Sineater

Three

"I was released today," Brielle said, not exactly cheerfully, but not exactly morose either.

The words spun around Jin's brain, over and over they repeated themselves. They released her. She was free of the treatments she'd been getting. They were awful to her in there. The Church had branded her a sexual deviant and, taking the word of the Vatican themselves as truth, St. Agatha's Mental Health Institute had immediately admitted her for treatment.

She didn't need to be there. And, truthfully, living there had done more to hurt her than anything else could have done. Sure, she had her issues, like a lot of people these days. But she'd needed someone to talk to about her problems. She didn't need a bunch of interfering religious zealots making everyone around her believe she was in need of the kind of treatment she'd received while she was in that retched place.

Jin ushered Brielle up the stairs of the old rectory. He went first just to be sure the stairs were safe.

"Years ago, it was a dorm for all the priests," he said, turning around to look at her trailing a couple steps behind him. As he got to the landing he stopped. "Now it's empty."

They both looked down an empty hallway with multiple closed wooden doors. Brielle took a few steps ahead of Jin, looking down the hallway before turning back to face him.

"You're here," she said, voice soft and light. It was as if she was afraid to speak very loud. Once again, Jin cursed inwardly. What had they done to her in that place?

"True," he said, picking at his fingernails. They stood like that, looking at each other longingly. She nodded her head slightly. So much had passed between them years ago, so much that was left unsaid. Jin had feelings for her. She had feelings for him. They could not, however, act on those feelings.

They jumped apart as harsh knocking interrupted whatever had been going on in their minds, both of them looking back down the stairs and then at each other.

"Oh, I'll wait," Brielle said, frowning on a sigh. She watched as Jin descended the stairs in a rush, taking two at a time. She turned her head away, almost shamefully, as he rounded the corner of the small landing between flights.

When Jin reached the door, he looked through the little peephole at the top. There was a man standing there in a suit, raising his hand to knock again. Jin swung the door open and greeted the man.

He raised his badge as he spoke. "We're looking for Kim Seokjin." He was with the Metro Police Unit. As he was dressed in a suit and not a matching uniform the man next to him wore, Jin assumed he was a detective.

Stepping out into the small patio outside the door, Jin said, "That's me. Is there something wrong?" He pulled the door mostly closed behind him.

"Just a heads up, Father," said the detective. "Do you know a-uh, Brielle Sinclair?"

"Yes?" Jin closed the door the rest of the way before sticking his hands in his pockets.

The detective watched with an unveiled interest as Jin locked the door behind him. "She escaped today from the, uh, mental health facility where she was remanded by the Church, and the court." He said the former sentence with an air of distraction as he continued staring at the door behind the priest.

"Remanded, huh?" Jin repeated, commanding the attention of the detective. Even he, himself, could hear the bitterness in his voice. He schooled his features into vague interest and confusion. "And what does this have to do with me?"

The detective glanced down to the paper he was holding in his hand. "Well, she was locked up for trying to kill you, wasn't she?" He had a smirk on his face, showing his slight amusement at Jin's perfect showing of disinterest.