A rose has many thorns

This was Thorn's time to shine.

Stupid Rose, thinking she could contain the monster she'd created. Strength was never her forté, be it of the physical, mental or emotional kind. That's the whole reason Thorn was here. Poor little Rose couldn't take care of herself. Never could.

Survival was Thorn's job. And Rose got the benefit of that simply because they happened to share the same brain. Anything happened to the simpering flower and Thorn was shit out of luck. It sucked, but that's the way it was.

Surprisingly, the kid had been rather accepting of that fact and even agreed to let Thorn have nights. Which she was totally okay with. Nights were more fun, anyway. And it wasn't a compromise, in her opinion. At least not on her part. It's not like Rose had been able to stop her up to this point. It was... a peace offering. Kind of. They had to share and while Thorn may have hated it, it was a reality even she couldn't dismiss.

So she prowled the streets in the dark of night and let Rose have her happy day fun-times.

Thorn would always shine brighter in the end.

A) What's the one thing you dread people learning about you?
I was in a mental institution for six years.

We'rE cRAzY.


B) What's the one thing you hope they know?

I'm not crazy. YeS WE arE. I'm not.

And I'm not stupid, either. I'm just a little behind the times and I don't know a lot about the way the world works in some ways, but I'm a fast learner and soon, I will.

nO, sHE woN't.

I.. also really want friends. I don't know anyone anymore and being all by myself isn't as fun as I thought it would be. It would be nice to have someone to hang around with once in a while and be a normal teenager for once.

But cRoSS us ANd wE'll cUt You DOwn lIkE A laWNmoWeR oVEr GRasS.

There were motivational signs all over the facility. "Be cheerful!" "Be respectful!" "Be the best me I can be!" Those and similar mantras were what Rose learned to tell herself every day until it became almost second nature. She could be better if she just made herself be.

For three years she worked hard, doing everything Dr. Chritlow wanted her to. She wrote in her journal. She helped tend the gardens outside. Gradually, they decreased her medications she was improving so much. She was going to be written about in a book. She was going to get out and live a real life. All because she was able to take her bad feelings, her negative thoughts, her violent impulses and push them away. Lock them up inside a room in her head and never let them out.

(LocKed Up. leFt to FesteR aNd seEthE anD GRow, PusHing bACk HardEr aNd HarDeR. AnD it'S noT JUst a rOOM AnymOrE. WE reModeLleD. nEeDEd mOrE sPaCE. lOts oF exIts NOw And YoU neVEr Know WhICh oNE is OpeN...)

Just like that, everything was ruined. Rose wasn't going anywhere, not yet. All because she wasn't strong enough. She hadn't worked hard enough. She wasn't better. But she would be.

It took three more years before Rose got another chance at freedom and this time, she succeeded. She was eighteen now and Siamare wasn't for adults. Still, they could have sent her to another facility, but they didn't. Rose knew that was because she was better now. She was cheerful, respectful. She was the best Rose she could be.

(ToO baD THat'S noT GOod eNouGH.)