~The Beauty Within~{The Evil Within}

~Ch. 1 His Eyes~

 Another day in the mental hospital, aka the prison. Day 45...? Day 57? Or has it been longer than I thought?

The routine of my days have been this and that and repeat, with a few differences. I just know I'm going crazy little by little, day by day. To change a sane person to an insane person, this is the way to do it.

I have lost some weight due to the disgusting food that they don't really give reasonable portions. My hair has gotten a little bit longer and I refused the staff to cut my hair off. There were multiple attempts but I argued and fought them each time. Guess they ended up giving up. I had to pick my nails whenever they were growing too long since they were growing and weren't getting trimmed. I just felt dirty, malnourished, and tired.

I haven't seen Leslie for... few days? Few weeks? I hope he was ok. He's the only one I feel comfortable around this place. All the staff, patients I didn't trust. I never saw any visitors come by to see any patients who were loved ones or friends. Sad, really. Or weird? Of course, I wouldn't be surprised if they did have visiting hours and kept me behind closed doors so I wouldn't try to alert visitors to expose this place holding me against my will.

Stella had given me my daily dose and did the usual stuff to do within the day. I was actually trusted enough to go to Social Time, which patients would go to socialize or do some coloring, writing, reading, playing. I got to do some sketching and reading. If felt good to be able to do these things again. However, they allowed me to bring one book to my cell for "good behavior" but they would check to see I didn't sneak any pencils up my sleeve. For "safety precautions" but also so I don't try to write messages to have someone bail me out.

Later in the early evening after dinner, Stella took me down to the bathing rooms. It was that time of the week. I wasn't given a hydrotherapy pack like some other patients. For regular baths, patients would only be washed once a week, sometimes not getting one longer than a week. The baths I took were lukewarm. I expected nothing special like a hot bath, though it would be nice for my aching muscles.

Once I was submerged, Stella stayed by my side helping me clean myself. I would tell her I could do it myself, but no I guess she has to keep me supervised so I don't drown myself. Me and her never really talked during my baths which was fine with me. By the time my bath was done, Stella wiped her wet hands on her uniform and looked around.

"Oh silly me! I didn't bring a fresh towel with me. I'm going to get one," Stella said as she stood up but then looked back at me.

"I'm trusting you not to drown yourself or run off ok? I'll be back in a second!"

I heard her footsteps trail off and I rolled my eyes at her. I was sat up, my long wet hair plastered to my back, hugging my knees to my chest to keep my warmth. I just stared into the water in front of me, blanking out.

Eyes. I felt something or someone staring. Surely it wasn't Stella. Why would she not make her presence known? No, this feeling was... unnerving. I looked up and saw the blank dirty white tile of the bathing room. My eyes looked to my right side. Nothing but more tile and empty tubs. I look to my left where there were a few more empty tubs and a window that was fully visible to look into the bathing room. My body froze when I saw someone standing at the window, seeing me in the tub naked. It was a man, covered in bandages and white long sleeve shirt and black slacks. His stare was blank but couldn't see his eyes for he was far away. He and I stared at each other for I'm not even sure for how long. I felt self-conscious with my body being bare. I hugged my knees tighter to make sure my breasts were being fully covered and maybe also to give myself some comfort.

"Alright, I'm back with the towel!" Stella came in.

I quickly looked at her as she came in with a folded towel. She noticed my expression and looked concern.

"Something the matter, Ember?"

I glanced back to where the man was at but he had vanished. Stella looked in the same direction as me and assured me to get out so she could dry me.

"You must be seeing things. Don't worry, I'm the only one authorized to use the bathing rooms at this time." Stella said as she dried my body and hair.

I didn't say anything. I just looked at the window again. I know I wasn't seeing anything. Who was that guy? And why was he staring at me? For once, I was thankful for Stella getting me out of that situation.

I was placed back in my cell and Stella wished me a good night. I lay there on my bed with many questions. Again I asked myself, Who was he? Why was he staring at me? Was like the other doctors? Was he a patient? Was he bad news?

Eventually I would know Him.