Albany opened the lab door.
Jerome was already sitting up on the edge of the table.
She approached him and handed him a glass of water. "Here, try drinking this."
The ginger took the plastic cup and brought it to his lips. He managed a small sip, some of it dribbled onto his chin.
Albany took a tissue and wiped his chin.
Jerome watched her expression.
She noticed this. "What?"
His voice was hoarse and croaky. "What's up with you t'day?"
"Nothing." She walked away and threw the tissue in the trash can.
"Don't lie."
"Last night was not cool!" she turned to him.
"Okay, sorry I burnt your papers," he shrugged.
"Burnt my-" she frowned. "No, I meant my father being in the facility?"
Jerome looked confused. "Father?"
"Yes, my father Jerome!" she paused and took a deep breath to try calm herself a little. "I know you have control over my dreams, you have put my father in them before. Why this time?"
"I...didn't do...what?"
Albany could see the genuine confusion on her patient's face. "So...you...didn't see my father on the camera? You didn't put him in last nights dream?"
He shook his head.
There was silence between them for a moment.
Jerome opened his mouth to speak.
"Don't even ask!" Albany snapped before he could utter a word.
"I showed you what happened between my Mom and I."
"A bit too much."
"I also saw your fear you have towards daddy," he commented. He took another sip of his water, this time he didn't spill any.
Albany sat on the edge of the bed next to him. "My father worked for a local business. He thought he was some big shot, thought he looked like the big man. On the contrary, he wore obvious cheap suits, his stomach used to hang out of the bottom of his shirt, the buttons only just stretched round his beer belly."
Jerome could help but let out a small chuckle at the description.
"I know," she smiled. "He was a very entertaining site. He was away on business a lot, so most of the time it was just my Mom and I. It wasn't that bad," she shrugged, "we would do a lot of stuff together. For my birthday, we went to the park. She let me try out my new bike and we got ice cream. That's my favourite memory of her"
Jerome noticed her face change.
"It was also my last happy one."
"What happened?" he croaked.
"The day after my seventh birthday, she...died in a car accident."
"Oh."
"She was doing the shopping whilst I was at school. She had stopped at a red light, once it turned green she began to drive on. A car drove into her from the left, the driver had jumped a red light. She died instantly." Albany could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "As I was waiting in the playground for my Mom to come pick me up, a friend's Mom came over to me and said I had to go home with her for a while. I played with my friend at her house and I ended up staying over. It was a Friday, so I didn't think anything was wrong. The next day my father came to pick me up...I...don't remember much after that...I'm kinda thankful I don't."
Jerome took another sip of the water and let her pace herself.
"My father was a drinker, he always had been. But after Mom's death...he began to drink a lot more. It only took a few days for the entire house to stink of alcohol."
"Yeah, I know what you mean." Jerome scrunched up his nose. He remembered the distinct smell of his mother's trailer, it smelt like her. It smelt like alcohol.
"You too, huh?" she asked.
He nodded. He didn't fancy talking about the memory.
"Well, at first he used to take himself away and drink himself into oblivion. I was left to fend for myself. I spent most of the time at my friends house or at after-school clubs. The only time I got a hot meal was at school or if my friend's Mom invited me for dinner. I think people knew my father was suffering, but I don't think they realized just how much. It was...manageable I guess. I was still kinda young so didn't really understand everything that was happening." She took a deep breath. "His temper got worse over time. I hadn't talked to him in at least a week and I needed some more school shoes. I asked him for some and he..." she swallowed her tears. "He turned to me, the look in his eyes, I can't... I can't describe it..."
"Full of rage, hatred, they look at you as if you are nothing but a burden. They scream regret and disgust at you."
She lifted her head to look at him again. "Yeah..."
"It's...something you don't get used to," he said, looking down at his water. "And you never forget."
Silence overcame them again.
"So he took his anger out on you?"
She nodded.
"Hmm."
Another pause.
"Was it just hitting you or..."
Albany wiped her eyes and stood up. She walked over to a cabinet and brought out her stethoscope. "I need to check your chest," she said, trying to change the subject. She put the two earpieces in and stood in front of him, her eyes on his chest. "It will be cold."
Jerome held his shirt up in one hand, his water in the other. "My mother used to make a whole night of it," he offered. "It seemed to be a hobby for her."
Albany placed the small round end of the stethoscope on his chest.
"Especially if she had a guy on her arm. A whole night of drinking, fornicating and beating Jerome." He watched her face. She had closed her eyes to try and listen to his chest.
"My offer still stand, by the way."
Albany ripped the stethoscope from her ears and locked her eyes with his. She lowered her voice. "Right now, I'm focusing on getting out of here. Nothing else. Understand?"
A signature smile appeared on his face.
"What?" she snapped.
"You're kinda cute when you're mad."
"Oh for-" she grunted. "I preferred you when you were dead." She tried to keep her stern expression on her face, but caught herself giggling with Jerome. She paused. "Wait, burnt my papers? That was just a dream, right?"
Jerome said nothing and instead averted his eyes, finishing his water.
Later that evening, after she had locked her lab, she returned to her room. She opened the door to be met with the smell of burnt paper. She looked over at her desk. Where he piles upon piles of paperwork once sat, was now nothing more than a few black marks and some ash.
The room was dark when Albany felt something cold on her. She opened one eye to see a white figure crouching over her. "J-Jerome?" she said sleepily and rubbed her eyes. She looked over at the clock, it was just past midnight. "What's wrong?" she saw him hand her some of her clothes.
"Get dressed."
She didn't question him and slipped on her clothes. When she looked up Jerome had gone. She slipped her shoes on and walked into the lab. She found him standing below the air vent. "Again?"
He smiled. "Part two."
She followed him into the vent. She expected him to stop at the security room, like they did last time.
He crawled past the security vent and continued onwards.
After what felt like a few minutes, they stopped.
Albany watched from behind Jerome as he pushed a grate out of the way and climbed out. She took his outstretched hand and stood up. She looked around. She didn't recognise the area. "Where are we?"
"Top level," he replied.
"Top level? That means...we are above ground?"
"Just above, yes." The ginger walked over to a window; it was covered by bars.
Albany joined him. "How are we going to get through that?" she asked.
"Bolt cutters," he said to himself. He turned to Albany. "Go back to my apartment. In the bottom of the wardrobe there should be some bolt cutters lying around." He turned his attention back to the bars and felt them. "They should be strong enough to cut through these."
"And if they're not?"
Jerome gave her a look.
"I know, I know, trust me," she said as she rolled her eyes.
"Once we can get through these bars, we can break the glass and climb out."
"Into the open? You do realize there is security inside and outside the facility?"
Jerome took a finger and placed it on his doctor's chin, lifting it to meet his gaze. "You underestimate, doll. After all, you have seen, do you think a few guards are gonna stop me?" the corners of his mouth turned upwards into a menacing smile. He took a step back and glanced at the bars once more. "You'd better get those cutters as fast as you can, it won't be long until others realize I'm awake. I'm a good actor, but I can't play dead forever."