Diamonds & Gold

A thousand pounds weighed down his arms, his legs, his hands, his eyes. The room was so dark, Andy couldn’t tell if his eyes were open or closed. A haze fell over him, fog flooding into the room. What was going on? How long had he been in here? 

He struggled against his restraints, instinctively reaching to rub his eyes. Forcing himself to look down, he found himself restrained to the bed. Flashbacks of him struggling against the nurses (and the two burly guards that aided in their mission) overwhelmed him. Jumbled memories of the last twenty-four hours seemed to bring with them more questions, rather than answers. It was like he had all the corner pieces of the puzzle, but not enough to make the picture. 

Jordyn heard footsteps, loud, clunky footsteps. She just knew it was that overweight receptionist making her way down the hallway, kitten heels pushing heavily into the ground. That was her cue to get out of her therapist’s office. The girl lifted the blind on the door to peep out, watching the receptionist make her way down the end of the hallway, heading away from the  office she was currently snooping through. That was lucky, but Jordyn knew that was her chance to get out! It was only 7:15am, Elijah wouldn’t be down for his morning coffee for another 45 minutes. 

So off she went, skipping down the long hall until she reached the stairs, the one place she knew she could go was the empty room at the end of the first floor. That had always been her safe haven, a place to hide out when her episodes of panic got particularly bad. The door opened with ease and the nineteen year old snuck in, pressing her forehead against the cold door and breathing out a sigh of relief as she flicked the light switch on. Yellow fluorescent light invaded the room. Immediately Andy’s eyes burned. He let out a growl–a groan–the sound was foreign to his ears. Was this weakness? He had to get out of here. His head started pounding as his eyes flickered towards the light switch. 

“Get the fuck out.” He growled. 

At the sound of a voice speaking, Jordyn felt a shiver run down her spine and a scream escaped her lips as she span around to see who was there. 

“Oh my good fucking god! What the fuck?! Who are you?!” She wailed, peering over to the bed where the lankiest man she’d ever seen laid strapped to a bed. The sound of this woman’s shriek rattled his brain. He struggled against the restraints again, eager to grab her and throw her out of the room. 

“GET OUT!!!” His deep voice bellowed. 

“You get out!” Her instant reaction was to protect the little room that’d she’d known to be her own for the last month and now it had been invaded! “Why are you all…. Restrained? Is this some weird sex thing? Oh god, I’ve walked in on some weird kinky shit, haven’t I? You perv!! Do it in your own room like everybody else!” The baffled girl rattled on, walking a little closer to the bed but sensing it would be a bad idea to get too close. Every sound her mouth produced brought Andy more and more pain. He still felt as if he was not fully in the moment. 

Everything felt dull and oversensitive at the same time. He couldn’t cope with it. He assumed the girl had been a nurse at first, but now he wasn’t sure. “This IS my room, you idiot! You’re–an idiot! Get out!” Andy pushed against the restraints again, attempting to push the girl away with his foot. He couldn’t reach, she wasn’t close enough, but he didn’t have enough time to think. His heart raced. His brain only alerting him to how much pain he was in. The man felt more primal than ever. Jordyn felt a little offended at his words. She knew she wasn’t stupid, In fact, she prided herself on her intelligence, but the man was obviously unsettled. 

“I’m sorry–your room? I never saw anyone new come in. I usually hide out here…” As she explained she noticed the man’s discomfort. “Are you okay?” Andy rolled his eyes. 

“Fucking Christ.” He couldn’t get over her. This woman, this girl, and her questions. How old was she? He couldn’t keep his eyes open long enough to focus on her features. Andy almost didn’t have the words to respond. Everything felt like it took all his effort to do, even talking. He only sighed, exasperated, in response to her question. 

“Okay… Okay.” Jordyn ran into the little en suite, grabbing the plastic cup that was left on the side of the sink and filled it with water, she then pulled some toilet paper off of the roll and dampened it with the cold water. This man seemed grumpy but maybe it was just because of the situation and although she didn’t often care for others, for some reason she felt compelled to help this stranger. She crept back into the room and placed the wet paper towel on his forehead and then showed him the cup of water, placing her hand under his head to support it as she held the cup to his lips. “You should drink. And stop moving so much.”

“W-what are you–? N-no! No! I don’t want–” And the door shut. He didn’t need this stranger’s charity. The door opened again and Andy struggled against the bed, trying to get away from this creep. What was she doing? “Are you a nurse?” It seemed like a stupid question, but he had to ask. For a fleeting moment, he debated biting her hand to get her away from him. 

“No, I’m not!” Jordyn giggled. “Those zombies wouldn’t do this. Drink up and then I’ll decide whether I should get you out of these restraints.” The girl figured she’d probably be able to get him out but there must’ve been a reason he was tied up in the first place, was he dangerous? Andy opened his mouth to protest. However, upon hearing talk of losing these restraints, he quickly complied. The second the restraints were off, he could push this freak out the door and he could roam around his room freely. Alone. 

Jordyn helped the man drink, still judging the constraints around his arms and legs. “Right, first of all. Name?” She placed the cup down and perched herself on the edge of the bed. “And secondly, do you smoke?”  

“Why?” Andy asked, not feeling inclined to answer any of her questions. 

Jordyn smirked then pulled the pack of cigarettes out of her back pocket, wiggling them in front of his face. “Figured if you do, it’ll be incentive to cooperate. I promise, I’ll leave once I know you’re okay.” She nodded slightly then walked over to the window to prop it open as far as it would go.

“So…you’re just not getting the whole restraint thing, huh, blondie?” Andy asked quietly. “I can’t smoke with no hands!” The tone of his raised voice reverberated off the walls. 

“Hey, keep quiet. You won’t get anything if you talk like that.” Jordyn pulled out one cigarette and placed it between her lips, lighting the end. The sweet relief of nicotine rushed through her body as she began pacing around the room. “So, do I need to ask again or are you going to answer me?”

Andy knew this girl was just teasing him, causing him to get red-faced and even more angry. “I don’t have to tell you shit, lady! Just get the fuck away from me!” Jesus Christ, she was strange. Welcome to the nut house. Andy wondered if this was still better than prison. Jordyn smirked, taking another drag on the cancer stick then lighting another and placing it in the mans mouth as she began fiddling with the restraint on his right arm. 

“You don’t have to tell me anything but I’d quite like to know your name. Or why you’re tied up. Your choice."  Andy begrudgingly allowed the cigarette to stay in his mouth, watching her intently. 

"I killed a man.” A rather large portion of him wanted her to run away, shrieking just as she did when she arrived.

“Cool. Cold blooded murder or self defense? There’s a couple of those in here, but they’re alright. Maybe they have a murder meeting for you lot. Like the AA meetings I go to.” As Jordyn spoke, she undid the restraint on his right arm. “Better?” She teased, not wanting to tick him off too much. Immediately Andy felt how raw the skin on his wrist had gotten. The sensation of leather and raw skin rubbing together was agonizing. He sighed in relief as the restraint fell. 

“Yes.” He sighed, grabbing his cigarette with his right hand. Jordyn smiled, removing the wet paper towel from his forehead and placing it on the raw skin of his wrist.

“So, you murdered someone, why?” She asked, intrigued as she finished her cigarette, walking over to the window to dock it out of the outside panel. “I’ve hurt someone, that’s how I got here. But never murdered, I think I’m too little for that. I’m not very strong.”

“Fuck!” Andy hissed, feeling his skin burn underneath the cool paper towel.  The grip on his cigarette tightened. “You? Miss hundred pounds soaking wet? Who’d you hurt–a baby?” Jordyn laughed and looked down at her frame. 

“Alright, you don’t need to be mean. But actually, I punched a guy in the dick for grabbing my ass and trying to push me into the bathroom at a club. That my friend, could’ve got him arrested for attempted rape, and instead, I got put in here.”

“That…doesn’t make sense. If that were true, that would mean everyone who punched anyone at a bar would get thrown in here. Wanna cut the shit?” Andy asked, taking another drag of his cigarette. 

She sighed and pulled her top down, “Nope, that’s all your getting for now, it’s your turn.” She’d not really spoken to anyone at the hospital since arriving here but it was nice to just talk and boy could she do a lot of talking when he wanted to.

“Honey, I’m not telling you shit if you’re gonna feed me a bullshit lie like that.” Andy laughed. This girl was ridiculous, that was for certain. He couldn’t help but catch a glimpse of her breasts as she played with her top. He hit his head against the wall with a sigh, squeezing his eyes shut. “How old are you? Don’t you have a play date to go to or something?"Andy chuckled, "oh, I’m sorry, I’m sure they call those your ‘meetings’.”

“Nineteen.” Jordyn rolled her eyes with a heavy sigh. “Okay, fine, I kinda lost it. The punching a guys dick is true though. Basically I was arrested for being drunk and disorderly, spent two nights in jail, got in a fight with another girl there and had an episode when a warden tried to restrain me. I was deemed as "dangerous” and sent here.“ Jordyn couldn’t put her finger on why she was opening up to a complete stranger, someone she didn’t even know the name of, but she felt comfortable speaking about it, plus her story wasn’t that exciting. She’s just a little… Messed up and lost.

Andy listened halfheartedly and disinterestedly. If anything, he was just satisfied that this girl wasn’t lying. However, he did briefly feel a pang of disgust due to her age. She was so young and he was so much older than her. Andy always hated being around people younger than him. Made him feel like he was out of place.

"You’re too quiet. You always this quiet? Or is it me? You don’t like me?” Jordyn questioned as she sat on the side of the bed again, checking his wrist carefully. “Does it hurt? I can get a nurse for you if you want?”

Carefully ignoring her question, Andy jerked his hand away. “Don’t touch me. Don’t get a nurse. It’s gonna hurt the longer I stay in these restraints, but you just wanna play with me like I’m the newest edition of emo Ken. So run along, Barbie.”

“God you’re weird. Sorry for trying to help.” Jordyn yanked her hand back and crossed her arms over her chest, “You know what? I don’t have to untie you. I don’t want you hurting me, I’ve got to be cautious.” She had the power in this moment and she wasn’t going to give it up to a man that could kill her just with a click of his fingers. Andy’s eyes widened. 

“I’m weird? You’re the lunatic that broke into my room!” He practically growled as she moved away from him. Again he began yelling, “Help?! How are you helping? You walk in here and invade any sense of privacy, I tell you to get away from me and you deliberately come closer. If anything, you’re making the entire situation worse! Now I have to sit here with just one restraint undone and contraband in my room? Yeah, Jesus Christ, you’re a fucking savior, little girl!”

“Oh fuck you then.” Jordyn stood up and walked towards the door, this man was too hostile for her liking. All she wanted to do was help but this guy would apparently be happier lying in his restraints, waiting another two hours until a nurse came along. “Have a nice day, have fun trying to get to the bathroom. The nurses are pretty lazy when it comes to their rounds.”

“Really? You’re just going to walk away? Why don’t you put your big girl panties on and actually help like you wanted? Or are you going to go pout?” Andy asked through clenched teeth. Jordyn dropped her hand from the door knob and turned to face the man laying in the bed. 

“Okay, I’m sorry I teased.” She walked over and undid the rest of the restraints. “I’d recommend running some water over your wrists.” She suggested and crossed over to the opposite side of the room, partly scared of the man and also feeling guilty for her jokes. 

Andy muffled a sigh of relief. He couldn’t wait to get out of these restraints. “But–that hurts.” Andy mumbled.

“Yep, but it’ll help in the long run.” Jordyn mumbled back, nodding towards the bathroom as if to push him forwards, without actually forcing him. “You’re kinda mean, and scary a little bit.” She whispered, leaning against the wall as she watched him.

Andy’s whole body felt sore. He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes. He knew he should say thank you, but that would be admitting he needed somebody’s help and that just couldn’t help it. “Apparently not enough if it took you this long to untie me. I assume if I was more intimidating, you would have done whatever I said.”

“Yeah well I did say a little bit, you’re also a little fluffy. I can see it.” She chuckled, “Now I’m not going to get in trouble for letting you out, am I?” She had to make sure her name wouldn’t get back to any members of staff because then it would get back to Elijah and he would be mad– then Jordyn knew she’d never hear the end of it.

Andy raised an eyebrow. “Fluffy? What do you mean fluffy?” He slowly eased himself up off the bed, wincing in pain. “No, I don’t even know your name.” He made sure to look her in the eyes, hoping she could see he was being truthful–for once.

“You’ve got a hint of a nice streak, it just needs to be nurtured!” Jordyn smiled, hoping he wouldn’t get mad at her witty remarks. “It’s Jordyn, if you were interested in knowing. But don’t tell anyone, my therapist will hate me.” She explained, bringing her nails up to her mouth and biting on the already short nails. Nervous habits were always hard for the girl to kick.

Andy simply glared at her comment. By no means did he want to be considered nice. He had to keep up his sociopath act, and sociopaths definitely don’t have a nice guy reputation. “Don’t worry, I’m not.” He shrugged.

Jordyn shrugged and stepped towards the bathroom door, holding out her arm to further prompt the man to get into the bathroom. “Go clean your wounds. They shouldn’t get infected.”