Free Call Me Crazy by Quinn Loftis, M Bagley Designs

motion across my throat, trying to signal her to stop. I glance over at Trey to see what his reaction is to her confession and I have to give it to him, he’s handling it pretty well.
    “Okay, Candy,” I cut her off before she can say anything that might send Trey running. “I’ll stay here.”
    Just as I begin to ask Trey if he would be interested in staying here, a loud crash rattles the walls just beyond the closed doors. The doors Candy had just come rushing through.
    “Um, Candy, why exactly were you in such a hurry when you came through those doors?”
    She smiles at me innocently as she glances down at her fingernails as if they suddenly need a good grooming.
    “Oh, I don’t know. I might have played a teeny, tiny prank on dear Ms. Sheila.” The glow in her eyes tells me that it’s more than just a tiny prank.
    My eyes grow wide as my insides begin to squirm. “What exactly did you do?”
    She shrugs nonchalantly. “Nothing she doesn’t deserve , the thieving old biddy.”
    “Candy…,” I warn.
    “I may have…traced my hand shooting her the bird on her desk with permanent marker, and then maybe I glued Xanax pills to the top of the desk as the outline of the hand.” she laughs, “Man I wish I could have stuck around to watch her try and pick them up.”
    I can’t help the snort of laughter that bubbles out of me.
    Candy grins at me. “And I left her a message with the pills.”
    “I’m scared to ask.”
    “Underneath the hand I wrote ‘Xanax is for nutters, silly rabbit,’ think she’ll understand the reference?”
    I glance over at Trey to see his reaction to her and to my relief, instead of looking on in horror; he is smiling, obviously enjoying himself.
    “Probably not,” I answer. “The hair coloring fumes have more than likely fried her brain cells.”
    “Who is Sheila?” Trey asks.
    “Oh, she’s the nurse who passes out the medicine to the patients,” Candy explains, “but she has a bad habit of slipping a few into her pocket when she thinks no one is watching.”
    “Has someone reported her?”
    Candy shrugs. “They know.”
    Trey frowns. “And they don’t fire her?”
    “Not many nurses want to work in the crazy house, Tonto.”
    I feel my face heat up as I close my eyes and shake my head. “Could you please refrain from derogatory comments for, oh, I don’t know, like ever?”
    “Psht, quit your whining. Trey is a big boy, if he doesn’t appreciate my humor then let him be the one to speak up.”
    Both our heads swing over to look up at Trey.
    He shrugs. “It takes a lot to offend me.”
    “There, you see, he’s not going to run crying and hide in his wigwam.”
    “Ugh!” I groan as I grab Trey’s arm and begin pulling him towards the doors. “Okay Aunt Candy, we’re going to leave you to your pranks. Try not to get put in the strait jacket today okay?”
    “Are you leaving?” She asks as her brows rise worriedly.
    “No, just going to have a sit outside.”
    “Zeke is at the back door, so you might want to go that way. He won’t ask a lot of questions, if you know what I mean.” She winks meaningfully.
    “Right.” I wave over my shoulder as I tug Trey through the doors and turn right to head to the back door. I hear yelling in the direction of the front of the building and realize that it’s Sheila shrieking about how that woman needs to be locked up and not allowed to roam free to, as she so kindly says, drive everyone bat shit crazy. I roll my eyes at her words and secretly commend Candy on her antics.
    My mind is racing and my heart beats against my chest like steady drum. I know the pounding rhythm is partly because of the tall guy walking with me and partly because I’m going to somehow keep Zeke from outing me as a patient. For one brief instance I wonder if going through all the trouble to keep Trey in the dark is worth it, then I glance back over my shoulder to look at him. I catch his eyes and see his lips quirk up in a sexy smile. Yes,