FicWad

I helped Vilqua to his feet and walked him over to the sofa. I sat him down gently and looked at him. His eyes kind of creeped me out, to be perfectly honest, but I had to take care of him.

"So, what's your name?" I asked him.

"Vilqua Heder," he replied with a stuffy nose. "Yours?"

"Zia Evans," I responded. "Why you in?"

He lifted his sleeves (he was going to be in a straightjacket in the near future) and revealed the gashes on his wrists. I showed him the long scar across my neck and he nodded once to show he understood.

"What made you go suicidal?" I asked. "Unless, you don't want me asking..."

"My parents abused me and I had no friends, so here I am..." he replied. "And I don't mind. Except, now you have to tell me why you went suicidal..."

"My mom's boyfriend abused me and then my mom kicked me out after I lost my best friend and broke up with my girlfriend," I sighed. "I've been in here for almost ten years. I don't really wanna leave either..."

"It does get fairly nice to be somewhere where people can relate to you, huh?" Vilqua scoffed. "So, it's true then. Once you stay for a while in a mental institute, you don't want to have to go back to the real world..."

He was resting his elbows on his thighs, near his knees, and he was kind of slouched over and staring down at his hands, which were folded in front of him. He was acting so casual. I had never met someone so chilled out in Greyman before....It was kind of...relieving...

"Yeah..." I said after a moment. "I never thought I would meet anyone like me..."

"Me either, but here we are."

"Yeah." I chuckled a little.

"Z-Z-Zia," a girl stuttered.

I turned in time to see Harly fall onto the floor. Immediately, I jumped over the sofa and knelt beside her. I saw so many puncture wounds on her arms and then I saw that her legs were scraped and bruising. I rolled her over carefully and saw her face scratched and she was unconscious. That was fucking Doc Brown's psychiatric shit for ya. All he did was beat you senseless to see how you'd react, give you drugs to see how you function, and then mentally and emotionally scar you to see what you'd do. It had already happened to me, but I was going to do everything in my will to keep it from happening to Vilqua. I don't know why, but I felt really fucking overprotective when it came to him, even though I had just met him. It was such a weird fucking feeling and I didn't know how to take it.

"Harly," I whispered and stroked her cheek.

Her eyes shot open and she shot up, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"D-don't let h-him get me-me again!" she cried and then buried her face in my shoulder.

Startled at first, I said, "It's going to be okay, Harly..."

"H-he t-touched me!" she sobbed.

That one was new.

"He touched you?" I demanded. She nodded, so I said, "Where?"

She looked down and stroked her upper thigh with a recently freed hand and then ran it up her side and near her breast. Quickly, I shook her off, stood, and went up behind Doc Brown. I tapped him on the shoulder.

"Ah, Zia," he grinned. "What can I do you for?"

I faked a quick smile and then right-hooked his jaw. He fell to the ground, so I picked him back up and punched him again. Those two. It was those two people who I felt like I had to protect at all costs. I felt someone grab me and hold me back.

"What are you doing, Zia?" Doc Wiles asked squeakily.

"He touched Harly!" I shouted. "He touched her!"

"What do you mean?" Myra urged.

"He was putting his hands on her!" I yelled.

Suddenly, Doc Wiles let me go, walked around, and glared at Doc Brown before socking him one himself. I smiled slightly and returned to Harly. That probably means that, after he drugged her, he tried to take it farther. Unless, she was a druggie. I sat beside her and held her in my arms close to my body.

"I have to ask, how did you react to the drugs?" I wondered.

"Th-that's another r-r-reason I'm in-in here," she stuttered. "H-h-heroin."

I nodded once, as Vilqua had done with me. Then it hit me. Vilqua! I looked up and there he was, standing there. I motioned with my eyes for him to sit beside Harly, so he did.

"Vilqua, this is Harly," I started. "Harly, this is Vilqua."

They shook hands and stared deeply into one another's eyes. Vilqua started blushing, so he dropped her hand and rubbed the back of his head, looking somewhere else. I smiled and so did Harly. Why was it them? Why not Myra or Mitchie? At least I knew Myra and Mitchie. I barely knew Vilqua and Harly. Fuck, I just met them today.

"So, who are you rooming with?" I asked Harly.

"S-some girl n-n-named S-S-Sally..." she replied.

I chuckled and looked over at the very pretty country girl. She had very light brown eyes, almost hazel, and long, curly blond hair. Okay, so I'll admit it. I had a thing for the homicidal chick from Louisiana. So what?

"That's cool," I sighed. "I'm rooming with Vilqua here now."

Vilqua nodded and then Harly stared up at me.

"W-why is s-some-someone like y-you here?"

I moved one hand and pulled the collar of my straightjacket. She gasped and I let it go. Then, she looked to Vil with the question swimming within her blue eyes. He lifted his sleeves and she gasped again.

"B-bo-both of y-you?"

We nodded and she just looked down at her arms. She then showed us the needle wounds and Vilqua and I just looked from one another down to her arms and back. We were all seriously fucked up, I just never knew I'd find people like me. Just as I had said before...

~~~

"Zia," Vilqua whispered. "Zia, you up?"

"I am now," I yawned. "What's wrong, bro?"

"Teach me how to undo the jacket," he said.

My eyes shot open and I sat up straight. He was sitting on his bed, his straightjacket tied behind him. Here I was, sleeping soundly without that goddamn jacket, and he was sitting up, trying to get it off. Sure, we've been friends for a while. Me, him, Harly, and Sally have ever since he and Harly got there, which was about maybe two months ago? I still hadn't taught him how to take it off. Slowly, I swung my legs over the side of the bed and motioned for him to come over to sit beside me. He did as I slipped on the jacket again. I hooked it and looked at him.

"Watch closely, since it's kind of dark," I said quietly.

I unhooked it as slowly as I could without forgetting how. I'd gotten used to doing it quickly and without thinking about it. Then, I turned to watch him. He struggled with it for about fifteen minutes before finally figuring it out. He smiled and looked at his freed arms. We both slipped off the jackets and threw them beside our beds. Vilqua gave me a quick hug and then went back to his own bed and fell asleep. I just laid there, thinking about him and Harly. So far, I'd managed to keep Vilqua safe from Doc Brown. Myself? Not so much. I was the odd one out, and I knew it. It was nothing new. I sighed and rolled over, closing my eyes. Tomorrow, my mom was coming again to convince me to leave. I was going to reject her and then persuade Doc Wiles and Myra to let us go outside in the fenced area to just get some fresh air. That stupid fucking institute was going to be the death of me if I didn't get outside for just five minutes.

I awoke the next morning to Myra shaking me. I opened my eyes slowly and looked at her sleepily.

"Put Vilqua's straightjacket on him for him, because he can't figure it out and then put yours on," she instructed.

"Why can't you put it on?" I asked.

"Because he's so fucking cute, I'm afraid I might do something I'll regret," she replied through a clenched jaw.

I groaned and rolled off of the bed. I hooked Vilqua's jacket and then put mine on myself. We followed Myra to the Group Room and she unhooked us, letting us free. Then, to my astonishment, she got them off of us.

"What's going on?" I wondered.

"You guys get to go outside today for the first time since you've gotten here, Zia," Myra smiled.

Wow...what a coincidence....I walked over and joined Sally and Harly.

"Ladies," I greeted them. "Did you hear?"

"Fuck yes!" Sally exclaimed. "I dunno 'bout y'all, but I'm totally fuckin' stoked!"

"Hell yeah!" Vilqua smiled.

"H-h-how long ha-have you been-been here, Z-Zia?" Harly wondered.

"Ten years," I replied. "As of today..."

"Damn, dude..." Vilqua gasped. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-six..."

"I'm twenty-four," Sally shrugged.

"T-tw-twenty-two," Harly jittered.

"Twenty-five," Vilqua said.

I nodded and then Myra came over and opened the back doors to let us all out. Everyone but me sprinted out. I walked slowly into the sunlight. It was blinding. I raised my hand and shielded out the radiance. Then, I could smell freshly mowed lawns and the pollen drifting through the air. Spring...

"C-come on, Zia!" Harly exclaimed and grabbed my hand, pulling me over to a gorgeously flowering tree.

"Calm down, Harly," I chuckled. "It's not going anywhere."

She smiled and her eyes met mine. She turned her head quickly and then looked up at Vilqua sitting out on one of the branches. They had been keeping such a beautiful landscape from us. It wasn't fair. But, then again, what was? We watched Sally climb up and start a conversation with him. I then walked away and laid myself out in the grass. I stared up at the fluffy clouds above. I missed this so much. I really did. Then, I could feel someone beside me, laying there as well. I looked over at the pale, redheaded girl.

"B-b-beautiful, huh?" she sighed.

"You know what?" I asked as I turned over and rested my head on the heel of my hand, my elbow planted on the ground.

She did the same and looked at me in confusion.

"I'm going to help you get rid of that stutter, if it kills me."

"R-r-really?" she squeaked, a smile spreading from ear to ear.

I nodded and sat up, crossing my legs. She sat up as well, but she folded hers underneath her.

"Is it the drugs that did this to you?" She nodded. "Okay. This should be easier than I expected. Take a deep breath." She did. "Now let it out slowly." Done and done. "Now close your eyes and go to a happy place..." I watched her as she began smiling. "Now, where are you?"

"Home....I'm home. The beautiful plains, the barbeques..." She was country? Her accent was really popping. It never had before. And she was almost as radiant as the sun now....She was happy. "The sun warming my skin. The smell of barbeque sauce drifting around me." I could see all of it now. I could smell it too. "My mom and dad, actually proud of me. My A+ papers from first and second grade littering the front of the fridge. My little brothers and sisters running around, playing with the dog..."

"Hey, Harly!" Vilqua called.

Harly's eyes shot open and she looked over at the black-haired boy. He was motioning for her to go join them, but she shook her head and nodded her head toward me and then mouthed something. Sally obviously understood it and kept him occupied. Harly then returned her attention to me.

"Maybe, if your parents had sent you to rehab-" I began, but she cut me off by hugging me.

"You're my rehab," she whispered. "Thank you, Zia..."