THE MONSTER INSIDE ME (#ONC2024)

CHAPTER SIXTEEN: SCAPE

I run through the corridors of the asylum as if I no longer exist. I am not a person anymore—only a body in motion, hollow and automatic, fleeing without knowing where. The walls seem closer than before, the lights harsher, the air heavier. Each turn leads nowhere. I feel swallowed by darkness, erased from myself.

I am nothing. Just something moving.

Then I collide with someone.

Strong hands catch me before I fall. He is tall, solid, covered in tattoos that disappear beneath the sleeves of a white coat.

"Hey—are you alright?" he asks, concern sharp in his voice.

"No... I'm not okay. I..."
The words die in my throat. Why am I even speaking? I never speak to strangers. But something about him—his calm, his steadiness—anchors me.

"What's wrong?" he asks gently.

"I can't... I can't talk about it."

"You can," he replies. "I want to help."

I look at him properly now. Dark hair. Warm brown eyes. Not judging. Not afraid.

"No one wants to help me," I whisper.

"That's not true," he says. "I do. My name is Alexander. And you are?"

"Arabella."

He pauses, studying me. He must know who I am. He wears a doctor's coat.

"Tell me what happened," he says quietly.

Tears blur my vision.

"My uncle... he rejected me."

"Rejected you how?"

I decide to tell him the truth. I want him to hate me.

"I told him I had feelings for him."

Alexander's expression doesn't harden. It softens.

"Romantic feelings?"

I nod.

"And he told you it was wrong."

"I know it's wrong," I say, my voice breaking. "But I can't stop it. The demon told him."

"The demon?" he asks carefully.

Now I laugh through tears. "Now you think I'm insane."

"I don't," he says. "Not entirely."

I stare at him. "You really don't think I'm crazy?"

"You're suffering," he answers. "That's not the same thing. Come with me. Somewhere quieter."

Alexander takes me to his laboratory. He locks the door, hands me water. My hands shake as I drink.

"You must think I'm strange," I say.

He smiles faintly. "A little. But I understand. Ryan is a very attractive man."

I stare at him. "You're gay?"

He laughs. "I like women. I always have. But Ryan brought out my inner gay."

I hesitate. "Were you... together?"

"For a few years," he admits. "He was separated from Theolinda then. I loved him deeply. He loved me too—just not in the same way."

"What happened?"

"He went back to her. We stayed friends."

I think for a moment. "So you're telling me I'll get over this?"

"It's possible," Alexander says. "Ryan loves you—as family. If you let go of the fantasy, he'll always be there for you."

I want to believe him. I don't know how.

"What should I do?"

"Distance," he says gently. "Time. You need space to heal."

Suddenly, fear strikes me.

"Alexander—my uncle is alone with the demon."

"Ryan can handle himself," he says calmly. "I'll check on him. You go back to your room."

I wait alone in the lab, surrounded by strange instruments, my anxiety crawling over me.

Finally, Alexander returns.

"He's fine."

"Is he angry with me?"

"No," Alexander says. "But he won't visit you for a while."

Something inside me fractures.

Ryan wasn't just love. He was air. Without him, I don't know how to breathe.

I wake up later in my room. Food is brought. I don't eat. I don't care. I don't want to exist.

Days blur together. Georgiana speaks in therapy. I stay silent.

Then Alexander comes again.

"You can't stay like this," he says. "You're stronger than you think."

I shove his hand away.

"I don't want anyone. I want to be alone. When the demon comes, I'll go with him."

"That's nonsense," Alexander snaps. "You are not surrendering."

"I already have," I reply, empty.

He looks at me, helpless.

Days later, the door opens again.

"Arabella. I would like to talk to you."

I look up.

A beautiful middle-aged woman stands there, red-haired, composed, eyes filled with something between kindness and pain.

"I'm Theolinda," she says. "Your uncle Ryan's wife."