“Yeah … I would’ve loved it if everything in my life wasn’t so screwed up either. That Ashley and I hadn’t been ‘chosen’ by your sick little group. I wish my father hadn’t been killed by my mother. And I wish that I hadn’t known my mother died … twice.”
He gazes at me with his lips parted. “Twice?”
“Yes. She was there, in the hospital, Sebastian. I saw her … I talked to her. I was in shock. And then she told me that she killed my father. I wanted to die, right there.”
He places his hand over his mouth, but he doesn’t speak. Not even a breath of air comes out.
“Newman, Hubert, he was there and made me remember. He drugged me, forced me back into my room, and then jokingly told me that my mother had hung herself.”
“Oh, no …” Sebastian pulls me closer, wrapping his arms around me. “I’m so sorry, little fairy. Nothing I say or do will make this all right.”
“I don’t know how to feel. I’m so lost right now. My mother is dead, and I can’t decide whether I love her or hate her. When she told me that she murdered my father because Hubert told her to, I almost wanted to choke her myself.” I sniff, burying my face in his shirt. “I guess that’s why she killed herself.”
“She probably did it because she couldn’t live with the guilt. Because she didn’t want you to suffer any longer.”
I snort. “It tore open old wounds and left more scars in their place.”
“I’m sorry; I should’ve known they kept her alive. But I didn’t know; I wasn’t there during that particular clean-up. They did it behind my back, probably so they could use her as a tool against you … Those sons of bitches …” Sebastian makes a fist. “I’ll get them.”
“What do you mean you should’ve known that they’d keep her alive? You didn’t know where they’d bring me?” I ask.
“I didn’t know what facility, no. There are a lot. I did know your mother was in there, though.”
“Wait, there are more?” I move away from Sebastian. “How do you know all this? I was shocked when Newman could enter and go wherever he pleased and that nobody seemed to care. And the nurses and doctors weren’t acting normal either. They drugged me and chained me up. This isn’t normal. All of this …” I sigh. “There’s something you’re not telling me.” I look him straight in the eye. “I think it’s time you told me everything because I’m not going anywhere with you until you do.”
He licks his lips. “Ah … how can I ever refuse you?” he says. “You bring out my sins, which I know you will hate me for. But I will tell you. After all, a promise is a promise.”
“Why do you have access to the hospitals like that? Why did you all put my mother and me there? And what about Ashley? You were able to unlock the doors like you owned the place …”
“That’s because we do,” he interrupts. “The buildings, the people. We own everything. But it’s all a lie. They are not real hospitals. They are prisons for our victims so we can train them to believe they are insane and use them … again and again …”
My heart stops. I can’t believe what I’m hearing.
It’s all a lie.
Which means I was right all along.
I was never insane. They just made me believe that I was.
“Yes …. This is the hideous truth, Lillith …”
“You purposefully―wait … what? What did you call me?”
“You heard me … Lillith.”
I gasp, moving away from him.
“You remember my name … You only called me that when we met in the hospital.”
He knows my name.
I only told him once.
He remembers it. That’s only possible if … if he knew it all along. What happened in the hospital was real. It wasn’t a dream or an illusion; it was all real.
Accompanying song: “I can get it Back” by Zack Hemsey (Instrumental)
Holy shit.
Sebastian played me. But how is it possible? Whenever I saw him, nobody admitted he was truly there. They all told me that I was nuts for thinking he even existed. And my roommate, how could she not know? It doesn’t make any sense.
Everything is a lie, and yet I don’t understand why; why did he do all this?
“You were the one who brought me to the hospital, and you came back every fucking time! You lied to me!”
“Yes, Lillith, you’re right. I lied to you. I made you think you were insane. It was all part of the plan, all done because of those books and the decree we … the club … lives by.”