Insanity [Patrick Stump Fanfiction]

VII

Patrick had another outburst. I think it had something to do with the electrocution. It seemed like every time he was electrocuted, three days later, he would freak out and try to kill someone. I guess that means Maria has a reason to electrocute him again and keep him in the asylum.

This place is all kinds of screwed up.

I was in a meeting with Maria. She was only talking about the patients and how she loved them so much. There was one thing that stood out to me, though.

"When your little friend Patrick first walked through the front doors, I knew he was different than the others. He was-" she paused and rethought her words. She pursed her lips before laughing softly to herself. "Why am I boring you with all of this?"

Maybe I can get her to keep talking. "No! You're not boring me at all! I really like working here and I'd like to get to know my boss," I smiled politely and tried my best to show her how generally interested I was pretending to be.

"Well he's just been a troublemaker from the start, y'know?" Maria glanced over at a bottle of mud-colored liquor. "Want some?" Maria stood up and crossed the room. She took my shrug as an answer and pulled two crystal glasses from a shelf with one hand and uncapped the bottle with her other. She only filled the glasses half full before gently setting the bottle back down. She handed me a glass.

I took a sip and had the initial intention  to spit it  back into the cup but I swallowed it.

"You like it? Its Malört. I absolutely love the stuff. Just one ingredient short of absinthe. Did I mention it's from Sweden?"

After swallowing, I forced a cough to try to clear my throat. It burned going down. "Interesting," I choked out. "Definitely different!" I forced a smile. It tasted like what was about to come up from my stomach.

"It's okay if you don't like it," Maria smiled. "Not many people do."

I could either lie and probably end up having more, or I could lie and possibly have Maria think I'm being disrespectful. "No! It's good." I squirmed in my seat.

Maria's eyes scanned over me as she tried to tell if it was a lie. She shot me an approving glance with a hint of suspicion. I smiled in return.

"So I want to discuss a job offer for you. You've been really hard working and consistent. I can always count on you to get things done," Maria began. "It's been great having you work for me and I would like to promote you. Would you want to be the activities manager for this establishment?"

She stood up, adjusted her peach colored sundress, and took my empty glass along with her's back over to the counter. She flipped her hair over her shoulder and turned back around to face me, waiting for my reply.

"I would love to!" I exclaimed. "Thank you, Maria! That means a lot!"

A pleased smile tugged at the sides of her candy-apple lips. "Of course!" Maria pulled me in for a hug. She squeezed me tight to her chest. A strong bittersweet scent radiated from her dress. She swayed side to side and I was wondering how long the hug would last. She wouldn't let me go.

I was the one to pull away. Maria patted her dress and freed it from any wrinkles my body caused to it.

"Have a nice day," she called after me while I exited her office. I lifted my hand over my shoulder as a half-hearted wave.

As soon as I stepped into the lobby, Patrick waved and smiled at me. I instantly headed over to him. Again, Patrick was staring out the window. He looked like he wanted to be free. Who could blame him? This place sucks.

"Were you with Maria just now?" Patrick asked. He adjusted his glasses and fixed his fedora.

"Yeah, why?"

"According to Xander, they found the activity administrator or manager person dead outside. Tons of burns on his head. My guess is it was Maria and the electrocutionists," Patrick thought for a moment. "That's actually kind of a cool name for a band. The Electrocutionists." He trailed off. Ever since his shares of electric shock therapy, he's been different. Not in a bad way, more of a childlike way.

"When you get out of here, you can be Trick  and the Electrocutionists. How's that?" I asked, still unsettled by the newest murder.

I guess that's why I got a new job promotion. I mean, who knows? I might be the next to go.