Page 25 of Sour (The Wellard Asylum #10)

I felt uneasy about the whole thing. I’d never met with Eydie anywhere outside her office. So why was I being led deeper and deeper into the asylum? And where the fuck was BJ? I might have hated the nurse, but at least I knew what I was getting with him.

The blonde-haired nurse continued to lead me farther into Wellard Asylum, traveling deeper and deeper into the heart of the old gothic building.

We passed countless patients and staff members, weaving through the other wings.

It was like stepping back in time, the years regressing with each inch we traveled.

Soon, it felt as though we had entered an entirely different century, one with minimal technology and maximum torture.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

The nurse didn’t acknowledge me. He just kept walking, wearing that crispy, white uniform with the red cross.

I don’t fucking like this.

Eventually, we ended up in one of the many parts of the asylum that was tucked away in the lower levels, so deep no natural light could reach it, and no sound could be heard from it.

The nurse pushed me through a hallway of doors until we stopped outside a set with the words ‘Operating Room’ above them.

No. I really don’t fucking like this.

I tried to move away, but the man only shoved me forward towards the double doors. “No.” I fought his grip. “No!”

The nurse pushed me forward, and my body slammed past the double doors. I landed on the wet concrete floor, groaning from the impact.

“Finally.” The familiar voice forced my eyes up from the ground.

Seated in the middle of the vintage operating room was none other than my stepbrother, Ziggy.

He was dressed in an old, stained doctor’s coat, wearing a bloodied face mask and set of gloves.

My eyes moved from him to the operating table to see a body fully wrapped in plastic wrap and strapped to the table.

There were IVs and all sorts of things hooked up to the person, every inch of them concealed, except for two straws from what I assumed was their nose, and the large, gaping incision left open along their abdomen.

My stomach churned at the gruesome sight.

“Ziggy?” I crawled to my feet. “What the fuck is going on? Where is Dr. Sabel? Who is that?” I pointed to the operating table.

Ziggy pulled the face mask down to reveal his signature smile. “You can get the fuck out now. Unless you’d like a turn?” I turned to see the male nurse shake his head and rush from the room. “That’s what I thought.” I looked back at my stepbrother.

“What the fuck is going on?” I asked. “Ziggy!” I stomped my foot, the chains of my cuffs jingling as I stood there, completely baffled by whatever the fuck was happening.

“Well, Koven.” I didn’t like the way he said my name. “I have decided to help Dr. Sabel, or as you like to call her, Eydie.” He winked.

No.

“With her little side hustle she’s got going on down here.

Did you know your little psychiatrist dealt in black market organs?

” He motioned to the body on the table, still breathing and very much alive, despite being cut wide open.

“It’s really something. Apparently.” Ziggy ripped his bloody gloves off.

“Dr. Sabel waits for patients, like you, to be admitted to Wellard Asylum. Orphaned patients given to the state who are labeled as crazy. People with no family checking in on them, and dark pasts that leave them scared so bad, they’ll accept any attention they can get.

Ring a bell?” His brow flicked as he stopped in front of me. “She calls them her favorites.”

“I have no idea what the fuck you’re talking about.”

Ziggy’s smile grew. “Oh, I don’t doubt that.

You see, you were Dr. Sabel’s newest favorite.

She’s been studying you since the day you walked through those doors, reading your file and learning everything there is to know about you.

You thought you were turning over a new leaf, birthing this new Koven.

Healing.” He grabbed my wrists and yanked me close.

“But really, all you did was leave yourself bare and weak, easy for Eydie to weasel her way in.” His breath hit my face.

“How long before you let her fuck you?” I glared up at him and kept my mouth shut. “How long!”

I shoved Ziggy away. “Where is she?” He smiled. “Where is Eydie?”

Ziggy removed the doctor’s coat. “See for yourself.” He stepped aside, and I was left staring at the operating table.

“No.”

He wouldn’t…would he?

“No!”

He would.

I rushed over, ripping the plastic wrap to expose a part of Eydie’s face.

“Eydie?” She didn’t move. My eyes shot to the many screens around her, trying to make sense of what the beeps or lines meant, but I had no fucking clue.

“Eydie. Eydie, wake up.” My hand gently tapped her face. “Eydie, wake up!”

Dr. Sabel remained practically lifeless on the operating table. The whole situation was an odd reminder of the very last few minutes before my mother’s death, and I immediately felt an overwhelming amount of sadness and fear swell inside me.

“Ziggy, please!” I cried, turning to face him. “Let her go!”

My stepbrother stared at me with a blank expression. “Waking her up at this point would do more harm than good.” He approached her side, looking into the bloody incision. “I’ve already removed a few of her organs. It’s only a matter of time before she dies.

No. No, no, no, no!

My body felt weak, and I crumbled to my knees, crying uncontrollably. “Why?” I asked. “Why?” My throat burned from screaming.

Ziggy kneeled by my side and lifted my face. “Because you belong to me, Koven. No one else. I told you, no one else can touch you.”

I shook my head, tears flowing down my face. “No.” He tried to shoosh me, but I kept shaking and crying. “No! I’m not! I’m not! That Koven died! She died when you left her all alone!”

“I never left you!” Ziggy slammed his fist against the floor.

“I told you I was coming back for you! Why don’t you believe me?

Why!” He gripped my arms and shook me violently.

“I’m so sick of hearing about this old or new Koven.

You are Koven. My Koven! There’s only you!

And I’m sick and tired of having to chase you down and make you see that!

” He pushed me back and my skull hit the concrete.

I groaned in pain as he stood and walked over me.

“Now look at what you made me do, Koven.” He gripped his head, his midnight blue hair rustling in all directions as he began to panic.

“I never wanted this. I never wanted to hurt you! But you just keep pushing and pushing. Poking your finger deep into my wounds. Fuck!” He kicked a chair across the room, and I jumped at the aggressive display.

“All I’ve ever wanted was for us to be together.

That’s all I wanted! Don’t you see that?

I want to protect you, to give you everything you could ever need! Why won’t you let me do that?”

Ziggy’s face had turned red from his loud shouting.

I slowly rose, groaning as my head throbbed. “I’m not some possession for you to own and do with as you see fit, Ziggy. You want me to protect me? How? You didn’t protect me from your father, or BJ, or anyone else that’s used me just like you have.”

“I never used you, Koven,” he growled.

“Yes, you did. You always have! This thing between us is nothing more than a sick bond, formed from our shared trauma! It’s poison!"

“Shut up,” he groaned.

“You’re poison, Ziggy.”

My stepbrother shook his head. “No. Shut up. Shut up!”

My head pulsated. “You’re the only one hurting me, Ziggy. You.” I stumbled to my feet and glared up at him. “And you can’t protect me from yourself.”

Ziggy shoved me back again. My back slammed into the side of the operating table, and before I knew it, Ziggy had his hands around my throat. “I told you to stop,” he gritted through clenched teeth. “Why can’t you just listen to me? Why can’t you let me love you, Koven? Why?”

My mouth gaped open as I desperately tried to breathe, gasping for air. “Z–iggy.” My nails clawed at his arms.

His eyes were bloodshot and a single tear rolled down his face. “I just want you to love me, Koven.” Ziggy began to cry as he tightened his grip. “Why can’t you love me? Why does no one love me?”

And there it was, the real pain he’d been carrying his entire life. Ziggy wasn’t traumatized from being beaten or enduring his tortuous treatments here in the asylum. He wasn’t scared of losing me. He just wanted the one thing he never had. He wanted someone to love him.

“Ziggy,” I wheezed. I dropped my hands and stared up into those haunted ocean eyes. “If you kill me—you kill the only person w–who ever loved you.”

I’ve died once before. And if this was my time to die again, then so be it. But I would die trying to survive.

Ziggy’s entire demeanor changed. His face softened as he translated what I had just said. “Skittles.” And just like that, he released my neck.

My body fell to the floor as I inhaled sharply.

Air surged into my lungs, and I coughed, clinging to it.

Ziggy fell to his knees and grabbed me, slamming his mouth into mine.

“Koven,” he breathed into me. “I’m sorry.

I’m so sorry.” He reached into his pants and pulled out a small key, unlocking my handcuffs.

They fell into my lap as he grabbed my face and kissed me.

Instead of fighting or pushing him away, I let him kiss me, melting into his arms as I too lost myself.

And soon, I was grinding against him, moaning between passionate kisses and desperate cries.

Time felt as if it had frozen, leaving us stuck in this little pocket of hell as I let him fuck me, enjoying myself a little too much. We didn’t stop until we heard a loud bang in the distance.

“What was that?” I asked.

Ziggy quickly dressed and placed his hand along the side of the operating table. “It must be the driver coming for Eydie’s organs.” He turned to look at me. “It’s our way out, Koven.”

“What?”

Ziggy smiled and tucked my hair behind my ear. “I did it, Koven. I found our way out of here. Just like you wanted. All we have to do is run. You and me. And then, we’ll be free.”

Free. What a foreign concept to even comprehend after so many years of suffering.

Ziggy stood, helping me to my feet. “I’m sorry for hurting you.” He leaned against the operating table, his hands on either side of me as he kissed me.

His head pressed against my forehead. “I’m sorry too.

” Ziggy slowly lifted his head as the sound of the cuffs clicked tightly around his wrist. He looked down into my eyes, and then moved past me as his gaze fell to his wrist, now cuffed to the operating table.

“I’m sorry, but the only way for me to be free… is without you.”

“Koven.”

I ducked around his body, kicking the key across the room. Ziggy tried to yank his hand free, but it was no use. The operating table was bolted to the floor. The only way he could escape was to unlock the cuffs.

“Koven. Koven!”

I turned and began to walk towards the sound of the driver he mentioned.

“Koven, you can’t leave me here. Koven, you can’t leave me! Koven!”

My chest ached as I kept walking, ignoring the sounds of his shouts as he desperately tried to break free.

“Koven!”

I looked down at my smiley face and smiled.

Goodbye, Ziggy.