Chase and Madelyn: A love story

Chapter 26

TW: Brief mentions of self harm

Madelyn's POV:

"Is she gonna be ok?" I asked Tanya after she hung up the phone.

"She's in the hospital." Tanya said, purposely avoiding my question. Rachel was unconscious when I found her and I wasn't hopeful about a swift return.

"Let's get you to bed honey, it's late." She added.

I was watched very closely that night. Tanya and Erica took turns sitting outside my door to watch me. They were worried that seeing Rachel like that would cause me to do the same thing. Even though I was triggered, I didn't have an urge to do anything, which surprised me. Maybe it was the medication, or the fact that I knew how much I was hurting Chase that stopped me. 

I didn't sleep well. I was really upset and having eyes on me the whole time didn't help. I was counting down the seconds until Chase arrived for his visit. I needed one of his hugs so badly. 

Chase's POV:

When I arrived, I was greeted by Erica at the front desk.

"Chase, how are you?" She asked.

"Worried about Maddie, was she ok the rest of the night?" I replied.

"Yes, she was a little shaken up but she seems to be doing better this morning. She's made a lot of progress, last night was just a bump in the road." Erica said.

"How's her friend?" I asked cautiously. 

"Rachel? She had to get a few stitches but hopefully she'll be back here tonight. Madelyn is waiting for you inside." Erica replied.

I walked through the doors and saw something unexpected...Maddie was wearing a short sleeved shirt. I hadn't seen her bare arms in a while. With her scars, Maddie made sure to always wear a long sleeved shirt or a sweater. As I approached her, I saw the faint and faded white lines on her wrists. I was relieved that I wasn't seeing any new ones. She saw me out of the corner of her eye and rushed into my arms.

"I'm here, it's ok. You're ok." I said. I knew she wasn't, I was almost saying it to reassure myself that she was ok. Maddie breathed deeply into my chest and hugged me tightly.

"Hi," She said as she pulled away from the hug. "I missed you."

"I missed you too. I talked to Erica, she said that Rachel is ok and should be back soon." I replied.

"Oh, thank god." Maddie said with a sigh of relief. I could tell she was really worried about Rachel.

"Do you want to sit outside and talk? It's a nice day." I asked.

She nodded and took my hand. The facility was surrounded by lush green trees and a beautiful forest. We walked into the nature and sat down on a bench.

"This is new," I said pointing to her exposed arms.

"Yeah..." She replied. "It was Carrie's idea. It's like exposure therapy or something." 

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"She said that it'll help me get more confident with my body, but I also think it's for them to make sure that I'm not adding any more cuts." She joked.

"Well I'm glad. It seems like you're doing better." I replied.

She nodded. "How's everything at home?" She asked.

"It's ok, but it's not the same without you. Everyone misses you." I said.

Madelyn looked away. I used my finger to move some hair out of her face and noticed that her eyes were glossy.