III- Please Believe Me

Dr. Abernathy said to go. I had explained the situation Gary was in to her. She said if he wanted to cooperate, she would arrange for him to be released from the asylum to go with me to the institution. We had been back from our tour of the facility for three days now. It had been nice. But as soon as I got back, I called the Asylum to ask about visiting hours. Every other day, from 1pm to 5pm. I spent the next couple of days trying to figure out how to tell him… and I still hadn't figured it out. I pulled on a pair of jeans and a green T-shirt and rode my bike to the asylum. An orderly let me in at the front gate and escorted me all the way to Gary's room.

"Smith!" He barked through the bars in the small window in the door, "You've got a visitor!"

The orderly unlocked the door and opened it for me. Gary was sitting on the floor by the far wall, one knee pulled up to his chest, the other folded Indian style under the other. He looked briefly confused, but that soon turned to recognition.

"Petey." He murmured.

I stepped into his room, feeling my heart beat faster when I heard the click of the door shutting behind me.

"Hello." I whispered.

"What are you doing here?" he asked.

He looked tired, and he was disheveled. His usually well kept hair was matted and sticking up in all directions. He had dark circles under his eyes, and his skin was pale. He was wearing what looked to be white cotton pajamas that were dingy and dirty.

"I just came to visit…Is that a problem?" I asked, trying my best to keep my voice steady.

His mouth spread into a malicious grin.

"Is that all you came here for?" he asked, sitting back to lean against the wall.

"Well… no. I do have something I want to talk to you about." I murmured, letting my eyes fall to the floor.

He gave a short laugh. "Would it have anything to do with that night I fucked you?" he asked, cruel amusement glittering behind his eyes.

I could feel my face burn. I knew he was probably just trying to "get my goat" as they say, but he was right. What I wanted to talk to him about was all about that particular evening.

He laughed again. "What do you want, Femme-Boy? I'm kinda busy trying not to lose my mind in here."

I felt a twinge of sadness. Sure, he was insane. But… he didn't deserve to be locked up in here, especially since he was so young compared to the other wards in Happy Volts. I took a few steps closer to him.

The room was small, with a dingy bed to my left and a toilet and sink on the left. The sink had a mirror above it. I was surprised to find that it was completely intact. I sat down on the bed. The mattress was thin and dirty. I could feel the bars of the bed frame under the mattress, which didn't have any springs in it. The bed had a pillow and dirty white cotton sheets. The light streaming from the window was foggy because the window was dirty, but I could see dust particles in the light.

I cleared my throat. "How long until you can get out of here?" I asked.

"I get out whenever they think I can be released back into society. I could be here a week… or for the rest of my life. I don't know." He murmured, leaning his head against the wall and closing his eyes.

His voice didn't have a hint of emotion in it, and it made me nervous.

"Um… do you want to get out of here?"

"That's a stupid question…" He murmured, his brow furrowing.

"Sorry…" I whispered, my eyes lowering to the floor.

There was silence for awhile, then suddenly Gary's head snapped up and he was blinking. He rubbed his eyes.

"… Sorry I fell asleep. Did you ask me anything else that wasn't dumb?"

"Um… if you're tired I can leave so you ca-"

"No. You just got here. Don't leave…" he said, standing up. "I'm fine. I just haven't been sleeping very well."

"Are you sure?"

He nodded, sitting down on the bed beside me.

"Petey… you're my friend… right?"

I wondered at his suddenly odd, un-Gary like behavior. I thought about his question. Was I his friend? Well… I thought I had been. Then he had just sort of… disappeared…

"Well… I… Yes. I am you're friend."

"I need to get out of here. Please… help me…" he pleaded, leaning against me and laying his head on my shoulder.

My heart beat sped up. I couldn't believe the way he was acting. Then I remembered that this is how he manipulated people. He used their emotions. A shiver ran up my spine.

"I… I actually came to tell you that… well…"

I was chickening out. I wanted him to know… but I didn't want to tell him. Especially with him being in such close proximity to me. How could I tell him? He's not going to believe me… he's not going to want us… he's not going to ever want to lay eyes on me again… He's not going to want anything to do with the kid… That's all I could think of. And it made me cry. Tears slid down my face and I quickly wiped them away.

"I'm sorry. I-" I glanced at Gary.

His eyes were closed and his breathing was even and slow. He had fallen asleep. I maneuvered my arm around his shoulders and eased him down onto the mattress as I stood up and guided his head down to the pillow. I then lifted his legs onto the mattress and covered him up.

The door opened and an orderly poked his head in.

"Visiting hours are over." He said, his eyes watching Gary's sleeping form.

I nodded and pulled an envelope out of my pocket and left it on the sink, positioned behind the faucet knobs. I left that day without accomplishing what I had set out to do.

I went again the next visiting day. I figured that would be long enough for him to mull over what had been in the envelope.

It had been a note, explaining everything. With official paperwork from the hospital and the deal we were going to offer him. I didn't know what he would say or think… all I knew was that I didn't want to go through this alone. Call me selfish for wanting that, I don't care. I just wanted to have some god damn support.

An orderly led me to his room again, let him know he had a visitor, and opened the door for me.

Gary was sitting on his bed, a book open in his lap. He was hunched over it intently. He didn't acknowledge me at all. The door closed behind me and I stood watching him for a bit before glancing at the sink. The envelope was gone. Had an orderly taken it before he had woken up?

"Um… Good afternoon." I said, shifting.

"Hm." He murmured.

"Did you… did you get the envelope I left on the sink?" I asked.

"Yes." He answered, not looking up at me.

A silence settled over us. I was waiting for him to do or say something… anything. But he just kept reading his book.

"… D-don't you have anything to say?"

He looked up at me then. His brow was furrowed but I couldn't find any anger in his eyes.

"What do you want me to say?" he asked, without any emotion.

"I don't know… just tell me what you think, I guess…" I whispered.

"What I think? I don't know… If you can get me out of here, I have to hang out with you all the time. And I don't want to do that."

"You… you don't believe me… do you?" I asked, clenching my fists.

"Believe what?" he asked.

"Did you even read the papers I left in the envelope?"

"No. I just skimmed them. I can't be bothered with every damn detail." He said, becoming irritated.

I sighed in exasperation. "Well I suggest you read them."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "What's got you're panties in a bunch, Femme-Boy?"

"Please just read them. It's very important…"

"Okay." He said, then went back to reading his book.

I was irritated. I had been afraid to come here today for no reason at all. I crossed my arms and lowered my eyes to the floor. 'Just tell him' the voice in my head cooed, 'What's the worst he can do?' I mentally laughed at that voice. I knew what he was capable of. I wasn't that stupid. I ran my hand through my hair.

"You have something on your mind." Gary stated matter of factly.

"What makes you say that?" I asked.

"It's not hard to figure out."

"Why are you so calm?" I asked, suddenly. "You're acting-"

"Too normal? Yes, I know. It's driving me insane. It's all the meds they've got me on. I have to take them in here. Otherwise… I get sedated. And that's not any fun at all. Trust me… the less I talk, and the more I hide my emotions in here… the faster I'll get out. You know… you can leave if you want. You don't have to stick around here. I'll be fine by myself." He murmured.

I gave him a sad look and lowered my gaze. "I… I'm sorry."

His head snapped up. "Don't apologize. It's annoying."

He had a fierce look in his eyes. I felt my heart fluttering again, and I waited for him to make the next move. I expected him to lash out physically or verbally, what I didn't expect was for that fierceness behind his eyes to slowly smolder out and die. He stared at me for a few more minutes and then patted the mattress beside him, indicating that he wanted me to sit down. I did as he requested as he closed his book and set it down.

"So, you wanted me to read these?" he asked, pulling the papers from the envelope out of his pocket.

"Well… yes. But not while I'm here preferably."

"But you wanted to talk to me about something important… You're here now. Just give me a second to read them."

I bit my bottom lip as he started reading through the papers. I didn't know what I would say when he was finished. I wanted so bad to just leave, but I hadn't been here long enough for visiting hours to be over yet. Gary was flipping through the pages, examining the official hospital documents and such. He looked up from the papers.

"Wh-what the hell is this? A joke?" he asked, looking at me.

I shook my head. "No" I whispered.

"So why are you here Peter? I can't give you anyth-"

"Just keep reading." I said, not looking at him.

He continued reading, leaving me to my thoughts.

I was staring at the floor. He thought I was joking. At the time, I wished it had been a joke. Just a sick joke to get back at him for everything he did to me… But it wasn't. This was real… And regrettably my life… I pressed my hand against my stomach for what must have been the hundredth time since I had gotten the news of my pregnancy. I knew it wasn't the kids fault. I couldn't hold the kid responsible. I could have blamed Gary, but I didn't have the heart to. He was were he was partially due to me. Of course, that doesn't mean I'm not going to expect some form of commitment from him. I'm not talking about money, love, sex, or even friendship. I just wanted him to help me decide what to do, or make his intentions clear.

-Three Days Later-

Gary and I stepped off the bus, carrying our luggage. Dr. Abernathy was waiting for us. She smiled and waved to me. I waved back. Gary followed me over to her.

"Did you have a good trip?" she asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Oh, and this is Gary." I said, motioning towards him to indicate whom I meant.

She beamed. "Gary… It's very good to meet you."

They shook hands and then she led us to the car that was waiting to take us to the facility.

"Peter, are you excited?" she asked.

"Yes." I answered.

And I was. I knew it was going to be the official start of the greatest adventure life has to offer: Parenthood.

I didn't believe I was ready for it though.

-End Ch. 3-

A very long wait for you all, and I'm sorry. My computer got a virus, and I was spending most of my time trying to fix it. And also, I've been trying to find a job. That's not going so well though. I have a plan now. *Beams* So, amazing words (or criticisms) in a review are welcome. They inspire me you guys XD. I hope you enjoy this story/chapter/my writing/life/idc…. Just give me some feedback.