Page 6 of Lolli-Gag
“His name is Axel. I like him too,” I say, then rip the covers off of me and climb out of bed. Time to do what I do everyday. Put my face on and terrorize the little creatures of Hillsboro.
“He’s coming!”Jethro states, and I take a deep breath as one of the guards stands in my doorway, staring at me.
“I think he should be next,”Jethro growls, making me giggle.
“Line up!” the guard yells. Getting up from my chair, I sway towards him then skip into the line. My shoulder presses against the wall and I feel it vibrating faintly, like something big is moving behind it.
“Honeycomb, don’t take the meds today. They’re different. They know about last night,”he warns me, and I hum in response then smile.
“They make you quiet,” I say as the line moves slowly.
“They make me gone.”My heart drops in my chest. That’s the part I don’t like.“I know. But today. Don’t take them.”
The line jerks forward. Bodies. Too many of them, too close to me and they all smell—their scent is of bleach and something sour that doesn’t belong to anything alive. Laughter greets my ears then cries from Brielle’s room. I hate when they hurt her. A whisper of the same sentence is making me clench my teeth.
“Eat your hands. Eat your hands. Eat your hands.”
I giggle because Ellie always wants us to eat our hands. I don’t get it but I also don’t question it. The cafeteria doors open and everything spills out. The chaos of different noises hit first, slamming into me like a wave. Metal trays clattering, chairs scraping, voices overlapping until none of them make sense anymore. My mind whirls with all the noise. It’s not a room anymore. It’s a cage filled with zoo animals. Lacey is standing on the far table screaming at the ceiling, accusing it of owing hermoney. Charlie and Ben argue over a fucking spoon. Not food, a god damn utensil. In the corner, Malcolm rocks back and forth humming so loud it cuts through everything like a blade.
“I hate this place,”Jethro growls, and I giggle.
“I like it. It has character,” I whisper.
“Move,” a guard snaps behind me, and I step forward, my shoes feeling sticky against the floor. That’s new. Maybe it isn't, maybe I just didn’t notice it yesterday. I shrug.
“Don’t sit with them,”Jethro tells me.
“I won’t,” I promise as a tray gets shoved into my hands. Gray eggs. Gag. Hard bread. Gag. And milk that I lift from my tray and throw at the guard standing on the other side of the counter. “You know better than to give me milk!” I growl.
“That was unnecessary, Logan. Now you get nothing,” he states, ripping the tray from my hands. I hold onto it until he tugs hard enough, then I let it go and smile while the eggs splatter all over his uniform.
Giggling, I walk away looking for Brielle but something tells me she won’t be here for breakfast. As I pass Axel, I smile and he nods, rolling his eyes at Michael, who is sitting next to him. Michael never shuts the fuck up.
Through my lashes, I see Killian is already seated, playing with his food as his eyes scan the room like he’s taking inventory. Then his gaze finds me. Instantly it feels like maybe it wasn’t inventory he was taking—maybe he was looking for me.
“Oh, look. The surgeon has found you and he’s hungry,”Jethro grits, and I smile but keep walking. Lucifer is leaned back in his chair like he owns the place and smiles when he sees me.
“Don’t go near him,”Jethro snaps.
“I’m not going near anyone. Relax,” I whisper, then my eyes snap to Jagger. He's got someone pinned against the wall.
“That one doesn’t need a leash… he is the leash. Sheesh.”Jethro laughs, and my smile widens.
“Sit down!” a guard shouts but no one listens. A tray flies across the room, hitting the wall, and no one reacts.Normal.I drop into a seat, sideways with one of my legs tucked under me, watching the animals. A tray is slammed in front of me and my eyes shoot up to Jagger.
“Eat!” he commands, and I nod. I’m not eating a god damn thing but I’m not going to tell him that. He walks away, and I continue to watch the room then stare out the window wishing we could go outside. I miss the feeling of sunlight against my skin and grass poking between my toes.
“You gonna eat that?” I blink then look over to see a boy, super thin with eyes too big for his head. He stares at my tray then back to me.
“I might,” I answer, and he reaches for it.Wrong choice.My hand slams down on the tray hard enough to make the boy jump. He freezes, and I smile at him. “You didn’t ask nicely,” I whisper as my smile stretches. His face crumples and he backs away.
“Good girl,”Jethro praises, and I giggle.
“Med line!” Nurse Barb yells—her words cutting through everything. The room shifts as the animals start to move toward the counter, lifting their little paper cups and drowning themselves in silence. My stomach twists.
Don’t,”Jethro warns again as my fingers curl around the edge of the table.
“They help, sometimes,” I tell him, but he gets in my face. His black shadow engulfing me until all I can smell is smoke.
