Fixing Broken Hearts

40

For people who don't know what psychosis is, it's a state where someone fully loses contact with themselves and reality.

They can hallucinate (seeing, hearing or feeling things that aren't real) or get delusions (believing the whole earth is plotting against you, or that there's something going to happen while it's not possible)

Elliot's psychosis is caused by severe trauma. PTSD can cause these episodes, so can psychotic depression which he suffers from due to his trauma.

Warnings:
-Mentions hallucinations + self harm (caused by psychosis)

Tristan's POV

~ A Few Days Later ~

I was nervously tapping my legs as I walked through the hallway of the psych ward, on my way to Elliot's room. Honestly, no matter how many awful stories I heard about mental hospitals, I quite liked this one.

The people working here were honestly really sweet and truly had heart for what they were doing. I often spoke to Elliot's nurse, or whatever they were called here, and saw the concern, but mostly the joy in her eyes when she saw a patient get better.

Even though Elliot wasn't really allowed to have visitors, she still allowed me to come, because even though Elliot was still really confused, he calmed down as soon as I was around. She noticed I made him calm, and because he usually didn't calm down, she loved me to come.

Right after Elliot threatened to kill himself and had been hallucinating for days in a row, I called the emergency services. I knew he needed help and quick, which they did as well. Soon after I called, Elliot was brought to a mental hospital and went to the psych ward.

Honestly, I didn't fully agree with the way some people were treated there before, but I started to understand it more now. Elliot was locked in a room, with bars around so he couldn't escape.

I tried to fight for another place, but when Elliot tried to run away due to the hallucinations, I realised the locked doors and bars were necessary to keep him safe at the moment.

A day after he was admitted to the psychiatric unit, he had an exam at the medical psychiatrist, who quickly diagnosed psychosis, which was diagnosed when people lost some contact with reality, because of hallucinations and believing things that weren't true.

He was on a lot of medication and every time I visited, I could see the symptoms getting less. He recognised me, but not as the boy he once loved. Because psychosis could sometimes take months to get out of, I slowly accepted that it could take a while for him to see me the way I saw him.

After being checked for weapons and substances, I was guarded to Elliot's room. The guard opened his door and let me go inside, locking it straight away so Elliot couldn't leave. His eyes lifted up and each day that passed, they showed a softer glance.

'Tristan!' he cheered because I was the highlight of his day. He immediately grabbed my hand so I would sit with him and kept staring at me to ask me for a hug. I smiled, ruffled his hair and pulled him into my arms for a tight hug.

'How are you doing, Elliot?' I asked, hearing him sigh.

'I injured myself and someone seemed upset with me. I saw my father, though, and...'

My thoughts were fading off as I let him speak. I felt hopeless, mostly because when I thought he was doing well, he often had a relapse and hallucinated again. It seemed like an endless cycle, one I wanted to break, but couldn't.

I was shook back to reality when I saw his nurse come into the room. I smiled at her, but she immediately saw the disappointment and hopelessness in my eyes.

'When will it stop? I whispered. 'It has been so long since it started.'

'He's slowly recovering, honey, but it will take a while. His whole brain is confused about what's going on and every time something triggers him, he immediately gets more hallucinations. He needs very urgent trauma therapy and we are adding more medication.'

'Is it getting less or is he still in a psychosis now?'

'It's hard to say,' she replied. 'Psychosis has three phases and we thought he was in the recovery phase until he started to hallucinate again. I think we are finally getting him out of the acute phase, though. Just give it a couple of days...'

~ A Few Days Later ~

'Tristan!' Elliot exclaimed as he jumped up from his bed. 'Tristan, I'm actually doing a lot better, my nurse told me.'

I closed the door behind me as I just arrived and smiled at him. 'Really? Tell me about it.'

'I feel more like myself again. I've started to realise I was hallucinating and still remember some parts of it, but not all. Most of the past few weeks is a blur to me. I haven't hallucinated in three days.'

I smiled and gave him a gentle kiss on his cheek, but the look in his eyes changed right away.

'But I'm not recovered, Tristan. I may have gotten out of the psychosis, but my mind is still an awful mess. I guess I'm glad I'm getting help now.'

'And that's normal and okay, cutie. I have never expected you to suddenly do good again after everything that happened, but you are getting on the right track.'

'Are you willing to wait for me?' he whispered, which made me smile from ear to ear as I realised he remembered me as the boy he loved again.

'You remember,' I blurted, seeing him nod slowly. 'And I will wait for you, El. As long as you need. I also may or may not have a surprise for you.'

Elliot widened his eyes, which made me stand up to open his unlocked door. His nurse peaked around the corner and smiled, going back to push Clay's wheelchair inside of the room.

I heard Elliot gasp and jump up. He started running towards Clay, who was smiling softly, regardless from all of his awfully painful injuries. I still couldn't even process how Clay was alive, because he suffered from so much more we could ever imagine.

After multiple surgeries, scans and tests, it showed permanent damage to his wrist and fingers, three broken ribs, a scattered jawbone, a broken nose, a collapsed lung, a bleeding in his chest and brain and a body full of bruises.

While I knew Elliot was triggered by seeing all of Clay's injuries, I also knew these bruises wouldn't fade soon and likely stay for months due to the severity of them and they really needed each other.

Right as Elliot carefully hugged Clay, they both started crying. The nurse and I decided to give them some privacy and closed the door to let them catch up. I turned to his nurse who grabbed my hand with a gentle touch.

'He's doing much better, dear. We changed his medication a few days ago and it seems to be working really well. If he continues to recover at this speed, he will be allowed to go home for further recovery.'

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