209-Dizzy

Welcome Home

"Hop on kiddo." Michael said, as he whisked a wheelchair into the room.

I was getting really sick of those things.

"Can I please just walk?" I whined.

"No can do. It's hospital policy, but at least we don't have to have police following us around anymore.." He said, sporting his usual wide grin.

Michael was definitely the bubbliest of the group, he always had this playful and optimistic demeanor about him.

"Who am I going home with?" I semi whispered to him, as he helped me get situated in the chair.

"Ashton, he took off work this morning to be home with you."

"Will he be in trouble for that?" I asked, not wanting him to be punished by his work.

"Nah, even the chief knows about your case. Trust me, it's all handled." He said, lightly patting my shoulder as we moved into an elevator.

I hated this feeling, so many nerves were bundled in my stomach as we got closer to leaving the hospital.

It was such a weird situation to be in. Im leaving without my parents, and with the promise of never seeing them again. Im not going home, nor will I ever. And the house I'm being moved too is currently inhabited by strangers.

Really nice strangers.

"It's gonna be okay," Michael said, crouching down next to me. "You're going to get all settled in before you even know it.
And we're going to have pizza parties, pool days, and movie nights.. and anything else you can think of."

I laughed at his attempt to lighten the mood, he really was such a nice guy.

"Thank you, Michael." I said, in full sincerity.

He nodded firmly and we pulled out of the elevator, heading for the front desk.

God it'd been awhile since I'd seen the front ER doors. The last time I was here, police were chasing me with a taser...

Psychopaths.

"I hope you like dogs." Michael said from behind as he pulled us out of the hospital and into the parking lot.

"You have pets?!" Excitement coursed through my body at the news.

"5 dogs, petunia, duke, southy, moose and penny.

"Oh my GODDD!" I said, raising my voice.

"Is that a good oh my god?" He asked, as we waited for Ashton to pull the car around.

"ABSOLUTELY!"

He laughed as he held his hand out to me, to which I gratefully took and stood up.

"Wouldn't want you getting dizzy on me." He said with a wink, making me turn my head to him, remembering the very first reason that I was ever taken to the hospital.

"Wanna know a secret?" I asked, rocking on my feet slightly as Ashton's car came into view.

He quirked an eyebrow and waited for me to spill.

"I was never dizzy to begin with."

A surprised gasp came from his mouth, while his face was tainted with a smile.

"You lied?" He asked, now laughing fully.

"I didn't want to go to jail!" I defended, taking my hand away from his, "I was desperate!"

"You finessed your way out of prison." He said in disbelief, shaking his head.

I watched as Ashton got out of the car, and made his way over to us.

I elbowed Michael harshly in his side, "you are to never say a word."

He stifled his laughter and plastered on a serious face that was on the verge of breaking down into more giggles.

"What's going on over here?" Ash asked with a smile, looking between me and Michael.

"Nothing!"

Michael didn't say a word and turned around and went inside with the wheelchair, breaking his silence only with loud laughs.

"I don't think I want to know."

He opened the front passenger door and helped me inside before sitting in the drivers seat of the car.

And with that we were off.

It was nice seeing the world again, passing trees, grass, businesses, and people.

There was comfort in knowing that throughout all my hell, the world continued moving, even when mine stopped.

Ashton turned on the radio lightly, and the station was playing a song I hadn't ever heard before.

I listened in silence, and laid my head back on the rest behind me.

It only took about 20 minutes to arrive in their neighborhood.

My heart sped up slowly as I looked around. Water fountains lined the entrance, and a large gate sat dividing the outside from the community.

And a security guard sat in midst of the tall bushes and lovely landscaping.

Ashton pulled up, and rolled down his window flashing a smile at the guard.

"Hello Dr. Irwin, how are you today?" The man asked in a friendly tone.

"I'm well, how are Arnold?"

"Im wonderful, thank you." He said, typing something into the computer within his booth. "A woman came requesting to speak to you this morning, and I informed her that you were not home. She went by the name of Carol Smith."

A sigh escaped from Ashton, "thanks mate, I'll handle it." He said, rolling his eyes.

"No problem, have a good day." With that the gate swung open, and Ashton pulled us inside, gripping the steering wheel tighter.

"Is Carol the lady from the hospital?" I asked, remembering the name from the cps worker.

"Yeah," he said, sounding somewhat sad. "She's being," a bout of silence followed his statement, "difficult."

I felt sick at his words. Someone was once again making things hard, and sooner or later Ashton was going to get tired of dealing with it.

Of dealing with me.

"What's happening?" I asked, wondering if there was a way I could fix the problem.

"It's nothing to worry about."

We pulled into a driveway and Ashton dropped the topic, no longer seeming willing to talk about the woman.

Caught up in the drama, I didn't even really look around as we drove into the community.

Now that we were sitting outside of the house, I felt my stomach churn even more.

Their literal garage was a separate building from the house.

And holy hell, the home itself was enormous.

I stepped out of the car, and walked around, to stand beside Ashton, feeling insecure standing alone.

He wrapped his arm around my shoulder in response.

"Welcome home, Alice."