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Insanity's Light – Chapter Two~*~
Today was my first real day at Golden Oaks. To say the least, I felt a bit nervous, but that was a normal reaction to the first day of work.
I had worked with many different people, and seen many different cases… but for some reason, I just couldn't get Duo's eyes out of my head. Something about him wasn't right… it just didn't… click.
As I walked through the doors, I managed a small 'hello' to the secretary. If I had to see her every say, then at least it would be on friendly terms.
My office was in my wing, and from what Dr. Howard had told me, all the nurses knew to come to me with their emergencies.
I entered my office, knowing not to expect much, and I wasn't disappointed. The room was very plain. I already knew my schedule for the day. Dr. Howard had suggested I took today to get to know my patients, and so help me, I planned to do so.
Dropping my stuff onto the desk, I took to exploring the hallways.
"Good Morning Dr. Aino." Said a pretty nurse as she walked past me. I nodded in return, my focus on the patients. The first person I encountered was none other than the MPD patient.
The woman was sitting patiently on a stool, playing a game of chess, which would have been a totally normal thing to do, if there was someone sitting on the other end.
I calmly sat across from her, watching her actions.
"Morning doctor." The woman greeted, not looking up from her game.
"Good morning, and how are you today?" I asked politely.
"Terrible…" She muttered, "I have a headache."
I smiled warmly, "Is that all?"
The woman looked at me and shrugged.
I choose to move on.
I walked around my wing, stopping to talk to different people and getting to know them. As I did though, I noticed a solitary figure sitting motionless in one of the chairs.
I knew who it was before I even reached him.
"Good morning Mr. Maxwell." I greeted him as I took a seat beside him, "How are you feeling this morning?"
Duo looked at me, straight at me once again, and shook his head. I reached out and took his hand once again, hoping to stimulate some type of conversation from him.
"Do you remember me? We met yesterday." I said softly.
Duo closed his eyes, then reopened them, "I do."
I felt a surge of life. He had responded.
"And how are you feeling?" I persisted.
He stared at me through those dark lifeless eyes. I felt myself shudder involuntarily, as his eyes undressed me, leaving my very soul wide open to him. I wanted nothing more than for him to reply, so I stood my ground.
Finally, after what seemed like eternity, he responded, "Why do you care?"
That wasn't the answer I was expecting. I still felt unnerved by his eyes, so this answer threw me completely off balance. I wasn't sure how to respond. Why did I care? Why did anyone care? I closed my eyes and racked my brain for an answer. Before I could figure one out though, he responded.
"Forget it, you care because its your job right? It has nothing to do with the person." His voice seemed hollow and empty as he attempted to laugh, as though he had made a joke.
"That's not true Mr. Maxwell…" I responded lamely. For some reason, it seemed as though my brain and my tongue refused to work together. I felt stupid even as I was saying it.
His cold laugh echoed through the room, almost hauntingly. I felt myself shudder again. I felt the need to move my hands… to do something. I reached up and slowly pushed away a piece of my blonde hair that had fallen into my line of vision.
Duo watched my movements as though he was mesmerized. When I realized what he was doing, I dropped my hand, allowing the hair to fall back into the face. I would not fidget in front of a patient.
Duo stared at me for a few moments, before out of nowhere he reached up and took my hair in his hands. He was gentle… so very gentle, as he slowly tucked the hair behind my ear. I felt myself shiver with a horrible sense of delight. The way he touched me had sparked something… something that should never have been awoken by a patient.
"You have…" He whispered, his face so very close to mine, "The most beautiful hair."
My voice cracked as I replied, "Thank you." It came out more like a whisper, but I ignored it.
"And your eyes… are so full of life. So very… exciting." He whispered, cupping my face with his large rough hands, "I can't help but wonder why someone so full of life… is working here… your eyes will fade." He said quietly.
My eyes will fade. I didn't understand what he meant by that, but I knew this had to stop. I willed myself to get control, and pulled away. I could see the odd look still in his eyes as he whispered once more, "Leave now… or else your eyes will fade."
I gave him a stricken look, before replying, "This is my life. Its what I've chosen to do Mr. Maxwell. This is my dream."
He shook his head, encasing my petite hands in his, "Don't lie."
I felt like throwing up. Duo had seen too much already. The way he looked at me, and the way he made me feel… I felt the nauseated feeling stir in my stomach once more.
"Till next time Mr. Maxwell." I murmured standing up. I was surprised my legs could even hold me, though they were quite shaky. As I turned to leave, it was all I could do not to flee from the room all together. I could feel his eyes on me as I left.
I didn't get out of the room, as his voice suddenly halted me, "you can only run for so long… don't let them fade…"
I opened the door with more force then intended and walked out of the room.
I managed to make it to my office, still shaking heavily. I dropped into my chair, glad for the support. His words kept running through my head… and his touches… I could still feel them all over my body.
But he had done something only one person had ever done before. He had seen right through me. He had seen my pain and my pleasure… and he knew how to manipulate them.
Duo was a man to be feared, and suddenly… it all made sense. It was no wonder all the doctors kept quitting. There was little doubt that he had done the same thing to them.
A soft knock at my door brutally brought me back to reality, "Come in." I said, grateful for the interruption.
A small nurse, I recognized to be from my wing, walked inside. She was young, if not younger than me, and was rather pretty. Her thick brown hair was pulled back, and the faintest hint of a dimple was evident from her cheeks.
"Sorry for interrupting." She murmured, and for some reason I was faintly reminded of a mouse. Just the way she walked, talked and looked, all seemed too small and delicate.
"Not at all." I responded, motioning for her to sit down, "Did you want to talk?"
"Yes… its about Duo."
"Oh."
"He…" she began, "He's not a bad person. He just does this to all the doctors. He doesn't mean to."
I hid my amused look. Did she think I was new to this kind of thing? Granted, it had never gotten to me the way it did today, but I was a professional. What really warmed my heart though, was the concern the nurse was showing towards a patient.
"I'm sorry, I didn't catch your name…"
"Oh!" the nurse blushed, "How rude of me. Mary Lee. I'm a nurse in your wing."
I smiled encouragingly, "So tell me more about Duo, how long has he been here?"
Mary shuffled in her seat slightly, "well, he's been here longer than I have… I believe about six or seven years…"
I blinked in surprise. Six or seven years? That was a long time for any patient.
"He's gotten worse since he's been here though…" she continued, "It seems like everyday he slowly dies. He used to be so much fun… and now… he seems so dead."
Mary's eyes took a far away look to them, glazed over in what could only be described as despair.
"But…" Mary said suddenly, "He touched you, didn't he?"
I closed my eyes, trying to get rid of the feelings that had so forcefully sprung back up. He had touched me. It wasn't as though this was unusual, but the way he was so gentle… as though he might break me if he touched me.
"Yes… yes he did."
Mary gave me a confused look, "he never touches the doctors. Not like that anyways… after you left… he stared at the door for so long too… he likes you I think."
I didn't know what to say. Every time I thought of Duo, my skin would burn where he had touched me. The room seemed to grow hotter with every passing second… I felt… erotic.
"Dr. Aino?"
I opened my eyes, hoping my thoughts weren't too evident.
"I just—I hope your not planning on quitting. We're running out of doctors you see…. and…"
I smiled shakily, trying to push away my thoughts, "I wasn't planning on quitting, I can assure you. Duo is an interesting character, but he's no different from anyone else out there."
Duo was interesting… maybe a too interesting.
The nurse smiled warmly, obviously glad Duo hadn't scared me away, "I'm glad, don't worry, I'll talk to him."
My protests fell on deaf ears, as she wandered out the door, leaving me to my haunting thoughts.
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Lol, its almost funny how I can go from writing Minako's bubbly character in Angel Café, to a more depressed Minako like on here XD I need a life.
I was actually pretty proud of this chapter… it turned out a bit different then I imagined, but whatever -_^
Review Responses:
Onewingedangel6547 – lol, don't ask me how I manage to work on all of them at once… I guess you could say I don't have a life. I'm glad you liked it! Thanks for the review!
SVZ – I swear I'll get the spelling thing right one of these days. Sort of what your going through you said? I hope everything's okay. Thanks for the review!
Vega03 – Don't worry -_^ I'm positive they'll show up, after all they have to keep Duo safe right? That's all I can tell you, lol Thanks for the review!
Tenshi-Hotaru – Lol, that's where I got the idea, this is the second story you've seen through! Stop it! Lol. I'm glad you like this one, personally I love psychology, and its fun writing this. Thanks for the review!
Transcendent – I will get this right sooner of later… And I hope I haven't rubbed off on you… that whole continue soon scared the hell outta me. Are you feeling okay? Lol, thanks for the review!
angelicmayuka – I'm going to have to stop putting out stories then, aren't I -_^ lol thanks for the review!
Jewels14 – I'm glad, Thanks for the review ^-^
datajana – I love psychology… like you said, the terms are so great and it gives me such a different perspective of people with mental illnesses. Duo was being drugged so no one would suspect anything… I know that sounds kind of weird, but it'll make sense later.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I'm sooo tired! I just spent the last two days working on all my stories… I don't think I could type another sentence… arg… lol
~Ceso