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Demented ➳ h.s [Editing Starting Soon]

Same Book

CHARLOTTE'S POV
TUESDAY

Liz didn't show up last night nor did she come to work. I asked around and she was apparently sick, "How did you not know? You live together," one commented. Shrugging seemed to become my nonverbal catch phrase while wandering the halls. Tim, one of the patients in this forsaken place looked at me and smiled as he did with all the white people in the facility. It amazed me how he has been able to live this long especially with his... background in the community with such impeccable racism. Truly fascinating how he wasn't found dead yet. Characters were what I'd recently learned to call the people that wandered the halls of Navarro.

The walk to Ms. Hannigan's office was long and time dragged along with my feet that ached helplessly. Maybe it was because I expected her to be in the same detestable mood she was always in. However, today seemed to be my lucky day because when I knocked, she looked up and smiled at me. I've worked at Navarro for a little over a year and not once have I seen the aging woman even attempt to crack a smile.

We--I'm speaking for the employees and myself--would expect her to smile at the death of a puppy... that she killed. So the idea of seeing her smile was obviously substituted with the constant frown placed on her chapped and saggy lips.

"Ms. Huntington. How might I be at your service?" Her voice was filled with glee. I could faintly hear the breathing of the other employees at Navarro, all missing their jobs to witness probably the only time Ms. Hannigan will smile. And know the person to ruin it.

"Well," I began, "I was wondering, you know. If maybe, I don't know."

"Dear, if you don't know, I certainly don't," it wasn't even my nervousness that was suddenly delaying my thoughts, it was the fact that she was actually being serious. No joking, she was really being nice.

After losing interest in the strand of hair I'd found entertaining while trying to stall, I spat out my request, "I was wondering if I can leave this afternoon to travel to America." The words ran out of my mouth as if my breath smelled of rotted tuna. Gasps of the eavesdropping employees echoed and they figured their cover was blown and finally appeared in the doorway.

Her head cocked to the side and her smile disappeared almost instantaneously. You've done it now, my conscious obnoxiously reminded me. I flinched as if she was going to strike me with her deathly nails but she took her seat at her desk and looked down at her papers. Then, she looked back up at me. Her brown eyes looked into mine, her's slightly darker. "What the hell," she simply stated.

"E-excuse me?"

"It wasn't a question, dear. What. The. Hell." The smile reappeared on her face. That was all I needed to know that I could leave instantly. While walking (I told myself I was walking when I really knew I was basically running), I thought of my curly-haired hamartia. There he was, in the corner he was always in reading the same old book. Never have I seen him flip the page other than today, he seemed to always read the same two pages over and over.

Upon approaching him I asked him, "Why are you just now flipping the page? I mean, you've been reading that book for over a week."

It took him a second to register that I was speaking to him but he stuck the same lighter into the book, "Charlotte," he started before pulling his hand through his hair, "it seems you may have had this in the back of your mind for a while. So, I will tell you. People now read books for enjoyment and many find the meaning in the book, hidden and obvious. Either way, there are those who never find the meaning in the book which results in them absolutely hating the book and advising others to never read it. Which is why," he pointed to his book, 'A Walking Shadow', "this book is known for being terrible. I've read the same pages hundreds of times to find the hidden meaning in each page, paragraph, sentence, and word. Do you understand, Charlotte?"

My eyes widened. Harry seemed to be the perfect package. He was impeccably handsome, an obvious educated individual, and spent his time reading books. Had he not been locked up in a mental asylum, I'd might consider accepting a date with him. Not like he'd ask me out or anything but still. He awaited my response, "Understand? I'm amazed."

He smiled, "Also, by reading the same pages, you learn new vocabulary." I'd learned to laugh at that, "So... what happened with you and Hannigan?"

"That's what I needed to talk to you about." I started to find interest in my hair again but he pulled the strand from my finger and tucked it behind my ear. Is there some new medication in the food that I missed? That's also a reason why most employees don't eat the cafeteria food. That shit is drugged, I swear. "I'm going on an early vacation and I need you to behave."

"Yes, Mum," he responded and adjusted his seating position. He proceeded to read his book, "You probably expected me to be upset or want to murder someone because you still fail to realize that I'm basically harmless. Even though you tell yourself that I wouldn't do something so terrible, your own fatal flaw is the fact you have to see to believe and it's impossible to go back to the point in time to where I actually was on the five nights those five women were violated and murdered." My breath caught in my throat. Harry was helping me realize that telling myself was basically brain washing myself. I'd told myself that Harry wasn't a murderer even though deep down, I still have my doubts.

There was nothing I could say and he closed the conversation of his accusations from the public, "So, like I said, behave." And I got up to leave.


Notes

I apologize for the short chapter but I like it how it is and I felt like if I added to it, it'd be ruined. I've been on Audible and I'm listening to The Fault In Our Stars for the second time.. I think Harry is turning into my own Augustus Waters... oops. Hope you enjoyed and I can't believe that I'm only a few chapters in and 21 of you are reading.. thanks, babes <3

Comments

@Hopeless Directioner
Actually, the whole summary is different. I made up a quote that may or may not go into the story and just the basic summary isn't even a summary, it's suspenseful. Again, I hope you like the new version as much as you liked the old.

svmmertime svmmertime
5/18/14

@Hopeless Directioner
Some will be minute but most will be obvious. Some conversations are edited so that Harry is more closed up. All in all, the story will be longer. There is a new introduction and just a bunch of things I wasn't comfortable with. A lot of editing was needed and the cover was terrible. And so, the edited first chapter is up along with a new introduction. I really hope you like it, darling x

svmmertime svmmertime
5/18/14

@wonderful .
I'm excited to see how it'll be revised! Will the changes be minute or obvious?

@Hopeless Directioner

I will be editing and taking out and adding in parts. Honestly, Demented went waaay too fast in my opinion, and with the plagiarism and all, I found that I really want to rewrite it anyway. I will obviously be keeping this version up but I have already started the new version and the whole first chapter is different. I just think the story could have stretched at least to 35 chapters or more. Again, this WILL stay up, but the new version will be posted separately. Mind you, it will take at least a few months for me to do it since I have other stories, but I'm sick from school today so I'm going to continue. I was hoping everyone would like that it's being revised and bettered a bit, do you?

svmmertime svmmertime
5/16/14