Page 34 of Asylum
He wasn’t here when I walked in, so I took the opportunity to sit in his chair, snooping through his drawers. It’s not like anyone would care if I found something incriminating, but I looked through his shit regardless.
He’s good.
There’s no evidence of him torturing patients or selling their organs on the black market. He’s an evil son-of-a-bitch, and he’suntouchable. He can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants, to whoever he wants, and no one will say a fucking word. Just as I’m closing the last drawer, the door opens. Atlas saunters in, his arrogance so thick and suffocating, it pushes the oxygen from the room.
“Find anything interesting, little doll?”
“No. You keep your sins hidden well.” I roll my eyes, standing from the chair.
As I round the desk, he blocks me. “Sins are overrated, don’t you think? I live my life how I see fit. No higher power in the sky scaring me into living a certain way.”
I shoulder check him as I pass, taking my usual seat on the couch. “You’re a fucking monster no matter what you believe.”
He sighs, running his hand through his hair. My eyes dart to the floor, refusing to look at him any longer.How can someone so beautiful on the outside be so fucking rotten on the inside?
He rolls his desk chair in front of me, sitting so close, our knees brush. “You’ll forgive me one day, Olivia. Everything I’ve done was to help you. Can’t you see that?”
Counting the blemishes on the floor, I answer distractedly. “Whatever helps you sleep at night, Dr. Stone.”
Minutes of silence pass between us as I continue counting the scuffs and lines marring the floor. I count them multiple times until they equal an even number. My eyes find a poster on the wall behind his desk. I read each word slowly, counting the letters. If they equal an odd number, I combine the words until the letters equal an even number.
His next words have my eyes snapping to his. “I’ve talked to Dr. Halstead about having you released.”
My mouth falls open, the breath whooshing from my lungs. “What?”
He smirks. “You belong to me, little doll. I won’t have you locked in here any longer. You’ve made great progress with your disorders, and we’ll continue outpatient treatment.”
My head spins with all the possibilities of living a normal life.
A future.
But it all comes crashing down as I realize he’ll still be a part of my life. My mouth closes, the oxygen returning to my lungs. “You said no one leaves here.”
He nods. “No one has ever been legitimately released. We’ve had a few patients escape.”
“Were they caught?”
“Some were. Some weren’t.”
“Oh.” An escape plan never crossed my mind considering I’m in the isolation ward, locked in a concrete cell.
“I’ve spoken to him multiple times about you, and how you’re a special case. You have a chance to be free, Olivia. I only need you to follow my instructions.”
“Which are?” I ask, a pit forming in my stomach.
Dread.
It feels like I’m selling my soul to the devil.
He sits back in his chair. “We’ll rehearse what you’ll say. Do not stray from the script I provide, or he’ll see right through it, and you’ll never see the light of day again.”
“What do I have to say?” My hands tremble, nausea churning in my belly.
He pats me on the knee, grinning. “We’ll begin tomorrow.”
Atlas Stone will either be my undoing, or the gateway to a new beginning.
You’d think I’d have hope, something to look forward to, but I’m not naïve enough to believe the latter.