“Like a prison?”
“No, like a place of reflection. We don’t have prisons, Boulder. Instead we have nice places that resemble hotels with green gardens and nice staff to help them find inner peace.”
He snorted. “Of course you do, but can they leave?”
“No, not until they’ve been deemed harmless to themselves and others.”
“So it’s a prison disguised as a hotel?”
“It’s a place of reflection,” I insisted.
He scoffed and rolled his eyes again. “That’s just a nice word for a mental institution.”
I sighed over his obstinate attitude. “The point is, we don’t have police officers.”
“Because you’re all a bunch of brainwashed bobbing heads living in fairyland.”
“At least we don’t kill each other for money,” I said in a low hiss and instantly covered my mouth with both hands.
Boulder creased his brow and looked at my hands. “What’s wrong?”
“I hissed at you,” I said.
“So?”
“It’s verbal aggression and should be avoided.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s hurtful and unnecessary.”
Boulder shifted his balance from one foot to the other and huffed out air. “You know what your problem is?”
“What?” I asked and forgave him for being in such a foul mood; surely his broken arm was upsetting to him.
“You give away too much power.”
“I beg your pardon.”
“You worry about what you say and you get offended too easily. Hell, I can make you react just by using a swear word and that makes you vulnerable.”
“I disagree. I’m an emotionally strong person, and I’m very good at setting my personal boundaries,” I stated as calmly as I could.
“Bullshit. You’re fragile as hell.” He frowned and moved closer. “I wish I could protect you, but tonight you’ll be in the company of another man and it will take him less than ten minutes to realize that he can confuse and upset you by using the right words. That makes you easy to manipulate, Christina.”
I opened my mouth to speak but he cut me off. “Words only hold the power you allow them to. You know that people used to speak different languages in the world, right?”
“Of course,”
“So if I spoke a different language, I could call you a hideous cocksucker and you wouldn’t be offended because you wouldn’t understand.”
My eyes expanded, but I understood his point. “But if I learned the meaning I would be deeply offended,” I pointed out.
“Really?”
“Most certainly,” I insisted.
“So let me ask you this.” He looked around and pointed to the bed. “If I called you a bed, would you be offended?”
