Page 30 of Fixation of the Mind

“This house used to be so much quieter,” Rion commented as he stared at me, drinking a sip of his coffee. I tried not to notice the comment, but I couldn’t help but think, Was that a dig at me?

“Yeah, you’re right,” Roux huffed as he turned around, taking his plate to the sink, “but it was also depressing as fuck, so…” He shrugged, then picked up his black bag and winked at me. “See you two for dinner.” I smiled and waved bye.

The front door shut, and the silence in the house became more present than ever. Glancing over at Rion, I noticed he was suddenly engrossed in whatever he was reading. That was when it started to click. The house being quiet probably helped him focus more.

I thought back to my empty apartment. The silence just reminded me of how alone I was. It was why whenever Mal needed me to come in, I was always up for it. That, or I would go to the library. Even though the library was quiet, it wasn't silent. People were there all the time.

“It's not a bad thing.”

My eyes flicked up to see him looking at me over the tablet. We stared at each other for a second, somehow communicating with our eyes, but I still didn't know what we were saying. It was more just a feeling of understanding.

“Silence isn't a bad thing either.” I tried to sympathize, but he smirked as he set down the device and leaned forward onto the table.

“What I really meant was that this house is livelier with you in it. Ravi is definitely more demanding and annoying. Roux more cocky and mouthy.” His lips lifted in disgust as he rolled his eyes before he sat back.

I couldn't help myself. “And you?”

He looked at me for a full thirty seconds, no flinching, no breathing. I was about to get up and say forget it when he answered. “Me… Well, I just want everything to be in its place. I want the life we’ve dreamed of. I want perfection.” The room in the air shifted as, his eyes focusing on me like a cat right about to jump on an unsuspecting mouse. If he licked his lips right now, it would fit the ravenous vibrations in the air, but knowing Rion, he would never do that.

He blinked and it was gone, like nothing had passed between us. He got up and took a few steps before looking at me over his shoulder. “Let’s get started.”

As soon as his hand circled around the handle, the door beeped and opened. Fingerprint readers, I knew it!

The hissing of pressure being released echoed in the hallways, and I peeked over his shoulder to see a set of stairs. He immediately descended, disappearing in the dark abyss below.

“Come, Layrin.”

Oh, Layrin now. Full name means he’s serious.

Taking a hesitant step forward, I wished that there was some kind of light. As soon as I thought it, two rows of lights lit up along the walls. I followed their descent until it led me right to an expectant set of eyes, their owner resting his hand on a switch.

“Well, that seems like poor planning,” I said as I went down the dimly lit stairs.

“No, we planned it that way on purpose.” His stagnant voice cut through mine, then he walked off.

“Oh yeah.” I copied his cadence and moved my arms like a robot. “Makes total sense now that you’ve explained yourself. Thanks, Ri.”

He popped around the corner, scaring the shit out of me. I jumped up and almost hit the ceiling. “We obviously made it that way so it would be difficult for someone to go down.” With those words, he disappeared again.

I went to the right, just like he had done, and found a short hallway that had a room on each side. At the end, I saw Rion take another right. Following him led me to a barebones room on my right with a thick see-through wall. It reminded me of the high-level prisons in movies where they’d store all the villains. Directly across, on the left side, was a solid metal door with large bolts all around it. In the middle was a peek-a-boo window with a sliding door.

My curiosity got the best of me. I looked around for Rion then stepped closer to the door as silently as I could. Fingers gently grasping the knob, I slid the door open, my heart pounding loudly in my ears. Standing on my tippy toes, I peeked inside, and my shoulders sagged.

The room was made of a smooth dark metal that looked so abnormally clean, it sparkled. With no windows and bare walls, it was very plain. The only thing in the room was an aluminum chair.

About to turn away, disappointed that I wasn't finding anything nefarious, my eyes snagged on the back legs of the chair. Dangling beside each leg were chains. Pushing my head forward, I looked closer with narrowed eyes. At the end of each side of the chain was a small locking device, covered in red.

The reality of what they did came crashing down on me. They had told me, so I already knew about it… logically. But it was something different altogether to have physical evidence of their… quirks in front of me. Roux’s trophies came to mind, but surprisingly, I wasn't as horrified as I initially had been. Sure, they pointed to violence on his part, but I hadn’t thought murderer when I saw them. The others had some weirdness about them too, but it was hard for me to connect them to this side of things. It was like some elusive thing that floated around in the background, but right here, in this overly clean room with its chair and bloodstained chains, I realized that it was all true.

These boys who protected me, treated me with consideration, and went a little overboard in the affection department were killers. They tortured and killed people in this room. Am I okay with this? Okay with staying in a room above people who had probably been screaming for their lives down here?

“Are you coming?”

Rion’s voice pulled me out of my mind. Reality jerking back to the forefront, I nodded and followed him, keeping my head down to hide my flushed cheeks.

“This is your seat.” Raising my head, my eyes quickly scanned the room with a small gasp. I didn’t know what I was expecting, maybe more of what I’d just seen, but this room was vastly different.

Where the whole house had a very dark, modern look and color scheme, this room was covered in soft gray wood paneling and shelves. An expensive-looking Parisian rug spanned the whole floor, and atop it sat a mahogany desk and credenza set. In front of the desk was a small pop-up table with a wooden chair that looked like a smaller version of the king's throne behind the desk.

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