burglary and grand larceny in the fourth degree. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to have an attorney. If you cannot afford one, one will be appointed to you by the court. Do you understand these rights as they have been told to you?”
“I do,” I mumbled. I looked forward, and the walls began to disappear. I felt split in two.
“Good job, Flynn, you did it,” Frank said.
PART TWO
CHAPTER 12
ASYLUM
I opened my eyes, and much to my surprise, I wasn’t laying on my side or my back. I was sitting on a cold metal table staring at my crossed hands.
Imagine, if you will, that you are peering through my eyes. You see what I see. And all you see are your hands in front of you on a metal desk with your fingers interlocked.
As I looked up, I saw a woman in front of me. A beautiful blond woman, dressed in white. The room I was in was totally white, maybe eight by ten feet. I examined myself. I too was dressed in white.
I knew this woman. But how?
Where am I?
And then I realized it. The woman in front of me was Lola!
“Lola, what are you doing here?”
“I’m not Lola, Flynn,” she replied. “My name is—”
“What the hell are you talking about, Lola? Why are you dressed that way? Where are we?”
I began to panic. One minute I was being arrested, and the next I’m in a white room with—
“Dr. Olivia Cross,” she said. “And you, Flynn, are at the Mayberry Psychiatric Hospital.”
I stood up as quickly as possible, launching the examination table against the wall. Pieces of drywall fell to the floor.
“This doesn’t make sense, Lola! Why are you saying this?”
“Flynn, we’ve been here before,” Olivia said, rising calmly to her feet.
“I want out right now!! Where’s Lola? Where’s—”
“Calm down, please,” she said, as two men—also dressed in white—entered the room and grabbed me by my arms. “Please be careful with him,” Olivia told them.
“Get the fuck off me! What’s happening?! Lola, please . . . why are you doing this?” I said, flailing my arms.
“Don’t fight it!” one of the men said just as my elbow collided with his nose. Blood was everywhere.
“No, please!” Olivia yelled. “Be careful with him!”
The enraged man picked me up, slamming me on the metal table. The searing pain in my skull was a harsh realization—this wasn’t another one of my daydreams, this was really happening! And just then, I felt a prick from a needle in my ass. Everything began to fade.
• • •
I was jolted awake by the sound of a mug shattering on the ground.
“Goddamn it!” Frank said. I looked around. I was in the break room.
“Now I gotta pick this shit up! Oh, sorry, dude . . . did I wake you?”
“Hey, guys,” said Cara, who was walking in, dragging her leather boots on the ground.
“Guys?” I said. I was coming to.
“Yeah, guys, that’s what I said,” Cara informed me. “You and Frank, duh. Anyway, Frank, I just came in here to tell you Ted needs you to help Rachel with something. I can’t believe he doesn’t know you guys are hooking up,” she added with a chuckle.
“Okay, thanks Cara,” Frank said. As she left the room, he stared at her ass and said, “Damn that little Mormon girl is sexy.”
“Wait a second,” I said, still processing the dream I had just had. “You and Rachel are dating? Since when?”
“Since you did me the solid of getting her number for me. Did you hit your head or something?” Frank asked as he started to walk out.
“Nah, I just had a dream . . .”
I continued as Frank kept walking, almost to the door.
“I dreamt I was going crazy, but . . . I don’t know. You ever have those dreams where it felt so real you weren’t sure if—”
“Look, man,” Frank said. “I’ve been there. And I can tell you from firsthand experience: sanity is what you’re currently dreaming.”
Trying to process what he was saying, I couldn’t tell what kinda joke he was playing. “Sanity is what I’m currently dreaming?” I repeated.
“Flynn to aisle nine for a psychiatric evaluation,” said a voice over the Muldoon’s intercom.
“You’re eyes-wide crazy, Flynn!”
“What the fuck are you talking about?” I said, starting to feel that all-too-familiar tightness in my chest.
“You can’t leave, Flynn. This supermarket is my home. It’s our home. And if