Where Will I Go

24||Rehab

They tried to make me go to rehab
But I said, no, no, no
Yes, I been black
But when I come back, you'll know, know, know
~~~~~~~~

Waking up in the morning is an all around difficult task for any sensible human being. Especially when you're a growing 17 year old teenaged boy, said task can be proved to have many levels of difficulty. For Alex, that level just so happened to be one of the highest levels. The thought alone of having to leave his warm cocoon of blankets had enough power to make him depressed, and the cold weather of December only made it harder for him.

Still though, he somehow always managed to throw himself out of bed and onto the floor, roll over to the bathroom, and then finally find the energy to stand on his feet to continue the rest of his routine. As he stomped down the stairs, his body swayed side to side as he tried not to fall asleep. When he entered the kitchen to grab a granola bar as his breakfast, he was surprised to see that his mother was at the kitchen table. Usually, she'd have left before Alex would have even woken up. Especially since his father had been taken away, she had to work even harder to maintain their business.

The brunet awkwardly stumbled into the kitchen. Quietly, he padded over to the pantry, seeming to go unnoticed by the woman sitting only a few feet away as she tapped away on her business phone. It wasn't until Alex opened the squeaky pantry door did she look up.

"Oh, Alex." She stated, "Good morning."

The boy turned to look at her, as he reached into a box to retrieve his granola bar. He opened the plastic wrapper of his awkwardly as he stared back at his mother.

"Um, hi...?" He greeted, his words coming out more as a question. "Shouldn't you be gone, by now?" He asked, taking a bite out of his granola bar.

"Yes." She confirmed. "But I wanted to talk to you."

"Oh boy, aren't I lucky." He cheered sarcastically. His mother rolled her eyes.

"Don't be so sarcastic." She scolded. "I've been thinking about yesterday."

"Ok?" He asked, dragging out the sound in the 'k'.

She paused momentarily, staring at the boy who still stood in front of the pantry. Said boy tried to study the emotions on his mother's face, and his own face scrunched in concentration and curiosity. Apprehensive, he decided. She looked apprehensive.

"I feel like..." She paused again, "I feel like maybe we should get some help."

Alex stopped chewing, and squinted his eyes in question. "By 'we', do you mean the both of us?"

"Yes." She nodded.

"I already have a therapist." He argued.

"Yes, but I feel like we need a therapist."

"Mmm," the boy pretended to ponder and consider the idea, "nah." He shook his head, and continued chowing down on his food.

The woman sighed in annoyance. "Alex, I'm being serious."

"So am I."

"Alex." She hissed. She rubbed her eyes tiredly as she sighed. "Look, I'll make you a deal."

The brunet stopped chewing. He looked at his mother suspiciously, almost as if he didn't trust her. "Ok?" He said again, asking for her to continue.

"I'll let you go with... Ran, to the ski resort with Bristol, if you come to therapy with me."

This time, Alex didn't just pretend to think about the idea, but he actually pondered it. His gaze remained fixated on his mother's hopeful face as he thought about it. On one hand, he so desperately wanted to bicker and argue. He wanted to refuse to go, and stick to his grounds. However, he would've felt malevolent to start yelling, due to the conversation he had with Lester the night prior. Not only that, but he also terribly wanted to go to the ski resort, and he was fearful that if he didn't agree to therapy with his mother, then he could kiss all hopeful thoughts goodbye. He sighed tiredly in defeat, and put down his granola bar on the counter.

"Fine. But I want new acrylic paints too, as well as the ski trip." He bargained.

"Deal." The woman granted, smiling brightly. "I've already done some research online for family therapists in Detroit. Her name is Lisa, I'll call her later tonight."

"Hold on, you already looked this up?" The boy questioned.

"Well, yeah of course."

"When?"

"A little last night. Mostly this morning." She responded. "Why?"

Alex laughed painfully. "I didn't think I was that bad." He said.

"It's not meant in that way, Alex." His mother reassured. "Shouldn't you be getting to school?"

"I'm waiting for Bristol." He clarified.

"Why?

"She's my ride."

"Don't you have a bus?"

"Uh, no." The brunet lied. The truth was, he indeed had a bus that stopped only a few streets away from his house. But he was reluctant to go, due to the circumstances and the relationship between him and his peers. He could hardly stand the harsh glares in his classroom, and even simply being on a 30 minute bus ride with the same people would have been overwhelming.

"Oh." The woman responded. "Well, I can drive you on my way to work." She offered.

"That's ok." The boy declined, a bit too quickly. "Bristol will be here in any moment."

Soon enough after their awkward conversation, Bristol was pulling up into the driveway. Alex aggressively opened the passenger side, and jumped in the car. While frantically putting on his seatbelt, Bristol spoke.

"Hey, you ok?" She asked, genuine concern laced in her voice.

The brunet looked at her questioningly. His eyebrows were furrowed together in confusion. "Hm? Yeah, why?"

"I don't know," she shrugged, "you seem irritated. Like you're mad at something." She explained, as she drove out of their driveway.

"Oh." The brunet said.

A small knowing smile appeared on Bristol's face. It wasn't a smirk, or a condescending grin; it was simply a small, kind, yet understanding smile.

"Something happened, huh?" She said.

Alex shrugged and looked out the window. "I don't know. My mom wants to go in group therapy with me. She said I either go to counselling with her, or I can't go on the ski trip."

"So what'd you say?"

"I said I'd do it." He admitted.

The young girl gawped. "Really?" She asked. "Just, wow. It took her two years to get you to agree to your own private therapist."

"Yeah, I don't know." The boy shook his head, and even laughed a little at the end of his sentence. "At least I get to go, now. We've been arguing about it for some time, so..."

"Oh. So you're coming?"

"Yeah, of course." He grinned, and laughed some more. "I'd run away if I had to."

Bristol laughed as well, and her friendly smile soon returned to her normal, reckless grin. "Too bad you didn't." She teased. "That way would've been a lot more fun."

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First of all: you all have full permission to crucify me and sacrifice my remains to the pagans gods, since this update is so late.

Secondly: this is below the word count goal that I set myself. If you don't sacrifice me, then I'll do it myself.

Third: there is no supernatural gif because I legit am just too lazy to find one.

And last: song at the beginning is Rehab by Amy Winehouse.

That is all. Goodnight, guys.