De Pride Isle Sanatorium

Chapter 18: Are you scared?

Everyone stands around or talks to the nurses. This is basically a routine now. We just stand here. I watch as Brother Marcus whips out his megaphone and begins to announce. "Good morning! Today is a beautiful day! How about some fresh air? Let's head to the playground. Follow a nurse to the West Wing!" Everyone starts to head towards the stairs. I do too, but I'm suddenly grabbed and yanked back. "Wh-"

"Johnson. Come with me." Jaxton says. He let's me go and starts walking towards the other set of stairs that lead to the third floor. I follow behind him. We both walk up the steps and head towards a door. Jaxton opens it and gestures for me to go inside. I do and he follows after, then he shuts the door. "Jaxton, what are we doing here? Shouldn't we go to the others?" I ask. Jaxton just stares at me, head twitching. I stare back at him. "Are you-"

"I'm fine."

"Okay...?"

Awkward silence. Jaxton takes a deep breath and then exhales. "Johnson, are you afraid of me?" He asks. Did I hear that correctly? "What?" I ask. I am quite puzzled. "I said, are you afraid of me?"

I rub my arm nervously. "No. I'm not.."

"You seem like it. You keep staring at me and asking if I am okay. Are you scared?"

"I'm not scared, okay? I'm just worried that you won't get holy water in time.."

I watch as his arm and head both twitch. "I like that you're worried about me." He says as he steps closer to me. "It makes me happy. I like knowing that someone cares about me only after knowing me for a few days." He smiles, again. There he goes again. "It must be nice.." I reply. "Do you think I don't care about you?" He asks.

Yeah, because a person who literally drags me around to make sure I get holy water and food early totally doesn't care about me. "I know you care. I feel like Marissa kinda doesn't like me."

"She does like you! She just takes a while warming up to people! It's kind of hard to trust people in a place like this, so I'm kinda surprised you trusted me so quickly."

It's not hard for me to trust people. I trust people pretty easily sometimes. It depends on the first impression. I don't say anything back to him. He looks at me with a worried look. "Are you sure you're not scared of me?" He asks. "Jaxton, I promise I'm not. Stop looking at me like that. A smile suits your face better."

Jaxton's eyes get wider. His cheeks turn a little red and then he slowly starts to show me his signature smile. Of course. This man just never stops smiling. I like it that way. It's better when he smiles. He starts to shove me with his elbow. "Awe you're such a softie, Johnson! Who knew?"

"Ugh, knock that off! You're embarrassing." I shove his arm away. Jaxton starts twitching more. He places his hand on the nape of his neck. "Ignore that. We should probably go outside. The nurses are probably wondering where we are."

"Yeah. You're right."

I walk passed Jaxton and open the door. "Wait-" I stop and turn around. "Yes, Jaxton?"

"...Nothing. I thought I saw something on your clothes. Let's go!"

"Okay, then." Jaxton takes my arm and starts running down the hall. "Slow down! We're only going outside!" I yell.

"I like outside!" He starts to laugh. His laughter is just full of pure joy and happiness. I give in and let him drag me around.