6
Chapter Six
SIN
It's been yearssince I've seen him—the man in in the tree. Clearly, not much has changed. "Yeah, I know who he is." I mean, I haven't actually spoken to him before, mostly because I don't think he speaks. I've only heard the rumors of what he did to land himself in the hospital years ago. Unless someone offers up the information on himself or herself here, we're not given much info on our fellow inmates. He was already in Chipley when I got here.
"Well, why is he sitting in that tree?" Reese asks.
I stop and turn toward her, gripping her shoulders. "Babe, everyone here is criminally insane." She looks confused by what I'm saying, like I hadn't said this to her already.
"There’s a difference between a criminal and a person who has a psychological disorder," she states. "Why are they grouped together like this?"
Here's another one of those instances where I feel like I'm dealing more with a fifteen-year-old than an eighteen-year-old. "Reese," I collect my thoughts, or try to, but her question is making me think of a logical answer. "Clearly, these people have proven that their criminal actions were the result of insanity." There. Yeah, that works. Is that what happened? Because, if that's the case, why was I sent to Applebrook?
"That makes sense, I suppose," she says, looking from me over to Rooter. Walking past me, she makes her way to the base of the tree, seemingly studying the guy, intrigued almost.
"Reese." Please don't do anything stupid.
She ignores my voice as she examines the length of the tree. Oh, this is going to be great. Doing exactly what I assumed she was considering, she hops up and grabs ahold of two branches, while walking herself up the side of the tree until she can lift herself up on the level of branches. "For God's sake, Reese, get down here!" I shout up at her.
Again, she ignores me. I fidget uncomfortably, watching her approach the height where Rooter is sitting. "Hi," she says sweetly to him, placing her hand over his back. "Are you okay?" Is she serious? Of course he's not okay. None of us are okay. Rooter looks over at Reese, but without shock or surprise. He's studying her eyes. She places her hand on his back and situates herself between two branches. "Do you need help?"
Rooter nods his head, but doesn't break his gaze into her eyes. Which is really starting to piss me off right now. Maybe if Reese knew what I've heard—that Rooter used to run some kind of cult where they convinced people to kill themselves, she might feel differently. I guess once he was arrested and brought into custody, he refused to talk. From what I heard, he didn't blink or show much sign of life, aside from his moving chest and beating pulse. Because of this, they brought him to Applebrook. Evidently, they weren't able to break him either and they sent him over here to rot and die like the rest of us.
The hopeless—that's what we are. We are the people who aren't counted as part of any population. We are considered dead, according to the records in Oklahoma. Why Jackson Crownwell doesn't just kill us before dropping us into this shithole, I still haven't figured out. I have to think there's some kind of reason to his madness.
I can't hear much from down here, but I can see Rooter whispering something to Reese. My head is starting to spin with assumptions and I want to get up there, throw her over my shoulder and get her down. "Reese!" I shout up instead.
She looks down at me, holding up one finger, telling me to hold on. Rooter looks down at me, too, as her head is still turned away from him. The second Rooter's lips twitch into a smirk, I pull myself up the tree quicker than I thought possible. "What are you saying to her? I thought you didn't talk," I seethe toward him.
Rooter just stares at me and doesn't say a word. I know he said something to Reese though. "Sin, calm down," Reese scolds me. She's telling me to calm down? Me? I try to breathe in through my nose with hopes of calming my growing rage, but it isn't working.
My aggression has grown at a rapid rate since Reese stepped into my life. I used to have the ability to control myself like no other, but for some reason, with her in the equation, I go from zero to sixty faster than I can blink. My heart starts pounding in my chest and it's like I can't breathe, but words bubble up my throat, making regret easy when all is said and done. It's one of the biggest reasons Reese keeps calling me an asshole. I know I've been an asshole to her, but in all honesty, I can't control myself. Maybe it's the fact that I haven't had a damn thing to fight for in five years, and now I feel like I have a purpose.
"What did you say to her?" I ask Rooter. Knowing he isn't going to answer me, I climb a little higher, getting close enough to knock this asshole off his branch.
"Sin, please calm down," Reese urges me again. "I know why he's sitting up here." She points behind me and I follow the length of her arm out into the distance. We're up against the property line of Chipley, and over the tree line is the outside world. There's nothing but flat open land with hay bales scattered around. I can probably see at least ten miles into the distance and there's nothing out there. Nothing. Not that it matters. The fact that there's no gate, fence, or dam beyond the trees pisses me off. I have heard rumors of another way, although it's likely just a tease. "How long would we have to survive if we could get across that water?"
Rooter looks over at Reese at the same time I do and he nods his head frivolously. "Even if you make it across, the bacteria will have already seeped into your skin. You'd likely die within minutes," I tell her. "Plus, the top portion of the wall is electrically charged. That's why you saw all of those bodies at the bottom of the water."
Yes, we're screwed.
Reese looks over my head and back out at freedom. While I'd expect to see some kind of sadness or loss of hope in her eyes, there seems to be determination instead. That worries me. She doesn't think before acting or speaking. That'll get her killed here.
"We'll see you soon," Reese says to Rooter. Another smile spreads across his face. With another deep breath, I lower myself to the ground, waiting for Reese to descend, too. Of course Rooter leans over to whisper something else to her and I swear to God, she has ten seconds before I really do pull her down.
She pats him tenderly on the back and lowers herself down the tree, slipping a little on the way. Once she's on the ground, she walks on ahead of me without a word.
Stalking up to her, I take her by the arm and fling her around. "What the hell was that?"
"What was what?" she asks, asserting an attitude.
"Hmm, I don't know. The suicide whisperer wants to be your friend. That's so great, Reese. I don't know why I didn't suggest that idea myself."
"Suicide whisperer?" she asks. She doesn't look put off by this, but rather fascinated.
"Should I remind you again as to what reason all of these people are in here?" I say.
