we don't belong here • lrh

Chapter twelve | her real name

Chapter twelve | her real name

When Luke left to go to the visiting rooms, I was in the parlor, chilling with Twenty Four and the "twins". Unlike everyone else in this terrible place, Jazmyn, Gianna, and Twenty Four weren't that crazy. I mean they were still fucking crazy, but not by much. I actually enjoyed their company along with Luke's.

"So... Twenty Four," I said looking away from the boring, black-and-white television that had some old movie playing on it. "What's your actual name?"

The twins looked up, creepily, at the same time with a terrified look on their face. They slowly started to inch away from the bottom of the couch. Twenty Four sat up straight and turned to the twins, suggesting that they scram. They did. She's not even that scary.

"Why do you ask?" she replied with a cool look. On the outside she looked calm and collected, but on the inside i could tell she was freaking out. What's so bad about her name?

"i'm just curious."

"Well, don't be," she said and got up to storm away. She wasn't angry at all because she had a frown across her face. I couldn't let it go and have her storm away, mad at me for no reason. So I ran after her and grabbed her hand.

"Please don't leave," I said in deep breaths to hopefully calm my lungs from the small activity of running. "I'm sorry."

She sighed and turned back around. When I saw her face, my breath hitched. She had tears in her eyes and they were starting to become puffy. Never have I ever seen Twenty Four so vulnerable.

"I shouldn't be crying," she said and went to wipe the unfallen tears away. "I'm such a baby!"

"No you're not, Twenty Four," I said to try and make her feel a bit better. She didn't feel any better.

She nodded and grabbed my hand, pulling me to god knows where. We walked across the parlor and entered the corridor. The corridor leads down to the patient rooms. From that we entered the hallway with the staying rooms. I registered this as my hallway. We stopped right outside the room next to Twenty Four's; room 25. Who's room is this?

She unlocked the room with a jiggle of the nob. The door creaked open as if it was going to fall off the hinges. The room had some type of disgusting odor coming from the corner, and I wasn't so sure I wanted to know what this room was used for.

"Welcome to my secret spot," Twenty Four said suddenly causing me to jump. I smiled and looked around the room. There was a lot of boxes and a few pieces of furniture in the abandoned space. I walked over to the covered couch and sat down, breathing in. "This is where I have fun."

With that said I jolted up from the couch and wiped my pants off. I grimaced once again as I aggressively wiped my butt off on the wall. Twenty Four laughed and said, "Not like that! Well, at least not like that yet."

"Yet?" I wasn't sure what my face looked like but I was disgusted. Twenty Four just smiled at my reaction and shrugged her shoulders.

"We'll talk about that later," she said and sat down on the couch I had just shot up from. The smile vanished as she started to become serious. "My name is a really personal topic for me."

I nodded in understanding and was about to say sorry again. She stopped me by saying, "I just wanted a fresh start from my old life when I got here, so I told everyone my name was my room number. I didn't like my name and I still don't really like when people call me it other than my mother and sisters, but I guess I can tell you. Only because we're friends, but you have to tell me something in return. Deal?"

"Deal!"

Twenty Four chuckled and took a deep breath before saying, "My real name is Reneé Novak."