Inhumane Seduction (Vampire Romance-on hiatus)

seven

Seven - Playing Doctor

"You're starting to like him, are you?"

I looked at Adeline, bewildered at what she had said. "Who? Xander? No."

She gently tapped on her cigarette to let the ash fall. I watched as it touched the grass, anxious as to what Adeline was going to say next. "I didn't say any name."

"Oh, I-uh..."

"You think I haven't noticed?" She took a deep inhale before letting the cloud of smoke drift away. "The way you move around him, the way you talk to him. I know when a person likes someone. I wasn't born yesterday."

I laced my hands in front of me and fixed my posture before looking up at what used to be Xander's room window. "With all due respect, Adeline, I don't have feelings for Xander." She scoffed at this. "I just find him fascinating," I added in hopes of convincing her.

"Fascinating?"

"Yeah. He tried to murder his mother and cousin. People don't just do that for no reason. Xander seems so normal to me." Well, normal if you didn't include the fact that he was an extremely fast healer. I was trying hard to think of ways to word everything better but thinking of Xander made my mind felt like it was all jumbled up.

Adeline tossed her cigarette on the grass and stepped on it with her shoes, completely extinguishing it in a matter of seconds. "They start to pretend they're sane because they want to get out of this hellhole. Don't tell me you're falling for it. Now get back to work cause break's over."

I turned around and followed Adeline into the building. We parted ways without uttering a word. I sighed in relief when she was finally out of sight. What a strange woman, she was.

I spotted Sebastian in the cafeteria and almost went over to talk to him but then realized I still had plenty of work to do. Besides, it also looked like he was doing his job and I didn't exactly want to interrupt.

The day went even slower than the day before but I managed to finish my work earlier than I had ever finished.

I was glad my sleep the night before had been filled with pleasant dreams that did not involve Xander at all. Instead, I dreamt I was standing in front of an intricate black gate that swung open by itself as I neared it. I had walked through the gate to see a magnificent dark mansion stretching so far to my right and left I could not possibly have walked from one end to the other without having to sit down and take a rest. The path from the gate to the front door of the mansion extended so far I woke up before I could even walk halfway.

The sun still hadn't set when I was finally done with everything but there was something at the back of my mind that told me to stay just a little longer.

I decided to go to the staff room to make myself some tea but then saw Xander through the window. He was on the same bench he had been sitting on the day before. I contemplated whether I should come over but realized if I wanted to completely convince Adeline I wasn't developing feelings for Xander that I should at least try to stay away.

I pondered about Adeline's words as I emptied the pack of sugar into the tea. Was it prohibited to develop feelings for a mental institution patient? Was it wrong if I did but didn't act on it?

I sat by the window, away from the group of nurses who sat near the door, chatting away on whatever it was they were talking about. I was only looking out the window sipping on the hot tea when there was a sudden commotion outside by the hallway. I looked up to see that the nurses were already looking down at the garden from the window.