Tender Hearts Only Get Torn Apart

Ahhh, an update. Another may be coming today or tomorrow, not too sure. Reviews help me move along quite nicely!

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[Alex’s POV]

The sun wasn’t even peeking over the rooftops yet when Jason pulled up in his beast of a car. His radio was blaring, something with a heavy beat that made the windshield rattle. I couldn’t for the life of me figure out why he was wearing sunglasses- I could barely even open my eyes, much less see out of them in the morning fog. But I slid into the car nonetheless, regretting my decision to wear nothing but a thin hooded sweatshirt and skimpy skinny jeans, though the car was rather warm.

How a town could be freezing in the morning and sweltering in the afternoon, I had no clue.

Mattie jumped into the back seat, sprawling out and squealing. “I’ve never met a crazy person before!”

Jason rolled his eyes, and off we went.

There was silence in the car for most of the drive, mainly because Matt almost instantly fell asleep after his comment. Even in sleep he murmured under his breath. Jason and I exchanged small talk for a few minutes, but the silence felt comfortable and so we slipped back into it. The large downtown building became tiny houses, the small houses petered out into small ranches and empty lots of green, and eventually there were thick woods on either side of the road. The ‘looney bin’ , (as Jason so lovingly called it), was about fifty miles out of Nowhere’s way. It wouldn’t be too much longer, and so I stared out the silvery window at the blur of trees, letting Jason and Robert Smith’s voices croon me into a lulled state just as Matt began to stir and the sun began to rise.

I was shocked, to say the least, when I finally saw Barn’s Asylum. It was a small, white-washed building just off the highway after the trees had thinned. Not even being in the rumbling Thunderbird could distract me from the painful shivers that ran down my spine when I saw it- it looked almost like a normal ranch home, built with large white bricks, with a gray shingle roof. A battered-looking oak tree sat lonely in the sea of green grass, and I realized that the lawn was even more pristine and well-cared for than the severely clean building. A small flowerbed ran along the concrete walk, where a man in a gray jumper and thick glasses sprayed yellow leaves down to the drain. He didn’t look up when Jason parked, didn’t look up when we walked by too slowly, didn’t even look up when I gasped after noticing the thick gritty bars over the windows.

“What do you expect?” Jason murmured to me, running a hand through his thick purple and red streaked hair, “these people are practically criminals to them.”

“Sheesh!” Matt yelled from behind me, his thick, sky blue scarf looking severely out of place. “This place is a dump!” He smiled and took my hand, winking briefly at the gray man who finally, finally looked up to give us a once-over. He quickly flushed, scowled, and looked back down, spraying those damn leaves even more furiously than before.

I took a deep breath, and stepped inside the Asylum’s lobby when Jason pulled the massive white door open for us. Matt followed quickly, chattering about the ugly interior decorating, and I wondered briefly if we could have him committed while we were here. The lobby was a bitter cold when we stepped fully into it, the door swinging shut behind us with an audible thunk. I shook, and Jason kindly offered me his hoodie.

“It’s okay,” he said in response to my scowl, “I’m used to it. Mom keeps our house about twenty degrees below zero.” He chuckled, and suddenly I realized that his skin looked sallow and unhealthy in this cheap orange lighting.

There was a large brown couch that I slipped hesitantly onto, tugging the green and yellow jacket around my too-small shoulders. Matthew sat down next to me, his eyes bright and his hair looking sharp enough to be a weapon. I ignored him when he began to titter mindlessly about the disgusting piss-yellow and wasabi-green striped wall, instead opting to stare at Jason’s ass while he leaned against the sign-in counter.

He murmured to the receptionist, too low for me to hear anything other than a deep rumble from where I sat restlessly. My knees knocked together and my hands were clenched. I didn’t even notice it until Matt slid his small, feminine hand back into mine. I had red finger-marks around my own wrists from where I’d gripped them so hard, so instead of thinking about how nervous I was I began quoting Shakespeare in my head. I was halfway through Act one of A Midsummer Night’s Dream when Jason trotted up, his tattered converses at the edge of my vision, a bright pink blur against the nasty brown carpet.

There was a piece of paper thrust into my face, and I smiled up at him while I put the little nametag on. The receptionist, an old shaking lady with severely thin gray hair, looked on in disapproval as he leaned down to kiss me chastely on the lips before helping me up. I tugged Matt along, seeing as he was holding my hand and all. I figured he was probably nervous to be here too, about to meet an insane boy we’d only heard about from Jason, so I didn’t let his hand go.

We were let in through a quaint set of steel double-doors that sealed shut behind us with a hiss of air, and emerged into a brightly lit light green hallway. It was lined with windows with nothing but bars over them, and another set of the steel doors lay at the other end of it.

Jason explained that it was to prevent any of the loonies from escaping. Preventative measures. Huh.

When we finally stepped through the final set of doors, I stared in wonder at the sight that met us. It was a stark white room, accented with a few pieces of forest green furniture and a line of plastic chairs, where a tiny, hunched old man sat, his arms over his head and his chin to his chest. He appeared to be sleeping.

Jason and Matt tugged me along to a large desk, where a nurse in bright pink scrubs was arranging small plastic cups of pills. She smiled at us when we approached.

“Hello there,” she said, flipping her bright blonde hair back. “How can I help you boys?” She popped a piece of gum between her teeth, not pausing in her task. I looked down at the nearest cup- at least ten pills the size of dimes sat in it, all assorted colors and shapes. Mmm, tasty.

“Yeah, what room is Robbie in?” Jason asked. He chuckled when she grimaced, obviously aware of Robert’s reputation at the Asylum. I could only wonder, almost as if it were an inside joke I wasn’t in on.

“Here, follow me.” She grabbed two cups, one full of a strange, milky substance that closely resembled clouded water, and one nearly halfway full of pills. “I needed to give him these anyways. Just stay back until I’m done, kay?”

Jason tucked his hands into his tight pockets and sauntered off after her, expecting us to follow. Matt scampered ahead to talk with the nurse, obviously flattering her as we paced down at least three different halls. I gave a start when a hand slipped into mine, and looked up to see Jason smiling at the back of the nurse’s head, acting innocent. There were doors on one side of each hall, set a few meters apart. Large plastic numbers with smaller name plaques were attached to each one.

It was at room thirty-seven we stopped at, with the blonde nurse walking hastily inside. She left the door cracked behind her, and I could hear her sweet-talking someone, Robert I suppose, and I just barely made out a flash of a thin, twitching pale arm. A deep, scratchy voice groaned, and my heart fluttered. Nervous, definitely. I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Jason leaned down the few inches between us, muttering in my ear, loud enough for Matt to hear as well. “Don’t stare, of course. Just act casual.” Matt nodded, nearly tripping over himself with excitement. The door opened with a light creaking sound, and the nurse stepped out, looking frustrated. The cups were crushed, and she held them in one hand. In the other, she held a thick notebook, covered in drying blue ink. It shined red in the light, black in the shadows. Jason laughed, quickly catching the door and sliding into the room. Matt followed hastily, a large grin on his face.

I waited briefly in the hall before swallowing my thumping heart and moving into the bright light of Robert’s room.