Nellie stayed in solitary confinement for a week.
The nurses didn't force her to, it was her own decision to stay away from people for a while. The incident in the laundry room had brought back terrible sentiments within her. She felt empty but also weirdly murderous. In order to escape from her internal struggles, she gladly accepted to swallow all of the numbing pills that made her sleep all day and actually prevented her from drowning under dark thoughts.
When she finally decided to leave confinement, Nellie was still high on drugs and fairly unemotional. She saw Katie Nolan in the common room and the latter broke down in tears as soon as their eyes met. She ran toward her and wrapped her arm around Nellie in a tight, suffocating hug.
"You protected me." The girl sobbed. "Thank you, Nellie, thank you so much!"
Nellie's eyelids were slightly dropping. She mumbled something unintelligible and let herself being dragged to a seat by Katie. The latter was just in the midst of hosting a tea party with all her plushies and gladly served one cup of air to Nellie.
"Here, drink this. It will make you feel good."
Nellie twirled her little spoon inside the empty cup and pretended to drink. Though there was nothing to taste, she hummed and offered a thumbs-up to an ecstatic Katie.
A few seconds later, Martim appeared. He spotted Nellie without much difficulty and walked toward her. Katie Nolan lost her smile at the sight of Martim who she considered to be a brute and a bully. She cringed when he sat at her table without being invited. She also moved her chair back to avoid getting touched by any part of him.
On the other hand, Martim wasn't paying attention to Katie's reaction. All he cared about was Nellie who gave him a little sad smile. He leaned closer to her, holding her hand over the table. Katie shivered in disgust at the sight. She turned pale, as if she was about to puke:
"I can't be here..."
She stood up so fast that her chair almost fell backward and she scurried away. Martim smile, glad to see that he pushed the girl away. He was finally alone with Nellie.
"Without you, it felt like I was in solitary confinement as well." He whispered to her. "You know I can't talk to anyone but you here, Nellie."
Nellie squeezed his hand to respond to Martim's kind words. The truth was that she missed him too during the last week. He was the person she talked to the most at the institution. Even if he'd only joined a few months ago, they'd become great friends.
"...I wanted to talk to you about what you said the last night. In the laundry room."
Nellie frowned in confusion.
"What did I say?"
"You don't remember?"
"No...Not, really."
"You said you wanted me to take you out of here."
Nellie searched Martim's eyes. She couldn't remember saying those words but on the other hand, it seemed like he hadn't been thinking of anything other than that during the last week.
Martim scooted closer to Nellie's side, holding her hand in both of his. He lowered his voice as a nurse passed right next to them.
"I thought about it a lot and I think we should really do it. Let's leave the institution. Together, you and me."
Nellie let out a little laugh. She really believed that Martim was making fun of her but his face remained very serious. The young woman's frown deepened as she realized that her friend was not joking.
"We can't, Timmy. Where would we go? The outside world is so dangerous..."
"It's only dangerous when you're left unprotected. But you will have me, Nellie. I can promise you that no harm will come your way if you stick by my side, alright? No one is suicidal enough to fuck with me out there. I'll keep you safe."
"...No, Timmy. I don't like it. I don't remember telling you I wanted to leave and-..."
"There are so many things that you need to experience, Nellie...I want to feed you the best foods, show you the best places...Please, let me do that for you."
"No. I like it here."
Nellie took her hand away from his and stood up. Her heart was thumping hard in her chest just at the idea of stepping out of the institution. Sure, she fantasized about it a few times but never to the point of actually wanting to leave.
She turned and walked a few steps away until Martim's voice forced her to come to a halt:
"I will take you to him."
In Nellie's mind, "him" only referred to one person. She turned around slowly and met Martim's eyes again. The latter had his jaw clenched and his fists tight.
"What did you say?" Nellie whispered under her breath.
Martim stood on his feet. He wanted to free Nellie from her prison so badly...Maybe it was worth the sacrifice. Only one thing could make her agree to follow up with his plan.
"I will take you to Troy Allen." Martim repeated.
Nellie's mouth fell open. Around them, no one was paying attention to the ushered conversation they were having. Nellie's face broke out in a huge grin at the thought of finally meeting her love but then, her smile slowly subsided.
Something was making her feeling uneasy.
She was certain that something terrible must have happened to her back when she used to belong in the outside world. Unfortunately, she had no idea of what it was. All that was left was the fear, the anger and the sorrow.
Martim came closer, holding her face between his hands:
"What's wrong, Nellie?"
"...I'm scared." She confessed. "I don't feel safe out there. I don't think I can do it. Something must have happened to me when I was younger and-..."
He hated to see her so scared and vulnerable. Martim brought Nellie to his chest in a soothing hug. She held on to him with her eyes closed, her heart thumbing so hard that he could feel it through his chest.
"Let's find out, Nellie." Martim told her. "Let's find out why you're so scared of the outside world."
"H-How?"
"We need to see your file in doctor Hernandez's office. I'm sure all the answers to your questions will be there...Once we know; we will be able to fight your fears and give you the opportunity to see Troy. Great, right?"
Nellie looked up at Martim's face. His idea seemed interesting enough. She nodded and reciprocated the smile he had on his face. Her next words sealed their destiny:
"Let's break into his office tonight and find out."