Keep Quiet // Josh Dun (completed)

chapter thirty :: tie a nøøse

Nicole was in the psych ward for two weeks.

She was violent and restless. She refused to eat and take any medicine. She had to be put on chemical restraints, sedation, at night. She wouldn't sleep without it. She was constantly tugging on her wrist restraints and calling out for Josh. She even called out for her mother.

Josh decided to visit her. He had to get her father's consent, of course, and he had to leave school early due to visit hours.

The visiting in the psychiatric portion of the hospital was done different than at regular parts, such as the intensive care unit.

Visitors weren't allowed in the hallways, due to the behavior of some patients. They had a designated visiting room.

Josh waited at the table for about five minutes before Nicole was escorted into the room, one nurse on either side of her, holding her arms. They sat Nicole down in the chair across the table from Josh. One of them then took a cuff out of her pocket and wrapped it around her wrist, then tied the string to the leg of the chair in a slip knot.

"I-Is that necessary?" Josh asked.

"Doctor's order," she explained. "One wrist restraint."

"What about her other hand?" Josh referred to the bandages wrapped around her wrist. "Did she hurt herself?"

"She was tugging at the restraints so hard that it broke her skin and got infected. Hell of a girlfriend you got." The nurse said disrespectfully.

Josh said nothing as the nurse walked away. He looked at Nicole, examine how much she changed in only two weeks.

She was so skinny, it looked like her skin was barely clinging to her bones. Her collar bones were deeper and more defined than before. Her eyes were bloodshot and lined with purple bags.

"Nic," Josh forced a smile. "How are you doing?"

"They think I'm crazy," Nicole leaned closer to him. "They're putting me under so many drugs a-and they won't let me wear anything but these ugly white clothes. They won't even let me see you without my arm strapped up."

"Why would they think that?" Josh went along with her rambling.

"I don't know. Every single time they have to do something like feed me or get me out of bed, they try to hurt me a-and I fight back." Nicole explained in a hushed voice.

"You put your hands on them?" Josh asked.

"For my own safety though," she continued. "They're putting nooses on me. Like they're trying to hang me by my wrist and ankles. They tie them every single day and they whisper about me in the doorway about how they're plotting to kill me because they know I'll do it one day myself."

Josh bit the inside of his cheek. He had never seen Nicole in a more disoriented state. "Nicole-"

"That's not my name!" She yelled, slamming her hand on the table. "They always call me that, but that's not my name!"

"I'm sorry baby," Josh apologized, not exactly knowing what it was for - him messing up her name, or her being in the hospital. "But you gotta calm down," he grabbed her hand, feeling how bad she was shaking. "Or they'll take you away from me."