Mind Games.

chapter 40: Odd Question.

I waited all week for Saturday to come so I could go and visit Libby. Connor had been walking with me to psychology and carrying my things for me, which I still felt was going to turn out as some sort of trick.
I woke up on Saturday morning at 8:57. After a quick shower, I put on a pair of blue jeans with a white t-shirt that had a picture of an eagle on it with some black and white converse. I put my hair in a neat ponytail and started walking to the bus stop near Wal-Mart.
The day was bright and sunny, with almost no wind. There were patches of melting snow here and there, but I enjoyed the weather. It's nice to see sunshine after a lot of snow.
A young woman was sitting at the little bench when I arrived there, but no one else was there. I pointed to the seat next to her and asked,
"May I sit there?"
"Yes, go right ahead." She said in a Hispanic accent. I smiled and took a seat, crossing my legs.
"Do you happen to know when the number 7 bus comes along?" I asked her. She thought for a second, then nodded and said,
"I want to say...9:30." She told me. I nodded and took out my phone to text Libby.
-will b there around 40 min.;)-
~ok:)~. She texted back.
The lady left on the first bus that came around, so I was left alone with my thoughts for a while.
My thoughts wanted to talk about my parents, by I ignored them. Which is no easy task when it's something inside your head. Then, my phone started playing, 'Eye of the tiger.' I smiled to myself as I picked it up and put the receiver to my ear.
"Hi, Kendall."
"Hello yourself, how are you feeling?" He asked in his usual pleasent tone. I crossed my arms and replied,
"Better."
"Good, because your work on the radiation experimental project begins next week on Sunday." He coughed from his end of the receiver. I frowned and sat up a little in the bench,leaning forward on my elbows.
"I thought you weren't a hundred percent on the form of vessel yet." I could almost hear his grin on the other side.
"We weren't, until this morning."
"Really? What was the choice?"
"Bomb." He stated in a cheery voice. My eyes widened and I sat up. A bomb?
"A bomb?" I asked him.
"Yes."
"Why?" I said. Isn't that...dangerous? He scoffed from his end of the receiver and replied,
"It's the most efficient way to cover large areas at once."
"Which areas will we be covering?" I questioned him.
"That isn't important right now, what is important is that you will be at NASA headquarters on Sunday at 5:00 a.m. sharp, got it?" He paused for my answer. I nodded into the phone and said,
"Alright, I'll be there." My stomach lit up at the thought of me building a bomb, even if it was just for experimental radiation.
"Ok, see you then." His end of the line went dead. I shut off my screen and stared at the screen.
I sighed and dreaded the idea of a bomb. Maybe it was just the danger of it, but I took a moment to think about radiation disasters throughout history. Hiroshima, Nagasaki, Chernobyl.
Am I only repeating history?
The bus screeched to a stop in front of me, and an old man with a clean shaven face opened the door and let me step on.
"$2:09 is the fare, ma'am." I nodded and slipped a five into the box. He smiled and I took a seat in the middle of the bus.
After a twenty minute ride to the hospital, I hopped out and started inside.
A man in plain blue scrubs with a clipboard smiled as he saw me walking inside.
"Hello, ma'am. What can we do for you?"
"I'm coming to visit my friend, Libby Thatcher. Do you happen to know what room she's in?"
"Not at the moment, but I can find out for you, follow me." I nodded and followed him to a little office where three other people were in and waited as he went onto a computer. After a few minutes, he stood up and turned to me with a smile.
"Room 115 at the end of the hall."
"Thank you." I started towards her room.
When I entered the hospital room, I heard the television playing, 'Say yes to the dress.' Libby was sitting up in her bed, watching the screen. Her eyes were placid, as of there was no soul behind them. Her cheeks, usually full of red, were plain. Like she hadn't smiled for a while.
Her foot was up in a cast, along with her left arm. An IV snaked from her arm to a bag of fluids that dropped down into the tube
I smiled and said,
"Hey, Libby." When she heard my voice, she smiled weakly and nodded in my direction.
"Hi, Alice. How are you?"
"Oh, I'm fine. What about you?" I asked her. She looked at me like I just asked a dumb question, which I guess I did. I mean, if I had been raped and had several of my bones broken, I wouldn't feel like a fairy. So with my new thought process, I said,
"Sorry, dumb question."
"Yeah, it was. But that's ok, I'm doing better, thanks." She giggled. Her giggles made me smile.
"Well, has Debbie visited you?" I questioned, even though I knew the answer. She nodded and reached next to her.
"Yeah, she brought me this shirt," she held up a leather vest with purple sinches. I smiled and said,
"Cool." She set it gently back in its place and sat back on the bed. We sat in silence for a moment, then, I couldn't hold it anymore.
"Libby?"
"Yes?" She said, not turning to meet my eye. I sighed and leaned forward slowly.
"Would you mind if I asked you about it?"
"About what?" She asked, still not looking at me. I looked down, then said,
"About what happened."
"What happened is I got raped, that's it." She said it, but her voice faultered in the middle of the sentence. I didn't mean to push it, especially since it was Libby talking, but I had to know.
"I mean,about how you were taken-"
"I was walking to my dorm, someone pulled me to a ditch, and raped me." She interrupted again.
"Thats not what I meant." I said softly. Now she turned to me, but she was on the verge of tears. She turned the TV off and sat up, turning to face me.
"What do you want to know, Alice? The clothes I was wearing before he tore them up? The volume of his grunts? The aweful feeling of his penis inside of me?!?" She let a few tears fall. I shook my head gently from side to side.
"No, Libby. That's not it either." We stared at each other for a minute. Then, she shook her head slightly and asked in a barely audible voice,
"What, then, Alice?" She looked at me with hurt. My heart felt like falling, but I took a deep breath and whispered,
"You know who he is, don't you?" My question made her pause. Then, she closed her eyes and let out a small sob.
I couldn't even imagine the horrible things she was forced to do. And I could never ask her these questions again, and I knew that. But that didn't matter, I just wanted to hug her. So I got up and sat on the edge of her bed, then we hugged each other. I stroked her hair and rocked back and forth with her. I just wanted her to forget. Forget, and heal.
She wouldn't tell me who he was, so I stopped talking to her about her ordeal. We talked about the twins and Norman and everything we could think of until there was nothing else to say. I stayed until 7:00 P.M. when she had fallen asleep.
As I left the hospital, I thought over the issue of God once again. Is god here? If so,why would he allow this? Because what doesn't kill you makes you stronger? Does he love everyone equally? Amusement? Or is there a simpler answer? That there is no god. But whatever the case, every person on earth comes from the same place. Be it science, or god, or a talking goldfish!
But perhaps there's a better question I should be asking; why would that person create monsters that kill, rape, and steal?
I waited patiently for the bus to bring me back to Princeton. The stars were out, which provided something for me to look at. Then, a woman with a hood over her head walked slowly up to me.
"H-hey, man, can you spot me $100?" That's an odd question. I thought. I shook my head.
"I'm sorry, I don't know you."
"Oh, please, I just gotta buy gas."
"No, I'm sorry." I said. Then, she flipped out a pocket knife and pointed it at me.
"Give me your money!" She demanded. I sat with my arms crossed, unfazed. Most people assume they can win any fight with a weapon. What those people fail to realize is, that's not true. I stared back up and stated calmly;
"Put the knife away, and get away from me."
"I said-" but before she could finish her sentence, I simply moved my leg so I kicked her leg sideways. She fell to the ground, dropping the knife. Then, I took the knife with my shirt to cover my finger prints and threw it into her leg. She squirmed in agony. I set my foot gently on top of the knife.
"Now, I want you to go." She nodded and started limping away.
The bus pulled up with the same driver from earlier. He let me go straight to the seat I was in earlier and I stared out the window on the way back to Princeton.
I was dropped off at Wal-Mart at 8:01. Then, I sighed and started walking back to Princeton.
By the time I made it back, no one was still on the campus. I could see lights from the frat house, but that was it besides the street lights. I sighed and started walking back to my dorm room.
When I shut the door, I slowly slid down to the floor and closed my eyes. Well, today's been different. I was thankful that it was over with. Then, my eyes wondered over to Libby's bed. The emptiness of it made me sad again. Time for a shower.
I stood up and went inside the bathroom to start the water. After it was heated up, I set two white towels on top of the toilet seat and got inside the curtain, washing off with my strawberry scented shampoo and conditioner. I shaved myself with 'Flirty mango' shaving cream and then stood under the jet, enjoying the warm water.
But then, I heard a knock on the door to the dorm. Maybe it's the twins or Norman...
I hopped out and wrapped my hair in the first towel, then used the other one to wrap my body in. I slipped my glasses on and walked out into the room. The cold air hit my bare skin and made me feel shivers. I opened the door, only to step back in, my eyes wide with surprise.
Connor stood with his hands in his pockets, but his eyes widened when I opened the door in just a towel. Oh my god, this is embarrassing....
"Connor, hi." I said, trying not to blush. He, on the other hand, started blushing like a cherry.
"H-hi." His eyes went down a little, but then they fled to the safety of the floor. I hugged myself and tucked the towel tighter into me so it wouldn't fall.
"What are you doing here?" I asked him, leaning against the door. He kept his eyes down.
"I...uh, can I come in?" He asked, looking up to meet my eyes. Emerald seas...
"Sure." I stepped aside and let him through. Then, I shut the door behind me and leaned against the door, crossing my arms. "Whats this about?" I questioned again. He set one hand on his side and the other behind his neck to scratch it.
"W-well....it's just that...." He trailed off. I've never seen him act like this. He looks....nervous. I nodded.
"Yeah?" I urged him on. He looked at me and said,
"I...ugh, I'm just going to say it, here I go....would you want to hang out tomorrow?" He froze the second after he said it. He looked like he regretted it. I found myself taken aback. What did he just say?
"I...uh..."
"Oh, no, you're busy, I get it. I'll just leave...." He headed back towards the door. Stop him!
"No! I'm not busy." I said, turning to him. He stopped in his tracks, then smiled.
"So...is that a yes?" I felt my cheeks blush as I nodded.
"Yes, definitely." He smiled widely and nodded.
"Ok, I'll pick you up at 12:00?"
"Ok, I'll see you then." I replied, smiling. He turned away and walked out of the room, closing the door behind him. I smiled and thought, well....wonder where we're going.

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Hope you liked it, enjoy the next one, bye! :).