Chapter 4
Giggling Maniac
Lucifer Davenport
Lolli, my little giggle goddess doesn’t look so hot right now.
“But here you are…”
“Our beautiful boy.”
“Look at everyone watching you.”
I smile. Of course they are. I mean, look at me.
“We are.”
“We can never stop.”
“Our own personal God.”
My smile deepens and goosebumps litter my skin the more they go on. Everyone can pretend this room doesn’t bend at my will. They can pretend they don’t stare, but I know the truth. The noise becomes fractured which makes the room manageable. I’m in control.
“You are control.”
“You are what everyone wants.”
“Everything they fear.”
“Yes,” I mutter under my breath. Lolli’s giggle is silent, and all of a sudden everything seems wrong.
She swallowed the pills. Shit! I see the change almost immediately.
The way her shoulders drop just a fraction too far as she stands by the med counter, head tilted like she’s trying to listen to something that isn’t there.
Her smile—it's there but empty. Why did the meds hit so fast?
It always takes a bit of time, but fuck… this shit hit her instantly.
“She’s broken now, less interesting.”
“No,” I whisper as I lean back in my chair watching. The crack, the absence. She’s not broken. The meds took her, and I don’t like it. This is theft. My fingers tap once against the table slowly. I’ve seen this before not too long ago.
Standing in a room filled with people who want something.
Attention. Control. Permission. And I’m the man they come to.
I don’t give them what they want with words.
Not at first. Just my presence gives them life.
A smile here, a look there. A pause that makes them lean in closer than they should, trusting everything when they shouldn’t have.
That’s the difference. They trusted what they wanted me to be.
A girl in a red dress was crying, pleading that she didn’t mean it that she didn’t want to follow through.
I listen and tilt my head, smiling softly.
“You don’t have to,” I tell her, and she instantly relaxes with relief.
But later… when she stepped forward—when she chose it… They blamed me.
A tray clatters somewhere across the room taking me out of the memory I don’t like reliving. Two orderlies move in on her, which has my hand curling around the edge of the table. Jagger’s fists tighten and he stands while Killian watches, waiting to see what is going to happen.
“Time to go,” one of them says, already reaching for her. Her hand twitches slowly as she whispers something
“…Jethro?” I see her mouth with wide eyes. I don’t know who Jethro is. I haven’t even been here a full twenty four hours and what I have noticed is she is alone and speaks to herself. I wonder if she’s like me?
“Take her,” the orderly instructs. “She’ll be prettier quiet.”
My head shakes before my brain computes what to do.
“No!” I say, but they don’t hear me. No one ever does at first. The orderly grabs her arm firmly and something inside me—snaps.
“Fix it,” the voice breathes.
“Show them who you are.”
“Yes, please…”
My feet move faster than my brain does. “Let her go!” I command. They turn, looking at me with an annoyed expression.
“Sit down, Davenport,” one says, and I smile.
“No,” I say coldly as the second orderly tightens his grip. She doesn’t fight, and that’s what does it. That’s what ruins everything, because she should be laughing, biting—she should be doing something. Instead, she looks—gone.
“Break them,” the voice whispers, and behind me a chair scrapes heavily. Jagger. Perfect.
“You heard him. Let the clown girl go!” he growls so deeply it vibrates under my feet.
I know the danger behind his words. I’ve seen it, and these fucks have no idea what the animal within is capable of when provoked.
Killian stands, hands flat on the table as he continues to watch.
Calm, precise. Eyes locked on the orderly’s hand gripping Lolli’s arm.
“Your hold is incorrect,” he says quietly, and the orderly scoffs.
Big mistake. Everything fractures at once.
Noise spikes. Someone screams. A tray crashes.
Jagger moves first. Fast and violently. A blur of motion that ends with one orderly slamming into a wall hard enough to rattle the room.
He groans as blood smears down, along with his body, to the ground.
The second one shouts, but Killian steps in smoothly.
His hand closes around the man's wrist and twists, causing the grip on Lolli to loosen. I’m there before she can fall, and her weight hits me.
Her head lolls against my shoulder as she looks up at me. Her eyes are void of life.
“…too quiet,” she slurs as my hand slides up her back.
“I know,” I whisper.
“She’s yours now.”
“Fix her, keep her.”
“Break anyone who tries to take her again.”
“Yes,” I breathe as the room erupts. Guards shouting.
Patients laughing. Someone climbs onto a table, howling like it's a full moon. I smile as chaos ensues. Jagger stands between us and the rest of the room, shoulders squared, breathing heavily like he’s waiting for someone else to do something stupid.
Killian steps closer, eyes scanning Lolli’s face.
“She’s sedated,” he says calmly, but from the look on his face, he’s completely fascinated by her.
“No,” I say, grabbing her chin and forcing her to look at me. “She’s missing something.” Then her pupils flicker. She’s struggling internally.
“He’s gone,” she whispers.
“Good,” one voice says.
“Now you can be the only voice she hears.”
“It’s what you wanted after all.”
I smile. “Then we’ll bring him back,” I tell her as Jagger glances at me.
“How? Who?” he asks, and I look down at her. Her fingers move like they are reaching for something that isn’t there.
“We’ll remind her who she is.”
Killian's lip curves just a tiny bit. “This should be interesting,” he says as a guard rushes forward—Jagger steps in and stops him cold in his tracks.
“No one touches her,” he states, and the room stops.
“Get out of our way, Holmes,” the guard orders, and a sinister smile spreads across Jagger's face.
“Make me,” he says as I pull Lolli closer, letting her rest her head against my chest.
“Say something,” one of the voices encourages.
“Make her hear you.”
“She will love you just like we do.”
So, I lean down and whisper in her ear.
“Lolli,” I say, and her breathing catches.
“There’s nothing quiet about you. I need to hear your giggle,” I tell her, and she blinks.
“You’re the loudest in this place, and without it, we won’t survive.
I won’t survive,” I say, and her fingers wrap around my neck, digging into my flesh, making me hiss.
“We love that sound.”
“Do it again.”
“Only this time, make her moan.”
“In due time,” I say, then drag my finger down Lolli’s face. “Come back.” But her eyes shutter as heavy footsteps enter the room but I pay no mind to it. I just keep staring at her while she looks up at me and a small smile stretches her cheeks.
“…not quiet,” she whispers, and I grin.
“Never,” I say, but something behind us crashes, and someone screams. But we don’t move, because now—she’s starting to wake up, and when she does this place won’t survive it.
“They won’t survive either of you.”
“Match made in heaven.”
“Or hell.” The voice laughs, bringing a smile to my face as the alarm blares send Killian to the floor. Shit! More guards enter the room and tackle Jagger, slamming his face against the floor. Killian curls into a ball with his hands over his ears, rocking violently.
“Make it stop. Make it stop. MAKE IT STOP!” he screams as Lolli begins to giggle uncontrollably. I set her down onto her feet. She smiles up at me then places a kiss on my cheek.
“Thank you,” she says as she continues to giggle.
She twirls around, spinning, throwing her head back, then falls to the ground beside Killian and grabs his face.
He fights her until he realizes who it is and he freezes as she takes him in and places a kiss on his lips.
She stands, grabbing a tray and hauling it across the aisle, hitting one of the guards right in the neck, making him stumble back.
She grabs at another guard's belt, ripping a knife from his holster. She’s a fucking goddess.
“Get off of him, now!” she commands as she presses the blade against one of the guard’s throats. She giggles as they all stand, backing away from Jagger. He gets to his feet and punches the one who slammed his face into the floor, then spits blood in his eyes, roaring like a wild animal.
“That’s enough!” a deep voice shouts from behind me, and the entire room goes still.
“Lolli, my dear. Put the knife down and step away from George,” he states, and my head whips around to see who just made the entire room still.
“Yes, Master.” She giggles, dropping the knife.
“Good girl. Now, everyone back to your rooms!” the man commands, and the room moves, fast and quietly. What the fuck just happened?