Almost Easy

Jimmy sits on his couch with his head in his hands. He didn't mean to put his sister in this situation. It truly was an accident. If only he could think about outcomes before he does something... There was a reason why his sister lasted so long in the organization. She was a master thinker-she rarely executed a plan unless it was thought through entirely. If only he could think like she does.

Jumping up from his couch, he makes a mad dash for his study. He kicks Pinkly on the way, picking the yelping dog up quickly to reassure her. Turning the light on, Jimmy drops the small fur ball on his desk before facing his wall. In an instant he's tearing every single paper down, digging out every staple until there's nothing left. Tacs fall to the floor around him, the damn dog barking every time one hits the ground.

Staring at his now blank wall, Jimmy knows exactly what he has to do to think exactly like his sister does.

~\~\~\~\

The Boss sits at his desk, all three bolts on his door locked. Papers with a delicate print are scattered out in front of him as he reads through them. He can't believe Marina would do this. How could she think she'd be able to hide all of this from him? He's given her everything he can to have her treat him like he's a monster. A man who needs to be destroyed.

Gripping the edge of his desk hard, he tries to take deep breaths through his clenched teeth. Marina is such an ungrateful bitch it makes him sick. He's the one that saved her, he's the one that covered her mistakes up, he's the one that gave her more chances then she deserved. If he had found this out before letting her get caught, he would have just taken care of her himself. This goes beyond being a traitor. It's treason.

“To infiltrate the organization, I'd need months of strict mental discipline. There has to be a daily routine of vigorous training in place for me to become strong enough to take them all on. My mental status need to be pristine, the state in which my thoughts travel so powerful that no one can stop them. I need to become so focused that even the guards with mental-blockers cannot reject my persuasions...”

“It's been a month since I've started my intense meditations and focus techniques. So far, I've been capable of achieving something I never knew I could do until I escaped the enemy with my life. I was in my backyard last night with a row of glasses set up along my fence line. My mental form was so strong that it shattered every glass like someone had shot them without opening my mouth. I predict that in two months' time I'll be ready.”

Throwing the papers, The Boss pushes back from his desk. Anger boils his blood, how had he not seen these letters until now? He's be sorting through all of her shit for weeks and he just now found these. If she's so fucking strong then why hasn't she gotten herself out? Why hasn't she come for him? Why hasn't she tried to win like she's been fighting so hard to do?

~\~\~\~\

“Why are you here, Brian?” Marina asks the beautiful man who sits across from her, curiosity laced in her voice.

“I'm crazy,” He shrugs, sitting back.

“C'mon. You're better than I am, apparently,” Marina replies, leaning forward more.

“Well I don't know why you're in here, but I can say mine was well-deserved. People cared about me too much to not put me in here,” Brian crosses his ankle over his opposite knee, placing a hand on the inside of his left thigh.

“The police are why I'm here,”

“The police?” Brian laughs, “What'd you do? Eat someone?”

“I wish it was the simple,” Marina smiles sadly, “I've been here for almost four months now. Don't you think I deserve to know?”

“Yeah, you deserve to know,” Brian deadpans, his eyes starting to go blank.

Marina curses herself mentally. She didn't mean to influence him, it just happened. It was so easy to let go around him that she forgets how cautious she needs to be in order to protect him. Brian's brain is obviously fragile, she can't push into it how she pleases, even if it is slightly. He won't be able to push back like everyone else can.

“You okay?” She asks, biting her lip.

“Huh?” Brian blinks, snapping out of it. “Yeah, I'm good. I guess I could tell you.”

Brian grips the inside of his leg, lifting his back off the chair. He looks around carefully, making sure others aren't listening in. It's an odd action to Marina, she figures that since they're in a mental hospital it wouldn't matter who knows why you're in. Obviously it's important to Brian on who knows, and that's something she can understand. Marina isn't going to around flaunting why she's in here, either.

“I've had clinical depression for as long as I can remember,” Brian starts, relaxing back into the chair, “but it hadn't started getting unbearable until I graduated from high school. I refused medication all of my life. I had watched the way it controlled my mother, I didn't need that to happen to me, too. It got to the point, though, where I couldn't even leave the house. I'd hole myself up with my dog for weeks on end. My friends would bring me food so I wouldn't die and would check on me mostly every day.

“For about a year, though, it just stopped. I was happy. My friends helped me find a job and I was actually living. It wasn't just about surviving anymore. I lived my life like I didn't have very severe anxiety or clinical depression, like it'd never effect me ever again. It had worked just fine until about nine months ago. That's when shit hit the fan.

“Out of no where, I was depressed again. Only this time it was worse. I slept for about twenty hours a day, my dog almost died, and I lost my job. After a month of that, I couldn't take it anymore. So, I sat on my kitchen floor with a knife in my hand and decided that it was time to let go. I was going to slit the artery in my leg all the way up so I'd bleed out.

“I didn't really count on how painful it'd be, so right when I stabbed the knife into my leg and I hit the artery, I started bawling and screaming. I couldn't see what I was doing and ended up cutting right up the side of it. That ultimately saved me because if I had followed through with my plan, I would have been dead in two minutes. Jimmy, my best friend, came over to check on me and Pinkly about three minutes after I had done it and virtually saved my life.

“He called 911 and they got me to the hospital. I had lost so much blood I was almost dead. They ended up stitching me up and by the time I was healed, my friends told my parents they'd pay for me to be in here as long as I needed. Now all I have is a long scar and medications I never wanted,” Brian finishes, tears glossing his eyes over.

Marina sits there in silence, a hand pressed over her mouth, unable to speak. She could feel her heart literally breaking for this man. Just by looking at him, Marina would have never guessed that's why he's sinning in front of her right now. As mean as she felt for saying it, she's ultimately glad they put Brian in here. He obviously needed it.

“Brian...” She whispers, looking into his eyes.

“No, Marina,” He groans, “You can't cry or anything. I won't allow it.”

“I won't,” She laughs, blinking quickly while sitting up straight, “I promise. I just... Wish I could tell you why I'm here.”

“Why can't you?”

“You'd never want to talk to me again if you knew.”

“I'm not sure that's true,” He smirks.

“Maybe I can clue you in some time, then,” She smiles back before something dawns on her. “Did you say your friend Jimmy found you?”

“Yeah, why?”

“I have a brother named Jimmy. Jimmy Sullivan.”

Brian's smile falls instantly, his eyes growing wide. He jumps up onto his feet in an instant, ignoring Marina as she asks what he's doing. Brian runs out of the rec room, leaving Marina standing by the two chairs, confused.