Nightmare

“And to what do I owe this honor?” Matt smirked as he saw Sofia leaning against his doorframe. Her arms were folded across her chest and her wavy blonde hair was loose, falling around her shoulders.

“I’m in desperate need of some amusement and figured you could help me out,” she replied stepping into the room and taking a seat on the corner of his bed. If it hadn’t been for the lack of books piled upon the nightstand, she could have sworn she was in her own room. It was neat and tidy with the same exact bed and dresser and nothing on the walls. Not that anything was allowed on the walls anyway. There were strict rules about decoration in the hospital, as “any image could provoke harmful thoughts or behavior.”

“Well we could go for a walk if you’d like,” Matt responded, looking out the barred window at the bright sunlight. “It’s a gorgeous day outside. And you have ground privileges. I checked with the orderlies yesterday.” He winked devilishly and stretched his arms above his head, obviously pleased with himself.

“Grounds privileges? What is this? Prison?” She joked, although in her mind she doubted it was far from the truth.

“Exactly.” Matt nodded, heading towards the door. She raised her eyebrows but said nothing as she followed him. It wasn’t long until they both were outside, walking along the wooded back area of the hospital. Sofia squinted and lifted a hand to shield her eyes from the sun’s bright rays. She had gone so long seeing only in fluorescent lighting that the sun was now almost too bright.

“Don’t worry. You get used to it gradually.” Matt laughed as he watched her try desperately to adjust to the change in light, blinking rapidly while covering her face in her hands. He had been in her position not long ago and distinctly remembered this exact experience. The discomfort was something he would never forget.

The two continued to walk slowly in silence until Sofia was finally able to lower her hands to her sides, a look of disgust on her pretty face. “This just makes me resent this place even more.”

“You haven’t seen anything yet babe,” Matt said softly. “Trust me, it gets far worse.”

“What do you mean?” The small blonde stopped in her tracks and turned to face him, her bow shaped lips twisting into a pout. Although she had always sensed that there was more to the hospital than what met the eye, she had never bothered to ask for details, assuming she would not get honest answers to her questions.

“I can’t be quite positive on any of this, but as far as I’ve seen, this place does a lot more harm than good. No one gets better here. You only get worse. And sometimes, people just….disappear.”

“How?” Sofia sat down on a nearby black wrought iron bench, folding one leg over the other. What Matt had to say intrigued her and she much preferred to have this conversation in a more comfortable stance.

He mimicked her actions and took a seat beside her, throwing his arm around the bench casually as his back hit the hot iron. “I don’t know, to be honest with you. But I’ve seen several people go in for meetings and just, well, they never come back. This isn’t my place to say, but I doubt they were released. These were seriously ill people, mentally ill. And you probably think I’m a hypocrite for saying this-“

“You’re not mentally ill,” Sofia interrupted. “At least, I don’t think you are. In fact, you have the finest mental health of anyone I’ve ever met, inside this place and out.”

“Thank you,” Matt smiled, a genuine grin that lit up his entire face. “It’s nice to hear that every once in a while, as a...a reminder not to give up.” He trailed off slowly before returning to his original train of thought. “Anyhow, they’re here one day and gone the next. They’re never spoken of. And I shouldn’t admit this but I trust you-“

“Whatever it is, I won’t tell a soul,” Sofia interrupted once again, placing her hand over his. “I barely talk to anyone in here anyways. Besides, I’d never do anything to betray you. This sounds pathetic but I’m sure you know that you’re really my only friend at this point.” She let her hazel eyes gaze away from his into the distance. It almost pained her to say this. Since her admittance, she had lost contact with everyone in her previous life. And as much as she hated to admit it, she really didn’t know if her previous life was still intact anymore.

She was taken by surprise as Matt’s arm wrapped around her waist, pulling her closer. “It’s nothing to be ashamed of. Being in here changes things. It’s a part of life and it has to be accepted.”

The two were silent for several moments before Sofia’s soft voice filled the air. “What was it you were going to tell me?”

“Oh yeah,” Matt scratched the back of his head nervously before spewing out the words. “I kind of snuck into the back office one time and searched through the files and the their files were gone. Completely. Not a sign that they had ever been there. By the time I had checked their rooms, all their belongings were gone too. Everything about them had vanished without a trace. And I’m sure you can tell that everyone else here is too wrapped up in his or her own problems to notice anything. The only person that noticed in the slightest bit was Brian, and that’s only because Jocelyn’s helping him keep his sanity.”

“Did something happen to Brian?” she asked quietly, regretting the words the instant they fell from her lips.

Matt breathed a loud sigh. “Not anything that didn’t happen to the rest of us.” He was silent but Sofia stayed still, sensing there was more to come. “I don’t know if you knew this; I’m assuming you don’t since you haven’t said a single thing about it, and if you do, you’ve got a hell of a lot of tact. Anyways, we were in a band, me, Zacky, Brian, Johnny, and our friend Jimmy. To make a long story short, Jimmy….Jimmy died. All of us were pretty much a wreck afterwards so they sent us here for ‘grievance therapy.’ It was supposed to be a temporary thing but so far they’ve yet to let us out and the others get worse by the day. Zacky more so than the rest of us.”

“Why Zacky?”

“Zacky’s got a girl out there; her name’s Tiffany. Besides Brian and Jocelyn, they’re the most perfect couple I’ve ever seen. But Zacky is far too stubborn and proud to let her see him like this so he forbids her from coming. That hasn’t stopped her from trying though. I’ve never seen a girl filled with so much fire and passion. She’s caused quite a ruckus coming to visit him. He’ll never see her though, not until he’s released at least.”

“That’s so sad.” Sofia’s heart immediately went out to Zacky and although she didn’t know him well enough, she felt a strong urge to run back inside and hug him tightly. “And what about you?”

“Me?” Matt shrugged and flashed her his famous smirk. “I’m kind of a lone wolf in the romance department.”

“Well you know what they say about lone wolves,” Sofia smirked and stood up, stretching her arms out wide. She had finally adjusted to the sunlight and was now taking great pleasure in the warm rays shining upon her face.

“What?”

“They’re just misunderstood and dangerous.”

“You think I’m dangerous?” Matt looked up at her, a devilish, yet curious gleam in his gorgeous hazel eyes.

Sofia pursed her lips in thought, taunting him with the answer she knew he was eagerly awaiting. She turned slightly to see him better as she took another step into the sunshine, shooting him a playful wink. “I think you could be.”