The Arrival | The House of Voices #3

One - Tip

Tip

 

Darren:

Sid Witherberry hadn’t said a word in the last twenty minutes. He hadn’t said a word since Darren told him what had happened to Parish. In a move that had taken him completely by surprise, Dr. Larkson had decided not to inform the authorities that Parish Feltman had been captured by a security team from St. Elizabeth’s, a reestablished mental facility in Washington D.C for adults and adolescents who were considered threats to society.

And, of course, Darren had been sworn to secrecy.

He’d agreed because he didn’t have any choice but to, and had watched his boss carefully, waiting to see if and when she was going to share the news with the rest of Abercoster’s inhabitants. When, after two days, it became clear that Dr. Larkson fully intended on keeping Parish’s capture a secret, Darren decided to inform Sid of the new developments during their next therapy session. The boy, as Darren saw it, had every right to know what was going on. He’d been on his way to becoming friends with Parish and was one of October’s best friends – he deserved to know.

He’d finished his tale twenty minutes ago, and the boy hadn’t responded. He just sat there on the patient’s couch staring transfixed at the rug that covered the floor as he digested the information Darren had just given him.

Darren glanced at the clock on the wall across his desk. They had only fifteen minutes left of their session and couldn’t afford to waste anymore time in silence. If the boy wanted to talk, or ask questions or even give him a message to pass on to October, he needed to speak to him, soon. Darren was considering breaking the silence when Sid finally looked up and said, “Why is it a secret?”

That was the question, wasn’t it? Why was Dr. Larkson so adamant to keep Parish’s capture quiet? Why was she allowing the authorities to keep searching for a boy that had been caught three days ago? He didn’t know the answer to Sid’s question. He’d asked Dr. Larkson why it was so important that the situation remain a secret, and she’d refused to even hint at her reasons.

“I don’t know,” he answered truthfully. “I’ve been thinking about it for days now, and I can’t understand why it needs to be a secret. She’d be better off if this information was made public – the board would be off her back and she wouldn’t have to deal with the cops calling her every day for status reports. It just doesn’t make sense.”

Sid looked at him for a moment, his eyes thoughtful. Like October’s, Sid’s eyes were hazel, except that hers had been equal parts brown and green. Sid’s eyes were mostly green, with a brown tint that gave them the color of an olive. “If we could figure out what she stands to gain from all the secrecy, maybe it might,” he said, pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose with his pinky.

“What do you mean?”

“Come on, it’s no secret that Larky’s a self-serving b—witch. Maybe keeping Parish’s capture a secret helps her somehow. Personally.”

“Do you think someone’s paying her to keep this quiet?” The boy’s tone suggested that he did, but Darren wanted to be sure.

“I don’t know, but it’s definitely a possibility. Parish is out of her hair and, sure,  keeping it a secret means that she’s got to deal with the police and unhelpful tips from concerned citizens every now and again but with someone paying her for her troubles, this is a win-win for Larkson,” He said, bobbing his head from side to side as he spoke. “And as a little bonus for Larkson, October’s gone as well. And we all know how much Larky hated October.”

“Dr. Larkson hated October?” Darren asked. This was new information to him. “Why?”

“Because until Parish came along, October was the only person in this place who ever dared to question Larky and, for some reason, Larky never really did anything about it.” He looked thoughtful for a moment before adding, “well, nothing until that slap during her last episode when she was here.”

Darren nodded, understanding. A day before she and Parish broke out of Abercoster’s, October and Parish both suffered from simultaneous episodes of their diseases, resulting in October screaming her head off at her auditory hallucinations and Parish succumbing to his temper and breaking the nose of one of the male nurses. When Dr. Larkson had shown up on the scene and started questioning the two teens, they started covering for each other; and that had frustrated Dr. Larkson to the point where she slapped October hard across the cheek in anger before sentencing both of them to a week in solitary confinement.

They fell into a short silence before Sid spoke up again. “How is she?” he asked, “October. How is she?”

Darren sighed. “I don’t know. I tried calling her after I found out, but she wouldn’t speak to me. Her friend, the one she’s staying with, said that she was too upset to talk to anyone and promised to get her to call once she was feeling better…” He trailed off, glancing at the calendar that hung on the wall behind his desk. “I guess October just isn’t up for it yet.”

“If this is painful for me to digest, I can’t imagine what it must be like for her,” the boy said, rubbing his eyes behind his glasses. Darren shifted uncomfortably in his seat before Sid opened his eyes. “If she does come around soon, do you think I could talk to her?” He asked.

“Of course.”

“Thanks,” Sid nodded gratefully. “You should keep trying her. Tell her friend that you have information that might help them get Parish back?”

“I do?” Darren asked, raising an eyebrow at Sid.

“Well, yeah. Didn’t you say that Larky told you that the only reason the guys at St. Elizabeth’s knew where to find Parish was because someone called The Warden with an anonymous tip?”

“Yes…?”

“It’s probably nothing, but on the off-chance that this information could help October find Parish, maybe you should consider telling her. I mean, she obviously won’t know unless she hears it from you or me. Who knows? Maybe this will mean something to her friend and they can figure something out?”

Darren digested this for a moment. I had never even occurred to him that this piece of information could be important. Could it help October and her friends find Parish and free him? Maybe, maybe not. There was a great possibility that the information would only help them find out if there’s someone they should no longer trust and nothing more. How would knowing about an anonymous tip help them actually free Parish?

Despite his doubts, Darren was sure of one thing. Even if this information didn’t help them in any other way, telling October that someone had told on them would definitely prompt her into action. And judging from the worried tone in her friend’s voice when they’d spoke on the phone a few days ago, there was a real chance that October needed a push.

A big one.

“Alright,” Darren nodded after a while. “I’ll tell her.”