HERE

chapter 2

As I walk down the stairs, I reach up to my neck to play with my necklace, only to remember that I couldn't find it this morning. I sigh, my hands twitching at my sides. When I get nervous or bored, I play with the necklace. It was a gift from my best friend, Zayn. He and his family went on a trip to Mexico and he got me a necklace that had a sharks tooth on it. He swore it was a real sharks tooth, because it had this little stamp printed on the back indicating it wasn't fake. That was a thing they did there, because so many people made copy cat items that weren't real but sold for the real price.

I know I've had the necklace since being here, because the only time I take it off is to shower. I keep it on all the time and when I get nervous I play with it, dragging the dull point over my fingertips, or flipping it around the black leather string. It's causing me a lot of stress not being able to wear it.

I pause at the base of the steps, deliberating where to go. After a moment I make my way to the kitchen. So far I haven't hung out any place besides the kitchen and my room. Somehow time seems to fly by, and before I even know it, the day is over. This morning after breakfast I asked Luke if he knew where I could take a shower, and he showed me a part of the bathroom I didn't notice. The three of us shared this bathroom, it was almost like a school bathroom, with separate cubicles and stalls for toilets and showers. I left my stuff on the chair that was put in the shower, and I think somehow my necklace must have fallen when I was showering.

"Hi Ash!" Calum calls, face blank as he waves to me as I walk in. He's sitting at one of the tables, playing some sort of card game. He has a set of cards in his hand, and there's another set sitting on the table opposite him. I wonder if Luke is anywhere, but when Calum looks expectantly at the empty space, I realize he's hallucinating.

I wonder if both of the boys do that here, maybe that's why both of them are in the institution in the first place. Maybe they see things, so their parents sent them here to get better.

"Hey. Have you...uhm seen a necklace anywhere? White tooth with a back cord?"

Calum bites his lip, thinking about it.

"Nope, never seen it, I haven't found anything like that around here. Neither has he," he nods his head to the empty chair. Then he sets the cards face down. "This is my favorite room in the whole place, it's nice and peaceful and we can do what we want. Don't you think so?"

Whoever Calum thought he was talking to must have responded, because he just nodded even though I didn't say anything.

With wide eyed caution, I make my way further into the room. Calum seemed a little funny today, not that he was ever actually normal, but he seemed jittery, off. I knew I had to be cautious around him.

"Want to play with me?" Calum turns and asks me.

This will probably end poorly, I think. Calum is so paranoid, if I even glance at him the wrong way, he'll yell at me for something.

But I have nothing else to do, and no real reason to say no, so I agree.

I weave my way through the couple plastic tables set up in the room. I've only met the two boys so far, but this space was set up like there could be more people. I wonder if anyone else would ever arrive.

"You know how to play go-fish?" he asks as he takes and shuffles all the cards, dealing out five to each of us after I nod. The mystery player didn't get a hand this round, I must be filling in.  "Do you have any fours?" he asks, deciding that he was going first.

"Nope, go fish." I tell him, looking at my cards to make sure. He narrows his eyes, but picks up a card.

"Got any tens?" I ask, accepting the card he hands me. I set down my match. "Got any sixes?"