"Hello?" I asked as I answered the landline.
"Hi baby, I realized that maybe I should stay with Nautia." Margie said. I nodded.
"Oh yeah. That makes sense, sure. What are you up to? We could go to the Louvre, but nothing to crazy. I have to work tonight." I told her. Margie's hobby was painting.
"I'm spending my day with Nautia today. Maybe you could tag a long?" She asked. I pursed my lips.
"No, you two need some time together. I have a friend I can call. Have fun." I told her.
"Okay, I gotta go, bye." She told me. I said my goodbye and we hung up. I took out my phone and sought out Asher's number.
"Hello?" She answered.
"Hey, it's Lee." I told her.
"Oh, hi! How are you?" She asked.
"Pretty good. Are you off?" I asked her.
"Yeah. You wanna hang out?" Asher said simply.
"I'd like that. It's kind of boring. My mom and brother were here a few weeks ago, but they went home to America and I've been lonely ever since." I told her laughing a little. She giggled.
"Yeah, what do you want to do?" She asked. I got up and went over to the computer.
"Any movies you got in mind. I wouldn't mind going to the cinema." I told her. There was a horror movie that was from America I was really itching to watch.
"Not really, but I don't mind going to the movies. Sounds fun actually. What time?" Asher asked.
"I'll have to check the viewing times for the movie I want to see, are you okay with horror? There's a new American film I want to watch that looks awesome." I told her, going to my laptop.
"Oh, the American film. Those are the worst. I nearly wet my pants at one of those. But I was just thirteen then. My dad took me." I kind of frowned. I never had a dad. Mom was married and that's how she got Andrew, but I didn't remember him much, and what I did remember of him he wasn't nice to me. I wasn't his so he didn't care about me. Mom realized that before it was too late and divorced him. We didn't see him ever again.
"But is that okay? I'll go see anything really." I replied, clicking the link for the horror movie I wanted to see.
"There's a viewing time for 2:30. How does that sound?" I asked. I needed to take a shower and stuff… so it was good for me.
"Yeah, sounds good. Meet up at two? We can grab some ice cream from the place across the road from the cinema. Then head over."
"Yep, sounds like a plan to me" I told her.
"Alright, see you then, bye." She told me.
"Later." I said and hung up; I went to my room and went to my walk in closet. I'd like to tell you that it was near to empty, but that would be lying. I love clothes. I grabbed my spaghetti strap sundress; it had a bow on the back that I though was precious. I then the appropriate underwear and I went to the shower. I realized later on that Erik was surprisingly away from my mind. I had found relief in that, knowing I wasn't obsessed with him as I had worried about.
I took a quick shower and blew my hair dry, I got dressed and put my hair up in a messy bun, slid on a pair of summer floral pattern wedges for a pop of color and went on my way. I drove to the ice cream parlor and waited for Asher. She pulled up in a red convertible, the roof down. She smiled brightly as she saw me in my Bug.
"You look gorgeous. If only I looked that good in white. My complexion is too pale. I'd look like a sheet." She told me as she got out of her car. I laughed.
"Thank you, Asher. You look cute as a button though. Your skirt is precious. Where did you get it?" I asked as we went into the parlor. This felt nice to be a girl.
"I got it from a store in the mall. We should go sometime. I think I would appreciate your fashion taste. Apparently I dress like a teenager." Asher told me as we approached the counter.
"A banana split with extra cherries, please." Asher said.
"I'll take a single scoop of vanilla with a dipped cone." I requested, getting out my cash, not wanting put four-fifty on a debit card. We sat down outside once we got our ice cream.
"So, why are you working at the asylum? You don't exactly seem the type." I asked her. She shrugged.
"Most girls our age are nurses in hospitals and nursing homes. I guess I just wanted something different. My dad told me Blackwater was hiring last year and I put in an application. But you don't exactly seem the type either, what about you? You're clearly American, what did you come all the way over here for?" Asher asked.
"Oh, I went to college here and they sought me out. I only have bachelors. I want to get a master and maybe become a doctor." I told her. She nodded taking a bite of her sundae.
"Why do asylums have names like that…? I mean Blackwater Asylum? That's just begging for a horror movie." I told her. She laughed.
"You like those don't you?" She asked. I nodded.
"I love horror movies. They're so good. But every now and then you'll just find a jewel and you'll cherish it forever. Mine's Nosferatu, God I love that movie." I told her with the enthusiasm of a child. She laughed softly.
"What's something you're into?" I asked.
"It's kind of old timey but I love to quilt." She answered.
"Oh that's cool. I made a blanket with my Granna when I was a little girl. I still have it. I use it now." I told her. She smiled. We finished our ice cream and went to the movie. Asher squealed once and I laughed for about five minutes. It was a good horror movie, not exactly memorable. But hey, I spent some time with a normal person, which I was quite proud of. By the time I got home I had to get ready for work. I changed my dress into a pair of scrubs and exchanged my beloved wedges for work shoes. I pulled on my work jacket then went to the asylum.
I entered the day room. Once again I was greeted by the mellifluous drawl of the violin. Erik was performing again. I smiled to myself remembering what happened after the last time he performed. But then I recalled Erik wanted to talk about his past actions. I looked at him, finding it strange that I had forgotten completely about it. He was still playing, his eyes closed and a look of tranquil on his face. I was working the first night shift alone and Peyton was coming in at four.
I set my stuff down in the cubicle and went into the day room and sat down beside one of the patients. I listened intently to Erik's music, not sure if it was original or a piece by someone else. I bet Honey would've loved to hear Erik play. We wouldn't be able to talk immediately. Like I said I was alone, so I couldn't leave the cubicle until after all the patients were in their rooms. Erik withdrew the bow from the strings and bowed as the patients clapped.
"I don't know where they found him, but he is such a good musician. The asylum was very smart to start musical therapy." One of the patients muttered to the other. So they thought he was a therapist. That would be a good job for him.
"I like how he sticks around after he's done playing and talks to us. He's quite kind. I know some of the therapists that are brought in leave right after."
I looked to Erik, he was setting his violin in its case, running a block down the length of his bow. I think it was called rosining. I stood up and went to his side.
"The patients think you're a musical therapist." I told him quietly. He looked at me with keen eyes and smiled.
"Let them think that." He said simply giving me a wink. I laughed softly.
"Are you ready to talk about the thing tonight or do you want to wait? I'm pretty well adjusted, ready whenever you are." I informed him. Erik nodded.
"We'll talk tonight." He told me simply. The newest patient approached us and grabbed Erik's wrist, he smiled kindly at her.
"Hello Angeline." He greeted her kindly. I smiled at her as well. She had oval shaped brown eyes that looked at Erik with an expression of admiration and possibly even adoration… which sparked something akin to jealously in the pit of my belly.
"I know you; you're the night shift worker, Leamera, right?" Angeline asked as she looked at me. She seemed kind enough so I wasn't hostile with her, or at least I tried not to. I think I succeeded.
"Yep, call me Lee, or Miss Archer, whatever, just not Leamera. It's a mouthful. I don't even know what kind of name that is… What kind of name is that?" I muttered, biting my lip confusingly, my eyebrow ticking. Erik laughed.
"It suites you, Lee. You shouldn't complain. Your name may be strange but it's also majestic." Erik told me like the stupid charmer he is.
"Thank you, Erik." I told him, blushing just a tinge. He chuckled, making my knees weak. He needed to stop that or he would be the death of me.
"Alright, bed time, everyone get to your rooms!" The supervisor called. Erik drifted off and I lost him while I helped the patients into their rooms. Once the supervisor left me to attend to the place myself I went to his room. He was there on his bed, laptop thrown aside at the foot of the bed while he sat with his back against the wall, arms crossed and eyes closed
"I see you haven't taken it apart yet." I commented teasingly at him and sat down on the bed next to him. He opened his eyes and smiled gently at me, almost tiredly.
"Are you alright?" I asked softly.
"I haven't gotten much sleep since the other day." He told me I frowned, knitting my brow.
"Your mother didn't even get this far in the curse and to be honest I'm starting to grow scared." He continued. My frown deepened a little and I slid a little closer to him, daring to wrap my arms around him. He was rigid for a moment before his arm went around my back and he pressed a kiss to my head.
"You're charming you know that." He told me lullingly. I scoffed gently.
"Coming from the guy who all he has to do is smile and a girl's knees turn to jelly." I muttered. I could have totally fallen asleep right there right then and stayed there all night.
"You have a different kind of charm, Lee. You're innocent, beautifully so." Erik really was going to put me to sleep if he kept talking like that, damn. We stayed quiet for a few minutes, obviously neither one of us wanted to move.
"Do you want to talk about the thing?" I asked softly. He was silent for a few moments more; he started to rub my back, making my eyelids heavy.
"You're going to have to stop doing that, Erik." I mumbled against his shoulder. He laughed, he stopped as I requested.
"How do you feel about it?" He asked. I shrugged.
"At first I was a little frightened, but you've changed and I can feel it. There's nothing hostile left in you, is there?" I asked. He shook his head.
"No. Not one streak of violence is left. I couldn't be more peaceful. But every day, I still hear those screams, reverberating through my mind like a blaring alarm." He told me his voice thick with sadness. If there was anything wrong with this man it was PTSD and that could be helped without the aid of an asylum.
"When do you want to leave? I hate waiting for work just so I could see you." I told him quietly. His other arm came around and held me closer to him; he rested his masked cheek on top of my head. God I wanted to do this all the damn time. I felt so safe and secure, snug. It felt just so right.
"After Angeline gets better, I made her a promise." He told me. How was he so righteous? I think it was because he wanted to make up for all the bad he did. The people he hurt in the past were gone, but now he was using his eternal life to right the wrongs. And that brought tears to my eyes. I would never understand how Margie could even look away from Erik for even a second, how she could even sleep with someone else and not think about how she was betraying him. I loved him. It wasn't just some weird crush. I loved how beautiful he was as a person now. I wanted to have him and just never let him go. Ever.