The Disappearing Bear
Katy came to me crying this morning. She lost my bear and feels terribly about it. I’m not mad at her though because I trust that she wouldn’t lose something that belongs to someone else. She has been looking everywhere for it since she woke up this morning and realized that it was missing.
“Katy, calm down, I’m sure that you didn’t lose him.” I tell her. She looks up at me with big watery eyes. I smile and pat her head. “I trust you. You wouldn’t lose something that belongs to someone else.” I tell her. She smiles and nods.
“That’s what I told you when you first gave him to me. I’m such a bad friend. I promise I’ll find him for you.” She cries while burying her face in my chest. I hug her to myself and rub her back.
“You didn’t lose him. I think he might have been stolen from you. Did anyone visit your room yesterday, Katy?” I question. She stops sniffling and crying and steps back from me to look around the room. Her eyes stop on Alex.
“Alex visited me yesterday. Do you think he stole it?” She asks me. I look over Alex trying to decide whether or not he would have stolen the bear from Katy. It’s difficult to decide what goes through any of our heads at a given moment.
“I don’t know but I’m going to go ask him.” I tell her. She nods and I pat her head with a smile on my face before turning and walking toward Alex. I approach the couch that he is sitting on and he turns with a nice smile on his face.
“Hey Xavier. What’s up?” He asks me. I stop in front of him with a glare on my face. He looks confused as I stand over him.
“What did you do with my bear?” I growl at him. He frowns at me.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I thought Katy had the bear.” He replies. My fists clench and my jaw ticks. He reads these movements and quickly raises his hands in a surrender motion. “I swear. I don’t know what happened to your bear.” He continues trying to convince me but I refuse to believe him. My hand moves so fast that I can barely comprehend what I’m doing and I grab his collar, lifting him off the couch.
“Don’t lie to me. I know you have it. You were the last person to visit Katy.” I say. He doesn’t try to fight back but instead just sits there staring at me. It pisses me off so I punch him in the stomach, he groans and I am quickly pulled off of him and shoved to my knees. I look up to see all of the girls staring at me in fear, especially Katherine and Katy who had come to trust me as the calm and collected one. I feel a needle enter my arm and my vision starts to blur as the guards drag me away.
Solitary-
“Xavier? Xavier.” I hear my name being called and I slowly turn my head toward the voice.
“What?” I ask groggily.
“Come on. Wake up. I need to talk to you.” The voice says in an annoyed tone. I feel myself sit up but my body is still very heavy. I look around and see a person through all of the dots and spots that are blocking my vision.
“Who are you?” I ask in a slur. The person is still fading in and out until I feel a sharp pain travel through my face. I suddenly snap to and look around only to see total darkness. “What is this? Where am I?” I ask. I hear someone sigh next to my ear. “Who’s there?” I ask as I scoot away.
“Please don’t act so scared. I’ve been here the whole time.” A man says. I stop and take a few deep breaths before speaking again.
“What do you mean?” I question him. He lets out a breathy laugh.
“Do you really mean to tell me that you haven’t noticed me? I think deep down you know who I am.” He tells me. I close my eyes and try to think but a headache starts to form as I try to think about anyone other than the five people I’ve been living with for the past two months.
“I don’t know who you are. I can’t see you and I don’t think I’ve ever seen you before.” I tell him. I stare into the endless darkness and wait for another response. Suddenly something grabs my hand at my wrist and there is breath brushing right against my ear.
“Of course you know who I am. You see me in the mirror every morning. I am you and you are me. You got angry today. You lost it when you thought Alex took your precious bear. That’s why I’m here now.” He explains. I feel my head shake back and forth and try to pull my hand away but his grip gets tighter as I keep trying to get away.
“No. That doesn’t make any sense. That’s impossible. Let go. Let go of me!” I yell. Suddenly a metallic buzz sounds through the room and light pours in as the door opens.
“Xavier! Xavier!” My eyes snap open and I look around. My breathing is erratic and my skin feels cold. “Xavier?” Someone calls my name quietly. I look directly in front of me and see the doctor sitting there staring at me with worry. “Are you okay, Xavier?” He asks. I look around again and actually take in my surroundings.
“I’m in solitary? Why am I in solitary?” I ask the doctor. He looks at me in confusion.
“Don’t you remember? You tried to beat up Alex yesterday.” He tells me. I try to think about it but a headache forms again. I shake my head.
“I don’t remember. Why would I have wanted to beat up Alex?” I question. He shakes his head with a sigh.
“You thought he took your bear. Don’t you think that’s a little much for a bear?” He asks. I lean against the wall and relax my arms in the jacket.
“I don’t think I actually did it because of the bear. If I did try to beat him up it was probably because Katy was crying and I thought that he was the one causing it.” I explain. He nods and his facial expression changes to a smile.
“You have really adopted that role as a big brother haven’t you? I think that’s great and Katy and Lucee really need that but, you haven’t set a very good example for them by doing this. Are you at least feeling better now?” He asks me. I nod.
“Yes. I’m sorry for acting like that. I just didn’t like seeing Katy cry.” I tell him. He smiles and nods. He puts his hand under my elbow and helps me to stand and walk out of the solitary room. The guards hold my arms as the doctor works to unbuckle the jacket. Once my arms are free I stretch and roll my shoulders.
“Are you ready to go back?” The doctor asks. I nod and wait for the guards to grab me. The doctor grabs my arm instead and we start walking. “I trust that you aren’t going to fight going back to the ward.” He tells me. I smile and relax. After walking through a few hallways we come to a stop at the big door that is marked Isolation. He scans his card and the door slowly opens. He leads me into the common room where everyone is sitting waiting for me to return. I step through the threshold and they all stare at me. I approach Alex and hold my hand out to him.
“I’m sorry for my actions. I should not have acted like that.” I apologize. He takes my hand with a smile.
“It’s okay. I understand now why you got so angry.” He tells me. I let out a deep breath and look at the others in the room. Katy jumps up and gives me a huge hug while starting to cry and I hug her back. I’m so happy to have all of these friends.