Breaking the Asylum

The taxi drove slowly up the path to my new home for the next 6-12 months. To be honest with you, I was shit scared. I had my iPod on full blast and closed my eyes, leaning my head back on the rest, trying to calm myself before going in. So many things were racing through my head as the car slowed to a halt; why I was here, what my Mum had said was the reason to why I’m here so long. It all just seemed to merge into one big memory, and hopefully one I could forget about easily. You see the problem is, well the reason is I have borderline personality disorder. I’ve been like this since I was a small child. I can’t actually remember a time where I was just normal, so to speak.

Normally I’m fine. I’m content and as normal as the next person, but sometimes... I get these mood swings, and they just take me over the edge. It’s usually only when someone upsets me that it happens. But when it does, I do things. Things that put me and the people around me in danger and that’s why I’m here; Mum’s had enough, the rest of my family are scared of me and so I’m being sent to a high-class containment unit somewhere in London. Capio Nightingale or something, it looks nice in the leaflet but they always catch the best bits of the hospital. There was probably a prison cell room in there, bet they didn’t take a picture or mention that in the leaflet.

I took out my headphones and shoved the iPod in my bag; I said thanks to the taxi driver, dragged all two of my suitcases out of the boot and walked up the paved path
to the front entrance. It all seemed nice; people were walking around, talking nicely with each other although you could clearly recognise the nurses and carers, they were the one’s wearing blue pinafores. I proceeded up to the large oak doors and pushed my way in. It looked like I’d imagined; very clean, very tidy, very presentable. Very... normal. Maybe staying here and getting some help wouldn’t be that bad. I walked up to the lady behind the desk who greeted me with a smile. I handed her the letter I had received from the hospital to say that they can help me. She read it quickly and quietly,

“If you’d like to take a seat in the waiting area, a carer will be with you in a minute to show you around.” She smiled signalling over to the lime green sofa with a coffee table in front of it.

“Thanks.” I replied picking up the letter she had handed back to me. I lugged my stuff over to the couch and scanned through the letter. I noticed for the first time that written on the back was a note from my Mum. ‘Please look after Amy, she’s a sensitive soul, all be it eccentric and likes to make the most of her life, however when her mood changes you will find her to be rather angry, irritable and loud, I ask that you do what you can to bring my Amy back. Thank you, Mrs D. Williams.’ Yeah, that’s Mum I thought. Just as the lady on the desk had said, a nurse in a pinafore stood before me. She looked nice enough; short, stumpy, an aging perm and kind eyes,

“Amy Williams?” She asked, I nodded silently, “I’ll be your carer for the next 6 months. My name’s Miriam. If you’d like to bring all your stuff, I’ll show you to your room, and then show you around the hospital for bit.” She smiled, I did as she suggested and picked up my bags. I followed her down a corridor and round a few corners. “So, what do you think of the hospital so far?” Miriam asked, making small talk,

“It seems nice. Very... nice.” I answered quietly, mentally slapping myself for using the same word. We trudged down a few more corridors, earning looks from some of the patients, obviously wanting to know who the new girl was. Finally we stopped in front of a tall white door with an oblong window at the top of it. Miriam unlocked it and signalled for me to go in. I walked into my new room and looked around. It was cute, white walls, a big window with a view of the garden. A double bed sat, made in the middle of the room with red pillows and matching duvet with bedside tables either side.

“I hope you like your room; unfortunately this is the best we can offer in the General Psychiatry ward.” She smiled apologetically,

“It’s fine, I like it.” I smiled back and dumped my bags on the bed.

“Right then,” Miriam started, standing up straight, “I’ll leave you to unpack. There’s a carer call button next to the light switch if you need me.” She smiled, and exited my room. I sat on my new bed, it was actually very comfortable, and looked around. I opened my suitcase with my clothes in and began to put them into my new wardrobe. After that I unpacked my toothbrush and make-up stuff and put them all in my new en suite bathroom which I discovered. I took my favourite stuffed toy out of my bag; it was a classic TY toy which was a snow tiger, called Tiger, and placed him neatly on top of the fluffy pillows. I pushed the now empty suitcases under the bed and lead back on the soft mattress. I closed my eyes for a few moments and sighed, trying to get used to my new surroundings.

No use, just laying here wasn’t going to help me to adjust; I decided against calling for Miriam and wandered out of my bedroom closing my door behind me quietly, unable to lock it. I followed the route through the hospital that Miriam had led me down until I found the main entrance again. I scanned over the signposts that pointed patients and visitors in the right direction. I saw the sign for ‘Library’ and immediately took that route. I’ve loved reading ever since I was old enough to learn to read, it’s one of the few releases I’m allowed.

I’d lost track of where I was going, so I followed my instincts and took the first right, and to my surprise, I was in a room, dripping with books, all alphabetised by author and in their own categories. I couldn’t help but smile to myself at the sight of all these novels. Picture books, graphic novels, adult fiction, even children’s books. I made my way over to the adult non-fiction and scanned the shelves looking for a book on my favourite topic; Urban Legends. I don’t know what it was about them, probably just the sheer fact that they genuinely happened to someone once; otherwise there wouldn’t be all these tales about it.

I found a thick book with a promising title and began to flick through for my favourite legend; it was one of Japans biggest story around; The Carved Mouth Woman. A tragic story of a beautiful Japanese lady whose husband was jealous of all the attention she got, so he slashed her from both corners of her mouth up to her ears, now she supposedly wanders around the streets of Japan asking the people if they think she’s pretty, if you say no, she kills you, if you say yes, she cuts your mouth like hers. Creepy, right? I continued flicking through the pages, yet couldn’t seem to find it in there.

“Have you seen any books around here?” A smooth, Scottish voice alarmed me, I looked up, coming face to face with a rather handsome man; he had dark brown, hair with a fringe that fell down into his intense brown eyes whenever he moved his head. He also happened to be typically tall and rather skinny.

“Err, yeah. We’re in the library.” I answered, raising an eyebrow,

“Oh.” He paused, thinking, “Oh, I meant, have you seen any books about legends and stuff like that? Only, there i’nae any on the other side.” He admitted, rubbing the back of his neck,

“You mean this one?” I asked, closing the book I was holding and showing him the cover, his eyes grew wide and his face lit up,

“Aye that’s the one,” He calmed himself quickly then added, “But, if you’re reading it then don’ worry.” He smiled,

“No it’s okay, you have it.” I handed the book to him, “It hasn’t got the one I was looking for anyway.” I smiled back and he took the book from my hands slowly,

“Thanks.” He beamed, his dark eyes sparkling, “I’m Danny by the way.” He introduced himself, holding out a large hand, I shook it,

“I’m Amy. I’m new here.” I smiled; Danny furrowed his brow slightly,

“What ye doin’ in here for? You don’ look crazy enough.” He exclaimed, letting go of my hand,

“Borderline Personality. What about you?” I asked politely,

“Can’t you tell? I’m a manic. Overly excitable at all times...” He grinned, and then paused, “except when I get my headaches.” He admitted,

“Why? What happens?” I asked gently, not wanting to hit a nerve,

“Oh not a lot. I just get really moody and don’t come out of my room for a few hours.” He smiled again, “Have you been taken round the asylum yet?” He asked loosely. I shook my head, looking around behind me, “Well come on then!” He encouraged, loudly,

“What?” I asked, frowning, feeling stupid for asking him to repeat whatever he said

“I’ll show you around.” He explained, motioning for me to follow him,

“Don’t we need like a carer or something?” I questioned, not wanting to get into trouble on my first day.

“No, they don’ care what we get up to, s’long as we’re alive, in the hospital grounds and back in time for our medication, we’re free to roam where ever we like.” He answered proudly, grabbing my hand, pulling me toward the door. I followed reluctantly, but liking the warmth of his hand on mine.

“So, where d’ye wanna see first?” He asked, still clutching my hand,

“Umm... Where’s the nicest?” I asked back. He let go of my hand and ruffled his shaggy hair, raising an eyebrow. After thinking for a few moments he replied,

“The garden’s the tidiest, but is no’ very big.” He explained, looking down at me,

“Let’s go there then.” I smiled. Danny returned the smile and continued walking to the front entrance; I followed cautiously in his shadow, until we reached the front doors. Danny swung them back dramatically, leaving his arms out-stretched in the air. I walked up beside him as the doors banged against the walls.

“Ta da!” He yelled, “What do you think?” he grinned enthusiastically,

“It’s nice.” I replied, simply, looking around. I turned to face Danny, whose Cheshire cat grin had disappeared; he dropped his arms to his sides,

“Nice?” He asked, “Just nice? This is the best thing we’ve got. But then again, you’re fresh, you’ll get used to it.” He second guessed himself. I frowned,

“Alright, sorry.” I said quickly, turning away from him. He looked at me confused,

“It’s my fault you know.” He said,

“Sorry?” I asked, starting to get confused.

“I didn’t mean for it to sound nasty. I get worked up over nothing, it’s part of my illness.” He explained with a smile, “Come on then.” He bounded off into the greenery; I followed him into a tunnel of tall trees and bushes,

“Where are we going?” I asked looking around, flicking stray twigs away from my face,

“Just round here.” He replied. I rolled my eyes and untangled a leaf from my hair. Not paying much attention to what was going on I bumped into Danny who had stopped in the middle of the path. He turned to face me, his structured face only centimetres from mine, “Don’t tell anyone about this though. It’s my secret place. I come here to get away from those stupid nurses.” He instructed quietly, I nodded an ‘ok’ and went to start walking, “Promise?” Danny asked, holding up his pinkie finger,

“Promise.” I replied, waiting for him to turn around again. Instead of moving he moved his pinkie towards me again. I rolled my eyes and wrapped my pinkie finger around his,
“Promise.” I repeated. Danny grinned and with that, bounced off into the shrubbery again. I shook my head and followed not wanting to lose sight of him. I got to the end of the tunnel before having my head seized and my eyes covered with a big hand. “What the hell, Danny?” I yelled,

“Shhh!” He hissed, “How did you know it was me?” He asked, making me take a few steps forward,

“It wasn’t really that hard to guess.” I hissed back, “Can you take your hands off me now? I don’t know where you’ve been.” I joked,

“Alright, no need for harsh comments.” He paused, “And if you want to know where I’ve been I can tell you in one sentence. The hospital.” He confirmed. I laughed as we continued walking for a few moments; with one of his hands still covering my eyes and the other resting on my back, pushing me lightly forwards. “Stop right here.” He commanded, “I’m gonna take my hand off your eyes, but don’t peek. It’ll ruin the surprise.” He mused, then let go of me. I did as I was told and didn’t look. I heard rustling a few feet away from me and came to a conclusion that we were still near some trees. “Open your eyes!” Danny shouted.

I opened my eyes slowly, making the moment last. I blinked a few times to get used to the light of the sun again and rested my eyes upon what Danny was presenting to me.

Before me stood a huge hand carved stone fountain, decorated with cherubs and roses all around it. The water that was dripping from the hosepipe crashed onto the waterbed like diamonds. I walked towards it slowly,

“Danny this is...” I gawped, turning to face him,

“Beautiful isn’t it?” He confirmed, “Bit cold to swim in though.” He smiled, leaning against the fountain. I laughed and shook my head again, looking up at the top of the fountain where a statue of a woman holding a vase was placed.

“So how come this isn’t at the front entrance of the hospital?” I asked, still looking at the statue.

“Dunno it’s always been back here. Well, as long as I’ve been here at least.” He smiled looking up at the statue too,

“How long have you been here?” I asked, looking back to him. His expression changed as he thought about it,

“It's all questions with you isn't it?" He laughed, "I’m not actually sure,” He thought, “About a year. Maybe longer.” He raised his eyebrows, adding up the years in his head, “Still, making progress, 'sall that matters really. They say I could be getting out in a few months if I behave” He gave me a toothy grin. I smiled back while Danny looked at his watch. “Right, hate to break the party but we’re about 50 seconds away from missing the drugs round.” He laughed while I grimaced, I've always hated taking tablets, “You might not have to take them seeing as it’s your first day.” He added reassuringly before standing up straight. "Shall we?" He asked, holding out an arm. I looked at him, and then at his limb, "It's just an arm." Danny commented, noticing my edginess,

"Yeah but it's your arm." I teased,

"Ohhh, don't worry. I'm heavily tranquilised and pose no real danger to the public. Well... You're not even the public anymore." He grinned, "You're one of us so there's even less reason for you to not trust me." He grabbed my arm and pulled me gently. I rolled my eyes and we headed back through the tunnel.

Danny pulled me through the front entrance; I had to practically run to keep up with him. We crashed through the front doors and got stopped by one of the carers, we apologised and walked quickly to the window where the small paper cups were still being handed out, we gave our names and took our pills after Danny made a toast,
“To crazy friends.” He announced,
“Crazy friends” I seconded him and dry swallowed the two of my pills.

“You know there was water right there?” Danny frowned, laughing,

“I know.” I squeezed my eyes shut hoping that the lump in my throat would magically disappear. Danny laughed and took the paper cup from my hand and threw them both in the bin,

“Where d’ye wants go now?” He asked picking up a small plastic cup of water to dampen my now dry throat. I shrugged and downed the cold liquid,

“Anywhere I suppose,” I looked back at Danny, who was thinking very hard, or so it seemed. He being distracted by his own thoughts gave me some time to look him over properly without him fidgeting or running. Seeing him still now, I managed to estimate that he stood at about six foot, maybe even six one. His floppy hair was a gorgeous chocolate brown that glistened red in the sunlight that separated through the blinds on the window. His lips were thin yet plump and wide, not freakishly wide, but just wide enough to fit his slim face, his nose was slightly curved around the bridge and ended in a perfect rounded point, and as if his features weren’t enough to allure you, his eyes would certainly draw you in. They matched his hair in a way, deep chocolate brown with flickers of red and green topped off with a glint of mischief that shone whenever he got an idea. I could tell that I would be spending a lot of time with Danny.

“Well there’s no really anywhere else to show ye apart from the smoking garden out back.” He frowned,

“Why not?” I smiled up at him; he beamed back at me and grabbed my hand, pulling me through two glass doors at the back of the lounge room we entered the garden and continued to walk for a fair bit until we came to some wooden tables surrounded by matching wooden deck chairs. Danny let go of my hand and pulled out a chair for me to sit on,

“M’lady.” He grinned cheekily and pulled himself out a chair. I chuckled softly at him and smiled,

“You know, for a crazy person, you’re not actually that crazy.” I admitted to him,

“No, that’s because you’re crazy too, so you don’t notice that I’m crazy because you’re that same as me.” He grinned at his own logic making me smile. I watched him pull a packet of cigarettes from his pocket, “Want one?” He offered the packet to me,

“Why not,” I smiled “You only live once.” I took a cigarette and lit it, inhaling the fumes as they filled my lungs with nicotine, it had been a few months since I last smoked, I tried giving up to stop my Mum from moaning at me but now that she wasn’t constantly watching over me, who was going to tell her? Danny and I sat in silence for a few moments, letting the air cool around us.

“So, what’re ye actually in here for?” Danny piped up, taking another drag,

“Dangerous behaviour to myself and others.” I replied,

“Aren’t we all?” His infectious laugh spilled from between his lips, I couldn’t help myself but to laugh with him. After a few hours of the two of us sitting outside, making idle chit-chat, a bell rang informing us that it was time for our night time medication. We hurried on inside, not even realising how dark it was getting already.

Lights out came around quickly, Danny and I were in the lounge area watching a re-run of Gardener’s World when a nurse came in and instructed us to go to bed. Danny stood up first offering me a hand to help me up from the vintage, cream sofa. I said good night to a few of the other patients I had met earlier today and walked to my room with Danny.

“Well, I’ll see you in the morning Amy.” Danny smiled before wrapping his arms around me in a tight hug. I hugged him back even tighter and felt strangely relaxed all of a sudden.

“See you tomorrow Danny. And thank you.” I pulled away, leaving his hands on my shoulders,

“What for?” He asked, confusion spreading across his kind face,

“For making me feel so welcome here. I’ve have a really nice time.” I smiled up at him. Danny simply laughed at me,

“Is no a holiday park, chick. But hey, what are crazy friends for?” He grabbed my hand and kissed it softly, “Night Amy.” He called to me as he started to walk down the hallway to his room,

“Night Danny.” I yelled back before entering my own room. I pulled the heavy covers back from my bed and slipped into my pyjamas. After pulling out a book that I brought with me I settled down and eventually drifted off into a deep, calming sleep.

Months came and passed and after a while I even forgot that I was living in an institution, it felt more like a recreational spa. The staff was so friendly and helpful, I even knew some of them on a first name basis now. My therapy sessions weren’t as awful as some of the other patients were telling me, and my therapist keeps telling me that I’m making a huge improvement and my stay could even be shorter than originally stated. But in reality, Danny was really the only thing in the place keeping me sane. Every day we would hang out, either at the fountain, or the library or even just out in the garden.

“Amy, come quick! I’ve got a surprise for ye!” Danny knocked excitedly on my bedroom door. I swung it open and followed in suit.

“What’s the rush for?” I asked, trying to keep up with him,

“Well, I was thinking about what we could do today and I couldn’t think of anything, then I thought ‘well, what haven’t we done yet?’ and then it hit me! You’re a girl!” He turned around and walked backwards, giving me a toothy grin,

“Yes, very observant of you Danny, what’s that got to do with anything?” I asked grabbing at his shirt, trying to get him to slow down,

“Well, seeing as you’re a girl I could get a pass to take you to the animal ward.” He smiled and stopped walking, my expression softened,

“You have an animal ward here?” I queried, he looked down and put his large hands in his pockets,

“Well, it’s no really a ward, but they do have pets for us to play with, we can even adopt them when we leave.” He grinned, flashing his pearly white teeth again, “Come on, I’ll show you!” He grabbed my hand and walked me to the reception, “Hello there,” He said to the receptionist, “I’d like to go and take Amy to see the animals, if that’s okay?” He looked back at me and winked. I bushed furiously and looked down only to notice that our fingers were still entwined. I looked back up and started reading some of the information posters about how to deal with mental illness. I felt a light squeeze on my hand and turned back around to see Danny smiling at me again, “Ready?” He asked, waving a pass at me. I smiled back and nodded as we started walking in the direction that one of the nurses was leading us. After going down quite a few brightly lit hallways we reached a room that had a heavy wooden door protecting it. The nurse unlocked it and led Danny and I through. I was amazed at how many cats and dogs they have, at least two of each common breed.

“How come you have animals here?” I asked, picking up a ginger tabby cat and cuddling it close to my chest,

“Some of the doctors use them in their therapy sessions. Quite a few of our lifers respond better if they have something soft with them, hell, some of them just talk to the animals while the doctor watches. You’d be surprised.” She smiled. I raised my eyebrows unbelievingly and turned back to the purring cat in my arms.

“I think he likes you.” Danny came over to me and stroked the cat’s head, I noticed a small shaggy black dog following him around,

“Do any of them have names?” I asked, rolling the cat over onto its back so I could scratch its tummy.

“Yeah, of course,” Danny fiddled around the cats’ neck, parting the long fur to reveal a collar, “This is Garfield.” He let out a tremendous laugh, I joined him. I understood why that was his name, he was rather a fat cat, but that just added to the cuteness of him. “And this big fella is Rocky.” He crouched down and rubbed the dogs’ ears roughly, causing Rocky to wag his tail excitedly at Danny. “I named him.” I smiled over to Danny and sat on the floor with Garfield still in my arms. By the time we had finished in the animal ward it was almost time for our afternoon medications. We casually walked back to the medicine window hand in hand, no longer were the other patients staring at Danny and I, they had all become accustomed to how close we were, the wardens had also given up on trying to separate us and although I tried not to, I talked about him in my therapy sessions. My doctor just shakes his head and smiles as he writes it down.

I sat in the library, flicking through a book that didn’t really interest me anymore, waiting for Danny to return from his session, we had started to bond closer to each other every day. A few of the other patients walked past and smiled, then started to whisper to each other. They all think of it as very strange whenever they saw either one of us without the other. I stood up and sighed, placing the book back on the shelf where it belonged and crossed into another aisle. I paced up and down the fiction section until an old leather bound spine caught my eye. I reached up to the book when a familiar pair of arms wrapped themselves around me.

“Guess what I’ve just found out.” Danny whispered in my ear. I continued to make a grab for the book, unable to reach it. Danny pulled it down and handed it to me,

“What’s that then?” I asked, turning my head to look him in his big brown eyes,

“I’m getting out of here!” He exclaimed, flinging his arms out to his sides, earning a few ‘shh’s’ and looks from other patients,

“Oh, Danny that’s amazing!” I whispered back to him, he pulled me into his arms again and held me close. A sudden sadness overwhelmed me. What was I going to do without him? I can’t be here on my own. “Have they given you a date?” I asked, hiding my emotions, still wrapped up in him.

“Three weeks exactly!” I’m so happy. When I first got here they told me I was gonna be a lifer. I guess I showed them! Fascists!” He beamed and raised one of his fists as a symbol of his anarchy. I still had two months left here.

“That’s great.” I smiled, my façade slipping with every word. Danny could see that I wasn’t feeling too fantastic about it.

“Are you okay?” He asked, gently rubbing my shoulders, I nodded, keeping myself from showing my sadness, “Amy, you don’t need me here. You’ll be fine, honestly.” He pulled me towards him; I nuzzled my face into his chest,

“It’s just going to be so hard. You’ve been here for me since day one and I’ll probably never see you again after you leave.” I started to sob quietly into his shirt. Danny wrapped his arms around me even tighter,

“Amy, listen to me. I’m never going to forget you. I was going to surprise you but I’ve seen a house that I’m going buy when I’m out of here,” Although I really was happy for him, his ‘pep talk’ wasn’t helping with my mood. “And I was thinking, if I could get it decorated and finished by the time you’re released, maybe we could live together….in that house….with Rocky and Garfield. We’re allowed to take them home I asked the nurse.” He trailed off, looking down at me. I smiled weakly,

“But I’m here for another two months.” I hugged him tightly, “What if you do forget about me when you’re gone?”

“I won’t! I’ll visit you every day, I promise!” He whispered in my ear, rocking me back and forth. “Why would I forget the girl I’m in love with?” I looked up at him, my eyebrows furrowing, “I’m serious. I’ve been in this hospital for almost two years, you’re the only person that’s actually been bothered to put up with me. And I know you like me too, I can see it in yer face; I can feel your heart beat faster when you hug me. I may be insane but I’m no stupid.”

“Maybe that’s why I don’t want you to go.” Now that I thought about it I was able to realise why I was making a quicker recovery than originally expected, “I love you, Danny McKenna.” I whispered into his chest as another tear rolled down my flushed cheeks.

“I love you too Amy Williams.” He whispered back, kissing the top of my head, “Now, we wouldn’t want to miss the drug round would we?” He smiled, I looked up at him and shook my head with a faint smile, “Come on, I’ll take you to the fountain afterwards.” He winked and laced his fingers with mine as he pulled me out of the library and down the hall to the medicine window. We toasted to Danny’s freedom and swallowed our pills, chucking the paper cups in the bin as we started to walk to our secret place. Danny grabbed my hand in his and entwined our fingers together; he turned his head to smile at me just as Miriam, my nurse called after me,

“Amy, the doctor would like to see you quickly.” I stopped walking, as did Danny, I looked up at him apologetically,

“It’s okay; I’ll wait for you at the fountain.” He kissed my forehead and released my hand, letting me run off towards the doctors’ office. I knocked on the dark door and heard a faint ‘come in’. I pushed the door open and stepped in,

“You asked to see me, Doc?” I asked, taking a seat in front of his desk,

“Yes Amy I did. And thank you for showing up.” He smiled; my doctor wasn’t a typically old man in a cardboard suit with white hair. He was about middle aged, with dark hair and a suit but without a jacket. “I’m going to talk to you about your release date.” My heart began to race as soon as the words flew out of his mouth.

“My release date?” I perked up and sat up straight,

“Yes, myself and Dr. Madison feel that you have no further need to be here. And we fear that breaking you away from young Master McKenna could be hazardous for you, so we are planning to place you both in a home, where you won’t need to be separated any longer than necessary.” I couldn’t believe what I was hearing, “Does that sound okay to you?”

“Well, Danny mentioned something like that earlier, but he didn’t tell me that I’d be going with him.” I started to get flustered. Doc just smiled at me,

“Perhaps he wanted to surprise you.” I smiled weakly, remembering what Danny had said earlier, “Anyway, you will be free for release in a few weeks, say…. Three?” He asked, knowing what my answer would be.

“It sounds perfect.” I exclaimed, “Thank you so much Doc!” He smiled and signalled that I was okay to leave. I walked out as calmly as I could, when I was out of sight I sprinted down the halls and out of the building, running as fast as I could to the fountain where Danny was surely waiting for me. I pushed my legs to fun faster when I caught a glimpse of him through the greenery. I jumped on him and wrapped my arms around his neck; both of us fell to the soft grass, still embraced,

“I’m guessing he told you then.” Danny half asked,

“Yes! Oh, Danny, we’re both gonna be free!” I sat up on him, pulling him up so that he was sitting underneath me comfortably,

“You and me against the world, baby!” He beamed and brushed my hair away from my face, leaving his hand behind my neck. I leant forward and quickly placed my lips against his. Assuming that he would push me away, I was almost shocked when he pulled me back towards him, pressing his lips against mine.

“I love you, Danny McKenna.” I whispered into the kiss. Danny smiled back and pulled back, resting his forehead on mine,

“I love you too, Amy Williams.”

Danny and I have been living together for three years now and have just finished planning our wedding. Of course both set of parents still don’t understand how you can find love in a mental institute, but they’re being very supportive of us. I wonder how they’ll react when we tell them we’re expecting our first child together. I guess that’s just how it goes with this crazy thing called love.