It had been a week since Jonathan had last seen Layla. He knew she was still in Brownwood, but a nurse had seen them "gazing lovingly at each other" so Dr. Corby told him if he tried to see her again he would be fired. It was driving him crazy not knowing how she was doing. He had over-heard Dr. Grayson a few days before say that Layla was still ignoring him and he would "resort to an alternative form of therapy".
He was sitting at his desk trying to figure out how to see Layla without getting fired, when he noticed her pen laying beside his notepad. He picked it up and frowned, assuming that Dr. Grayson had taken it from her and put it there. Dr. Corby was wrong. He did not have feelings for her, he was just concerned. By the end of that day he had decided he would just quickly check on her. The night nurse was always really nice to him, so maybe she would let him check on Layla for a minute.
When the night nurse clocked in (and the lying tattle-tale day nurse left) he asked for permission to see his former patient. The nurse smiled and said "Make it quick". Layla's door was open so he peeked in. The normally uncomfortable girl was sitting in a chair in the corner reading a book. She was extremely calm, which she had not been since she had been brought to Brownwood. He could tell something was not right.
"Dr. Crane" she said nervously when she noticed him."What are you doing here?".
"I came to check on you" he said entering the room.
"You are going to be fired when Dr. Corby finds out you're here" she said interrupting him.
"How do you know Dr. Corby?" he asked knowing that the head doctor only saw the very troubled patients.
"He is the one that administered electro shock therapy" she answered, surprisingly calm.
"Electro-shock therapy! They put you through electro-shock therapy!"
"Dr. Crane, you are not supposed to be here. You should leave."
"Why do you keep calling me Dr. Crane? I'm Jonathan!"
"Dr. Crane..." she began, but he interrupted.
"Look, I found your pen" he said pulling it out of his pocket, and holding it out to her.
"I can't have that. I could try to hurt myself with it"
"You would not do that" he argued.
"I have before" she said looking down at a small bandage on her wrist.
He suddenly realized what was going on. They had put her through electro-shock therapy and shocked her until she believed what they thought was the truth. They had made her what they wanted her to be: crazy. "What have they done to you?" he asked sadly. "They're making me better"
She would not look him in the eyes so he knew she still believed the truth, at least a little bit. He held her face and forced her to look at him. "Layla, It's me. Jonathan. I know the truth. I believe you". He pulled the pen out of his pocket again and put it in her hand.
It was almost as if the electro-shock therapy had put her under hypnosis, and she was coming back into consciousness. She looked down at the pen as if it was the key to unlock the truth. "Jonathan?" she asked looking up at him. A tear started to fall down her cheek, and Jonathan gently whipped it away. She hugged him, and he instinctively wrapped his arms around her.
"This place is killing you" he whispered. "But they will never let you out if they don't believe you".
"And they don't" she said, discouraged.
"I have to get you out of here"
"How?" she said almost sarcastically. She then noticed the look on his face. "You're serious...But you'd get fired"
"Too late for that" he said annoyed. "We're leaving"
"What?" she asked, shocked.
"Do you want to get out of here?"
"Yes, but..." she responded, but was interrupted.
"Then let's go"
They snuck out to the parking lot. They were about to get in the car when Jonathan spoke again. "This is your last chance to turn back. You could stay here until you really are crazy, or we could leave now and never come back, but you might nit get to see your father again. It's your choice. Layla thought for a moment, then she looked over at Jonathan and smiled. "Let's go!"
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OOH, they're gonna get in trouble!...Stay tuned to see what happens :) Please Review
