Chapter 3
1503 Words
"Jasper?"
"What?"
"Do you really hate me?"
"..."
"Do you want me to die?"
"..."
"Jasper?"
"No."
"No?"
"I could never kill you Kegan."
"Do you want me dead?"
"You can't torture a dead person."
She sighed and stood up after placing Milly back down on the table. She climbed up to Luke's bunk and looked at him expectantly.
"Scoot over."
He rolled his eyes and moved over. He gave her more than enough room to lay down but she still curled up to him like she did most nights.
"Will you tell me a story?"
"Which one?"
"A new one."
"I've told you all the ones I know."
"Make one up." She mumbled tracing all the different lines on his chest. Him and his brother both had their chest and arms covered in tattoos. They weren't the same but they looked similar.
Every time she asked what they were they would either ignore her or distracted her.
He blew a breath out of his nose and moved an arm behind his head. "I'll tell you one about Milly."
She sat up excited. "Milly?"
"Mhmm, you have to lay down."
"Oh." She quickly laid back down and rested her head against his chest.
"Did you know Milly has family outside of here?"
"She does?" Kegan gasped going to sit up again but he put a hand over her head.
"Millions of brothers and sisters."
"But she's stuck in here."
"What if she got out?"
"But she's broken."
"Broken people are still people."
"But she's a doll."
"If Milly got out, do you think she'd be happy?"
"Very happy."
"Do you want to get out?"
"Sometimes, but then I wouldn't get to see you and Jasper."
"What if you could?"
"Yes." He hummed in thought. "Can you tell me the story now?"
"How about I tell you a different one?"
"An old one?"
"New."
"Okay." She whispered.
"There was this girl-"
"The same girl from last time?"
"It's always that girl."
"What's her name?"
"She doesn't have one."
"Why?"
"She already has too many."
"Why?"
"Nobody can agree on one."
"What did they call her?"
"Murderer, killer, crazy, psychotic, psychopath-"
"That one's my favorite."
"Nobody liked her."
"They liked her."
"They loved her."
"Lukey?" She asked frowning.
"Kegan."
"Why did they torture her if they loved her?"
"People do crazy things when they're in love."
"That girl," He started. "changed when she met them. She never smiled, laughed, she was never happy. After months of knowing them she finally smiled, giggled even."
"What made her happy?"
"She found their play room."
"What was in their playroom?"
"Toys. Hundreds of working and broken toys she could play with."
"Like Milly?"
"Milly is an object. They were toys."
"Oh."
"She always preferred the working toys, she liked putting effort into what she did. They found her in their playroom that day she smiled."
"Were they mad?"
"They were pleased. She finally looked alive."
"What did she do with the toys?"
"She broke them." Kegan absentmindedly traced circles on his chest. "It was her favorite thing to do."
"I like toys."
"You've had enough toys," He dismissed. "She went too far looking for new toys to break one day."
"What did she do?"
"She tried to kill them."
"What did they do?"
"They taught her what a puppet was and who a puppet master was."
"She was the puppet?"
"For the longest time. She's grown into much more since then."
"A puppet master?"
"Below that."
"Lukey?"
"Kegan."
"Why did you hurt me?"
"I loved you."
"You didn't know me."
"I knew everything about you."
She rolled onto her back and stared up at the ceiling. "When was I born?"
"May 19th 1996."
"What did I do?"
"You were a writer."
"Where did I live?"
"2412 Via Green Dr. You had a downstairs bedroom you shared with your older sister. Your parents lived upstairs in the furthest bedroom to the right. You had a cat that slept with you every night, sometimes she would sneak out your broken window and you'd spend all night looking for her."
"Did you ever bring her back?"
"Every time."
She sighed balling her hands in fists. "I thought I was insane."
"You are."
"I was scared Luke. Every night I was scared to fall asleep because I thought someone was there."
"There was."
"You drove me insane."
"As much as you want me to feel bad about that I don't."
"You don't love me."
"I don't."
"What changed?"
"You changed."
"You made me change."
"I-We gave you a choice to leave or stay. You left."
"Because you took my life away from me!"
Luke sighed and forced her to lay down. He let her cry every time she didn't think she was mentally ill.
"Why me?" She asked in a broken voice.
"It was too easy."
"Why me?" She repeated.
"You weren't the normal challenge we had. You broke within hours. Changed within months."
"I will never forgive you for what you did to me."
"I hope not. What fun would we have at night when I tell you stories? Why would you cry yourself to sleep when you think you don't belong here? What would give you a reason to taunt us?"
"Why do you remind me of everything you did?"
"Because you want me to."
"You hurt me all the time."
"Can't you tell Kegan?" He questioned. "It's only a game to you. You play victim at night and creator in the day."
"I don't want to hear anymore stories."
-
"Can you hand me the clothes pins?" Kegan asked Jasper. "Jasper." She huffed when he ignored her.
His hand twitched and he harshly handed them to her. The two of them along with many others were doing the laundry. Luke was working in the kitchen today.
"Why are you so angry?"
"Move." He demanded through clenched teeth when she blocked his path to put the laundry away.
She c****d her head to the side. "Did you not sleep?"
"I don't sleep."
"Why're you so angry?"
He dropped the basket on the concrete floor and went to hang the wet clothes instead. She sighed heavily picking them up and placed them on a random table for somebody else to do.
"Jasper," She sang. "Tell me what's wrong."
"I'm not in the mood to play Kegan."
"This isn't a game, I want to know what's wrong."
"You're what's wrong."
"You can't always blame your problems on me."
"You're my only problem."
Kegan allowed him to walk away from her and studied him for minutes. She found it interesting he kept glancing at the two guards stationed by the door and the air vent on the opposite side of the room.
She skipped over to him and sat on the washer. "You're not very discreet Jaspy."
"What have I said about calling me that?"
"Why do you need to go in there?" She asked motioning to the air vent.
"I don't."
She grabbed his hand stopping him in his trackers before he could walk away. "If I am ever mad at one of you I would still never rat you out to the guards or warden. Do you not trust me?" She c****d her head without knowing and gave him an innocent look.
"There's something I need in there."
"What is it?"
"I trust you, trust me."
"I can distract them if you want?"
He examined her face to see if she was up to her usual schemes. "What do you want?"
"A simple kiss."
He sighed and went to pull away from her. "Wait wait wait," She grabbed his hand again and pulled him back. "On the cheek."
"Why do you always ask for a kiss when we need something?"
"One day one of you are going to give it to me."
"We've done more than kissing Kegan." He sighed dejectedly.
"Yes," She agreed pulling him closer. "But never here. How many people get to say they've kissed in an asylum?"
"How many people get to say they've kissed in a room with dead people."
"Only the messed up kind."
"I'll make you a deal."
"Oh I love deals."
"I'll give you a kiss but you have to distract them and you owe me a favor."
"What kind of favor?"
"You'll have to wait and see."
"On the lips."
"Cheek."
"Jasper," She cooed bringing her hands up to cup his cheeks. "It's just one tiny kiss. I promise."
"I'll do it later."
"Promise?"
"Mhmm."
"Pinky promise me." She held her pinky out and he lazily held his out. Her lips pulled into a grin.
"I'll be right back. I'll give you as much time as I can."
He held his hand out and she grabbed it jumping off the washer.
"One for good luck?"
"Go." He rolled his eyes but his lips twitched up. She stood on her tippy toes and kissed his cheek. She skipped away before he could be mad at her.
She grinned at the two guards.
"Hello."
- Writer
