A Thin Line (Motionless In White, Escape The Fate, and OC Crossover)

3

RICKY POV

After they had finished up, I walked out to the main foyer with them. There were so many long and ornate hallways in this building.  There was a wide staircase leading to the left. "What's up that way?" 

"That's where all of the rooms are, I can show you." Devin led the way, her bare feet smacking the marble floor as she walked.

"Doesn't that ever get uncomfortable? Don't your feet ever get cold?" 

She turned and smiled. "Not really. I usually don't even notice it. Josh is the only complainer most of the time. The less you whine and complain, the less Anne has to come in and correct you." She ran a hand through her hair and leaned down to kiss Vinny on the top of his head. "She's a big fan of cold baths, but I'm not. TJ doesn't give us cold baths. I like TJ a lot more than the other nurses."

"You're not allowed to bathe yourselves?" I peered out of one of the windows; the sky was still dark and hazy. I could see a fence to the far right and a graveyard beyond that. I stared, hoping that I was imagining things.

She replied casually. "No. Well, you're not allowed to be by yourself. They can do it for you or they can watch, but you're never by yourself for anything. TJ's really nice, sometimes, if nobody's around, then she'll step out into the hallway. I really like getting her."

Vinny piped up. "There are a couple different rooms with two or three tubs in each room. They have the nurses split up to monitor each of the rooms on bath days. We usually get one a week."

"Once a week?" I did not intend to sound so rude, but I was pretty sure that I had just made myself sound like a prick. "I'm sorry..."

She waved. "Nah, it's fine. I used to have a big fancy house, well, it wasn't my house, but I lived there with my husband. Anyway, I used to be able to do my hair whenever I wanted. I had so many bottles of nice perfume that I saved up for. I had pretty dresses and jewelry, gorgeous shoes. I miss it. But when you're here, none of that matters anymore. Nobody cares. We don't have anybody to be pretty for; visitors don't ever come around and we aren't allowed to go out anywhere." She sighed heavily. "I used to always worry about how pretty I was and who I was impressing. I had a job at the bar in town. I was allowed to help the bartender pass out drinks, and every once in a while, if I was feeling foxy enough, I'd show a little bit of skin." She ran her hand up her thigh, pulling the uniform dress with it. "I had a husband, but I never cheated on him or anything like that. No, he did that to me. He'd come home from a trip with another woman's panties and deny it when I found them. But I never got upset. He said that just because he was married didn't mean that he couldn't still use his looks to play a little bit. I wanted to have a baby, but he could go 'play' with other girls." She coughed.

"I'm sorry. I know what that feels like. I had plans like that of my own, but I'm not. I wanted to have a baby with my Christopher, and since I can't share that with him, I won't keep it for myself." We made it to a wide hallway full of what looked like jail cells with cots and other small things inside. She went towards the end of the hall.

"Well, it's just a downright shame. Oh, this is my room." She pointed to one on the left. "Ange stays here with me, see, she has her teacups here. TJ lets her keep them since she stays so quiet. I don't have anything, but that's ok, I don't really need anything."

Vinny spoke up. "I get to stay with Chris." He tapped at his knees. "I can't use my legs, so he has to put me in the bed and pick me up out of it. I'm just glad that he's strong enough to do it." There was a single sheet laid halfway across one of the beds.

"Who does that belong to?"

"Oh, that's for the both of us to share, but he always gives it to me. I feel bad, but he never takes it when I offer it back to him."