Staining the Concrete
I finished lunch. I'm not sure if jail food is this bad. I didn't do anything wrong. So why am I being treated like a prisoner? Everywhere I see, there are bars and locks on the doors. I wonder if they're trying to lock our minds up like they are doing to our bodies. A mental asylum, it's not like what you see on those discovery shows. The people here seem white. Very white like ghosts almost. It's like along with their colorful personalities, their skin starts to fade too. They seem normal, except for their strange stares at me. It's almost like they are trying to warn me about something.
I sit in the hallway talking to Eli. I wonder why he's in here in the first place, but I'm too afraid to ask. Not because I can't handle the truth, because I don't want his secret to weigh down our strong connection. I suddenly feel daring for a moment and soon regret what I'm about to hear.. "Eli?' I asked softly. "Why are you here?"
He hesitated for a moment and then sarcastically asked, "Why are you here?" "Eli, I asked you first," I stated jokingly. "Well what are you going to do about it?" he asked adding his signature smirk that made my stomach flip. Without thinking I quickly tackled him, so now he was laying on the floor while I was on top of him, pinning his hands down. "What are you going to do about it now?" I teased. "This," he said as he now rolled over, putting me on the ground, pinning my arms above my head. His face was just inches away from mine. I could feel the heat from his breath hovering on my cheek. He looked me in the eyes and his green emeralds sparkled. He leaned down and subtly pressed his rough lips on my soft delicate ones as his hand reached for my cheek. Passion exploded in our kiss making my body tingle with electricity. Just as things were about to get heated, he quickly pulled away, leaving me bewildered.
"What was that?" I questioned. "This was a mistake, Julia I'm so sorry." he whispered. "Julia?" I asked in disbelief. "No, that's not fair!" he shouted. "Why can't I be happy,?" he screamed. "Why are you doing this to me?" he yelled as he started to pace up and down the hallway, tugging on his dark strands of hair. "Eli, Eli you have to calm down," I purred quietly. I quickly noticed that his pacing stop and he started sitting on the floor with his knees to his chest, rocking back and forth as he sobbed. I got down on the ground and hugged Eli tight as he rested his head on my chest.
I softly stroked his hair as he hiccupped away. "I'm so sorry Clare, I didn't want you to find out this way." he whispered cautiously. "Julia was my girlfriend, one night we got into a fight and things got ugly." "We said some things we didn't mean , she rode off in the night on her bike," he choked out. He hesitated and looked up at me. My eyes soaking in his. "And got hit by a car, " he said now in sobs. "God, I'm so sorry Eli," I hushed as I soothingly rubbed his back. "It's like I'm trying to move on, but she won't let me." "I can sense her when she's angry and that one night when my parents saw me on the bed, about to hang myself, I told my parents that she wouldn't let me go until I was with her, and the didn't know what to do with me, so they sent me here," his husky voice spat out.
"Eli," I cooed as I begin to tell him my story. "My dad was always abusive to me," I groggily choked, tears now spilling out of my eyes. "Ever since my mom cheated on him." "He drank a lot and everyday, he beat me." "One day, I couldn't take it anymore, and I picked up the bat and began swinging at him," I said as flashbacks filled my thoughts. I was pushed over the edge and now I'm stuck with the guilt. "I'll never forget what the judge said that day." "She called me a monster, I said now looking down at Eli who was holding my hand. With his other hand, he used his thumb to brush away the fresh tears coming from my eyes. We laid on the cold hard floor and talked and cried. He was messed up, but so was I.
To me, I was no longer a monster anymore. I was now healing as I took off the mask revealing myself to Eli. I whispered in his ear, "We are leaving." "What?" he asked looking shocked and pissed at the same time. "We can't stay here, anymore," I stated. "This medicine is poisoning our minds, we are just going to get worse if we stay here." I said. "Clare," just think about it," he reassured. "Take a look at everyone around us." she cried. "We can leave, get counseling, and start a life together" she stated as she quickly got up now walking towards the vent on the door of the hallway. "Hey!," he whispered, "Are you ready?" "Yes," I almost yelled. "It's a mad, mad world out there" he smirked as he gently lifted off the lid to the vent.