Strawberry Kiss | OBX

t w o

. . .

Lizzy 

I held his hand as all three of us walked downstairs. This was the part that I've been dreading ever since I came back from that stupid asylum; speaking to the man who put me in a place for the mentally ill when I was far from that.

I was always walking around in white hospital gowns, seeing all of the actual insane people. Thinking to myself, Did they not notice that I was the only one there that was mentally stable? I mean I was the only one there who wasn't constantly walking in circles or mumbling crazy things as I walked by someone. I didn't act remotely close to what the other patients were like.

I hated it there. The perverted male nurses constantly watching everything you would do. They would ask to change your gown in front of them because it was protocol, so you wouldn't "hurt" yourself. They just wanted to see you undress to stare at your body to see if they found you attractive in any way, shape, or form. It was absolutely disgusting. I eventually found out that I wasn't the only one they would watch which was nauseating to think about. 

They would also bring pills to make sure you wouldn't have a manic episode; I never took them. I was always one step ahead of all the ignorant men in that facility. They would normally ask to see if you swallowed them; here's a tip: always hide them behind your last molar... they'll never see. Then once they leave, spit them out, but wait a few minutes before flushing them down the toilet; they'll suspect somethings up if you do it as soon as they leave. They were always there watching, no matter what it was you were doing. You could be showering for all you know and they would have some sort of camera.

. . .

"He should be in his office," Rafe knocked on the door to his dad's office.

"Come in" Ward called out, putting away his files from the gold he was looking for from that old shipwreck called the Royal Merchant. Apparently, there was more than half a billion dollars on the ship and nobody has had any luck trying to find it. Except for maybe John B's father, he was probably the closest anyone has gotten.

Rafe walked in first then Sarah followed behind him. I stood there for a few minutes because I had no idea what I was going to do or say. My hands were shaky and my breathing was noticeably shaky as well. Was I about to have a panic attack?

"We have something to show you." Rafe smiled then proceeded to reach his arm out towards the doorway.

I looked up at Rafe, I felt a little sick to my stomach, but that was only because I wasn't sure what to expect from Ward. I gave him my hand slowly, then walked into the office. It hadn't changed from what I last remembered, it was the only room in the house that didn't get any major renovations. My eyes finished wandering as they caught the attention of Ward Cameron. His face dropped once he saw me. I maintained a safe distance away from him. I didn't want anything to do with him. He knew that I already knew too much about this stupid gold treasure hunt, and about what happened to mom.

"Oh Lizzy, you're back home," He said, his voice insinuating that he actually wanted me here, "We've all missed you so much, we're so glad you're better." He got up and walked in my direction.

I knew where this was going he wanted to hug me, so it seemed like he was glad to have me back home. It was all an act since Rafe and Sarah still didn't know the full truth about anything that happened prior to me leaving. I took a step back when he began to approach me and stared him dead in the eye. I could tell he felt a bit uncomfortable with the sudden eye contact. I looked a lot like our mother, Rafe had her hair color and we both shared a birthmark on our right shoulder. Our mother had it too, it was an oddly shaped birthmark; I liked it because it reminded me of the tiny bacteria blobs that we would observe in seventh grade biology.