Athena, after calming herself down, asked her brother to stand outside her door so she could get ready. She didn't want him too far away in case a panic attack came. She was prone to them as a child and knew the warning signs of one start. She was beginning to feel one start in her head. She sat in the shower letting the warm water hit her back. She covered her eyes and just cried. Her leg was hurting, but she was able to put weight onto it and limp to the bathroom. She was lucky that it wasn't broken. The headache that was forming earlier was getting worse. It was forming in the middle of her forehead, but she could feel it spreading. 

She looked down at her leg and a little cry escaped her mouth. The skin around her knee and down to her shin was covered with blue, purple, and green bruises. Her knee was swollen and the color around her knee was darker than her shin. Athena reached out and touched it gently. She let out a relieved sigh when she didn't feel anything out of place. It hurt like hell, but she would get through it. She needed something to help her get off of her knee for a little bit until it healed, but she'd figure that out later. 

I must have just sprained it, she thought to herself. It's a bad sprain if that's what it is. 

After taking a shower and slowly getting dressed, Athena walked out of her room and met her brother outside her door. He was leaning on the other side of the hallway with his arms crossed and head down, chin touching his chest. He looked like he had just been sleeping when he looked up at her with small eyes. "There's breakfast waiting downstairs if you want any," Derek told her. He walked slowly in front of her and kept checking back to see if she needed any help. She was a little slow because of her limp, but she was able to manage. He stopped to hold out his hand so she could walk down the stairs and led her into the kitchen. A stack of waffles was waiting on the table for Athena. It had just the right amount of butter and syrup. 

She smiled at her brother. "Thanks, Derek." She walked over to the plate and began to eat, her mouth watering at the sight. She hadn't realized how hungry she was until she saw the large stack of waffles sitting in front of her. Derek sat down in front of her and ate his share of waffles. They made small talk while they ate and avoided any talk about the asylum. After a while, Athena got up and cleaned up the kitchen slowly; Derek kept a watchful eye on her. He knew to let her do things herself. If she needed help, she would ask him. She wasn't someone who always needed help. If she could move, she was going to do her chores herself.

He has to be exhausted, Athena thought to herself as she washed the dishes. He looked as tired as she felt. She was sure that she probably looked worse than he did. 

Once the kitchen was cleaned, Athena limped over to the living room and sat on the comfy sofa, propping her leg up on the coffee table in front of her. She grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. She just wanted the extra noise. During breakfast, she could have sworn that she heard a little girl's voice in her head. She couldn't tell what the voice was telling her, but she needed the noise from the TV to drown out the voice. The air around her was cold again. She turned around, pulled the blanket off the edge of the couch, and wrapped it around her shoulders. She was still shivering even with the blanket around her. Her subconscious kept warning her that something was wrong, but she couldn't figure out what it was.  

Derek carefully sat down next to her, bringing with him an icepack and a towel. "You should perhaps start writing your report for Mr. Schneider," Derek mentioned to her slowly as he handed her the icepack. She mumbled a thank you as she wrapped the towel around the icepack and then wrapped it around her knee, tying it in place. She didn't want to start writing the report, but she knew that she needed to. It would be good for her to make herself distracted. 

Tell them everything that happened to you, a little girl's voice taunted her in her head. No one will believe you. She could have sworn that she recognized the voice that was talking in her head. She couldn't tell if that was her thinking or not. Although, her headache got worse whenever the voice popped in. She placed her hand on her forehead and pushed against it as if that would alleviate the headache. 

Athena took a deep breath and waved it off. "I will later. I just want to relax for a while." She looked over at Derek. "Please, don't push me on this," she pleaded with him. She pulled the blanket closer around her. She couldn't get warm no matter how covered she was. She knew that it would be good for her to be done with the report so she wouldn't have to relive it, but she didn't want to think about what had happened again. 

Derek nodded and grabbed her hand, giving it a small squeeze. "I won't. You need your rest. I was only reminding you." He let go of her hand and laced his hands behind his head and watched the TV with her. They sat there in silence for a long time just watching the tiny figures dance across the screen. She wasn't even sure what she had turned on. Eventually, she gave up trying to focus on the show and handed the remote over to Derek. 

Getting bored, Athena stood up and slowly limped over to her computer. She could feel Derek's eyes watching over her while she walked. He was ready in case she fell or needed his help. She pushed the little voice out of her head and opened a tab with her email. That voice was mocking her. Not saying anything, just mocking. Even though she had just gone through all that, this was still her job. She still needed her paycheck. This was also a good distraction for her. Even as she would be writing about everything she had encountered in that asylum, writing was still a good distraction. Starting on a new email, she started her report for Mr. Schneider. Halfway through her email, she saw one corner of the screen start to turn black. It was faint at first, but then it grew and began to make its way across the whole screen. 

Athena instantly stopped typing and called out to Derek. He ran over and looked at her screen. "What the-?" he breathed. He placed a hand on the back of her chair and leaned closer next to her, trying to get a better view of what was happening. 

Athena shook her head in confusion. I've got you, the voice sang in her head. What sounded like clapping echoed in her head. Athena shook her head and placed her hands on her temples to push the voice out. "What's happening, Derek? What's wrong with my computer?" She started to massage her temples.

Derek shook his head and shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know." He started to scratch the back of his head. 

Athena watched, helplessly, as the blackness stretched towards the middle of the screen. She tried to shut off her computer, but it didn't turn off. It didn't do anything. It didn't respond to her. She slammed her hands down on each side of the computer and sighed aloud. 

"I don't know what to do!" she growled. Desperate, she started to randomly click buttons. But that seemed to make the blackness spread faster.

Derek hit her shoulder. "Stop whatever you're doing!"

She spun around to face him. "Do you have any other better ideas?" You're lashing out, the singing voice appeared in her head again. You're going to drive him away. No matter. He won't want to see what happens to you. 

What the fuck? She placed her hands back on either side of her temples and started to rub them. A stronger headache was starting to form again in the front of her mind. 

Derek flinched as if she hit him and looked away. "No," he said quietly.

Athena turned around to find her computer screen completely black. She gasped. She watched as red liquid came oozing out from the sides of her computer. Derek reached from behind her and touched the red ooze with his finger. He brought it to his face and sniffed it, and then touched his tongue to it.

Athena gagged as she watched Derek. "Ew! Derek!" she exclaimed.

Derek's eyes widened. "Athena, this is blood."

Athena stood up and winced at her leg, pain shooting up her body. "Blood?" she questioned him. "Are you sure?" She looked back at her computer to see the keyboard was also covered with the red ooze. Sure enough, the red darkened until it was the color and thickness of blood. "How?" she whispered. She felt her brother grab her arm and gently start pulling her back, away from the computer. 

All of a sudden, the blood stopped oozing out and became still. Nothing dripped from the sides, and nothing moved on the keyboard. It was as if everything was put on pause. Athena and Derek didn't move. It was as if they were in a trance and couldn't move. But, after a few seconds of dead stillness, the computer shot up and flew towards Athena and Derek. They ducked just in time to see the computer fly over their heads and shatter into the wall behind them. Athena and Derek stared wide-eyed at the shattered computer on the floor. 

Now you can't write anything, a high-pitched laugh sounded in her head. Athena placed her hands on her head. Not that anyone would believe you anyway. They'll send you to an asylum just like they did to me. Another high-pitched laugh sounded in her head. 

Athena opened her mouth to say something. But Derek interrupted her, asking, "You didn't take anything from that asylum when you left, did you?" His eyes were wide. He was scared, just like she was. 

Athena shook her head. "No." Derek slowly helped her up off of the floor and let her lean against him. Her body was starting to feel weak. He wrapped a protective arm around her shoulders, supporting her. 

Derek, still looking at the computer, sighed. "Well, I think something, or someone, followed you home."

He's right, the voice sang. You're not going to tell him about me because he'll think you're crazy. They'll put you in an asylum just like me. The high-pitched laughter stabbed through her head. 

------edited-------

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