a cruel, evil giggle left his lips. It sounded demonic. Lecile backed against the door, preparing to run if she needed. His giggles progressed into loud laughter. He haunched over, his sides seemed to start to hurt. "It's funny isn't it! The knife sliding into their skin was so thrilling! The voices praised me so much, I was bursting with pride!" Lecile was shaking by now, he was getting to look like a devil. Finally his head slumped forward, all signs of humor left his features. He stared at the white walls blankly. "I really loved her though, she was so beautiful. It's probably better I gave her that glorious death instead of that horrible ugly one she would've gotten with that disease." He furrowed his eye brows, he was debating something. "I need to kill more people, the voices want me too. We're biding our time though, we have to be patient." He looked at her like a teacher would a student. Lecile trembled and tried to move away from his stare. He was a cold blooded killer, it seemed like he felt bad at first, he had seemed decent. But, no, he had no remorse. His eyes softened to almost a soft lilac color. "I know I'm scary. It's alright, don't cry." She had only just noticed that hot scared tears were trailing down her cheeks. They were from fear, and from sadness about Rebecca and her mother. Matthews stood quickly and walked over to her. She tried to flinch and run away. But, sadly she was cornered. She was surprised when she saw he had just taken a seat next to her. There he sat, gazing at her intently. He laid his head on her shoulder and whispered things she couldn't quite understand. It almost sounded like he was murmuring in German. His hair tickled her neck, it smelled lightly of the shampoo they had in stock at the psych. His words were comforting, but she so badly wish it were anything assuring. A killer was trying to comfort her. That just seemed so wrong to her. Oddly she felt her eyes start to droop, she hadn't slept very well the night before. Fore purple eyes and splattered faces had haunted her dreams. It felt calming to have Matthews' shaggy head on her shoulder, his hair felt soft on the little patches of exposed skin near his head. Her head dropped onto the top of his. He couldn't do any damage wearing a straight jacket, and she would wake up he he moved at all. She deemed the situation mildly safe. His soft words flooded into her ears like water, his voice was silky. What seemed like five minutes later she woke up to a soft movement. It was the door opening. Angela peeked her head in.
"So that's where you've been!" She exclaimed. Lecile looked around confusedly. Matthews was seated over in his corner, eyes shut peacefully. "I've been waiting for you for ten minutes! Your shift is over. Why were you asleep?" Angela nagged, sometimes it seemed she was more of Lecile's mother than her actual one.
"I get it, I get it. I'm sorry okay? I didn't sleep very well last night." She started to walk out the door with Angela, throwing a quick glance over her shoulder, Matthews was gazing at her with his large eyes. They held a silent meaning. That meaning was? Well, she wasn't very sure herself. As they walked through the hallway Lecile turned to Angela.
"Is there any way to get certain patients different living conditions?"