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“Are you saying that life without pain is too hard to face?” My pen was poised above the paper as I anxiously awaited her response. Alice was far more complicated than I first deduced, and this wouldn’t be an easy task. The other girls had been as frail and flighty, just as broken and lost, but none held the fight and determination that lingered in Alice’s demeanor.
“Wouldn’t it be easy to have me all figured out? Sorted into your little boxes so you could tick off each one and give your prognosis. I’m not that simple, Doctor. Nor am I that complicated.”
Sitting back in my chair I was startled but pleased by her quick wit. “Who said I’m trying to squeeze you into anything, Alice?”
She watched me carefully and smiled. “Isn’t that what you’re up to, Doctor? In that prim notebook of yours. Trying to mold me into one of those little clinical experiments you’re so fond of?”
I checked off the first box on the list and wrote down my comments:
Patient is clearly paranoid.
When I looked up, she was watching me, her brow arched, an amused expression lingered on her upturned face. “Do I get one of those notebooks as well?”
“And what would you need it for, Alice?”
“To jot down all the small details that I find intrigue me about you, Doctor.”
My heartbeat picked up a little in response. “Am I intriguing to you?”
In a way I wanted her to say yes, and yet I was disturbed by how well she liked to manipulate her way around her answers. Before she could lead the conversation her way, I brought her back to why we were here in the first place.
“Pain, Alice. There’s other ways.”
She scoffed and looked away. “I’m done here.”
“You’re done when I tell you you’re done.” Annoyance mixed with intolerance shown in my tone. There were many games I would play but that wasn’t one of them. During my sessions, I was in charge.
She caught my eye and gave me a sardonic smirk. “Good to know the Doctor likes to keep the upper hand.”
I inhaled a deep breath and rang the buzzer. “I can’t work with you like this. You either open up to me, Alice, or you’ll forever remain lost in all that pain and anguish.”
I watched as she struggled against her chains while the two male nurses dragged her away kicking and screaming. If she wanted to gain control, she had another thing coming.
This wasmyWonderland, and she would be let out when she learned how to play the game.
Chapter 4
Alice
My own mournfulwails of terror echo as the screams continue, drowning out any other sound, launching one after the other as my heels, clicking on the wooden floor, are the only other noise. Both consume my thoughts as I slip and fall hard on my hands and knees. Bruises will mar my flesh in the coming hours, but I will experience many more in the future.
This is how I live now.
I can feel my pursuer towering above me, the edge of his pants brushing up against my heels as I search for anything, anyone who can help me. The mansion is empty, my savior gone, and I’m left all alone to face the monster who wants to keep me locked in a gilded cage ready to perform at his whim.
His hands brush against the ivory fabric of my silk negligee. It’s the only thing separating my body from his perverted use.
“No!” I cry out, taking a chance and kicking out before I stumble to my feet and run.
“I’ll never leave you alone, Alice.” Never. I know this. “Come back,” his sinister command is a rumble that hits somewhere deep inside of me with an urge to return, but I push the foolish choice aside. He no longer has the same hold over me.
I’m going to be free. Soon. At last.
I run until I can’t anymore, stumbling and fighting for every step that means I’m farther from his control. I’m so weak.
My body betrays me, and I fall. That’s when I feel strong arms surround me with an embrace as rigid as steel. My shrill screams fill the hauntingly dark and empty alleyway as I desperately try to grab at anything to keep from becoming lost. I can’t keep pitching down into that rabbit hole.
I won’t . . .
