Page 59 of Twisted Heathens
If possible, the room grows even quieter. Eli abandons his book entirely and gives Hudson his full attention, while Kade nervously plays with his shirt sleeves. I have a feeling that something awful is coming, because I know Hudson too fucking well. The person he’s describing isn’t the real him.
Shuddering a breath, he picks the stack of cards back up to give his hands something to do. “Its wings were broken and she used matchsticks to try and fix it. I told her that she was wasting her time, that it was just a stupid bird… but she didn’t listen. She refused to give up on the little creature. This girl had become my entire reason for existing in a matter of months, and she was ignoring me just to watch this fucking bird. It became an obsession, she was clinging to this thing like it was the centre of her whole damn universe, the only source of hope she had. All her attention was stolen by it. I was so fucking angry.”
“What did you do?” Kade whispers.
“What do you think I did? I took that matchbox and killed the thing that took her from me. Told her that hope was a pointless emotion as I snapped its neck right in front of her and tossed the carcass aside.” He snorts bitterly, the real Hudson emerging. “She was my fucking girl and no one was allowed to steal her from me. Not even a stupid bird. After that… I called her blackbird every day. Just to remind her of who exactly she belonged to and that nothing else was allowed to matter to her. Only me.”
We all stare at him speechlessly. The other two look equally as horrified, so I’m guessing we’re all on the same page now. I’m a depraved fucker, no two ways about it. But that was a whole new level entirely. What can you possibly say to something like that?
Kade nails it as always. “Well, she certainly earned the right to stab you.”
Twenty-One
Brooklyn
Everybody Gets High by MISSIO
“Completely random, right? I couldn’t believe it when he asked me, although I’ve definitely messed it up already. One look and I ran in the other direction. I mean, it’s just a date. Not a big deal. But in this place?” Teegan chatters away.
I’m rolling the pen in my hands, pretending to listen while lost in my own head.
“Movie night as well! Loads of people will be there, practically the entire block. Does he really expect it to be romantic? I can’t even sit in a seat without a panic attack. There is no organisational system in that room, no matter how early you arrive. It’s all beanbags and shit. I don’t know, maybe I should cancel. Hey, are you listening to me?”
A sharp elbow in the ribs rouses me.
“Sorry, rough night. I’m listening, I promise.”
She looks unconvinced. “What’s going on with you?”
“Nothing. Just didn’t sleep well. The whole fire and lockdown thing were a bit much. Did you hear all that screaming last night too?” I ask.
Or was it just in my head?
Teegan huffs, straightening her notebook so it sits at a perfect right angle to the library desk. “Tell me about it, we heard it even from the first floor. Apparently they figured out who set the fire and dragged them to solitary, hence the screaming and dramatics. I heard it was Owen, the pyromaniac from the top floor. He’s been caught playing with matches and burning people before, it’s his thing.” She shrugs casually.
I shudder, fighting through the wave of sickness. The mere mention of solitary has sweat breaking out on my palms, so much that I can’t even begin to unpack the new information about a crazed pyromaniac attacking people. Just another day in paradise, right?
“How’s that even possible?”
Teegan chuckles. “Don’t ask me. People find a way to do shit, especially in this place. Take someone’s freedom away and they just find new ways to do what they want. Each more creative than the last.”
She pauses, frowning to herself. “I remember when I first arrived, little over six months ago. There was this girl, Tiffany. Proper crackpot, she’d taken so much acid over the years her mouth was like a gaping hole. No fuckin’ teeth. Anyway, she went cold turkey like the rest of the addicts do when they come in through those doors. Turns out reality was a little much for her, they found her dead by the end of the month.”
“How’d she do it?” I ask casually.
Not like I’m looking for ideas or anything.
“Died in the gymnasium pool. Got hold of some crank everyone reckons, you can get most things here if you know the right people and have good enough payment. Tiffany went for a swim and drowned her stoned ass.”
Teegan takes a slurp from her water bottle, as if we aren’t discussing the brutal death of a fellow inmate. Sorry, patient. Everyone’s so desensitised here, no longer shocked by the stark reality of life and death. That’s what this sickness does to you. Gets in your head, makes that line seem so small, you’re no longer afraid to cross it.
Catcalls and heckling break our conversation as we both seem to snap out of it. The noise is coming from the far end of the room, where Rio and his buddies are waving for my attention, grinding against the air in a pathetic demonstration that I suppose they think is appealing. Do girls seriously find that attractive?
“Ignore them, the stupid twats won’t pass the midterms anyway. Not like I’m going to do much better though. I’m so screwed,” Teegan mutters.
She begins to anxiously scratch her hands, where I can see the skin is already mottled with burst blood vessels. Nervousness practically leaks from her, and to my own surprise, I want to hug her. She marched to my door earlier and dragged me over here to study, refusing to take no for an answer. Beneath the worry and fear is a little ball of sass.
“You’ll do fine,” I offer.