Some things change. | l.s.

23

The first two weeks of being at the Broadmoor hospital were a big challenge for Louis. He missed his family terribly, he had to get used to his new medication and therapy got the best of him and he couldn't count anymore how often he broke down.

He was mostly on his own wanting to deal with everything alone so it was to no surprise that he couldn't open up in group therapy once. In his separate sessions it was easier because it was just him and the therapist, but as soon as he was supposed to tell anyone else about anything in his life he shut off.

From week three on he slowly got used to it and because he was doing so well he was allowed to keep a few things Mallory and Madison brought for his room to pep it up a bit what was a huge help for him. It also made him feel better that they came visiting him as often as they could and it made him happy to see how brave and strong Madison was dealing with the situation of him being away for a while.

In week four he got a surprise when Mallory came to visit him alone because Madison was on a school trip.

"Hey, hey." She smiled widely when she stepped into the lounge where Louis was mostly spending his time when he wasn't in his room, playing games, reading or watching tv.

"Hey." Louis smiled and placed the book he was just browsing through on the armrest of the couch he was sitting on. He pulled his leg from under the other to sit up properly, adjusting his sweats that were way too big on him, but he rather had them bigger than too short or tight.

"How are you doing? You look great, got a nice tan, have you been outside?" Mallory babbled as she hugged him quickly before sitting down next to him and grabbed his face to examine it and Louis let it happen with a chuckle. "Rosy cheeks and you've some freckles on your nose. Love them." She mumbled contently.

"Yeah, a little bit." Louis mumbled and he felt his cheeks heating up as always when she complimented him whenever she visited what gave him a fuzzy warm feeling- his therapist told him that was a good sign and could help him to gain confidence and he was sure Mallory knew that as well. "I needed that, was going crazy in here."

"I can imagine." Mallory smiled sympathetically. "Do you wanna go out for a walk?"

"Yes, sure." Louis shrugged.

Once outside they wandered along the gravel path, past a few trees that were standing on the property, a few flower beds and a pond that was filled with clear water, a pink water lily was floating on it.

They walked in silence for a moment, both in thought and letting the sunrays of the early autumn light up their surroundings in a beautiful gold.

"It's beautiful here." Mallory commented.

"Yeah, amazing." Louis grumbled sarcastically.

"Lou." Mallory sighed.

"I know. It's just frustrating at times and...I don't know. I miss home." Louis mumbled.

"Three more weeks and you did it, okay? You're halfway there. And...I talked to your doctor." Mallory said with a knowing smile, biting her lip to hide it, but she did a poor job with that. Louis just hummed. "You're making progress, but he noticed that you're struggling with being away from your familiar environment a lot and he thinks it prevents you from permitting the treatment entirely."

"Yeah...maybe..." Louis murmured with a slight shrug of his shoulders.

"He suggested giving you access to your phone so you can stay in touch with Maddie and Niall and your mum if you want that. Not all day, but you can ask for it and they hand it out to you whenever you need it."

"What? Really?" Louis stopped and looked at her with wide eyes. "But...there's a strict phone ban."

"Not that strict." Mallory smiled with a wink.