RED

nine

DR. ALEX STORM

I thought I was hallucinating. Could it be true? Did Red actually just speak a coherent word?

I spun back around to face her with my eyes bulged and my lips ajar. She was still sat in the chair with her wrists connected to the desk by restraints for safety reasons and I felt my lips rise up into a smile.

I approached her easily and gestured my hands up, "you talked!"

She watched my movements with her icy irises, but didn't reply anything after that. She was too occupied observing me celebrate the accomplishment.

"Do you know what this means? This will count as a milestone in your progress! I'm going to write it in your record right away."

I wanted to hug her, I was so proud. But I didn't want to freak her out. After all this time, she finally spoke to me, she replied to me. It's the first time I heard her voice utter a clear, understandable word, and not a scream or a distressed cry. She actually talked to me.

I then shot out of the room before making sure to shut it and lock it, and made my way down to Dr. Wells' office. I had a prideful smirk plastered on my face when I entered his space and he returned my expression with a confused one.

"You're not gonna believe this," I boasted, "and you think I'm unable to fix her."

I scoffed jokingly before Dr. Wells totally shifted his body so he was completely facing me and taking his attention off his paperwork.

"What are you talking about?" He asks.

"She talked."

His eyebrows furrow as he removes his glasses from atop his nose.

"What?" He replies and before he can say anything else, I cut in, "she talked to me!"

"She communicated? With words?" His words have a slight sense of disbelief as if he couldn't wrap his head around Red actually, and finally speaking a word to me.

I nodded, "take that, Frederick."

Dr. Wells rolled his eyes in a playful manner and clicked his blue ballpoint pen.

"Okay, and?"

He acts as if he doesn't care a smidge. But him and I both know that we weren't expecting this, at least not for a while.

"Don't you understand that this patient talking is a huge deal? She hasn't said anything since she's been here! I think I ought to reward her."

Dr. Wells is amused at my bragging behavior but then his eyes squint at my 'reward' statement, waiting for me to elaborate.

"I think I'll bring her to the Commons Lounge."

"Do you really think she's ready for that?" Dr. Wells replies