Asylum | E.D

32

"Don't celebrate yet, no one gets out of the asylum alive."

Jaylee

"I saw Johnson." Is the first thing that left my mouth the moment we arrived back in my parents house that night. 

Ethan furrowed his eyebrows, seeming to think about who Johnson is, and I waited for him to get into realisation.

The whole drive from the cemetery back home was quiet. My mom had turned on the car radio, and that was the only sound that enveloped the whole car. As for me, I really don't know what to say.

Ethan snapped his head up after a good few minutes of wondering who Johnson is, "Oh my fuck!"

I nodded, almost laughing at his reaction. Grayson walked in, holding a bag full of clothes and other things from his apartment, looking at us with a curious expression. "What did I miss?"

"Jaylee saw one of the doctors from the asylum." Ethan blurted out before I could even open my mouth.

I watched as Grayson's expression shift from confusion into shock."What? When? How?" he asked continuously. "Are you sure? Did they see you?" He bombarded me with questions.

"Chill man," Ethan said, standing up from his seat, with an expression that looks alarmed with the news and quite irritated with Grayson questions. "You sound like a girl."

I rolled my eyes at the two of them as my mother came into view, staring at me for a moment before clearing her throat. "Jaylee, honey?"

I looked at both of the guys and Ethan nodded for me to go and follow her.

I let out a sigh as I watch her look at me with an expectant look in her eyes, before following her outside.  When we reach the backdoor, she motions for me to sit beside her on the chair next to the door.

I settle myself beside her, looking up into the sky as she cleared her throat. "I understand if you still feel angry." She started. "And you're father ane I are willing to make it up to you."

I felt a pang of guilt for making her think that way. Yes, I was angry at first, but as the days passed by, I realized that it was just hurt that I'm feeling. Hurt for feeling alone after they's left me and never came back.

But at the same time, I still long for them no matter how much they'd abandoned and turned their back on me those months. I still want to have a family, a loving parents.

"It's not that I'm mad, or angry." I say. "It's just that I'm hurt and confused." 

I can feel her gaze on me the moment I said that, and then she spoke. "Why don't you live here from now on? And then we'll start over. Your father and I would really love that."

I looked at her to already have her staring back at me, I gave her a weak smile.

There's hope lacing on her features. I didn't really know what to say. But I couldn't tell her that. I might break her. "I'll think about it," I say instead, making the glint of hope in her eyes disappear. "I just, I...."

"I understand," She say, taking my hand in hers like that of a comforting mother. "But I hope you reconsider." 

"I just want to understand everything first."

-

"He might be on to us." Ethan says, referring to Dr Johnson.

I pondered this thought for awhile, deeming it possible. "What are we going to do?" I ask, wondering the inevitable. "What if he tell on us. It's not impossible, it's Dr Johnson we're talking about in here." 

Ethan looked at me for a moment before leaning his back against the couch. "Maybe that's the reason why he called, three times this afternoon." I can already tell that seeing him in the cemetery is really a bad news, I just don't know to what extent. But again, everything right now seems to be all bad news. 

Ethan sighs, placing his legs up on the coffee table as he leaned on his side and crossed his arms over his chest. He looked pretty good in his position, though it's quite rude to be sitting like that in my parent's house.

But whatever.

I looked at the wall clock hanging beside the abstract painting on the beige colored walls. It struck to five in the afternoon, and tomorrow morning, I'd have to bond with my parents.

I was snapped out of my daze when Grayson's phone started ringing. Ethan and I both looked at him, and Grayson stared at his phone screen, debating on his mind whether he should answer it or not.

"Who is it?" Ethan asks, immediately adjusting his seat into a proper one as his gaze landed on Grayson and down to his phone.

"It's the asylum, how the fuck did they get my number. Don't they think I'm dead?" Grayson says, his voice sounding unsure. "He must have seen you." I sigh.

"Should I answer?" We all looked at each other, not really knowing what Grayson's  next step should be. If he answer the phone, we'd know what Dr Johnson is up to, but that also means that it would bring him closer to us.

Grayson placed the phone face down on the coffee table. "If I answer that call," He elaborated. "It would be too risky. For all we know, the asylum might be tracking us down."

Ethan nodded, and I did as well. "So, what's the next step?" I ask.

Both of them looked at me and Ethan spoke, "You're getting at ease now with your parents?" I gave them a nod, and a small smile.

They both smiled back seeming relieved.

"At least something's going right beyond all of these." Grayson says, "Are you okay now?"

I looked at him, then played with my fingers. "Well, I'm still confused. But I'm okay." I nod.

"What did I tell you about baby steps?" Ethan asks, giving me a warm smile it made my heart melt.

"I'm taking it one step at a time." I beam. "We just have to get rid of the asylum out of our systems." I say.

"Yes, we definitely need to." Ethan agrees.

Grayson's phone rang again, and he hit decline. But then a few minutes later, a new text message arrived.

"What does it say?" I ask, the just starting to get warm atmosphere shifted back to an intense one in just a span of .03 seconds. 

Grayson looked at his phone screen, and then back at us, then down on the screen again. "It's from an unknown number, obviously a staff member or something." Grayson showed us his phone, and Ethan and I both leaned on the coffee table to take a look at the text message. 

Don't celebrate yet. No one gets out of the asylum alive. - J

Dr Johnson.