Lana Parrilla Saved Me

She had no choice about it

Lana's pov

In the car on the journey up to Birmingham, every time I looked behind me to see Christie, she would always smile and pretend like she was feeling okay but I could see right past that smile. As we approached Birmingham, the atmosphere in the car became more tense. Christie was looking more uneasy and unsettled. Her mum was looking more sad and her dad was trying harder to hide his emotions. However, I was feeling more easy, settled and happy because I knew Christie was finally going to be safe and we could finally rest easy at night. 

....

We started following the signs for Haze-bury, as thats where it was. The atmosphere was getting even more tense, almost unbearable. There was ten minutes left of our journey and my mind quickly went to Fred and the boys. I had been so wrapped up in all of this that I had forgot to ring them for almost a week. I missed them so much and I needed to see them. I was brought out of my trance by Christie's dad's voice.

'Right, we're here everyone. Let's go' he said.

'No, no I can't. Lana I'm scared. I don't want to now' Christie said as she slurred her words slightly like she was going to cry. I quickly rushed out of the car to open Christie's car door and I crouched to her level.

'Listen, honey, you are going to do this. You are going to walk in there with your head held high. It is going to be your decision. People aren't going to come and get you and restrain you, because it's your choice. Your are going to be perfectly fine and I am going to visit you so much, okay? Honey, you're strong and I believe in you. Wow, look how far we've come. You started off watching videos of me on YouTube, and now here we are, walking into a mental institute together' I giggled while holding her hands. I tried to hide how scared I was to leave her here by making light of the situation. 

'Okay, I can do this. Yeah, I'm going to be fine' she said as she took a deep breath and swallowed.

'Good girl. You've got this' I said as I rubbed her arm.

Her parents didn't say anything but they just lagged behind me followed by Christie behind them. Christie seemed quite relaxed when we were in the waiting room. A member of staff came in.

'Hi, the doctor will be with you soon. In the meantime, would anyone like anything?' she said in a calm and soothing voice.

'Yes, I need the toilet please' said Christie. 

'Okay, I'm afraid I have to assist you. That's the rules for the first week, I know it sucks and I'm sorry' she said while frowning apologetically.

'Oh, um, okay' said Christie before she looked at me worried. I gave her a wink to reassure her it's okay.

While they were gone, it was silent. Her dad was bent over with his head in his hands and her mum was picking the skin around her nails which was what Christie did when she got nervous. In the silence, my mind quickly shot to my thoughts on the institute. I was thinking of how thankful I was that it was a nice one and not one of those places you see on telly where the staff basically punish the patients for being ill. They walked back in and Christie looked at my with red watery eyes. The nurse that took her to the toilet called me out.

'Are you the mum?' she said.

'No, it's such a complicated situation but I am a close friend. Her mum is the other lady in there' I said with a smile.

'Okay sorry. I just had to calm Christie down a lot. She started crying and became really panicky. She is okay now, I just thought I would tell someone' she replied back. 

'Okay, thank you for telling me. Obviously she is nervous because she is in a place she doesn't know. She will get used to it thought, I know she will' I assured her. 

'Okay good. I trust your judgement. I'll go and find out how long the doctor will be' she said. She walked away. I tried to compose myself before going back into the the horrible atmosphere the room was giving off. The nurse was half way down the corridor and turned round to look at me.

'Hey, aren't you the one that played Trina Decker in Swingtown?' she said with a smirk.

'Yes I am' I said with a dismissive yet light tone and a smile. I didn't particularly like it when people asked me things like that but I had to deal with it. I walked back in where I saw each of them sitting in silence. I couldn't stand the awkwardness so I had to break the dead silence. 

'So, Christie, how are you feeling? I mean I know you're not feeling great because you're here but you know whatever, I'm going to shut up otherwise I will never stop talking' I said followed with a sigh. I can't help but talk when I'm nervous, which is the complete opposite to Christie. No one answered me after I said that but I remember hearing a few sighs which made me feel stupid. However, whatever I was feeling, I couldn't let it show. I had to be strong for Christie. The door opened. Stood there was a tall, lanky middle aged man who had glasses and a clip board in his hand. He looked like the sort of person that was hard to please or amuse. As soon as he opened his mouth, I knew my observations about him we correct. He had a slightly nasally voice which let of a cold, dry sense of humour. As you can probably already tell, I didn't like him very much. It left me wondering whether or not I made the right decision for Christie. I knew in my gut I was right so I stuck with it. 

'So, if you'd like to come with me and we can assess you' said the bland doctor with his nasally tone. 

I had been zoned out by thinking for so long that I didn't compute anything he was telling us. We all stood up and followed the doctor. He took us to a room with four seats, a small desk with a computer on top and sheet white walls and floors. He gave Christie a gown. It looked similar to a hospital gown. She took it off him without a fuss and went into the room the followed the room we were in to change. When she was gone, her dad talked.

'Um, I thought she was allowed to wear her own clothes doctor?' he said as a frown appeared on his face. As much as he was being a typical man and hiding his feelings, I could tell the whole thing was really bothering him. At the end of the day, he was sending his baby girl to a mental hospital and I wished he knew he didn't have to be strong about it.  

'That is exactly what I am about to talk about when Christie comes back' he said as he held his hands and nodded his head. 

Two minutes later, Christie came back in with the gown on. She had her own clothes in her hands. She had tied her hair back into a pony-tail and you could see just how tired she looked. She was pale and had dark purple rings around her eyes. She sat down in-between me and her mum and we both grabbed her hand. The doctor who was sitting opposite us started talking.

'So Christie, I think it is very brave of you to come in here voluntarily. It is going to do you a lot of good okay?'he said slightly warmer with a smile. My thoughts on him were changing. She smiled back and loosened her body a little with relief. He started to talk to all of us. 'Now dad here has asked me a very valid question. The reason for wearing the gown is because our policy is for patients not to have any relations to home for the first two weeks of your admission. This means no personal belongings, no family visits and no phone calls back home. All belongings will be put into a locker ready for you in two weeks' he said as he respected this was news to all of us. Christie became a little more unsettled. 

'Okay? Well has it proven to help?' her dad said inquisitively. 

'Absolutely. All of our patients have benefitted greatly from our decision' he said. 

'So I get absolutely no connection to my family for two weeks at all because I really don't know if I like the sound of that' Christie quivered. 

'Christie, I assure you its not as bad as it sounds. And if you want to look on the good side of things, it gives you something to look forward to' he said. 

'Okay' she muttered under her breath sarcastically.

That's a bit weird I thought. Her opinion shifted very quickly. I tried not to think anything of it because I would only work myself up and make things worse. She was being sectioned so she had  to go. She had no choice about it.