Never Let Go

Chapter 6: She Needs Time

After the fight Maya and Chrissy had the rest of the patients had to be taken to their rooms because things got quite rowdy. One of the nurses took a look at my cheek, but it's nothing serious - just a little scratch. I can't believe how out of control things got. Nothing like that has happened here in a while. Stella now wants to see me in her office to explain everything that happened. I take a deep breath and gently knock on her door, feeling worried about what she might say.

"Come in." She calls out.

I walk in and shut the door behind me.

"Michael." She frowns when she sees the scratch on my face. "What the hell happened?"

"A fight broke out between Maya and Chrissy."

"Why?"

"Uh..." I lick my lips and look down.

I feel like this is my fault. I should have been keeping a closer eye on Maya, but I've been trying to give her the space she wants.

"I'm not sure. One minute Polly was talking to Maya, and then the next Maya was shouting and fighting Chrissy."

She shakes her head.

"So, Maya started the fight, and for no reason?"

"I think she's just finding it hard here. Her boyfriend came to visit her a couple of days ago and broke up with her. It's added more stress that she doesn't need right now.

"Well, I don't tolerate that kind of violence towards staff members and patients. I understand being here is strange for her, but-"

"It's only her first week here." I frown.

"Yes, I know that, Michael, but she needs to understand that that behaviour is not acceptable here."

I sigh and look down.

"And what did I tell you? I told you not to interact with her much because of her past experiences with men."

"I haven't been interacting with her." I make a face. "I know how she feels about being around men, so I've stayed back. She's made it clear that she doesn't want to interact, but what was I supposed to do? I couldn't just watch Chrissy and Maya beat each other up. I had to intervene. It was getting out of control."

"You were right to do what you did." She nods. "I'm just trying to figure out what else we can do. I'm thinking of putting her on high alert."

High alert would mean keeping her in her room 24/7, and separated from the other patients. She hates being here as it is, and she would hate it even more if she was put on high alert. From what I've seen, isolating patients doesn't help their progress, so I don't think that's a good idea, and it's not going to help Maya. I don't want that for her.

"No." I shake my head. "I don't think that's the best thing for her."

"Oh, no? So, what do you suggest?" She lowers her eyebrows and folds her arms. "Tell me why I shouldn't put her on high alert."

"She needs time to adjust. I believe that she will do well here, but she just needs time. Apart from the fight today, she's actually doing really well."

"How so?" She raises an eyebrow.

"I sat in on her psychiatrist appointment yesterday, and she opened up a lot. She's shown that she wants the help, and I believe that isolating her won't help her progress. Maybe she felt a bit overwhelmed after speaking about her past and her feelings which caused her to snap today. All of this is new to her, so I think we should give her a chance at least."

"Mmm." She rubs her finger over her chin as she thinks the situation through. "So, if she doesn't get put on high alert, what else can we do?"

"Exactly what we're doing now, but review her progress at the end of next week. She needs time to settle in."