Page 106 of Unspoken Lies

“If you didn’t think you could help my daughter, then you should have said as much,” Dad says. He has fully immersed himself in as a father figure to Rachelle. He’s never made it weird for me though by calling her that.

She needs all the love she can get, and my father adores her. His attention has been split in so many different directions, he’s had a difficult time being available to her though. Every time I catch him watching her, I can see the guilt in his eyes.

Rachelle managed to fall through the cracks, and this doctor is a reminder. I’m betting that he’ll never be found. I bet that there will be some very happy, fat pigs who will be eating him soon. While being fed alive would be fun to watch, I’m enjoying this part of his torture.

“I didn’t think she was so fucked up,” Dr. Michaels mutters, his face contorted in pain. “Antipsychotic medication is?—”

“Not the correct medication for her,” Theo finishes, digging his knife into the taint stain’s side. The dear doctor’s arms being pulled up high over his head allows for more canvas for us to play with. “It makes the voices from her depression scarier, and her thoughts more disjointed. Her dreams also spill into her waking moments, which means she can’t discern reality from memories.”

“How do you know that?” I ask, confused. I doubt that she’s been telling him this.

“I stole her journal,” Theo says with a wince.

“In his defense, the journal was enlightening,” Elijah says at my growl.

“It’s why I was trying to get ahold of Gerald here to fire him,” Dad grunts. “The only part of her meds that are working are the ones for anxiety and depression.”

“It’s been a couple months since she’s been taking the Haldol,” Dr. Michaels groans. I’m honestly surprised by his tolerance to pain. He’s missing entire areas of skin on his legs from Mr. Cruz’s work. “We’ve been working on goals for her reentrance to the world, and one of them was to get a job. I honestly didn’t think she’d be able to do it.”

“Why set her up for failure?” Elijah asks, glaring at him.

“There’s no better way to say ‘I told you so’ than when a patient is a mess,” the doctor explains. “I retired from the government, but not before being put in charge of running experiments on service men once they got out of active field duty. The goal was to see how much it would take before they ate their own firearm.”

“Holy fuck,” Dad whispers. “That’s nowhere in your files. You’re a monster.”

“A monster without a leash,” Dr. Michaels says with a laugh.

“Lucky for you, the only one who holds ours isn’t here, and isn’t aware that it’s hers,” Elijah says, putting on gloves as well. “It’s your unlucky day. We once filled Rachelle’s skin with a canvas of nasty words, but hers washed off. Yours won’t.”

“Have at him, boys,” Mr. Cruz says. “Do you think he should hit the pig pens alive or dead?”

“You’re bluffing,” Dr. Michaels snarls.

“My father never bluffs,” Lili says. “Was she just a plaything to you?”

“I came out of retirement to care for a girl with a fractured mind. Why wouldn’t I play with her, build her up, and then destroy her? Emil, you gave me entirely too much freedom,” the doctor scoffs.

I can’t help it. As soon as my father gets the cold, dark look on his face, I laugh.

“Looks like the blood bath is arriving early. Elijah, your stomach may not be able to handle this,” I warn him, watching as Elijah pales.

Just because my dad only had one biological kid, doesn’t mean Rachelle isn’t his too. It appears that Dr. Gerald Michaels is going to learn that.

RACHELLE

I’ve been debating whether I should get out of bed or not. I fell asleep between Liliana and Nacio, but now I’m alone, cold, and can’t sleep.

It seems that my nightmares will fuck off for the most part if I have someone with me. It’s not completely foolproof because I’ve had at least one since I’ve been out of the institution, but the ability to actually sleep has been so nice.

Insomnia alone can make anyone feel cranky and loopy when they go long enough without sleep. Funny enough, medical sedation isn’t restful, at least not for me. I just end up feeling as if I’ve been launched into a fourth dimension where life passed me by while I was suspended from reality. A time out, if you will, because that’s what it feels like the institution did.

Wrinkling my nose, I get up from the bed. I don’t know where they could have gone so late at night, but tossing and turning alone doesn’t interest me.

Walking through the dim hallways and down the stairs, I shake my head as I find no one else up.

“Couldn’t sleep?” Elijah asks, making me gasp as I turn around.

The man needs a fucking bell!