Breath of Life Read Online Free PDF Page B

buckles and let Paxton’s hands free.
    Paxton looked up at her and stared for a moment. Dr. Keeler didn’t say anything but just watched her. Paxton shifted slightly as if she were trying to figure out why Dr. Keeler let her out of the restraints.
    “I felt his presence here. Even before I heard his voice.” She rubbed her wrists.
    Dr. Keeler decided not to say anything. She wanted Paxton to open up and not feel pressured. Dr. Keeler pulled her chair back up and waited for Paxton to continue.
    “It’s always been that way. I always know when he is near. I hoped I was wrong when I felt it when I first saw him. I thought maybe I was imagining it because it’s been a year since it happened.”
    Dr. Keeler was intrigued. She was talking about her past. “What has been a year?”
    Paxton stared at her like she already said too much. She sat silence. Dr. Keeler decided to take a different approach. “I didn’t mean to pry. Would you like me to go?”
    “Yes you did. It’s your job.” Paxton looked blankly at her. Her voice was void of any emotion. Dr. Keeler was taken aback by how cold her voice sounded. “It’s your job to fix me and you can’t because my mind is not broken, my heart…my soul is, but I guess my heart and soul are one in the same. Either way, they are both broken, not my mind”
    Dr. Keeler didn’t know how to respond to this. Paxton was more aware of what was going on than any other patient here. This was a reason why Dr. Keeler knew she didn’t belong in here. She knew Paxton didn’t have any mental disorder, she just wanted to escape.
    “I see you trying to figure me out. You have done a very good job at trying but you can’t succeed if you don’t understand. Like I said my mind is not broken.”
    “But yet you are still here,” Dr. Keeler decided to test her to see how far she would open up, “In a mental facility. Why did you choose this place?”
    “Because it seems fitting. It was easy to fake a break down when you know you just want to shut yourself away.” Paxton looked over and stared directly at Dr. Keeler. “It’s safe in here and I cannot hurt anyone when I’m in here. I am perfectly sane.”
    “Again, you’re still here. Some part of you believes you are broken, is that not true?”
    “I already told you I was broken.”
    “What I meant was mentally broken,” Dr. Keeler corrected herself. “Who did you hurt? Jack?” She cocked her head to the side looking at Paxton waiting for a response.
    Paxton just stared at her. She shifted in her bed as if she were uncomfortable. Dr. Keeler knew she was pressing for information Paxton didn’t want to think about but Dr. Keeler knew there wouldn’t be any good time to start the discussion. She saw Paxton close her eyes and took a deep breath.
    Dr. Keeler was still waiting for an answer, “Paxton?”
    “I need my rest,” Paxton said immediately. She turned and faced the other direction. Dr. Keeler knew she hit a wall with Paxton.
     

FOUR
     
    Paxton walked out of her room to join the others in the common room. Others came out to play games, stare into space, watch TV or maybe even read. Paxton came out to people watch. She tried to study them and their broken minds. She knew she didn’t fit in anywhere because as she told Dr. Keeler her mind wasn’t broken, her soul was. Paxton sat in her usual spot by the window. Nobody ever bothered her. She doubted the other patients even knew she was there half the time. They were in their own little worlds that their mind created. This mental facility was the world she created for herself, outside her mind. It was just one more justification that she was perfectly sane, just a lost soul.
    Paxton was staring into space when she started to feel uneasy. She felt as if someone was watching her or something was seriously wrong. She looked around to see if she saw anything out of the ordinary. She didn’t see anyone looking at her, anyone out of place, and she didn’t see anyone else