Winnie left us a plate for breakfast. Two bowls of cereal sit on a tray and two glasses of orange juice next to them.

Ben took a cup and swallowed his pills. I grabbed a bowl and sat down in Winnie's creaky office chair. I don't want to go to that bed.

Ben took his bowl and leaned against the counter opposite. We all ate cereal in silence. The crunch of chewing fills the air.

"Why did you come into my room?" I asked.

"I hear you crying and screaming," he said. "You may be having nightmares. I used to have trouble like this every night. ”

"Oh." I looked down at the bowl in my hand.

Ben cleared his throat. I saw him put down the bowl and cross his arms. He stroked his chin with his hand.

"They didn't hurt you, did they?" Ben asked, shaking my head. I put the bowl next to Winnie's computer.

"Do you still have nightmares?" I asked.

"Sometimes, yes," he said. "Not as much as I did when I had my first surgery."

"Did you tell Dr. Philip?"

"No, but she figured it out. If you have one, don't tell them. ”

"Why?"

"They want to believe that you will settle here. I've been to these dinners twice, and they wanted their theme to be: adoring them. They want a respectful and polite subject, at their feet. “

I rolled my eyes. A faint pain spread through his temples.

"What does this have to do with telling Vinnie about my dreams?" I asked.

"We want to get out of here," he said. "That's not going to happen now. You need to get privileges from him, and the only way is to get him to trust you. If you go against him and tell him you're thinking about nightmares, it's waste! ”

"It took you three years to leave this house,"

"I can't wait that long."

Let's get started..."It took me three years

Because I'm acting like an idiot, most of the time. This resulted in me being restrained and sedated all day. “

"I'm not going to be hypocritical."

"If you want to get out of here, that's what you have to do."

The door lock clicked, and I looked back to see a blurry figure descending the stairs. Philip. Her lips were painted pink and she had a big smile. Her hair is tied in a bun. Her lab coat covered her blouse and skirt. "Good morning, you two," she said.

"Good morning, Dr. Philip," Ben said.

"Have you taken your medicine? I gave them to Dr. Winnie. ”

"Yes, I did. Thank you. ”

Philip glanced at me before walking towards Ben. She put her hand on the counter next to him. She held her glasses above her head and blinked.

"How's Diana doing?" She asked.

"She's been fine," Ben said. He smiled at me. "I think she'll make a great dinner."

"Really?" Philip asked. "Dr. Winnie told me she had a nervous breakdown this morning."

Ben twisted his head to the side and stared at her. My fingers curled up in the legs of my pajamas. I can't take my eyes off them when they talk about me.

"To be fair, no one really wakes up early," Ben said.

Philip took her hand away from the counter. She took a deep breath and slipped her hand into the pocket of her white coat. She pulled out a pair of plastic gloves. "Take off your shirt," she said. "I want Diana to see how to act to make an assessment."

Ben's eyes flew towards me. He pulled his shirt over his head. Dark spots above the collar of his shirt were scattered across his chest. He also had a patch on his ribcage on the other side of his torso. Philip stroked the jagged edge with his fingers. I looked away from Ben.

When she asked him to raise his arms and lean to the side, he complied. Every time I looked up, Ben's eyes were on me. I tried to look away, but my eyes were stuck in his scales.

Philip looked back at me. She curled her mouth and smiled, then turned to look back at Ben.

"Do you really think she's settled?" She asked.

"I'm willing to promise," he said.

"I hope so. I miss you with me. ”

She rested her hand flat on his chest. His gaze fell on her hand. He put his hand on her back, and she shuffled closer. I buried my face in my knees to hide my disgust

I stayed like this until I heard Philip's heel click on the floor.

She grabbed half of my bowl of cereal.

"Eat it," Philip said.

"I'm not hungry," I said.

"I don't care." She held the bowl. "Dr. Winnie wants you to eat it all, you have to."

She shook the bowl gently. I spread out and took the bowl. She slipped away without saying goodbye to us.

Ben threw his shirt back. He walked up to me and took the bowl from my hand.

He sat on the edge of the bed and I spun around in my chair. He shoved a spoonful of cereal into his mouth.

"Did you sleep with her?" I asked.

Ben shrugged his shoulders and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Don't shrug your shoulders," I said. "I can't believe you're in a relationship with her."

"I never said I had," he said.

"Obviously, you are. Don't lie to me. ”

He took the last few bites of my cereal and put it down.

"Yes," he said. "I had sex with her."

"It's disgusting," I said.

"You're telling me. She was twenty years older than me, and I was never interested in the whole cougar thing. ”

"Then why are you doing this?"

"It's all about playing games."

I scoffed and leaned back in my chair.

"It's been three years," I said. "You're not doing very well." "As I told you, I didn't realize I needed to outsmart them,"

He said. "Oops, you're really disobedient, are you?"

"I listen," I said.

"Okay." He pushed himself off the bed. "Let's test it. Take a shower and come back in half an hour. I'll tell you what you're going to learn. ”

"Okay."

I got up from Winnie's office chair. I followed Ben as he walked down the hallway towards the shower.

"You know, I'm not going to start sleeping with the doctor. Ben looked back and smiled.

"I don't want you to do that," he said.

As I walked through the hallway, I brushed my wet hair. The citrus smell of my shower gel lingered in my nose. When I rummaged through the plastic bags on the floor looking for clothes, all I could find was skirts. I opted for a denim skirt above the knee. I couldn't find my shoes, so I walked barefoot across the cold floor.

Ben was in the main room. He changed into jeans and a hoodie. His jet-black hair was wet and exposed. He placed a stool on the floor in front of me.

"Let's get ready for this dinner," he said.