Loose Ends - Book One

Ana ~ You in Trouble?

"You're going home, Anabel." 

The warden's words hit me like a wrecking ball. Home? I never thought I'd hear it. I thought I was forgotten, and I'd gotten pretty used to it. I hadn't gotten a call since day one. I thought no one cared about me. 

"You ready to get out of here?" she smiles. 

I should be, shouldn't I? I'm actually terrified. And angry. And confused. Just overall a mess. I guess I was already a mess, otherwise I wouldn't be here.

"I guess so," I shrug, my fists balled up in my scrubs. 

"Your mother is on her way right now. I have a fresh set of clothes waiting in the bathroom for you."

"Okay. Can I go and say some goodbyes?" This is going to suck.

"Of course, sweetheart." The warden beams at me from ear to ear. She's oblivious to the fact that this is sad. And I hate being called sweetheart. That's what my enemies used to call me before I found out they were using me.

"How much time do I have?" I shift uncomfortably where I stand.

"She'll be here in about twenty minutes."

***

I step into my room to find my roommate and best friend Sheila hanging upside down from the bottom bunk bed. Her crazy blonde hair dangles in front of her face. I'll miss that unbrushed mop.

"You in trouble?" Her usual question when I come back from the warden's office.

"I don't know." I stare at the ground.

"Oh shit, this is serious, isn't it?" She gets up from the bed way too fast, messing up the white sheets she'd just made up. "Is it Tess?"

There's another patient named Tess, here. She was my worst nightmare when I was first admitted. She was the reason I dreaded this place until I learned later that she felt threatened by me. We both ended up in here for the same reason, but with a different backstory. Rep is everything to her. Actually, it's everything to almost everyone in Silk River Mental Institution.

It's crazy to think that Tess is way less scary than returning to a place I used to call home, now. "Sheila, I'm leaving."

There's a beat of silence before she finally sighs. "Well finally, huh?" She chuckles and shoves her hands in her scrubs. "We knew this was going to happen."

"I didn't!" I throw my hands in the air. "Maybe I had hope that someone would come for me, or even call, but I gave up on that months ago. Now all of a sudden, mommy wants me back and I'm just supposed to be happy?!"

"This place has changed you," she puts her hand on my shoulder. "You wanted nothing more than to go home when you first got here."

"It wasn't the place that changed me, Sheila. It was the realization that I really am all on my own."

Then Sheila smacks me across the face. Hard.

"Ow! Bitch!" I immediately smack her back. Harder.

"Damn!" She stumbles back a little while holding her cheek, laughing. "Well, you damn sure couldn't do that a year ago."

I stare at her, confused, watching her shake herself off. "What gives?"

"First," she gets serious, "I want you to know that you are absolutely not on your own. Maybe I can't leave with you, but I'm always going to be rooting for you whether you know it or not. Wherever you are in life, whatever decisions you make, I want you to know in your heart that I am supporting you. Always.