Valeriana

Prologue

Some context for those who haven't/couldn't read Petal's Diary: In this chapter, Grian is at a mental health wellness center (that Joel works at as an intern nurse) due to a planned self-delete attempt. This is 3 years after the events of APBAON (closer to the end of Grian's senior year of high school). Joel and Lizzie are married, they adopted Grian, and they have a St. Bernard named Duncan.

Also!! The first part of this chapter is in Grian's POV and the second part is in Joel's POV, just as an FYI so there's no confusion later lol /lh

Anyway, enjoy!!

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"Here, you need a thin piece of paper," one of the nicer sitters at the wellness center, Marianna, told me as she grabbed a sheet of paper and a ruler. She was teaching me how to make paper stars. "It should be about a fourth to a half of an inch wide. You can't make it too wide, though, because the paper isn't long enough for that."

I nodded and watched as she measured the paper and cut down the length of it. "Does it matter how long?" I asked.

Marianna nodded, grabbing scissors to cut two strips out of the paper. "If you make it too thick, then it'll be too hard to make into a star," she said. "But for this thickness, the length of the paper should be fine."

"Oh, okay!" I happily took a piece. "So, what to I do?"

"You take the top... curl it around the back... and then put the end over the front," she said, demonstrating.

"Like a knot?"

She giggled. "Yeah, like a knot. Now, you fold the end that's hanging over the edge through the hole we made and pull on it until it's tight and at top of the paper."

I did exactly what she did, but my paper ripped, and I gasped. "What?!"

"Hey, that's okay," Marianna said. "I can make you another."

I stared for a moment as she measured another strip, but I felt... out of it. All of a sudden, my chest hurt. Like, really bad. I felt tears prick my eyes as pressure in my chest built up until I couldn't breathe. I was going to tap on Marianna's shoulder until I saw Joel come in with his medicine cart. But I couldn't say anything or hear anything. I was falling out of my chair before I could stop it and then I saw nothing.

.•°*°•.

I was working on schoolwork when my alarm went off to pass medications around to the youth section of the building. I worked there as an intern nurse for about a year now, and one of my few jobs was to pass around medication to the younger residents.

I sighed and picked up my phone to turn off the alarm. "Jesus, it's already five-thirty?"

I went to the ten-to-fourteen sections first since they have dinner and go to bed earlier. Most of the kids in the ten-to-fourteen section were autistic or had Downs and had a hard time functioning without help, so their parents brought them to the wellness center to get the constant help they needed because they couldn't provide it. Or, they were kids dealing with grief or even abusive home situations that CPS took them out of. Those last ones were long-term residents since foster care wasn't the safest place for a child. But they come for all sorts of reasons, of course.

Then I went to the fifteen-to-nineteen sections, where Grian was. Most of those kids were there because of suicide attempts or some other serious mental health or emotional issue.

I found Grian in the arts and crafts room with Marianna, but he looked way too pale. And he looked pretty out of it. "Grian, buddy, are you okay?" I asked, but he didn't respond. When he reached toward his chest and started crying, I turned to Marianna. "Do you know what happened?"

She shook her head. "He was upset because his paper ripped and I was going to make him a new one, and then he just... froze?" She shrugged. "I'm just as confused as you are."

I left my cart to walk over to Grian, the boy falling over before I got to him. "Oh, god." I knelt next to him and he was foaming at the mouth. When I checked his wrist for a pulse, there was nothing. I began to panic, shaking as I pulled my phone out of my pocket to call the nearest hospital. "Can you pass out meds for me?" I asked Marianna, who nodded immediately.

"Hello, this is the Mezalean City Hospital, how may I-"

"Hey, my kid just fell over," I said, frantically trying to find his pulse as I struggled not to cry. "I think he's having a- a heart attack? O-or a seizure? He pointed to his chest and started crying, then fell over-"

"I'm going to need you to relax, sir," the hospital worker said. "Your son might be in cardiac arrest. We'll send an ambulance, I just need your location."

I took a deep breath when I felt a weak pulse on Grian's neck. "Okay, we're at the Mental Health Wellness Center in the south side of the city," I said.

"Alright, an ambulance is on its way," she told me.

"Thank you."

.•°*°•.

Woah, new APBAON book already :O