The Trouble With Bodyguards: Part 3 (5 page)

              He tuned back into the action, finding that Gina had quickened her pace, rubbing furiously at her clitoris as she ground herself down hard against his pelvis. She was trying to come, chasing the release that she needed in order to feel complete. She cried out, throwing her head back in ecstasy, sweat dripping down between her breasts, rolling over her belly, and pooling along with other fluids leaking from her body and on his pelvis. She fell on top of him, panting heavily as she lay spent. He put his arms around her, cradling her against his chest as she planted tiny kisses around his nipple.

            
 “
Did you come
?”
she asked, looking up at him expectedly.

            
 “
Fuck yeah I did
,
” he said, lying to her to make her feel accomplished. He never understood why it was important to a woman that he enjoyed the sex as much as she did. Women were truly selfish at heart, really only interested in their own pleasure. All of the magazine articles that he had read while searching for pictures of Alex to put on his walls, gave the illusion that they were all searching for love and strengthening their connection with their mates. But he could see through the bullshit andread between the lines. He knew tha
t—
just like their male counterpart
s—
women were all chasing the rush that they felt after a good, mind-shattering orgasm.

              Gina snuggled up against him, resting her head on his chest, over his heart. He put his arm around her, kissing her sweetly on the forehead. He resisted the urge to gag on the stink of her body, the sweat and sexual fluids drying on his skin. He needed to get out of her bed and go back to his own room. He would try another day to put his plan into action. He just needed to be more careful next time.

            
 “
Everything looks great
,
” said the doctor, smiling at the screen of the ultrasound, where Alex and Rick could see their beautiful baby girl happily sucking away at her toes in the cozy nest of her mothe
r’
s womb. Tears of joy rolled from Ale
x’
s eyes, as she squeezed Ric
k’
s hand on the edge of her bed. They had done this; they had created this person with their love; and soon they would get to hold her in their arms and kiss her tiny face. It was a lot to take in all at once.

            
 “
Are you ok
?”
asked Rick, wiping the tears from her face with his thumbs before leaning over to kiss her lovingly on the forehead.

            
 “
Wonderful
,
” she replied, watching her daughter wiggle her fingers on the screen, her tiny face screwed up as if she were trying to figure out how her body worked
.“
I could
n’
t be better
.
”

            
 “
But yo
u’
re crying
,
” he said, the expression on his face filled with concern.

            
 “
Joy
,
” she said, sighing as she continued
.“I’
ve never been so happy in my whole life.
I’
ve also never been so hormonal in my whole life
,
” she giggled, sniffling
.“
I cry at everything. Yesterday, I cried at a diaper commercial on the television, because I could imagine our daughter crawling around on the floor with all of the other babies, and I was ready for that to happen
.
”

            
 “
Perfectly normal
,
” said the doctor, pressing the button on the edge of the ultrasound machine, printing a picture of their baby for them to take home with them and enjoy
.“I’
ve heard of expectant mothe
r’
s crying because the sun came out, or because it did
n’
t. Do
n’
t worry about it
.
”

            
 “
I know that i
t’
s normal
,
” said Alex, pulling her shirt down over her baby bump and throwing her swollen ankles over the edge of the exam table
.“
Just try telling this guy though, "she giggled, gazing up adoringly at her husband
.“
He freaks out every time I sniffle lately
.
”

            
 “
Hey
,
” Rick said, objecting to her portrayal of him as a worrisome lunatic. Why should
n’
t he worry? She was his world, his light, his everything, and now she was carrying his child, keeping her safe and warm until she was ready to enter the world.

            
 “
Also normal
,
” said the doctor, chuckling as she stood up, readying herself to move on to her next patient
.“
Should
n’
t be long now
,
” she said, pulling the door to the exam room open
.“
Afew more days, a week at most.
I’
ll be seeing you guys back in here, and then we will get to snuggle that little angel of yours
.
”

…

              Jacob sat, his back to the chaos of the room, watching the wind blow through the trees in the courtyard. This was his favorite place, right here in this very spot, where he could watch the world go by on the outside, giving him the chance to forget, if only for a few minutes, that he was trapped behind these walls for the rest of his adult life. He sighed. He had almost done it, convinced the doctors that he had rehabilitated, that he was taking his medication like a good little monster, and that he should be allowed back out into the world to play with the other children. He did
n’
t need to be kept here, watched after day and night. He could take care of himself. He had done well in the past when they had let him free the last time.              

              An arm slipped around his shoulders, pulling him back into his chair, and his muscles tensed with the shock of being touched. Gina leaned her mouth close to his ear, her putrid breath hot as she whispered
,“
Last night was awesome. I did
n’
t know that you had it in you
.
”

            
 “
Um
,
” he said, trying to pull away from her without drawing any attention from the rest of the group
.“
Thanks
?
”

              She slipped around him, plopping down on the foot rest in front of his chair, blocking his view out the window. The air whooshed out of the foot rest, as her weight displaced the air trapped under the ripped vinyl and she sank into the cushion. She crossed her legs beneath her, as a girl of school age would, giving him full view of her sex, her skirt too short to cover her nudity in this position. He quickly looked away, up at her face, finding her wearing that same, wry smile she always wore when she was trying to be naughty.

            
 “
Want to give it another go
?”
she asked, leaning back on her hands, opening her legs wider to give him (and the rest of the room) a better look at her junk
.“
I have
n’
t got anything to do for the next couple hours
,
” she continued
.“
We could seriously wear each other out
.
”

            
 “
Hey
,
” he said, sitting up in his chair, his voice hushed to keep from involving anyone else in the room in their conversation
.“
You should be quiet
,
” he said, grabbing her knees and forcing them together, covering her exhibitionism.

            
 “
What
?
” she said, her snarky tone coming back
.“
You afraid someone will find out that yo
u’
re fucking the new girl
?
”

            
 “
Shh
,
” he said, attempting to quiet her. He looked around the room, but no one was paying them any attention. Most of the other patients were stoned on their meds, staring at the TV while drool dripped from their chins. Others were involved in their own forms of entertainment, or just staring blankly at the wall until they were told to move to another room to complete another task. George, as usual, was busy stuffing puzzle pieces into his mouth and giggling to himself.

            
 “
Jesus Jake
,
” she said, standing up in a huff, crossing her arms over her chest, indignant
.“
What the fuck is up with you
?
”

            
 “
I just
,
” he said, trying to come up with an excuse that would
n’
t cause her to flip out and make a scene
.“
I just want to keep it between you and me
,
” he said, standing and pulling her near him
.“
To keep what we have special
,
” he continued
.“
If everybody knows, it will become gossip. We will have to talk about it in group with all of the others. You will no longer be mine and mine alone
.
”

              Gina smiled, relaxing against him, her attempt to get closer to him, to make body contact while in the middle of a room full of lunatics a bit depressing. She needed this so badly that she was willing to take what she could get. He rubbed the small of her back, giving the allusion that he was attempting to comfort her, that he too would rather be in her bed right now instead of here. In all honesty, he wished that she would slink away, leaving him to enjoy the wind in the trees and his daydream of walking in the sunshine with his true love.

              She met his eyes, a meek smile painted on her lips as she nibbled on her fingernails like a child
.“
Come visit me tonight
,
” she said, her voice small as she begged him to come to her bed again. She needed this, this connection to another person, skin on skin the only kind of love that she truly understood.

            
 “I’
ll try
,
” he said, patting her ass as he gently pushed her away from him. She still smelled of sex from last night, shower time having been put off for today, as the nurses had
n’
t had a chance to restock the shampoo for the patients yet. He tried not to gag as he wiped his hand on the front of his trousers, watching the back of Gin
a’
s head as she walked away to her room, her fingers still in her mouth. It repulsed him to touch her and to smell her. It would have been so much easier to just kill her, snuff out her light. She could just disappear from his world, a distant nightmare that grew fainter with each passing day.

              This could work though. He could use her in his plan to convince the doctors that he was recovering from his mania, that he was normal enough for the outside world. Normal people had relationships with each other, normal people had trust and love. If he somehow managed to keep from throwing up on her every time that she was near to him, then he could use this to his advantage. He hated it, but he would do what he had to do to escape.

              She paused just inside the doorway leading to the hallway between the dorm rooms. Turning her head, she met his gaze across the expanse of the day room and smiled her weak smile. He gave her a beaming smile in return, adding a wink for good measure.

            
 “
I was thinking
,
” Gina said, her head resting next to his on the pillow, the snarled mass of her hair irritating the hell out of him as it tickled the inside of his left ear.

              It had been weeks since this whole mess had started, and he could see no end in sight. Deciding that the way to use this situation to his advantage was to get the most exposure he could, he had started sitting with Gina for each meal, picking choice morsels out of the slop on his plate and offering them to her and making a show of pulling out her chair for her before they sat down. He had begun to engage with her during group, holding her in his arms when she broke down in tears over how badly she missed her father and how angry she was at him for abandoning her in this place.

              He snuggled with her on the sofa in the day room, laughing together at the cartoons playing every afternoon on the television, leaning over to kiss her during commercials. The other lunatics had noticed, staring at them as the fondled each other, pretending to be modest by hiding their molestations under a blanket that they shared. The staff had taken notice too, smiling knowingly at the two of them as they walked down the hall, hand in hand, heading for the dining room, or to their therapy sessions. They saw the happiness that two people could bring each other in this horrible place. They were proud of them for having found a connection. They did
n’
t know that this was all part of Jaco
b’
s plan to escape, that he despised no one on the planet more than this woman, this creature that he held close to him all hours of the day and night. To them, his disgust looked like love.

            
 “
What were you thinking
,
” he asked, using the guise of caressing her hair to remove the bothersome mess from his ear canal.

            
 “
I wish we could have a baby
,
” she said, rolling onto her back next to him in the small, disheveled bed. She lay her hands splayed, palms down on her taught belly, petting her skin gently as if she could create life there only with the intention and desire.

            
 “
They wo
n’
t let us have a baby
,
” he said, his face grim
.“
You know that. You see what happens. Yo
u’
ll get dragged away to the special victims unit for a week
.
”

            
 “
Fuck them
,
” she said, pounding her fists on the mattress, throwing a tantrum like a toddler.

            
 “
Yes, my darling
,
” he replied
.“
Fuck them
.
” He kissed her on the top of her head, smiling at the expression of pure anger on her face.

            
 “
I
t’
s not fair
,
” she said, an obnoxious whine in her tone
.“
Why ca
n’
t we have a baby? I would love a baby. I would take such good care of her, or him
.
”

            
 “
You know why
,
” he said, pulling her next to him and cradling her in his arms
.“
They do
n’
t want us to spread the crazy
.
”

            
 “
Dr. Jacobson says
I’
m not crazy
,
” she said, sitting up in bed, her breasts hanging heavy before her, covered in sweat from her recent exertion
.“
He said in my session the other day that
I’
m doing surprisingly well, and that as long as my father agrees, that I should be going home soon
.
”

              Jaco
b’
s heart stopped beating, his breath frozen in his chest. She was getting out. All of this time he had been the one doing all the work to convince them that he was a decent, non-threatening member of society, and it was this crazy bitch who was going to get to walk in the land of the free once again.

            
 “
Yo
u’
re leaving
?”
he asked, sitting up next to her, his face a mask of utter concern.

            
 “
Well, not tomorrow or anything
,
” she said, putting her hand to the side of his face, kissing him gently on his gaping lips
.“
My father is coming in early next week
,
” she continued
,“
To talk to the doctors
.
”

              He was going to strangle her. Right here, in this bed, he was going to fucking end her life. Jaco
b’
s heart hammered in his chest, pain radiating through him as he fought to catch his breath without bringing his utter rage to her attention. All of this work, and it had backfired. They did
n’
t see that it had been he that had been healed by love, but her. She who had been chasing acceptance, peace,and love had found it in him and blossomed into a functioning human being. She would be given her appropriate medications, and with a promise that she would continue to eat her pills each day like a good little girl and not try and kill her mommy again because she did
n’
t like what was served for dinner, she would be allowed out into the light to play with the other normal kids.

             
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

              He needed to get out of here, or he really was going to kill her.

…

              Slamming the door of his room, he crashed into the back side of it, his legs collapsing beneath him as he slid down the aged wood. Tears of frustration sprung to his eyes, pain spreading through his chest as he sat on the floor, sobbing uncontrollably. He pulled his box of treasures from where it was hidden, deep under his bed where no one would find it.

              He dumped the box onto the cold, tile floor between his feet, hastily sifting through the images until he found the one that he was looking for, the new one from the magazine that he had snatched from Gin
a’
s room while she had been in a post-sex coma a few weeks back. There, there it was. He spotted the edge of the photo, sticking out from beneath an old image of his angel from an interview that she had done in Milan. Plucking at the edge with his fingertips, he pulled the picture out, letting the glowing, very pregnant body of his angel emerge into the light of the dying moon.

              She had posed nude, tastefully covering her most private areas with a turn of her shoulders, one leg crossed over the other. Her skin was radiant, reflecting the flood lights that had been pointed at her on the shoot, giving her the illusion of glowing from within, as if on fire with life. He ran the tip of his finger along the curve of her spine, caressing her in his mind. She was beautiful, and the caring expression on her face, the true and utter adoration, looked as though it was directed at him. He knew that she was thinking of him while standing so vulnerable in front of all those cameras. She drew strength from the knowledge that he was in the world, and that he was powerful, and that someday they would be together again.             

              A tear dropped from the edge of his chin, plopping itself in the middle of her picture. He cursed, spittle flying from his mouth,as he dragged his fingertip gently across the paper, trying to remove the wretched tear before it damaged his treasure. It was
n’
t fair; he had been so close. He thought that everything was going so well, that he would soon be able to go in search of her, take her into his arms once again,and begin their lives together. Instead, all of his efforts were for naught. The only thing that he had accomplished was to help Gina, that crazy twat, convince the doctors that SHE was the one who had been healed by thei
r“
love
.
”

              Quickly, he slammed his hand over his mouth, saving his treasures from the spray of hot vomit that suddenly spurted from between his lips. Frustration had literally made him sick, and he leaned over, spilling his stomach contents onto the tile floor. His head swam, the skin of his face burned with fever. Hastily, he shoved all of the photos under the bed, carelessly not putting them safely back into their box. He would have to risk them being discovered, for he knew that with as much noise as he was making in here, that the nurse would be in to check on him in a matter of moments.

              He groaned, trying to stand as the room swirled around him. He held his stomach, the roiling pain. There too much to bear, and he heaved a second stream of vomit onto the floor next to his bed. He was dying, the pain of seeing his carefully lain plans fall apart around him too much to bear. He fell onto his bed, hitting his head against the headboard in the process, and all went black.