Layla’s pov: Asylum Escape
She hadn’t known what to expect when she’d gotten the call. A ransom, or saying he was dead maybe. Not a doctor on the other end explaining her husbands mental state. He’d been missing months. She’d gone through every scenario. Always trusted he’d figure out his shit and be back. Like always. Only this time, she’d need to sign off on it. Layla couldn’t do that without seeing him for herself.
Of course he couldn’t pick anywhere close to have a mental breakdown. Took her a day just to get there. All the while she felt that pit in her stomach. Gave her time to go over how she was going to handle this. The shit she needed to get in order since he couldn’t do it. He shouldn’t have gotten himself in this mess, but Layla wasn’t about to let him drowned in it alone. She’d married him for better or worse.
Getting to the facility, doctors pulled her into the offices first. They checked her documents and made sure she was who she claimed to be. They didn’t seem to think he’d actually have a wife. His notes referred to her as one of his delusions. The more she read, the more she was starting to question if she really was. They could make her jump through as many hoops as they needed to. Layla went through it all, only one thing on her mind. She needed to see him.
Finally, after exhausting all other alternatives. She was escorted to the place they were keeping him. A room. Too dangerous for him to be around others again? How many times had he been dangerous? She asked for the room alone. They posted people outside on standby ready to sedate him. She didn’t think it was necessary, but it wasn’t like she could ask them to leave her alone completely with one of their patients.
The door closed behind her. Standing where she stopped, pit in her stomach no better than the lump in her throat. “You don’t call or text for months. Some might take that as their marriage crumbling. Didn’t realize it was just you.” A lighthearted joke, mostly. They’ve spent enough time apart that she wasn’t insecure about it when they did. She moved towards him. Crouching down to meet his eye level. Not touching him but wishing to. “Do you even recognize me?” She waited a moment for him to look at her. Quiet in her wants. Deciding even if he didn’t look at her, she’d answer after a beat. “Sorry it took so long for me to get here. Don’t think they believed you when you said you had a wife.”
