She Said She Said

3

Paul’s POV:

Not feeling in the mood for any more drinking tonight, I went home while John, George and Ringo went to another bar for the night. Once I got inside, I saw my bedroom light was open.

I grabbed an umbrella off the rack by the door and held it like the baseball bat. I turned into my room and saw my dad casually sitting on my bed reading a newspaper. I sighed, remembering he had a key I gave to him. Without looking up, he said “You did make me a spare key.”

“Da’, what are you doing here?” I asked him.

“Your room is messy James, pick it up.”

“You’re not the boss of the house anymore dad, this is my-”

“Pick it up. Now.” I groaned and started picking up my clothes and such lying around as he began a conversation about a topic that was coincidental to what just happened. “Remember that girl who lived with us for maybe a week?”

“Of course I do, her name was Annette. You grounded me for a month for lying to you.” I replied.

“Well, she’s wanted. She escaped Bedlome Mental Asylum a few nights ago, and she’s on the run. If you see her, you have to take her back.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

He put his newspaper down and looked me straight in the eye. “It may have been five years, and you may not even notice it yourself, but every time you look at a sunset you get glassy-eyes and you remind me of that morning.”

It was silent for a while. “You told them they weren’t fit parents and that they couldn’t raise Annette, so why did you let them take her back?”

“We spent all night looking for you two, you have no idea. Her dad was cold, mean, distant and he just generally hated her, kept on saying that we should just leave her out to catch cold and die. He was far from a fit parent. Her mom, she was scared of her dad. That’s when you can tell it’s truly terrible. He told me that if I didn’t hand back their daughter, they would get Mike alive, and not be caught. I could tell in the mother’s eyes he was not kidding.”

“You had no choice?”

“I told Annette right from the start, if there comes a situation like that I was going to pick you guys, so of course I did. I just never thought she would be sent off to a place like that. I figure that with their parenting, an asylum was a nice break.”

I didn’t say anything and he got up. “You missed over there,” he told me, pointing to the far corner.

“I get it!”

He smiled and left, not saying another word. I picked up the rest of my room and thought about Annette. What happened that was so terrible she had to go to Bedlome? I’ve heard about that place, it’s supposedly only for very extreme cases. Is she managed to get out, there is no way in hell I would take her back.

I thought about what John said. I don’t know her anymore, what could’ve drove her so far as to have to go there? So much has probably changed about her, but I know John is just covering up. When Annette was taken away, he was especially put down. I may have loved her, but to him, she was the one who probably understood him best.

I poured myself a cup of tea before I heard a knock at the door. I put my cup down and answered the door to see John at the door. “Hear me out Paul, I’m sorry that I-”

I stopped him there. “If it’s about Annette, it’s fine.”

“You sure?” I nodded. “Does this mean you’re not going to go out and look for her?”

“Heavens no, I’m gonna look for her alright. I’m not gonna let her go back to Bedlome-”

“Hold on a second, did you say she was in Bedlome?!”

I nodded and reached into my pocket, handing him her bracelet that must’ve fallen off. He looked at it for a minute before turning back to me. “What do you think happened?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but whatever it is, it’s not worth turning her back around possibly losing her again.”

John agreed. “Why do you think she came back here?”

That, I didn’t think of yet. Bedlome is at least a two day bus ride away from here. Plus, wouldn’t it be clear to them she’d come back here? Or would she go back home? Why did she pick here out of all places?

All of these questions were unanswered, but I knew one thing. If there was no reason, why would she be back here? Since she is back here, there must be something drawing her here. Whether it was just the area, or whether this is a stop in between, or whatever the reason, she is here. While she’s here, I’m going to find her. I made John tea as well and we drank it and turned on the little TV I had, seeing what just happened at the Cavern on the local station.

“The criminal has claimed he had no connection to his hostage, which he identified as the escaped Bedlome patient, he simply said: ‘I saw her and knew I needed a hostage. After this, I was going to go turn her in at Bedlome. Take a crazy off the streets.’ The whereabouts of the escaped patient are unknown, but police are scanning the area to look for her. The hospital last described her as:

“- Long black hair

“- Pale skin

“- Brown eyes

“- Scars over arms and legs

“If anyone has any information about this case, they are urged to call local authorities.”

I turned the TV off and John stared at me for a minute. “I’m going to bed,” I told him, storming off to my room. The only Brightside was that the hospital didn’t have her updated hair-cut.