Nightmare

Riley laughed at Zacky, "He just spits it out, doesn't he?" I smirked at his rhetorical question. Zacky looked entirely innocent, like it was a question asked all the time. He was obviously curious. It shown through his eyes. His childish smile was quite amusing. Many people would look at these guys and say that they are hard and rough. They would base their assumption off of their appearance. When in all reality, they are men who are kind and quite thoughtful.

They are kind to all the patients. They handle the temper tantrums quite well. All the patients get along with them. Well, almost all of the patients. Some are too scared to talk to them and others are too insane and lash out violently. But they seem to have taken an interest in me. Odd really, why would someone take an interest in me? My insanity may be interesting but I'm not much of a conversationalist when it comes to people who are alive.

They talk to me more than the others. They are the ones who usually bring me my meds. They make sure I got to my sessions with doctors on time. But why? Did the nurse assign them all those tasks because they are sick of dealing with me? That must be the reason. I do give all the nurses a hard time. Especially the female nurses at that. Not taking meds, not coming out of my room, playing pranks, moving furniture around behind their backs so they slam into it when they turn around. They really do hate me.

I must have zoned out completely because I just noticed Riley waving his hand in front of my face. The guys gave me odd looks then turned to Zacky. Brian smacked Zacky upside the head, "You don't just ask a person that! What if she doesn't want to talk about it? Even Short Shit was smart enough not to just come right out and ask her!" Johnny laughed a bit but soon stopped, "I feel like that was an insult towards me." I couldn't help but crack a smile at that.

Zacky rubbed his head with a pout, "Sorry... I just want to know if it's true." He looked like a little kid who just got his hand smacked away from a plate full of freshly baked cookies. Brian rolled his eyes and smiled lightly at me. My smile grew as I noticed Johnny was still rambling about how Brian's comment was possibly an insult. "Short Shit, shut up already.", Matt groaned. Johnny just stuck out his tongue and formed a pout to match Zacky's. I had no idea that they could be so immature. It was rather an entertaining sight.

Brian ignored them and turned to me again, "Sorry about him, he really doesn't know when to shut up." I nodded, "It's okay, I know he didn't mean any harm. Yes Zacky, to answer your question, I can see ghosts. That is why I am stuck in this hell hole. I feel suffocated in here. Although it is getting less stressful now that the nurses seem to be getting off my back." Zacky nodded, "They are annoying, especially the girls. Even though we all have a special someone they will not let up on the flirting."

Riley laughed again, "Special someone!", Riley batted his eyes, "We all need a special someone in our lives... well death for me!" Riley continued on, acting like a love-struck teenager. I rolled my eyes lightly, he is so childish. Riley can act so stupid and immature at the mention of a simple, ordinary phrase. Guess it's his way of always making sure I'm entertained and distracted. I continued so Zacky would not think that I was rolling my eyes at him.

"Yeah, they really bother me." He smiled at my response. As if on cue, a nurse walked up to the table. "How are our wonderful men doing this morning?", the nurse, who's name tag read Kayla, bent forward a bit. She had fake tanned skin and fake long nails. Her hair was rather long and pulled into high ponytail. It was a dull brown color that reminded me of a table with years of dust coating the surface. She tried to bat her eyes and smile a sexy smile.
Not working out for her.

I bust out laughing.

The glare she sent me just made me laugh harder. She stood and put her hands on her hips. The way she moved I could tell she was mad but still trying to flirt and act graceful. She continued to glare but she smiled and winked at Matt. I could't stop laughing at her. The way she TRIED to flirt was just ridiculously idiotic. Matt chuckled at me, finding my uncontrollable outburst amusing. Matt managed to tell her they were doing okay before returning his attention back to the guys and myself.

The nurse frowned and left in a huff, sending a final glare my way. My laughter slowly ceased after a minute or two. Riley smiled and shook his head, "You really are an odd one, sweetie." Matt laughed as well, "What got you laughing so hard?" I simply pointed to the nurse that now stood flirting with a male co-worker. Johnny smiled, "Yeah, she was pretty ridiculous. By the way nice shirt." The big Death Bat printed on my shirt was an obvious sign that I was a fan.

They knew I was a fan already but they always pointed it out if I wore an A7X shirt or hoodie. Riley lifted his hand to my cheek.

Poke, poke, poke, poke, poke...

I was tempted to turn my head and bite his finger but to everyone else here I would be biting thin air. 'Just ignore it, Maive, you are already crazy enough.' The guys continued on with random conversations. They would direct a comment to me but my mouth stayed shut. Not in the mood to talk anymore. I felt so out of place, in my own little world known as my mind. I felt buried alive by my own thoughts.

The head nurse, who had knocked on my door this morning, approached us. In her hands was a thin, red folder. Papers stuck out the top, having been carelessly arranged. The tab on the edge read "Maive D. Ashland". Her fake smile stretched far and wide. It made her look older than she was.

Wrinkles zigged and zagged across her face. The laugh lines were deep and narrow. She must have to "smile" a lot here for guests. Wrinkles littered her forehead, showing that she scrunched her forehead and raised her eyebrows. Her body was rather skinny. Her face held a slight plump to her cheeks for a healthy look. She was beautiful in a way. If it were not for the wrinkles caused by stress and fake pleasantness.

I did not like this woman. She did not like me. She looked and acted too much like someone I wish to forget.
My mother... The nurse named Vivian sat the folder by Brian's hands. He opened it to reveal a schedule.

Maive D. Ashland
-Appointment with Doctor Smith 9:30 am
-Appointment with activities director 10:20 am
-Psych Therapy 10:40 am
-Appointment with Doctor Dunning 11:30 am
-Appointment with Doctor Daly 12:20 pm
-Appointment with Doctor Erner 12:40 pm
-Tested Method (new) Therapy 1:00 pm
-Hypnosis 2:40 pm
-Appointment with grief council 4:45 pm
-Treatment 1 6:50 pm
-Treatment 2 8:30 pm
-Treatment 3 10:30 pm to 12:00 am

My sigh echoed inside my head. Long day ahead... Brian stared at the paper in disbelief, "This is ridiculous! She shouldn't have to deal with all of this, especially not in one day." Nurse Vivian glared and pointed to the paper, "Make sure she gets to all these meetings. She was put in here for help and that is why she has such a busy day. She is sick!" Her thick, blonde hair hung right below her shoulders. Her hard brown eyes sent a chill down my spine.

The way she looked, talked, stood, and walked: everything about her. She could have been my mothers clone. Nurse Vivian continued, "She is mentally insane because of her past so she tricked herself into thinking there were ghosts around her. She is living a lie that she must snap out of." She left, returning to the office. Brian glared at her retreating form. My eyes closed as I let out a sigh.

So much like my mother.

Notes