Asylum For Aisling

Chapter 15

Harry's POV


"Harry, the cafeteria is this way." Aisling sighed as I pulled us in the completely opposite direction.

"No, I'm pretty sure this is a short cut. Trust me." I looked over my shoulder and grinned at her. She stuck my tongue out at the mention of the word: trust.

I continued to drag her behind me as I meandered the halls. We passed by a fair share of patients that stared at us in bewilderment. Some had their jaws slack and eyes popping out of their heads, and others dropped whatever was in their hands at the sight of us. I walked with my shoulders back and head held high, while she sauntered just behind me with a scowl and narrowed eyes.

"Harry, I am starving. You are going the wrong way! Just let me lead us." She whined and pulled on the cuffs.

"No." I growled. I really and truly didn't have the faintest idea where I was going, but I didn't want to let her know that. That was the thing about both of us: We would never let the other know our weaknesses or faults. It was a stupid pride thing.

As we were making our way down a crowded hallway, I got a glimpse of a tiny map on the wall up ahead. As we were going past it, I slowed my pace down considerably to get a better view of it. From where we were, we would have to turn down a hallway to the right and then the next one on the right and we would find the cafeteria. Perfect.

Once we turned down the hall that had the cafeteria at the end, Aisling spotted it immediately. Her eyes lit up and she skipped ahead of me, forgetting our predicament. As soon as she jerked forward, I was yanked along while she skipped down the hall.

We walked into the cafeteria and all eyes were on us. The only thing that could be heard in the silent room was clattering of silverware as people dropped their forks and spoons in astonishment. It was like none of them could believe their own eyes.

"Come on, Harry. Grab a plate and start loading up!" Aisling chirped. I was pleasantly surprised that she was oblivious to the stares and now soft murmurs from the other patients. The last thing I needed was her getting into a fight and literally dragging me into it.

I picked up a plate and some silverware and followed her as she made her way down the counter top of food. It was like a buffet, different delicacies lined up after each other. She stacked her plate with the strangest assortment. She had mashed potatoes with cookies, some noodles with a sub, and chocolate cake.

"Aisling, are you going to eat all of that?" I stared down at her plate, doubtful.

She looked up at me, shock written all over her face, "Of course I am! I'm not just going to waste it. Look at this cake! It would be a pity to throw something so perfect in the trash."

"Well you wouldn't be the one throwing it in the trash. You would make someone else do it." I reminded her.

"Hm. I suppose you're right. It doesn't matter though; I'm going to eat it all." Her eyes were locked on the plate in front of her as she expertly made her way to an empty table in the corner of the room.

So, we sat there and ate in silence. After what seemed like an eternity, the other patients turned their attention back on their plates and conversations. I played with my food a bit, not really bothering to eat it. I was too focused on Aisling.

Her head was lowered as she practically inhaled the food in front of her. Her dark hair was falling into her face, which blocked my view. I saw her arms were scattered with bruises varying in shades. Her body was hunched over the table, giving her a different appearance. For once, she didn't look like an overconfident girl that was deeply fucked up, she looked like a regular person enjoying her meal.

"Stop staring and eat your fucking food." She mumbled through her mouthful.

I was just about to do as she said when a particular set of bruises caught my eye. Four marks lined together wrapped around her upper arm, almost in the shape of fingers. I squinted and tried to make them out better, and that's when it hit me. They were fingers.

"Aisling, what are those?" I pointed to her upper arm.

"Bruises." She said nonchalantly.

"Where did you get them?" I asked through gritted teeth.
The thought of anyone leaving bruises by merely touching her arm made my blood boil.

"Oh, you know that guy that dragged me off and beat the shit out of me while you thought I was playing a trick on you. That's where." She hissed. Turning her head to face me, I could see her eyes burning with rage.

She really was beautiful. Her eyes had such a fiery intensity that would make anyone squirm when she had her attention locked on them. She had light freckles that sprinkled across her nose. Her normally plump lips were pressed in a tight line as she glared at me with all the hatred that she could muster.

"Hm." I grunted and turned to my food.

"As soon as you finish, I have somewhere we need to go."
She muttered.

About fifteen minutes and two plates of food later, we made our way out of the cafeteria. I had to drag Aisling to the trashcan so I could throw my food out while she left hers on the table, just like last time. Now, she was in the lead, dragging me along with her to wherever it was that she needed to go. We walked through the halls, and I just couldn't stop glancing at her bruises. I could have prevented them...

"Harry! Were you even listening?" She snapped. My eyes flew up to hers and I saw just how pissed she was.

"Yes, love."

"Well then what did I say?" She stopped us from continuing and put her free hand on her hip.

"You were talking about how you wanted to fuck me." I stated with confidence and a cocky smirk plastered on my lips. Maybe if I freaked her out enough, she wouldn't get too pissed about me not listening.

"Harry, you are unbelievable." She hissed and started tugging me along again, just at a much quicker pace. The fact that I was able to keep up with her easily only made her madder. She stomped on, practically running while occasionally pulling on the cuff to dig the metal into my skin.

"Aisling-"

"We are here!" She announced and yanked on the cuff extra
hard, earning a hiss of pain from me.

"Where is 'here' exactly?" I questioned, but never got a response. She knocked on the door in rapid fire succession and then waited. I knew that her impatience would kick in, causing her to just barge through the door, so I thought I would count to see how long it took.

One.

Two.

Three.

Four seconds later and the door went flying.

"Liam!" She barked when we crossed through the doorway.

There was nobody in the room, so she decided to look around. This meant that I was pulled along with her as she rummaged through drawers, rifled through the closet, inspected the cabinets in the bathroom, and searched through papers on the desk. It was like she knew what she was doing when going through everything, glancing at particular things at varying time lengths depending on importance.

"Is there any certain thing you are looking for?" I sighed as she shot me a look of death. I was constantly in her way as she maneuvered around the room at a high speed. She picked up a box that had a lock on it, and I could tell that it sparked her interest at least ten times more than anything else in here. I slapped the box out of her hand and glared at her.

"What the fuck was that for?" She growled.

"Leave his shit alone and stop fucking snooping. What do you need him for anyway?" I spat as she turned to face me full on.

She opened her mouth to say something nasty when her eyes flickered over to the doorway. There was a guy around my height and weight that stood there looking at us with a confused, yet guarded expression. He had chocolate brown hair that was pushed up in the front, and golden eyes that were cautious. Aisling's face lit up at the sight of him.

"Aisling, what are you doing in my room and who is this?" He asked slowly.

"I have a bit of a problem that would require your services. This is Harry." She grinned at him and held up her arm to show our handcuffs.

His eyes zeroed in on them. He jerked his head to the bed, indicating us to move. Aisling did so willingly, pulling me along behind her. We sat down side by side with our legs barely brushing. My eyes flickered from our legs over to Liam who was throwing things behind him as he rummaged through drawers in his desk. Papers went flying and objects came too close for comfort toward my head.

He turned around abruptly and raised an eyebrow at her. She pursed her lips, glancing over at me, and then shook her head slowly. It was like they had a secret language that I was being left out of. I nudged her with my leg and frowned in irritation. She grinned at my confusion and shook her head again.

"Here we are!" Liam shouted triumphantly. He held some metal thing that was long and thin with a tiny part on the edge that curled up.

"What is that for?" I finally spoke up, eyes glued on the object.

"Liam is an expert at unlocking things. He's broken into Sister Elizabeth's office before, isn't that right?" She was beaming. She looked at him with so much pride and adoration that it seemed like it was all going to flow over.

"That's right. It was an experience I wish to never relive." He shuddered as he stared off, remembering the incident.

"So, you're going to get us out of these?" I asked, mixed emotions.

When Dr. Scott first put these on us, I felt the same way she did. I wanted them off immediately. Once the gears in my head began to spin, I realized what a great idea it was. Being connected with someone constantly, you would begin to feel more comfortable the longer you spent with them. There was a steady flow of conversation about Aisling, but nobody actually KNEW her. They knew what she was like, but they didn't really know who she was. She kept herself guarded. Neither of us are able to open up to people, but what if it was because we were supposed to open up to each other?

"Something like that." Aisling snickered.

"Wha-" I began to question when Liam piped up.

"I need you two to switch places. Aisling, sit right there, and Harry shuffle closer to the headboard." He commanded. I had no idea why I had to be closer to the headboard, but if he knew what he was doing, I wasn't really going to question it.

Liam moved toward Aisling, crouching down so they were eye
level and went to work. Little lines in his forehead became prominent as he focused. His mouth was set in a frown and his brow furrowed with concentration. Aisling gazed down at him so much pride it made me wonder what their relationship was.

"How do you two know each other?" I asked, curious.

"Oh, when he showed up, I had locked myself in my room, so Doc called him to open it." Aisling smiled.

"Couldn't they have used a key?" It seemed like that was the most obvious thing to do.

"Not when I went around for weeks leading up to it, stealing every single one." She was smug, and I must say that I was impressed.

"Wouldn't you hate him for messing that up and letting them in?"

"Oh, believe me, I did. When we get ourselves in tight spots like this, he's now the man to go to. So, if he had never done that, I probably wouldn't have known of his talent and we would be stuck with these on for who knows how long!" She bubbled with glee.

"Shut up so I can finish this." He hushed.

A few more minutes of silence passed before anything happened. Aisling and I sat there watching him work. My eyes would wander around Liam's room, taking everything in. His room wasn't bland and pale like ours was; it had some feeling to it. His comforter was a dark blue that was a great contrast to the stiff, white walls. He had papers that littered almost every inch of his floor, and books with vivid colors and spines that were stacked in piles.

CLICK!

My head whipped back down the handcuffs as soon as the
noise was heard. It seemed like everything moved in slow motion after that.

Aisling and Liam locked eyes, secret language flowing
between them again. Aisling looked up at me and tilted her head to the side. She turned back to him, shaking her head. He nodded in acknowledgement, sliding the cuff off of her wrist.

In a swift movement, he attached her empty cuff to one of the metal bars on his headboard.

I was no longer handcuffed to Aisling, but now his bed.

"Aisling!" I shouted in astonishment.

She hopped up from the bed, just out of my reach. She looked down at me with the tiniest of smirks adorning her lips. She glanced over at Liam, him making his way out of the room.

Her glare was fixed on my face as she hissed, "Don't do anything stupid."

Those words were like a slap in the face. I had said the very same thing to her when she made Rick drag me out of Sister Elizabeth's office. I was just trying to protect her, but she had other plans. That was the thing about her, she craved destruction. Whether it was her own or someone else's, she wanted it to crash and burn.

She was so difficult to figure out. One day she would lay in bed with me, another day she would be playful, and some days she would handcuff me to a metal headboard.

"Aisling, don't leave me here." I growled.

"Too late." She said as she made her way out the door.

She reached behind her and slammed it, causing me to flinch from the force she used. This was her wall. Her way of blocking me out, but I was determined to get in. She just didn't want to be hurt, but she needed to feel the pain. Maybe some time long ago, she was hurt badly enough to evolve into this cold, guarded girl that kept everyone away in fear of feeling the pain again. She locked her heart away a long time ago, but I was here with the key.


I was going to unlock her heart.