STAY WOKE ✔︎ || A. Grande

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Ariana switched off her alarm and sat up and stretched. She looked around the bed for her dog Toulouse. Once she spotted him, she gently petted his head then got up to get ready for the long day ahead of her.

She walked into the bathroom and began to unclothed herself before stepping into the shower and letting the warm water hit her back. She almost moaned at the feeling. She washed herself then got out the shower. Wrapping herself in a towel, she went to the sink and brushed her teeth.

After doing so, she went to her closet and grabbed a black shirt and some leggings, something simple she can change in and out of.

She went downstairs and began to make her and Briar some breakfast. She made Briar her favorite, chocolate pancakes, and she made herself a fruit salad and a sandwich. After she was done, she made sure she fed Toulouse and had all her belongings before leaving the house for her job.

———

Ariana entered her workplace and put her food in the fridge. She was about to leave the kitchen when she ran into someone, making them drop their papers. "I am so sorry! Here, let me help with that." The two both bent down and grabbed a few papers, putting them in to a stack. The two got up and Ariana handed the papers to the person who was holding them.

To her surprise, it was Dalton. Courtney introduced the two of them to each other. She knew very little about Dalton. Just her name and his last name. Other than that, she was kind of empty minded about him.

"Oh, good morning, Dr. Gomez." Ariana stuck out her hand for Dalton to shake. He happily shook her hand with a smile, "good morning, Dr. Grande. On your way to check in with your patient?" Dalton asked and Ariana nodded her head. "Yup. Gotta make sure Briar isn't sleeping still." Dalton nodded and slowly let go of Ariana's hand as if he didn't want to let go.

Ariana found the situation a bit weird, but didn't say anything. Maybe it was on accident or something like that.

The two then went their separate ways.

Ariana went to Briar's cell and unlocked the door. She walked in the room and locked the door again before looking at her patient. Briar was sitting on the floor in her usual spot, but it seemed like she was drifting in and out of sleep.

"Briar? Is everything alright?" Ariana asked. Briar shook her head to get her out of her sleepy daze and looked at Ariana. "I'm fine." Briar replied plainly. Ariana knew the girl wasn't fine. "Briar, stand up please." Briar shook her head and scooted away from Ariana as Ariana stepped closer and closer.

"Briar, I need you to stand up, I want to check something." Briar honestly didn't want to stand up, but she did. Ariana turned the smaller girl around and lifted up her hoodie and shirt to see three long streaks down her back. "Just as I thought." Ariana whispered to herself. "Come on, let's go get you cleaned up in the shower room."

Ariana unlocked the door and stepped out of it, Briar following closely behind her. She didn't want to make eye contact with anyone because she thought it was weird and stupid. Plus, everyone thought she was the devil, so what would be the point to look someone in the eye if they were just going to get scared?

Ariana brought Briar to the shower room and locked the door behind her. She turned around as Briar got undressed and into the shower. She winced when she felt the water hitting her back. It felt like someone was tapping at the scratches.

After sometime she got use to the water. It soon felt like a massage for her. She smiled and continued to wash herself. Soon she was done with her shower and stepped out. Ariana handed her a towel without looking at her. She didn't want Briar to feel uncomfortable.

"Dry off then you can change into your clothes. I washed them for you yesterday, so they should be all nice and clean." Briar nodded and cried herself off. Before she put on her clothes, she looked at her body in the mirror. Briar wouldn't say that she was insecure about her body, she just didn't like the multiple burns and bruises she had covered on her skin. She thought she looked like a rotting grape.

Briar began to cry. This caught Ariana's attention. She looked over at Briar and gasped when she saw Briar sitting there with a bunch of scars, bruises and burns. She knew that these weren't from the hospital, but from Briar's demons. They had no one else to hurt so they took it out on Briar.

Ariana pulled the girl into a hug and ran her fingers throughout Blair's hair while gently shushing her.