Ms.Miller took me to the security camera room for the floor that Erika was on. I had to beg her just to see how she was doing.

I searched every screen until I found her, lying in bed as the guard stared blankly at the door across the room. I zoomed in to see her better. Erika had bruises all over her face and a split lip. I took a closer look and furrowed my brows.

"Did they cut her hair?"

"We had to. Jess tangled the ends so bad her hand was stuck in it when she pulled Erika down," she explained. I sat down in the chair in front of the screens.

"Tell me about the guards watching her."

"The one you're looking at is Wayne Smith, he just got there. The other guy who just clocked out is Chris Spier. He requested to be there." She used the mouse to rewind the footage a bit, "here he is."

I watched and looked at his face. He was the guard that looked at me weird in the activity ward... I watched him play cards with Erika and I grabbed the headset to hear them.

"Do you think Kage really loved you?"

"I think he still loves me."

"Oh yeah? I just thought people didn't hit the ones they loved."

"You don't understand. Kage isn't like a normal person."

I took the headset off and watched without sound. Erika started to look very annoyed and set her cards down. Spier packed up the cards and left. The way he acted seemed odd to me like... his body language was off. He seemed so determined to get information from her that it was aggravating him. I'm getting a bad vibe from him.

"Watch out for that Spier guy... something seems off," I said. Ms.Miller nodded and stepped closer to the screen as I fast-forwarded it to now. Everything was the same with the guard staring at the door and Erika sleeping. I smiled when I saw her wearing her black hoodie.

"Okay Kage, it's time to go," she said, placing her hand on my shoulder. I sighed and nodded, getting up to walk out of the room.

"Where are we going now?"

"You said you wanted to get better... well I'm the one organizing your recovery."

"Can you do that?"

"I'm the head nurse and about to be promoted again. I can do whatever I want."

**

After a few hours of this guard (who I actually kind of liked because he gave me space and never spoke a word to me) watching me, he had to clock out and leave. This dude leaving meant that Spier was probably coming back. It's not that I don't like him... it's just that I don't trust him and I'm sure he knows that. He walked in and glanced at me.

"How are you?" He asked, sitting down. I avoided direct eye contact with him because he just has their intense stare that creeped me out.

"I'm fine," I stated softly. He was about to respond but his mouth clamped shut when a nurse walked in to check on me.

"Feeling better today, Erika?" She asked me while she rolled up my hoodie a bit to check the bandages around my torso.

"Yeah, I guess."

"Did you sleep okay?"

"I was supposed to sleep? I just thought today was really long," I stated. She laughed a bit but I was completely serious.

"Well, I could give you something to help you sleep?"

"No... I'm okay." I was exhausted but i wanted to wait until the other guard was on duty before I slept. I thought Spier was cool but the fact that he asks me si much about Kage makes me think he has other motives.

After the nurse was done, she gave me some pain medication and left, closing the curtain and door behind her.

"So how old are you?"

"Sixteen." Spier nodded and smiled a bit.

"That's cool... why are you in this place?" He asked.

"I'm not crazy."

"I never said you were."

"I murdered seven people," i said as i stared at him. He just rolled his eyes and walked over, sitting on the side of the bed next to me.

"I heard you're a pathological liar." I groaned and shook my head.

"That's not true."

"Then why did you tell me that you murdered seven people when you were actually being beaten at home?" He whispered. I just stared at him in shock, not really knowing what to say. Red alarms were going off in my head as he started to smile more.

How the fuck.

"How did you know that?" I asked calmly. He continued to smile widely and chuckle.

"They told us all about you and Kage when we started working here... of course I like to do a little more research."

"No. How. Do. You. Know that? I haven't told anyone."

"I told you... I do my research." I sat in complete shock. I reached for the call button but he gently grabbed my hand and placed it back on the bed.

"Don't do that. I'm not going to hurt you. I just think that you don't like it when people know things about you." My breathing became heavier and my heart rate increased. I kept my composure on the outside but on the inside, I felt like I was going to be attacked again.

I'm scared.

**

Ms.Miller was walking me through the hospital care ward because she promised me that I could see Erika on the cameras again if I did everything I needed yesterday.

When we walked into the room, I immediately sat down and looked at her screen. I saw Spier sitting next to her in the bed and honestly, she looked terrified. Confused, I put on the headphones and continued to watch.

She went for the call button but grabbed her hand and stopped her.

What is he doing? Why does Erika look so scared?

I stayed calm and kept watching just to make sure I didn't overreact. He stood up and walked over to the sink, filling a cup of water and opening a packet of something. I started to panic a little bit. I could see Ms.Miller getting nervous and trying to see more.

"Katherine, that is that?" She shook her head.

"That's the powder tranquilizer we use but... you're only supposed to use a pinch for someone of her size. He's only supposed to be guarding her," she explained. My eyes widened as he dumped half the packet in the cup. in a split second, I threw the headphones off and bolted out of the room and down the hall to Erika's.

When I got there, I ran in and grabbed him by the neck, throwing him against the wall. I took a step back to catch my breath. Spier turned around and drew his gun on me, pulling the trigger as fast as he could. Unfortunately for him, he just grazed my shoulder but adrenaline was pumping through my veins... I didn't care.

Spier took a step forward and aimed directly for my chest. before he pulled the trigger, there was a loud thud and he stumbled to the ground. behind him, was Erika standing on a chair and holding a gun. She didn't shoot him she just hit him real hard with it.

I stared at her for a moment but as soon as our eyes connected, I swept her from her chair and hugged her like it was the last one I'd ever give. She wrapped her arms around my neck and hooked her legs around my torso. I buried my face in her shoulder as I calmed down.

This guy was really about to kill her... for no reason.

"I'm so sorry, Erika," I whispered. She shook her head and hugged me tighter.

"Just shut up, Kage. I don't care about that anymore."

As the guards rushed in, they picked up an awake but really disoriented Spier. Nurses and guards were gathered around us but it was a few more minutes before I let go of Erika. I looked at everyone surrounding us and they all looked shocked.

"What do we do now?" One of them asked. Everyone around us shrugged and Ms.Miller made everyone leave.

"Okay. What's going on?" She asked. I looked down at Erika, my face full of regret.

"Please believe me when I say I will never hurt you again. You have no idea how much I regret that fight." She nodded and rested her head on my chest.

"I might get in trouble for this but, Kage, do you want to stay with Erika for a while?" Ms.Miller asked. I nodded as she grabbed Erika's hand and turned her around, "are you hurt?"

"No."

"Okay well... just keep the curtains pulled." She closed the curtains so only the glass door and windows were exposed. Before she left, Ms.Miller turned back to us and smiled.

"I knew you two wouldn't last very long apart... you're meant to be," she stated and shut the door behind her.