"Drew!" The doctor heard his named being called behind him as he got out of his car.
He had just got home from the facility and couldn't wait to take a shower and get some rest. He spun around to see Twinkie across the street waving at him with a smile.
Drew jogged across the quiet street towards his old friend, "Hey Twinkie. What's going on?"
Twinkie started walking towards her front door, "I just got home from rehearsals. Wanna come in and talk for a minute?"
Drew nodded and followed her inside the Clark family home. She told him to take a seat in the living room while she put some things away.
While he sat down, he looked around the living room to see practically nothing had changed. He remembered coming here after school sometimes while his parents went to rehearsals until he was old enough to watch Ethan by himself.
His eyes wandered to old photos of the family. He saw so many with the five girls and there were only a few with their brother.
An adorable childhood photo of his patient caught his eye soon after. Drew got up from his seat and walked over to the picture. Karen had to be about ten in this photo. They didn't talk much when they were kids, but he always remembered how playful she was when they finished their homework.
Another photo of Karen got his attention but in this one she was much older. She looked to be about fifteen in this one, Drew was sure of it. He remembered at that age, Karen was about to be a junior while he was going to enter his senior year and he started looking at her a bit differently.
Though nothing happened because he never confessed and went off to college the following year. He felt that unsettling feeling he felt during that time as he stared at the photo but shook his head and turned back to take his seat again.
He was faced with Twinkie staring at him curiously. He was certain if he was lighter, she'd be able to see the blush under his cheeks.
He took his seat and accepted the water that his old friend had poured for him and took a sip as she sat next to him.
"I wanted to ask you how Karen was doing," Twinkie started off the conversation. She hadn't been back to the facility since the last time when Karen blew up on her and she didn't want to show up and upset her sister again.
"She's doing better," Drew told her as he set his cup down on a coaster beside him. "Much better, Twinkie, really."
"Do you think she has a chance of being discharged within the next year?"
Drew nodded with a smile on his face, "As long as she works with me and the staff. I told her she needs to show them that she's willing to socialize with the other patients on her floor. I visit her when we don't have sessions and she's almost always in her room. I'll have to drag her out to the rec room and sit down amongst everyone else."
Twinkie laughed, "She's never been one to hang around crowds though, you know that."
"I do, but the facility has to see that's she's making progress and not just through my notes. So, she'll have to tough it out for a while." He shrugged. "Your mother came down there sometime last week. She almost blew her top when we wouldn't let her see Karen straight away."
"You told her she couldn't see Karen?" Twinkie asked, amused and amazed at her old friend's audacity.
"I mean it's pretty standard to not let somebody who hasn't visited in years just go straight to the patient's room. It could be dangerous. For the person visiting or the patient...or both."
Twinkie sat up a little, "So, how'd she take it?"
Drew's eyebrows furrowed, "She didn't tell you anything?"
