Charlie's POV
As the car is pulling out of the driveway, I turn around and wave at Nick. He waves back and I watch as his figure becomes smaller and smaller before disappearing completely.
I turn back around and look at Tori. She's sitting there looking out the window, unable to really look my way. Neither of us have really said anything since she found me in the bathroom the other day.
Going to a mental health ward was definitely not my plan, but I have to at least try and see if it'll work. I'm scared that it won't help. I've read that going to places like this can either really help or do the complete opposite.
I'm hoping that it helps.
I hate that it's so far away from my friends, family, and Nick, but it's what's best.
When we get there, my parents get my stuff out of the car and we head inside. When we walk in, the place seems warm and inviting, nothing like the padded rooms that movies and TV shows typically showcase.
"We're here to check in our son, Charles Spring." My mom tells the lady at the front desk.
"Right this way." She stands up and we all follow her back to where the rooms are. If I'm being honest, this place was nothing like I pictured in my head. I only have the mental hospitals from shows, books, and movies as a reference and this by far subverted those expectations.
When we get to my room, my dad places my bags on the bed. I sit down, getting used to my surroundings. Tori looks around the room while my mom chats with the nurse that came in after the lady from the front left.
"Visiting hours are anywhere between 12:00pm and 4:00pm, seven days a week." She says happily.
"That's good to know." My mom says, clearly unsure of what to do in this situation.
"Right now, we have to get Charles settled in, but you're welcome to come back in a few hours after that." My dad nods and I stand up.
"We'll see you soon, Charlie." I hug my dad, feeling tears start forming in my eyes. I really didn't want to cry, but knowing I'll be in here all alone just finally hit me.
When we pull away, my mom hugs me. As much as we fight and don't get along, I'm still gonna miss her. Finally, I hug Tori. Our hug lasts a little longer as neither of us have ever really spent that much time apart.
"Get better, okay?" She says, crying and still hugging me.
"I'll try." When we pull away, I give her a soft smile. Before I know it, my family is walking out of my room, leaving me with the nurse.
"Alright, Charles-"
"Can you call me Charlie? Charles just seems too formal." I anxiously ask.
"Of course, Charlie." She gives me a warm smile. "We do have to check your bags just to make sure there's nothing that can harm you or anyone else. Also, we ask that you hand over all electronic devices as those can cause damage as well."
"How will I talk with people back home then?" I ask, pulling my phone out of my pocket.
"We have a ward phone that you're allowed to use. There's some rules to that as well, but we'll go over them once you make your first phone call." She tells me as she unzips my bag. I look down at my phone one last time before handing it over to her. The nurse sets it down on the bed and starts to unfold all of my clothes and shakes them out I guess to make sure I didn't sneak anything.
She pulls out one of Nick's hoodies that I brought and looks up at me. "We have to remove the strings on all hoodies for safety purposes."
"That's my boyfriend's hoodie, so I don't really know how comfortable he'd be with that."
YOU ARE READING
Evermore :||: Nick & Charlie
RomanceCharlie likes to pretend everything is fine, happy, perfect, but now that his struggles are revealed to Nick, it's going to just get harder and harder to hide how he's feeling. He doesn't want to worry Nick, so it might be best to keep it to himself...
