Abram sat down at the table nervous, his mind still foggy from all the meds but otherwise, he was in pretty good spirits. He had to be. Today was the day he was finally seeing his friends again.
“When are they gonna be here?” he asked eagerly, looking up at the nurse standing by.
He gave him a small smile, placing a comforting hand on Abram’s shoulder. “They’ll be here any minute, just be patient.”
“I haven’t seen them in a month. I don’t have any patience left.” Abram heaved. “It’s been too long for us. Ever since—” he stopped, trying to calm his wits. “I just need to see them.”
An elevator ding brought Abram out of his head, looking over and seeing his friends being escorted to him from down the hall.
“It’s them.” he beamed, smiling at his nurse, who just grinned along with him.
An orderly brought his friends over to him, standing in front of him, giving Abram weak smiles. “We’ll give you some time.” the orderly said, nodding at the nurse so they could talk freely amongst themselves.
Abram grinned vibrantly at them while the three of them took a seat across the table from him, gawking at their steady and unreadable faces. Mercer gave him a feeble, very uneven smile. Bridge shifted in place, looking as if he were totally weirded out to be back inside the asylum. And Lissa had cut her hair, rocking a pixie cut that had Abram smiling even more.
“I love your hair,” he told her with a pearly white grin, stirring a small copycat leer from her, running a hand over her fresh do. “You look great.” He gave them all a wide regard. “You all do.”
Mercer coughed. “How are you feeling?”
“Oh, I’m fine.” Abram reassured him. “I just want to know what’s going on with you guys, what I’m missing out there beyond those doors.”
“They’re letting us do our schoolwork at home until school ends.” Bridge shrugged.
“Harley and I broke up.” Mercer prompted.
“You broke up with Harley?” Lissa jumped in. “She didn’t tell me about it.”
“Because it’s not a big deal. We agreed that now just isn’t the time for us, especially with us being out of school.”
“Did you at least get to sleep with her before you broke up?”
“Bridge.”
“You’re too cute to still be a virgin, Merce. Harley’s cute. You’re cute. What’s the big deal?”
“Just because you give it up to anyone with a male identity and a pulse doesn’t mean I have to. I mean you even slept with Thomas Fletcher.”
“You slept with Thomas Fletcher? That super genius freshman in our trigonometry class?” Lissa said, stunned, letting out a couple chuckles slip out of her mouth.
“He has a really nice ass.” Bridge shrugged again.
“You’re out of control.”
“I’m seventeen and I’m charming.” Bridge scoffed at Mercer. “I can’t help it that everyone wants to cross my bridge.”
“Ew.” Lissa laughed.
They all turned to hysterics as they began to laugh collectively, even Abram. But when his friends’ laughter began to fade among them, Abram’s became boisterous and louder, becoming a fit of blind hilarity that caused his friends to exchange phobia knotted glances.
“Abe?” Lissa tried to grasp his attention, but his guffawing continued.
“It’s just so funny.” he managed to say between laughing breaths that ultimately seemed to be settling. “You guys are dealing with romantic woes and school work at home and I’m trying to find the right balance of meds.” His cackling resumed, not helping to cease the fear filled facades of his friends. “The contrast in our lives now are hilarious!” he snickered. “We all get attacked and you guys are fine while I’m basically in psycho prison.”
“Abe!” Lissa cried.
“Sumner’s been here!” His laughter died on his simmering tongue, his eyes turning dark and full of panic, brimmed by the circles that told them that sleep was something he couldn’t quite discover here inside the asylum. “He’s here, hiding in the walls, waiting and watching.” Tears cascaded forth from his blue irises. “He visits my room.”
The paranoia between them grew like weeds. Bridge spoke first. “You’ve seen Sumner?”
Abram nodded emphatically, much to their chagrin.
“Abe, that’s not possible.” Mercer shook his head. “Sumner’s been missing since that night. The police say he skipped town after what happened at the cemetery.”
“No.” Abram said defiantly. “He’s here, taunting me.” Fresh tears replaced the drying ones on his cheeks. “I think he wants to finish me off.”
“Sumner’s not here.” Bridge stated sternly.
“Yes, he’s in the walls, he’s here!” Abram slammed his fists on the table with incredible force, scaring them.
Lissa reached out and grabbed his hands, forcing them open so he could feel her palms pressed against his. Abram started sobbing, closing his eyes and shaking his head lazily. She looked to her friends on either side of her quickly.
“Give us a couple minutes?”
They gave her a small nod, standing up from the table and giving Abram an endearing gaze despite him looking at the back of his eyelids.
“It was good to see you, Abe.” Mercer grinned shyly.
Bridge mirrored his actions. “We’ll see you soon.”
The pair left the table then, heading over to where the orderly stood so they could wait on Lissa.
She tightly squeezed Abram’s hands. “You are going to get through this. My mom says they have some amazing doctors here that can...that will help you move on from what you're going through.”
“But Sumner’s here.” Abram shook his head, eyes still sealed shut.
“Look at me.” He kept shaking his head, not listening to her. “Abram Michael St. James, look at me.” The uttering of his full name startled him enough for him to focus on her, remaining still and staring into her hazel eyes. “We survived Sumner and we will survive his aftermath. You’ll get better and everything will go back to normal.”
“Lissa,” his voice wobbled with raw emotion. “I’m scared.”
“And that’s okay.” she grinned. “You’re okay.”
He sniffled. “Do you still love me, Liss? Can you even love someone who’s psychotic and dependent on pills to feel normal?”
“Abe, I’ll always love you. This doesn’t change that.”
Abram blinked and suddenly the scene changed, his eyes expanding. The person in front of him began to shapeshift into another form. Lissa slowly faded into Alex, but still smiling at him, still holding his hands while they sat at a table in Arclan Asylum. It was as if there was a sputtering glitch in the framework of reality, a digital distortion of what was and wasn’t real.
“This isn’t right.” Abram said, suddenly hyperaware. “This already happened.”
All sound left his ears as Alex started talking, Abram looking around while the scene of Arclan blurred around him until they were underneath it, in the underground passage, still sitting at the table across from Alex as he talked silently.
“Alex?” he tried to scream, but it was as if everything around him was on mute.
Sumner appeared from behind Alex, running towards them in sickening slow motion and away from the right sided passage. He tried to yell for Alex to move out of the way, but it was useless. Sumner pointed a gun in their direction, squeezing the trigger in agonizing slowed movement.
The sound around him resumed as the deafening sound of a gunshot shook Abram awake from the memory turned nightmare, causing him to quake about his bed violently.
He sat upright in his bed, taking him a few minutes to realize that he wasn’t back in Arclan or underneath it. Seeing familiar settings around him, Abram knew everything was okay and he was safe, letting out an exasperating sigh of relief. He was okay, even if sweat pooled on his forehead, slick as his now nauseous stomach.
A flash of movement set him on edge until he realized that it was jus
t the TV at the foot of the bed and not a former friend turned attempted murderer. He cursed under his breath, tired of feeling on edge. Needing to relax, Abram grabbed the remote hiding between the sheets and turned up the volume on a rerun of some syndicated TV show to just watch and chill out to when the show was hindered by the start of the twelve o’clock noon news.
“In top local news, Hendrick Shadows, father of teenage fugitive Sumner Shadows, issued a statement this morning, just two weeks after his son’s reappearance at his mental institution, Arclan Asylum, that resulted in one injury. Mr. Shadows had this to say.”
The cameras switched to showing Hendrick just outside of Arclan Asylum in front of a huge crowd of reporters and other bystanders.
“Contrary to society’s opinion of my wife and I, we have never helped my son in staying around Armor Falls, nor did we have prior knowledge of his whereabouts before the incident here two weeks ago. I would like the public to know that I am,” he paused to cough, keeping his tone steady and determined to keep his composure. “I am considering closing Arclan Asylum given the circumstances. During this difficult time, I urge the police to lift their presence around my establishment for the safety and wellbeing of my patients. Thank you for your time.” Photographers snapped pictures feverishly while reporters tried to get Hendrick to answer some more questions, but he went off camera and left the front lawn of Arclan Asylum.
“In response to Mr. Shadows’ declaration,” The news anchor popped up on screen again. “Detective Alston Dagger, the lead investigator in the ever changing and allconsuming Sumner Shadows case, released his own statement concerning the details of Mr. Shadows’ press conference.”
The scene on the screen changed until it showed Detective Dagger holding his own press release at the exterior of Armor Falls Police Station. Even more people were attending this declaration than that of held by the head of the Shadows family.
“We will be diminishing police presence at Arclan Asylum for the health of its staff and patients but this investigation is far from finished. Sumner Shadows has gotten away for the very last time and I will not stop hunting him down until he’s rotting inside a jail cell. Thank you.”
Dagger walked away with a few officers as reporters beckoned to have a word with him while he swatted away questions and cameras that pleaded for his undivided attention.
Abram disgruntledly grabbed the TV remote and turned it off, suddenly needing a reprieve from the circumstances that enveloped him, retreating back under the blankets of his bed and deciding to go back to sleep instead of dealing with the shambles that made up his life.
“You’re a lucky guy, Mercer.”
He nodded at his doctor. His parents stood to the right of him and Kirby sat in a chair beside him, all while he laid in a hospital bed.
“He’s going to be okay?”
Dr. Meredith Torres smiled at Kirby and nodded. “Luckily when he was shot, it was far away from the clavicle to not shatter it completely. It was fractured, but his initial surgery fixed that and it’s healing well so,” she looked at Mercer. “You’re good.”
“No more surgery?” Clay Meadows asked, consumed with concern.
“No.” Dr. Torres grinned, eyeing Mercer then. “You’ll be sore for sure and you’ll have to use a sling for a little while, but you’ll be fine.” She suddenly looked uncomfortable as she eyed Mercer and then Kirby before looking back at her patient. “That also means no sexual activity until it’s completely healed.”
Both teens heard his parents’ breathing hitch to new heights at that statement. Blushing slightly, Mercer looked to Kirby, who just smiled awkwardly, then focusing on his doctor once again.
“That’s not going to be a problem, doctor.”
“Oh, thank God.” Clay said with a heavy sigh of relief.
“Thank you, Dr. Torres.” Araec Meadows nodded. “And thank you for personally doing the checkup. We know you must be very busy, but it means a lot to see a familiar face from the night of the shooting.”
Dr. Torres beamed. “Of course. Plus, I like to check up on my own handiwork.” she winked, causing them all to smile briefly.
“Thanks for everything, Dr. Torres.” Mercer gave her a final grin.
“Someone will be by shortly to wrap up your paperwork.”
Kirby’s phone bleated as Dr. Torres disappeared behind doctoronly permitted doors. She glanced at the screen and Mercer watched her eyes cloud over, retreating from recognition.
“I have to take this.” Kirby gave his hand a squeeze. “I’ll be right back.”
As she headed down the hall, his father patted his arm. “Is Bridge coming over soon?”
“He better be,” Araec scoffed. “I’ve already got too much maple balsamic pork tenderloin marinating at the house.”
Mercer chuckled. “I don’t know, I haven’t talked to him today, but I’ll text him.” he paused to look over and see Kirby talking harshly on the phone, looking very adamant and angry. Adverting his attention back to his parents, Mercer smiled up at them. “I can’t thank you enough for letting me and Kirby hang out and even more for letting Bridge come and move into the guest room. It really means a lot to him, and to me.”
The couple smiled. “The only reason we didn't take him in sooner was because of the lockdown.”
Clay jumped in. “We’re still really scared about everything, especially with Sumner still at large. But keeping you from your friends caused you all to seek Sumner out on your own and we don’t want that to happen again.”
“Trust me,” Mercer interjected, a leaning lie turning his cheek. “A bullet is a hell of a lesson.”
“Since we got rid of the lockdown earlier this week, we don’t see why Bridge can’t at least be staying in a more familiar setting.” Clay concluded.
“It’s just awful about his parents, still missing. We just want him to be as comfortable as possible.”
Returning from the hallway, Kirby joined them once again, only to grab her purse and give Mercer an apologetic look.
“I have to go, I totally forgot about some homework.” She gave his parents a warm smile. “But I’m still invited to dinner, right?”
Araec laughed, as if he were slightly annoyed at such a ludicrous question. “Of course.”
Not convinced by her reasoning, Mercer looked up at her inquisitively. “Are you sure everything’s okay?”
“Absolutely.” Kirby assured him, nodding emphatically. “I’ll see you in a couple hours?”
Clay’s cell phone rang then as Kirby smiled at them again, Clay waving goodbye as he stepped away to take the call.
“Alright,” Mercer told her. “I’ll see you tonight.”
Leaving them, Kirby faded from their collective view, Mercer turning to his dad with a raised eyebrow.
“Did that seem off to you?”
“What makes you think that?” Araec countered.
Mercer shrugged. “Just seemed a little weird, I guess.”
Ending his call, Clay returned to his family. When Mercer saw the bubbling confusion spreading across his father’s face, he quickly prompted a question.
“Dad?”
“Mercer, is there anything you’d like to tell us?”
“Clay?” Araec looked just as confused as Mercer did. “What’s going on?”
“That was Nova.” Clay went on, aligning emphasis on his son. “Abram’s not answering his phone and she just wanted to know if he was planning on staying at our house, like he had the past few days.”
“What?” Mercer exclaimed wildly.
“What’s going on, Mercer?”
“Are you trying to cover for Abram or something?”
“No. No, I have no idea what’s going on.” he shook his head. “It’s not like I’m hiding him in the basement. Abe’s been MIA since the lockdown was lifted. None of us have really heard from him except for a few one worded texts.”
“Then where the hell is he?”
Bridge finished putting another box into Willa’s
car, glad that they were almost done packing up the room he had been using at Paige’s house. He was at a loss for words over the fact that Mercer’s dads were letting him move in with them. Paige was nice enough, but no longer living in the house of the woman whose fiancé he had once slept with was a massive consolation to him.
“This is the last one.” Bridge turned to see Willa carrying a box full of his bedding, which he hustled to take from her.
“Thanks for helping me pack and taking me over to Mercer’s.” Bridge gathered as he placed the last box in the backseat of her car.
“No problem.” Willa smiled brightly.
Paige came out of the house then, looking at Bridge warmly as she walked over to them.
“You got everything?”
“Yeah, I think so.” Bridge said, moving to close Willa’s trunk. He walked back over to her, standing awkwardly and feeling very out of place as he looked her over. “Thanks again for letting me stay here. I really do appreciate it.”
“It was nothing,” Paige waved him off. “It was nice having someone else in the house. Although, I have to say, it’ll be nice to see more of Ben around here.” she chuckled.
Bridge laughed uncomfortably. “Right. Um, anyway, thanks again.”
“I’ll see you around school, Bridge. Have fun at Mercer’s!”
He just smiled and waved goodbye to her as she retreated back inside of her house.
“Why was that awkward?” Willa said, scrunching up her face.
“No reason.”
Bridge tried his best to shrug it off and hide his residual jealousy. He knew that he had no right to be. Paige was Ben’s fiancé, not him. And he knew that he was the one who had, rightfully, ended things between them. But ever since the night at Arclan Asylum two weeks ago, all Bridge wanted was to have Ben reassure him that it would all calm down and it would all be okay. And he really needed to find a way to shake that feeling.
“Hey.”
Willa and Bridge turned around, seeing Alex’s smiling face while he approached them.
“Saw you from the house. Got everything?”
“That should be everything, yeah.”
A sleek black BMW pulled up right in front of the grand Llewellyn house, the three of them looking to see a giggling Faith get out of Straton’s car. She waved goodbye to him as Bridge looked at Alex.
“They got back together?”
“Didn’t you hear?” Willa grinned. “I’m gonna go talk to her for a sec then we’ll go, okay?” She squeezed Bridge’s shoulder before she ran over to Faith and talked to her on the Llewellyn’s front porch.
Alex turned back to face Bridge. “Yeah, Faith and Straton made up pretty quickly, and even quicker once our parents eliminated the lockdown.” he laughed.
“Gross.”
Laughing together, Alex just shook his head. “Exactly.” A glaze formed a grainy film over Alex’s eyes all too quickly. “Not to sour this conversation, but Mercer mentioned that you hadn’t looked at those papers you found in the secret room at Arclan yet.”
Bridge affirmed as much. “After everything that happened with Mercer, I sort of forgot about them and pushed them from my mind.” he sighed. “I guess the time to address them has arrived.”
“Do you even know where you packed them?”
“I didn’t,” he said, shaking his head. “I stashed them in my backpack so I wouldn’t lose them.”
Going into Willa’s car, Bridge reached into the backseat and pulled out his plaid backpack. He unzipped it, searching through it for the papers they had found.
“What the hell?”
Alex’s brow arched as Bridge went from leisurely searching through his bag to wildly ripping things out of it in a panic.
“Bridge—”
“They’re gone!”
For a split second, staring at each other was all they could think of to do. Bridge picked up his discarded items, Alex slowly overcoming his silence.
“Are you sure you put them in there?”
“Alex, I’m sure. I put it right here in my front pocket. This thing never leaves my side at school. There’s no way someone got to it there.”
“So, what, someone broke into Paige’s house and took it before we could even see what they said?”
“Someone’s been messing with us about the subject of murder, is breaking and entering so farfetched of an idea for them to commit?”
Alex’s phone cut off a response from him, chiming loudly.
“It’s a text from Mercer.”
Putting their theft threat on pause for a second, Bridge’s alert level attempted to overtake his senses. “What does it say?”
His nose crinkled and collapsed on his face. “Abram’s been telling his parents that he’s been sleeping over at Mercer’s, but apparently he hasn’t been.”
“What?”
“Mercer wants to know if I’ve heard from him.”
“Have you?” Bridge questioned.
“Ever since the lockdown ended, he’s been so distant. You haven’t heard from him?” Alex dialed Abram’s number and quickly pressed the phone to his ear.
Shaking his head, Bridge’s worry spiked evermore. “Not since then, no. I just thought he was still dealing, like he told us that first day back after what happened at Arclan.”
“Shit,” Alex huffed, hanging up. “Straight to voicemail.”
“What do we do?”
In a fiercely fast manner, a thought struck Alex so hard he feared it might affect his balance. Luckily, he kept himself grounded with reassurance. “You get moved in, tell Mercer what’s going on with the papers.”
“Should we tell Willa about Abe?”
Alex shook his head. “Not yet. Just get her and head to Mercer’s.”
“What about you?”
“I’m going to find Abram.” Alex bobbed his head phonetically, totally convinced that he’d prove victorious. “I think I might know where he is.”
Abram’s screams woke him up from a very unnerving attempt to try and solidify some sleep. He’d been dreaming of that night beneath Arclan, when Sumner had shown up and shot Mercer and, once again, had gotten away before the police could apprehend him. All of his nightmares had been distorted memories of his life ever since then. And it wasn’t aiding his already fragile psyche.
When he saw his surroundings, he had to remind himself once again that he was okay and the images in his head were only fleeting memories and he was safe from them. He looked over at the small alarm clock sitting on the small shelf made into the bed’s headboard, rolling his eyes at the fact that it was half past five. Fleeing out of bed, Abram made his way to the bathroom and splashed some water on his face. Bags were forming under his eyes from lack of sleep, or so he saw when he looked into the mirror. He hadn’t shaved since before the Arclan attack, making him pretty scruffy in the facial hair department.
Abram sighed. He so easily wanted to be fine, to be able to bounce back and be a normal teenager dealing with normal teenager things. But ever since the Arclan incident, Abram felt himself slipping into old mindsets, old feelings that he hadn’t felt since he was in and out of mental institutions.
The lockdown being demolished had started his feelings of an impending downward spiral, a simple omission of routine screwing with his sense of normalcy. The fear of losing himself entirely increased more and more as the days continued to accumulate, causing him to withdraw himself from his friends and family.
A series of short but loud rapping on the door stirred Abram from his thoughts, provoking him to head to the door in nothing but some loose basketball shorts. And when he opened the door to his family RV, he was surprised and speechless when he saw Alex just outside of the vehicle.
“I figured you might be out here.”
Abram sighed. “You can go home, Alex. I’m fine. And isn’t curfew starting soon?”
“Can I come in?”
Instead of answering, Abram just moved aside and retrieved a tshirt from the bedroom and quickly
pulled it on while Alex closed the RV door, stepping inside and witnessing the disarray that Abram had been dealing with as the messy living quarters pulsed around him.
“Abe…”
“You want something to drink?” Abram asked, opening the fridge and grabbing a water for himself.
“No,” Alex deflected, taking a seat on the couch next to the kitchen. “I’d rather you tell me why you’ve been staying here and lying to your parents about it.”
Slamming the refrigerator door with a huff, he took his water and sat down next to Alex on the couch.
“I’m fine, Alex. Really.”
“You’re not fine.” he sighed. “This, staying here, is not fine. Needing space from your family and friends is not fine. Locking yourself away is not fine because you’re not fine!”
“But you are!” Abram stood in frustration, turning away from Alex for a second. “All of you are. Mercer got shot and he’s fine. He doesn’t have a problem getting back to his life and completely leaving it in the past when the past is the only thing that I can’t seem to let go of, no matter how much I want to or how hard I try.”
Seeing the hurt in Abram’s eyes was crushing Alex to his very core. He looked utterly unnerved and distraught. Abram suddenly returned to his seat beside Alex, grabbing his hands abruptly.
“How come I’m the only one of us that has totally turned into this feeble shell of emotion? Why am I the only one so deeply broken by this?” Alex felt his heart lunge even harder when Abram began to cry. “Why do I feel as out of control as I did before I went to Arclan?”
“Listen to me,” Alex grabbed Abram by the shoulders. “Whatever we have to do to get your control back, we’ll do it. Needing more help is nothing to be ashamed of. I’ll help you with whatever you need until you feel like you're back in the driver’s seat again, okay? All of us will, so don’t shut us out when you need us most.”
“I’m terrified, Alex.” Abram went on, his sobs flowing freely. “I can’t sleep without being brought back to the horrors we’ve had to face. I’m so scared of losing myself again.”
Alex shook his head. “You won’t. I won’t let that happen.”
Pulling him into a tight embrace, Alex held onto Abram as he felt the sobs falling into the top of his shoulder while he shook. He consoled him the way he used to do, with one hand rubbing his back soothingly and one hand playing with his hair, sliding his fingers along the back of his head.
Slowly, Abram’s heavy crying began to subside and his shaking started to let up. Alex stopped his comforting as Abram pulled back from the embrace. Just when Alex was going to ask him if getting it all out was making him feel better, he felt Abram kissing him roughly and quickly, much quicker than Alex could even comprehend. He pushed him away as fast as he could, once again putting his hands on Abram’s shoulders until he was looking into his deep cornflower blue eyes that glistened like light shooting off of stained glass from his previous tears.
“Abe, we can’t.”
“Please,” he pleaded. “The only thing that ever made sense in my life was you.” Abram half laughed, half sniffled. “It’s always been you.”
“But you said that—”
Abram silenced him with another soft kiss, fogging up whatever rational thing Alex was about to say prior to his exboyfriend’s lips begging for his own. They broke away again, this time coming from Abram. He gazed deep into Alex’s hazel irises and let one single tear cascade down his cheek.
“Please,” Abram said again. “Please.”
Throwing all thought out of the window, Alex crashed his lips on Abram’s, their small kiss exploding with intense flares as it grew like a healthy raging fire. Abram stood up, causing Alex to do so as well so their kiss could keep both of them fully ablaze. As Abram stopped their kiss to rip Alex’s shirt off of his newly male toned body, he led them towards the bedroom while Alex attacked Abram’s neck with ravage eagerness, eliciting a moan from the latter. The two of them fell back onto the bed and ripped the rest of their clothes off, forgetting any and all obstacles in their way and responding with a wildfire of raw need as they disappeared underneath the sheets of the bedspread, the RV fading from them as they fell into a void where it was just the two of them, leaving everything else for just a moment of serenity, one they both needed more than they realized.
11
DEEP IN DARKNESS WE BEGIN