De Pride Isle Sanatorium

Chapter 25: Promise me, Johnson

The blur after drinking holy water finally goes away. "I feel better now." I sigh. "Oh my! Looks like there is no more holy water left! Not to worry, dears. There shall be more tomorrow at 12pm sharp!" Sister Rochelle announces. I start to wonder why I never see that nurse I saw a few nights ago. What was her name again? Sister Annabelle? Didn't the nurses say she was always in the infirmary? "How about another activity today? Hm? Today we are going to host a therapy session. Aides, please head to the therapy room! Trainees, please look after patients who do not wish to join this therapy session! Everyone who wishes to join, please head to the therapy room!" Sister Amelia announces. Everyone stands up and starts to walk out of the room.

I stay put. "Do you not want to go to therapy?" Jaxton asks. "No. I'm not ready to talk one on one with some nurse. I'll just go chill in the library or something." I look over and see Marissa at the door, staring at us. "You two coming?" She asks. "Nah, therapy is boring. Gonna go to the library." Jaxton says, getting up and out of his seat. "Alright, cool. Have fun you two." Marissa then leaves the room.

"Let's go to the library. We'll be away from people there." I get up and follow Jaxton out of the lecture hall. I look over at the melon tree. A nice memory as made there. My heart flutters a little bit. I know that only happened yesterday, but it still feels like it only happened just a moment ago. We reach the staircase that leads to the third floor and start walking up the steps. "The library is like our hangout spot now." I say. I laugh a little. "Yeah, it kind of is! Haha! Isn't that cool? We have our own hangout without even realizing!" Jaxton says. He opens the door to the library and we both walk in.

He shuts the door. "It's always empty in here. Not sure why. I like it up here! There's tons of cool books. I once read a book about Old English and I started annoying Marissa by speaking only Old English for a day."

I groan. "That sounds so annoying. Don't do that to me or I won't talk to you."

"Okay, okay. I won't. I want you to keep talking to me." Jaxton sits down at a table and I join him. "Let me see your hands." He asks. "Why?"

"Because, I read a book about palm reading and I wanna try it. Marissa won't let me do it on hers because she's a germaphobe."

"Ugh, fine." I hold out my hands and Jaxton softly grabs them and looks at my palms. He traces the lines on my palms with one finger. "This isn't how you palm read, you know..."

"Hush, John. I know what I'm doing!"

"Yuck! Don't call me 'John', that sounds weird!"

"Fiiiine, I won't." Jaxton says as he continues to "read" my palms. He's not even doing this right. I doubt he read a book about it. If he did, then that book was probably outdated. I start to notice that Jaxton looks a little sad. He looks up at me like how a puppy would when they beg for food. "Johnson, if I turn, can you do me a favor?" He asks. "...You're not going to turn."

"I said if I turn. If. Could you do me a favor?"

"Sure."

"Promise me that you won't be afraid of me, even if I become a monster."

"Well, that's kind of hard-"

"Please?" I stare into his eyes. He looks so sad... He then looks away from me and says, "I'm worried of you becoming afraid of me. I don't want you to be scared of me. Especially if I turn. I'm not an evil cannibal, Johnson. You know me.."

My worried expression softens. "I do. I'll try my best not to get scared." He grabs my hands tightly. "Promise me that if my head starts twitching more frequently that you will kick me out of dorms."

"I'm not doing that! You'll die!"

"Not if I turn. I'll protect myself."

"How? Don't the cannibals eat each other?"

"Yes, but I know I'll survive."

"You're so dumb. You're not gonna turn, okay? Even if the nurses skip you, I will give you my holy water."

"Johnson, no."

I stand up. "Yes! You've always protected me and Marissa. I have to pay you two back somehow. Even if that means I have to risk my own sanity."

Jaxton looks at me and squeezes my hands gently. "I have to tell you something, Johnson. Something important."

"Yes?" I sit back down in my seat. I wait for him to start speaking again. He's being quiet. "Um..." He let's go of my hands and starts rubbing the back of his neck. My heart starts to slowly beat faster. Is it really that important? "I think the therapy session is almost over."

....That's it? "Oh. Yeah. Is that all you wanted to tell me?"

"...Uh. No."

"Then what is it? Stop stalling."

"I'm not!"

"Yes you are. You're saying random shit like-"

"Johnson, I have feelings for you."

I stop talking. My heart begins to race again. "R-Really?" I ask. "Yes. I've liked you since we got here. I started liking you more when you grew to trust me. I know it's only been a few days but I think I truly do have feelings for you."

I'm at a loss for words. I have no idea what to say to that. I had no idea Jaxton was gay. I thought he was just being friendly. I start to smile. "I like you too."

Jaxton looks at me with surprise. "Really? You do?"

"Yes. I kind of knew from the beginning that I did but I wasn't sure if you felt the same, so I left it be."

"This makes me so happy, Johnson!" Jaxton jumps out of his chair and grabs me. He pulls me closer to him and hugs me. I start hugging him back. This excitement was both expected and unexpected. "So... does this mean you want to be my boyfriend?" He asks. I scoff. "What kind of question is that? Of course I do."

He hugs me tighter. "I'm glad. I'm so happy."

I smile and close my eyes, sinking into his embrace. "Me too."