Inpatient | Dan Howell | AU |

0.3

Sue rolled me nearby to a desk and signed me into Inpatient. After quietly chatting with one of the nurses at the desk, she wheeled me down the hallway to where I assumed I was going to be staying. Again, she used her ID card to open the sliding mechanical door. Quietly, she wheeled me to a bed nearest the opposing wall.

"This is your room. The door will not open until it is time to wake up, or unless there is an emergency," Sue ordered me into the bed. "Everyday, there will be a new set of clothes to wear on your bed. When you change, you must return your clothes into the clothes drop off," Sue pointed to what looked like a book drop off basket you'd find in a library. "Obviously there is no bathroom in here, call for a nurse if it's an emergency," Sue whispered.

I nodded my head and laid down in the bed. There was another girl on the other side of the room. I had seen her when I walked in. Now, there's a curtain separating us.

"You can pull the curtain or keep it the way it is, it's up to you two," Sue smiled as she used her ID card to open the door and walked out.

After sitting in silence for a few minutes, I heard the girl whisper, "I'm April and I'm 19, you?" I didn't answer. I closed my eyes and pretended to sleep.

In my dream, I was running down a dark hallway. I saw a light at the end, but no matter how fast nor how long I'd run, I'd never reach it. It was cold and dark. I always had this dream. It never ended. I don't remember when I didn't have this dream. I used to be afraid to fall asleep because of this dream, but now I just want to know what's at the end.

I woke up to the sound of a loud buzzer.

"Hey new girl," I heard the girl, April, call to me. "It's time to wake up. I don't care if you're new or not. Everyone has to follow the schedule. Time to get up, get a toothbrush, get our clothes, and eat. Come on,"

I opened my eyes and April was looking at me from her side of the room. She was sitting on her bed.

"The buzzing is basically an alarm. It means that the doors will open in 10 minutes. You'll want to get out there before everyone else does,"

"Thanks. I'm Gillian, by the way," I half smiled.

"What are you here for?" April questioned.

What the fuck do I say?

"I'm here for anxiety, depression, and PTSD. My cousin would sexually assault me at my grandfather's house. I have flashbacks and nightmares about it, so that's what I'm in here for," April told me. She looked at me expectantly. "I told you my story, what's yours?"

Why is she so open and forward about this?

"I have a great family, and absolutely no problems, but I still want to die," I looked at April. She shrugged.

"You don't need to have a bad life to be depressed ya' know," April walked over to me and sat next to me.

"I guess so," I admitted.

I heard the sound of a lock, and April shot up.

"The doors are open, let's go," April practically ran out the door leaving me behind.

Cautiously, I stood up and put on my slippers and poked my head out of the door. Kids were roaming about, most of them heading towards a large open space filled with tables. Most of them were sitting down and eating their breakfast. Not knowing what to do, I walked back to the nurses station and asked to go to Kristin's office. One of the nurses stood up and walked me to her office. I knocked twice and walked in.

"What am I supposed to do?" I asked.

"First you'll do vitals with Lynn, you always do vitals in the morning, and before you go to bed. Then you'll get your breakfast, and you'll have half an hour to eat. You'll have a five-minute break, and then you'll start opening therapy. After opening, you'll split apart into group. After group, you'll have a lesson. Today you'll have Christine, and she's going to be talking about goals I believe. After the lesson, you'll have lunch. After lunch, you have your own free time. You can go to the nurses station and ask for some telephone time, You get 5 minutes each day. Other than that, you can read a book, or write, you can go to your room. You can go almost anywhere inside of Inpatient. After your free time, You'll have individual therapy, then visiting lasts 1 hour. After visiting, you'll have dinner, after dinner there'll be closing therapy, twenty minutes of free roam, and then it's off to bed,"