“Could you tell me a bit about how you got those scars? ”Gosh, Serene is such a handful, isn’t she? “Well, they’re a part of me. Want to rate them? Left one’s a ten—pretty long and deep. Right one… meh, seven. I couldn’t complete it because I passed out.”

  What. The. Actual. Fuck.

  She’s a master of deflection—jokes about her scars as if they’re nothing. Off-topic, but she’s damn pretty, and has a good sense of fashion. Its not everyday you see a depressed bitch with painted nails, eyeliner and a lip gloss. She’s the opposite of what people think BPD looks like, but mental disorders don’t have a specific face, do they? “Oh, and how exactly did you get them?”

  “A blade.” She shrugs.

  I mentally facepalm myself. I don’t get paid enough for this shit. But if I was doing this money, I would have been long gone from this hospital by now. “Do you have any hobbies?” I ask, changing the topic because she clearly won’t tell me more about her scars than I already know. “Pissing off psychiatrists like you is a hobby of mine, but if you’re asking for a normal one then I guess it’s drawing,” she replies.

  “Why do you think I’m pissed off at you?”

  She scoffs. “Because I’m annoying you.”

  Caught it. Self-hatred. No wonder she has scars. I shake my head.

  “You aren’t annoying me at all. I’m anything but mad.”

  She rolls her eyes, but I can see the hint of surprise at me not being annoyed at her. “Sure, sure, keep telling me that. If you think it makes me feel better, spoiler: it doesn’t.”

  She’s a bit annoying, but I pity her all the same. Her mind is too loud, and so she tries to drown it with her own chaos. She jokes about her scars, but what she doesn’t notice is me seeing her flinch internally every time they are mentioned. Her problems are enough to write entire books, but her strength is such that she won’t utter a single word. She’s the type who’s the loudest at the party and then comes back home only to make a few more “drawings”, as she calls them, on her arms.

  Just then, Nico walks by—hands in pockets, hood on, and head lowered. Her gaze falls on him and a smirk forms on her face, like a hunter eyeing its prey. “Hey, pretty boy,” she calls out, waving at Nico. His head snaps at our direction, offering an awkward wave before walking off with hurried steps.

  Stolen from its rightful author, this tale is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.

  “Pretty boy??” I inquire. She watches Nico walk away before answering. “Yeah. It suits him. He is a pretty boy after all” She teases.

  “Do you have nicknames for everyone in here?”

  “No, but should I start calling you nerdy shrink?”

  Shrink...

  It has nostalgia rushing to my eyes at the familiar name. Not now, Inez…

  Clearing my throat, I compose myself. “No, thank you. I would rather want you to call me Dr. Inez itself.”

  She rolls her eyes. “Tsk. Killjoy.”

  ****************************************************************************************

  I’m stuck with a whining Nico in my quarters, and it’s currently 11:30 p.m. “Please, I’ll be back in two hours, I swear, just help me.” God, he sounds like a fucking child begging for a toy. It all started when this boy finally had the guts to ask Serene out, and Serene being the troublemaker she is said that sure—but only if Nico can sneak both of them out without getting caught. Now here he is… begging me to help him do just that. Serene is such a bad influence on my poor boy.

  “Nico, I can’t help you break out when I almost got fired for...doing that myself.”

  Dammit, I almost said that shit out loud in front of him. My words just make him whine harder.

  “Come on, you broke out once. Now I want to do the same thing and you’re saying no. God forbid a boy just wants to live his life. You get to go and I don’t? Please, just this once.”

  I was about to say no again, but that’s when it hits me—Nico finally has the confidence to face the world alone after what it did to him. I’ll say yes, eventually, though I can’t help but tease him a bit. “And why are you so desperate to take her out?”

  He side-eyes me with slight embarrassment. “I like her a lot.”

  There it is. The answer I was expecting. Wow. So now Nico’s part of some crappy teenage romance shit.

  “Fine. I’ll help you with it. This Thursday, the power will be out from eleven p.m. till four for maintenance work. You guys should be back before that. Understand? No smooching around for too long.” His eyes light up in a way I’ve never seen before. He nods excitedly.

  “Yes! Thank you. I promise we’ll be back in around two hours.” Suddenly pulling me into a bear hug, he repeats, “Thanks a lot.” I return his hug with a smile that crinkles my eyes at the corners.

  “You’re most welcome, kiddo.”