I'm Not Insane

Florida was fan fucking tastic, the sun was bright on Riley’s pale skin, her hair smelled like the ocean, she loved being this carefree. She laid on a towel on the shore watching the sunset, it was a beautiful sight. The large orange orb sunk into the depths of the blue sea, the sky painted with all sorts of orange, pinks, purples, and a touch of blue. You never got to see sunsets like these at her home.

A dark skinned man that was laying next to her rolled over and laid his head on her chest, her heart was thumping softly in his ears, it was soft like a lullaby. “Hannah?”

He looked up at the woman he was almost sure he was in love with, he’d only known her for two weeks, but he’d never met someone as funny and carefree as her. “Hannah,” he repeated.

Riley opened an eye and looked at him, a small smile gracing her face, “What Jamal?”

She propped herself up on her elbows and watched him curiously. Jamal looked down at his wrists, they were covered in tattoos and hand made bracelets, he slid one off and slipped on her tiny wrist, he took her hand and gently kissed her knuckles.

“Hannah…”

She smirked at him, “Spit it out, babe.”

Jamal searched her brown eyes for a moment before taking a deep breath, “I think I love you.”

They were silent, the only sounds heard were the oceans waves hitting the shores and seagulls cawing. Fuck, Jamal thought to himself, of fucking course I’d ruin it with her. He as caught off guard when he felt a pair of lips pressed against his, his heart swelled as he gripped her hips.

“Say it again,” she murmured against his lips. He grinned brightly, “I love you, Hannah Riley.”

She placed a small hand on his cheek, they shared a loving gaze before pressing their lips against one another’s. The kiss was small, but it made Jamal’s stomach do flips. He could imagine bringing this girl, calling her his forever. His parents would love her, but they’d have to get over the whole, “A white girl?!” thing. It wouldn’t be hard, once they’d meet her they’d know why he was so happy, why he was so in love.

They kissed again and again, hands were roaming, small laughs were heard. It wasn’t long before they both got up and ran to Jamal’s beach house forgetting their towels and sea shells on the shore.

Riley yawned and sat up, looking down at her man holding her waist tightly. She grinned as she looked around, “Nice place,” she muttered. She pulled her nappy hair into a loose bun and shimmied out of his arms, bending over and slipping on her shorts and one of his shirts.

BANG BANG

“Open up, it’s the police!”

“Fuck!” Riley ran towards Jamal’s bedroom window and tried to open it, not bothering with being quiet, he’d woken up once he’d heard the banging. He groggily watched the woman he loved try to open his window, “Where are you going?”

The banging on the door got louder, the grin on Riley’s face got bigger. He stared at her confused, “What the fuck is going on?”

Riley had one leg out of the window when she looked back at him, “Gotta run,” she slipped out of the window and landed harshly on the ground. That’d leave a bruise. She pushed the pain out of her mind as she started running, the song ‘bad reputation’ was playing in her head.

Jamal was still confused as he answered the door, “I don’t know where she went,” he muttered. Two of the three cops turned and hopped back in their car, speeding out of the large driveway and out on the road determined to find the girl. The one remaining cop had a sympathetic look on his face, “Son, I think you have the right to know why we’re searching for this young lady. May I come in?”

The cop explained to him that girl’s name was not Hannah Riley, it was Heather O’Riley, a clinically insane girl with Antisocial Personality Disorder. She escaped the asylum at least four weeks ago and has been on the run ever since. Jamal was heartbroken, he stared down at his calloused hands, “You mean, everything was fake?” He asked in a hurt voice.

Sighing, the cop nodded his head, “Yes. She used you for her own benefits. I’m sorry.”

He’d taken Jamal’s name down and his story, where he’d met her, when, what happened after that. Jamal just grew more and more stony faced as he answered. He didn’t notice the cop had left, he was on auto pilot. He went on with the rest of the day without ever realizing it.

Riley’s eyes slowly opened, she took in her surroundings and sighed happily, she was almost home.

The cops watched her in the rear view mirror and rolled their eyes, this girl was fucking insane. They watched as she played with the cuffs, clinking them together and laughing. “Guys, I’m magic!”

She clinked them together again, they unlocked and fell off her slim wrists. “Catch me now coppahs!” Her hands reached for the door and tried to open it, it was locked. The cops smirked at her, “It’s not gonna be that easy, huh bitch?”

Riley laughed and leaned against the seat, “Nope, guess not. Take me home good sirs.”

The asylum was soon in her line of sight, it was a large building with barred windows and a couple nurses out front waiting for her. They all held the same here-we-go-again look on their faces. With a syringes and a straight jacket, they were ready for her. As soon as the cop opened the door, one male nurse raced forward and grabbed her hips, she started swinging and kicking, “Fuck you! Fuck you, let me go! You’re all fucking sick!”

One nurse held her wiggling ankles, another one had her wrists pinned down, the last nurse came up and stuck her with the syringe, injecting her with some odd liquid. Riley’s movements ceased, she was still awake, just very very stoned. He looked at her sympathetically as they walked inside, she was slung over his shoulder with a lazy smile on her face. His dark eyes scanned her face, she was rather lovely when she wasn’t screaming and cursing. When no one was looking he pecked her cheek.

“I’m gonna help you, Roo, like they helped me,” he whispered.

Riley lazily opened her eyes, “Mm. Thass nice, Eric.”