Chapter 2 WHO AM I RUNNING TO

Joyce's POV

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The air outside was chilly, with a slight scent of damp earth and corroded swings. The hospital's pseudo playground was duff with a few corroded benches with half legs missing and swing sets.

Patients mill about in slack movements, eyes sunken and shoulders sag under the weight of whatever kept them here.

I sat with my arms folded around me. The wind tugged at my already dirty shirts and pants, but I barely felt the chill. I was drawn to my trembling hands wondering if they had always been like that or if it was the drugs drilling through my system.

"You don't belong here", a voice interrupted, smooth yet coarse with something obsessed; knowledge.

I turned my head slightly, just enough to gaze at the woman sitting beside me. She's older, possibly in her late forties, soft gentle voice with thin figure that doesn't fit here.

I did not notice her approaching me until she addressed me. Her smile captivating, melting my suspicious heart. "I know you, you're Lady Joan's daughter in-law, aren't you?"

My breath hitched, my fists tightened on the hem of my top. "You.... You know her?" My voice cracked, fear tugged at my throat.

She lets out a dry laugh, "I know her too well my dear, and I know what she's doing now". She leaned in on me, "and what she's doing to you, Joyce".

A chill ran down my spine, my heart racing faster. Glimpse of Joy rushed through my veins. Somebody else knows what I know, what I'm going through. That proves I've not been hallucinating. I am not crazy.

"You do?", My curiosity got the better of me and I asked. Longing to hear the words again.

She's good at it my darling", she continued. "Bribing doctors, eliminating her enemies. Yes I know what she's doing to you".

My heart beating louder and faster, my breath rhythmically paced. The words alone sent shivers down my spine, and I was left more confused and scared. "What do you mean?"

She vows on my shoulder, her low voice trembling with anger, "I know what she's doing to you Joyce and you're not the first"

Her words hit me. My hands struggling with the fabric of my shirt.

"She made me this way", my voice trembled, in a whisper that was barely audible. "She ordered them to inject me and it's driving me crazy.".

The woman caresses my hair, nodding at every word I utter, as though nothing took her by surprise.

"I know.... she kills everyone who stands in her way, and you my love....", her expression softens, my heart misses a beat.

"You're an obstacle to her", she said

My tears flow down. "I attempted to inform my husband earnestly, yet he didn't trust me, and......", my voice was interrupted "he hasn't come to see me for ages".

"That's what's she does. Cuts off any kind of support from you"

"But who are you and how did you know all these?"

She laughs, throwing back her head, making her red hair fall back at her slender shoulder.

The red hair, the same as Zacks. I had always wanted to have a mini version of him with the red hair.

"Let's say i used to be like you Joyce, a victim of her evil deeds. I've been here all these years" her voice weaver, an overflow of sorrow in her voice.

"Years!", My voice rose in astonishment.

"Don't let them know you're fine. They will give you an increased dose" she advised.

I swallowed hard. Not to draw the guards' attention to us. I moved my hair, scratching it more to divert them. "Why?"

"I am her worst nightmare, just like you my dear", she said, her face unforgiving.

"She wants me to sign the divorce papers", my heart tightens at the thought of losing Zack. "I can't lose him, he's all I have. I won't divorce my husband".

"For your freedom, Joyce?" She asked

Enamored by her question. The thought of leaving my Zack has never occurred to me before. Being an orphan with no siblings, Zack has been my only family and my only means of happiness and peace. I can't live without him by my side.

The woman shook my shoulder, rising from the rusty bench as she walks away slowly.

The emptiness that had been invisible some minutes prior lunches back. The pain of loneliness wraps me around again.

She'd really occupied the empty space within me.

"How badly do you want to break free away from here?", Her voice pierced sharply.

"Huh?"

"Do you want to break free from here or do you want to remain behind?" She asked again, her eyes fixed on mine.

Frozen by her question, her eyes never leaving mine. Her gut and courage say she's no ordinary woman. "I want to escape, I want to go see my Zack"

"I mean without your husband. Would you accept leaving your husband, Joyce?"

A stinging pain coursed through my heart as I shake my head in disagreement. I cannot leave Zack.

My heart skipped a beat, as she turned and walked away. "What does she mean without my husband?, Who am I running to if not Zack?.

My eyes hurt more. Tears streaming down. Six months without Zack has been hell for me.

I want to get out of here.... But can I sacrifice my marriage for my freedom? Can I trust her?.

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I was not aware of the duration or the amount of time that has gone by. The days have instead gone by at comparatively slow speed, draining my brain along with it. The multiple doses of pills and injection and traumas.

My mind kept drifting back to the woman and her questions. Incident of that day roaming free in my mind and her words embedded in my heart.

*Would you accept leaving your husband, Joyce?*, *Would you prefer to get out of here or stay behind?*

Escape!

The air in the room grew thick. The door creaked open and my heart somersaulted. Expecting another sinister hand with a syring. But instead, I gasped.

It's him

The one I desire more than anyone. The only one on my side.

My man, Zack

My husband was standing in the doorway, his eyes locked stubbornly on mine. Weak, harried, exhausted, so exhausted that I've never seen him be. His hair mussed and his jaw unshaven. Like he's suffering as much as I am. Like he hasn't slept a bit like me.

My heart tighten. My tears well up in danger of falling. Emotions long dead come alive in an instant

"Baby", I whispered

His eyes shine, more than it did before, as if something inside him broke at the mention of my voice. He came closer to me, he kneels beside my bed, holding me in his arms.

He missed me as much as i do miss him. I wont leave my husband. I will wait patiently till he takes me away.

I can trust him more than anybody else. I love him more than life. I won't leave him.

Our feelings occupy the space in the room.