Behind the Glass Wall

Day 2

Rachel smiled as she pushed open the door to Broadmoor. She gave the woman at the desk (Janet she learned her name was) a friendly wave before almost skipping to the lift. Janet stared after her retreating figure, her mouth hanging wide open and eyes wide. Rachel laughed at the older woman's reaction as she thought about her previous day. Sure the tension was thick enough to cut through with a knife, but they had gotten some where? Right? She sighed, praying that awkward tension would disappear. God she didn't want to have to face that again.

The ding of the elevator brought Rachel out of her day dream. She scurried out of the lift, flashed her ID to the guards at the door and stumbled into the room she now shared with Mathew. Like yesterday he was ready, waiting and smiling. That smile made Rachel, a confident eloquent woman, doubt herself.

"We meet again Miss Smith." Mathew's eyes sparkled with curiosity and an emotion Rachel couldn't place her finger on.

"Is there a reason why you returned here today? Was our conversation yesterday not satisfying enough?" Mathew's brow furrowed.

"Oh no Mathew. Yesterday was... informative, however I will continue to visit you for the 5 days. Were you not notified about this?" now it was Rachel's turn to frown.

"No, no." Mathew shook his head "I must have lost concentration when they were speaking to me about the situation. I must admit I fall asleep when the conversation is not to my liking." He nodded as though he was reassuring himself as well as her.

Rachel recorded his lack of concentration, believing Mathew 2 was involved with these 'sleeping periods'. She could never be too observant around Mr Barrymore. All of his speech was brief yet comprehensive. His actions spoke too loudly and his emotions were as clear as day. She nodded at him and he smiled in response. He does that too often she thought. In fact if she looked close enough she swore that he had 2 scars running from his mouth and up his cheeks, like permanent smile lines.

"So Broadmoor hospital, huh? What does it feel like living with 210 other men?" Rachel kicked herself as soon as the words left her mouth. She waited for Mathew's reaction and sure enough seconds later his face hardened.

"You wanna know what it's like 'eh?" he glared at her "it's hell livin' in 'ere. The only interaction I get is that fat man comin' in here every mornin' and givin' me the sludge known as 'food'. Heck even then all I get is a glare. An' the day they told me you'd be comin' for a visit I didn't expect to see a bratty girl that wants nothin' outta me but answers for her school project." Rachel chewed her lip. Sure Mathew 2 was completely harsh and had practically no mouth filter, but she needed him to finish her 'school project'. She had 5 days left and whether she liked it or not she needed to interview Mathew. All of him.

A panting Mathew moved his face closer to the glass and whispered "you won't like what you want to hear darling." And with that he began panting and rocking once again. Rachel recognised the movement and noted his method for calming down.

She pulled down her skirt as she smiled at a dazed Mathew, trying to recover from the previous insults.

"So I understand you would like a story." Matthew looked at her expectantly. Understanding flickered through Rachel's eyes and she slowly nodded her head.

"Well... my subject's story was completely removed from his file and his name blocked from all of my search engines."

"How strange and what may be the reason for this unusual act?" Mathew was now solely focused on the strange neurologist that was scribbling away at her note book.

"I must find all information from my subject only. His interaction with me is what supports my knowledge. Currently I am in the dark and know close to nothing." Rachel chewed at her lip once more, knowing this habit was one she had to abandon.

"Well what if your subject was willing to help you succeed at your task. Would that be of any form of assistance?" Rachel's chest warmed, a spark of hope ignited deep within her. Maybe this experience of hers was not a complete flop after all.

"That would be a rather great donation to my cause." She beamed at the raven-haired man before her.

"Well..." Mathew's eye twitched "the first part of the story will be revealed tomorrow." And with that he gave her his back as if to say that he was done speaking to her and she could help herself to the exit and leave.