Page 59 of Ashes

“Go get cleaned up,” Ashes instructed gently. “And always tell the truth. Next time won’t be better.”

“Come on,” I said, wiping my bloody blade on my pants. “Let Riley sort himself out. Tell Asylum I send my fucking love.” I spat on him, turned on my heel, and left the room with Ashes right behind me.

“Find Sin,” I said as I pushed my knife back up my sleeve into the sheath I kept beneath the material. “He needs to fucking help us.”

Ashes said nothing. He simply walked away from me to do my bidding.

I stared out at the cemetery in the distance, the memory of my specter beneath me flashing through my mind’s eyes.

“We’ll find out who the fuck did this to you, specter,” I murmured. “And I’ll teach them what happens when you fuck with what belongs to us. Promise, baby.”

STITCHES

My head felt like it was going to explode. I had no fucking idea what had happened to me after I’d seen Sirena and Asylum. All I knew was that I’d fallen asleep on the floor and had woken up in my bed, wearing a thin hospital gown, my body aching.

I rubbed my head and let out a hiss.

“Shit,” I rasped, my voice still fucked.

I gasped. It felt like razor blades slicing through my throat.

Slowly, I got out of bed and shuffled to the door and peered out the tiny window to see an empty hall. Turning, I looked at the small camera in the upper corner of the room.

“W-water,” I rasped. “Please. W-water.”

I shivered and hugged myself. Something wasn’t right. In fact, something was very wrong. My head didn’t feel right. My body felt hollow.

Flashes of light and soft voices filled my head. Memories I wasn’t sure why I had.

I clutched at my head and sank onto the bed, rocking.

I wanted to crawl out of my fucking skin. It didn’t feel like mine anymore. It felt tainted and used. Wasted. Broken.

Not my fucking body.

I wasn’t Stitches.

I was something else I didn’t quite understand.

The door swung open, and Sully came in with a doctor named Jenkins. I hadn’t had much experience with him.

“Malachi, how are you this morning?” Sully asked, strolling closer to me with Jenkins at his side.

Two wards stood at the door, watching me.

“I need water,” I choked out.

Sully looked at Jenkins, who nodded. One of the wards came in and handed me a Styrofoam cup. I downed it quickly and winced at the ache in my throat.

“I want to leave,” I said, my voice barely audible.

“Unfortunately, that’s not going to be able to happen,” Sully said.

“What? W-why?”

“You were uncontrollable last night. We had to sedate you for your own safety. Because of your erratic behavior, it’s under both Dr. Jenkins’s and my recommendation that you remain here for a few more days.”

I crinkled my brows. “I just want to go home.”

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