It Happened Last Summer

Prologue

3 months ago...

{Sean}

White.

All that I can see is white.

White walls, white bedding, white floors, and the white lady standing in front of me wearing all white.

"Good morning, Mr Preston. Your family is in the waiting room and will be very pleased to know that you are awake. Would you like me to bring them in here and explain everything to you?" The woman didn't bother looking up at me. She just walked over to the machines next to the white bed and began recording information on her clipboard.

"Yes, please," my voice cracked as I spoke. I knew I was in trouble. I watched nervously as the woman left my room. I barely had enough time to ponder the information of my being here when my mom and little brother came walking into the room. My mom was holding Cayd's small hand, and he seemed to be crying more than she was.

"Bubby!" My five year old brother let go of my mom's hand and came waddling over to the side of my bed. He wasn't nearly tall enough to get his body up to sit next to me, so my mom lifted him up by the waist and he crawled over to my side.

"Hey, munchkin." I gave him a weak smile, hoping that would be enough to get him to stop crying.

The nurse came walking back in, and this time she looked up from her clipboard. "Mr. Preston-"

"Sean." I interrupted her.

"Do you know why you're in here, Sean?" The woman asked me, and I looked down at the tears still coming from my little brother's eyes. I hoped mom hadn't told him. He wasn't old enough.

"Yes. I do."

"We have to ask you a couple questions, just to better understand the situation that we're dealing with here in order to move forward with any kind of treatment."

"Not with my brother in the room." I couldn't have him be disappointed in me from such a young age.

"Bubby, I wanna stay!" Cayden cried harder. I tried my best to keep a strong face, and my mom grabbed him from off the bed and stepped outside of the room so I could answer her questions quickly.

"Sean, this might be hard to talk about. But it's necessary that you answer these questions honestly in order to get any kind of help."

"Just ask them. Please."

She took a deep breath. "Did you have a prescription for the Ambien pills that were found in your syst-"

"No. They were my mom's." I wanted her to leave. Instead, she took another breath.

"Are you aware that there were more than one found insi-"

"I took seven." She made eye contact with me, but showed no signs of emotion. If anything, she looked void.

"Last question. Did you swallow seven of the pills in order to-"

"Yes."

But I never could do anything right with my life. I guess that's why I woke up here.

"Mr. Preston, I'm going to have your doctor speak with your mother for a little while about what our next steps will be. I need you to just sit tight for a while. Your cell phone and wallet are in the drawer next to you. If you need anything else, hit the red button attached to your bedside and I will check on you every now and then," she said, finally leaving the room.

I assumed she filled my mother in on the parent/doctor conference that no doubt needed to happen, because only my brother entered the room.

"I have trouble sleeping too," Cayden said, wiping under his eyes with his small hands.