A lot of voices hit Portia when Seth opened the door to the ward. Patients and people working there were walking around. He kept a hold on her upper arm and firmly made her go with him.

He turned into a common room and she looked around. There were a lot of patients. Some interacting with each other, others doing things on their own. He pointed towards a long haired man sitting on a couch. The man was watching them with a smirk on his face. He sat like he owned the place. Leaned back, arms spread out on the back rest, one foot resting on his other leg.

"Go talk with Elias," Seth said.

Portia swallowed. This could be a trap. Normally Seth was very jealous, and he wouldn't allow her to talk to any other man. She still remembered him punching her cousin because he was so convinced he was hitting on her.

"Are you sure?" She asked.
"Yes, it's fine," he smiled. "Elias, this is Portia. Show her the rounds and her room."
"Will do," Elias said.

Elias gave a two finger salute to Seth. Seth pushed Portia towards the couch. She walked over and sat down. Immediately Elias jumped up on his knees and started running his fingers through her hair. She looked over at Seth, expecting his face to turn angry, but he just smiled and walked out of the room.

"Hairbrushes are a thing, you know," Elias chuckled.
"I don't have one here," Portia said.
"Stay here. I got you, sweetheart," he said.

He jumped up from the couch and disappeared out of the room. He came back shortly after with a hairbrush. He sat down on the couch again and forced a leg behind her back. He grabbed her hips and turned her on the couch so she was sitting between his legs with her back turned to him. Elias had to be an ally to Seth. Otherwise Seth wouldn't allow this behavior. Seth might not be in the room but she knew he was watching them on camera somewhere.

"Relax, sweetheart," Elias said.
"Huh?" She asked.
"You're shaking," he said.
"Sorry, I'm just cold," she said.
"No need to lie. We were all new here at one point. It's a scary place to be at first. Once you've settled it, you'll see that it's not that bad," he said.

He started brushing her hair while humming. His humming quickly turned into singing at a low volume. For some reason his voice made her relax a bit more.

"There," he said. "Just like new. You have pretty hair."
"Thank you. You have a great voice," she said.
"I always wanted to be a singer. Just travel the world nomad style, making money singing on the streets," he said.
"With that voice you probably could have made it big," she said.
"I used to dream about that too. As I grew older and I realized people were trying to hold me back, I started dreaming of escaping and living a vagabond lifestyle so that they would never find me," he said.
"That sounds lonely," she said.
"But I would be free," he said.
"Why are you in here?" She asked.

Seth walked into the room again. He had his eyes on Portia and Elias while walking over to talk to another patient. Elias wrapped his arms around Portia and placed his chin on her shoulder.

"Time for Sasha's therapy with doctor Seth," he said. "Every Tuesday and Thursday at this hour. I know everyone's schedules and routines."
"I don't understand. He's usually jealous of any man near me," she said.
"It's because he thinks I'm gay," he chuckled lowly in her ear. "I'm allowed around every woman in here. I'm the gay guy. I love it."

Seth and Sasha left the room. Portia turned on the couch so she could look at Elias.

"I'm not gay," he said.
"I wouldn't mind if you were, but I wonder why you told Seth that you are," she said.
"I didn't. My parents did," he shrugged. "Like I said, they were trying to hold me back. Everything I wanted was wrong. At one point I had enough. I thought they would cut me out of their lives if I lied about being gay. Boy, did that backfire on me. They tried shipping me off to one of those straight camps. They couldn't since I was legal of age. Instead they spun a whole crazy story about me, and I ended up in here. Their money talked bigger words than my poor ass."

He sighed and gave her a tired smile.

"I've been here 9 years. Since I was 24," he said.
"What?" She asked shocked. "That's fucked up."
"Tell me about it. As long as they pay the owner of this place and make sure to donate everything needed here, he makes sure I'll never leave. It's sick since he never actually sets foot in this place on his own. But I still see it as a win. My parents visit once a year on my birthday. Other than that, I'm free of them. I get to sing and play guitar in here."

She couldn't help but feel sad for him. He had been locked up for 9 years, and he would never get out as long as his parents were alive.

"One day I'll get out of here, and I'll make damn sure to do everything in my power to get you out as well," she said.
"Don't make promises you can't keep. I don't want your help, Portia. I'm fine in here," he said.

He leaned closer and nodded his head towards a woman.

"That's Billie. She's in here after she stabbed her best friend Peyton because she was convinced Peyton was trying to poison her. Paranoid schizophrenia. She's doing better now that they found the right medication for her. She's a mess inside though with all the guilt she carries around even though Peyton survived. She's also one hot lady. She's let me finger her a couple of times. No sex since we can't get protection in here. I finger her, she sucks my dick in return. No one suspects anything because they think I'm gay. It's a win for both of us," he said.

She couldn't help but laugh at that information. It seemed absurd but somehow she understood. 9 years in here. He had needs too.

"She's getting out soon. It's for the best. I like her but I could never picture a relationship with her," he said.
"How do you go about doing something like that without being caught?" She asked.
"Come with me," he said.

He got up from the couch and walked out of the common room. She followed after. He walked down the halls, turned a corner and continued a bit further. He stopped in front of a door, took her hand and pulled her close.

"This is a blind spot," he pointed at the nearest camera. "We're just out of reach. And behind this door is a closet. It's locked but I got the key."

He lifted his leg and pulled off his slipper. There was a key hidden in it. He unlocked the closet and pulled her inside it. Nothing but cleaning supplies and towels in there.

"And this is where the magic happens," he said.
"I'm not sucking your dick," she said.
"Lord, no!" He laughed. "A woman like you needs more than a quick fingering in a filthy closet. You're the type I wanna lie down on a bed and make sweet love to for hours."
"Are you flirting with me?" She asked.
"Yes," he answered.

He gently grabbed one of her arms and peeled down the bandage so he could look at the cut. He did the same with the other wrist as well.

"Damn, you meant serious business," he said.
"I didn't do this," she said.
"Then who did?" He asked.
"Seth," she answered.

His eyes turned sad and he sighed.

"No, it's not like that. I'm not delusional. I'm in here because I left him. He broke into my apartment and staged this whole thing. He locked me up in here so I can't get away from him," she said.
"Portia. Of course. You're P. He didn't wanna tell me your name when he told me got a girlfriend. He always calls you P. P for Portia. Your look matches what he told me. He didn't tell me you broke up though," he said.
"Apparently he didn't tell anymore. Sami called him my boyfriend too. I left him several months ago. He wouldn't leave me alone. I was hoping I could ride out the storm, and that he would disappear on his own once he got tired of his own game," she said.

She sighed and wrapped her arms around him. He placed his arms around her too and gently stroked her back.

"I should have known, Elias. I should have fucking known this would happen," she said.
"How?" He asked.

She tilted her head and looked up at him.

"Psychopaths don't run on common sense like the rest of us. If you should have known Seth would do this to you, then I should have known my parents would too," he said.
"We're in the same boat, aren't we?" She asked.
"How about we make it tilt and swim for our lives?" He smirked.
"What if we drown?" She asked.
"What if we make it to shore?" He asked.

In that moment in a small closet she could allow herself to dream of escaping the asylum with him. She reached up, placed a hand behind his head and pulled him down for a kiss.

"There," she said. "If I'm the type of woman you dream about, at least I can give you that."
"Thank you," he smiled. "You know, I never kissed Billie. Neither of us want to. It's not about that. It's just about letting out some steam."
"No need to explain," she said.
"I'm not. I just want you to understand what happened," he said.
"Elias," she smiled reassuringly. "What you do with Billie is your business. You just met me. I'm not some jealous girlfriend. You can finger her for all I care."
"We stopped a while back. It wasn't all that fun," he said.

She chuckled at him. He kept trying to explain although he didn't need to. She pulled him down for another kiss.

"Shut up," she chuckled. "I get it."
"We better leave. Cleaning crew starts while we're getting lunch. It's closing in on that time," he said.
"You really do know everyone's schedules," she said.
"Of course," he grinned. "I've been here 9 years without ever putting up a fight. They all trust me. Sometimes a bit too much. How do you think I got the key for this closet? No one knows I got it. The woman I stole it from just thought she misplaced it somewhere at home."
"What else have you stolen?" She asked.
"Just stuff," he shrugged. "We really need to leave."

He leaned his ear on the door and listened. He opened it slowly and looked out. He grinned at her and quickly they both moved out of the closet. He locked the door again and nodded his head, and she followed him down the hallway until he stopped in front of a door. A metal door with a lock on the outside and a small window for doctors to look through when checking up on patients.

"This is your room," he pointed at the door across from hers. "And I live on the other side of you. I might not be able to be around you at night but you'll know I'm close. We can see each other through the windows."
"I can trust you, right?" She asked.
"Of course," he smiled. "And I can trust you, right?"
"Yes," she said.
"Good. You and me, sweetheart, we're in the same boat," he said. "There's a fucking tsunami coming through this place, and we'll survive it together."