Modern Romeo & Juliet

three

Zayn’s POV:

The first thing I did when I walked in was to go into a small office to check in. There were two ladies in there that just seemed so happy to have me there. They had to ask all the medical and psychological questions for my file. I do have to admit that some of those questions were hard to answer. After I was done checking in I was searched along with my luggage. The people there needed to make sure that I was not trying to bring in any alcohol or drugs. I couldn’t believe that anybody that was going into treatment would try to sneak contraband into the facility. I was so naïve about the whole thing .

Once I had my luggage back I was taken to my room to meet my roommate. It was a small square of a room that had barely enough room to manage two beds and a night stand table in the middle. My roommate was on his neat ivory sheet covered bed, he quickly glanced my way and his deep green eyes shocked me.

“Hi.” I added gingerly.

A simple nod of the head was all he sent me and he went back to some book he was reading. He licked his thumb and quickly flicked the page, “What are you in for?” His deep rough voice didn’t match his rather gentle and frail exterior.

“Drugs.”

“What kind?”

“Heroin, weed, cocaine. The standard.” He chucked whole heartedly, “God damn you’re fucked up!”

I cocked my eyebrow at him and decided it was my time to turn the tables, “Yeah I guess what about you?”

His cold minty green eyes flickered lively at me and his pale pink lips curled into a sneer of sorts, “I love sex.” He sounded dead serious. “Oh you’re like a nymphomaniac, right?”

He shook his chestnut hair quickly, “No that’s someone obsessed with sex. I have-had- sex to the point where it’s an addiction which is called hyper sexuality, FYI.” He returned his eyes back to the book that was obviously more interesting than his new roommate. I decided I didn’t want to talk more with this said hyper sexual person and after I dropped off my stuff and changed I got a tour of the place. I was shown the big TV room in the middle of the facility. There also was a small workout room, the court yard where all the smokers-cigarettes- would hang out, the medical facility and the cafeteria. I got a chance to eat some lunch and spent the rest of the day watching TV while meeting the rest of the patients that I would be living with. Most were crack heads or heroin users; some even drank almost three times their weight in rancid alcohol. So this was what the first day of the rest of my life looks like. I thought to myself as I viewed the patients that came in and out of the glass walls that were behind the TV.

I was perfectly comfortable on the spotless white vinyl couch when nimpho stood next to me. He jumped over the back seat of the couch and plopped a couple inches away from me. I sent a worried glance to the main receptionist who looked sternly at the curly haired devil. He flashed a grin and saluted her with two pale fingers, “Sorry Maureen, promise to not do it again. Scout’s honor.”

Maureen rolled her eyes and turned her attention back to an envelope she had in her hands.

“Whatcha watching?” he smacked his lips in a way that irked me. I scooted away from him, “Law & Order.”

“Wow that’s pretty grody,” his words sounded empty as his hand hovered over the control, “Mind if I change it?”

“What for?”

“I hate hearing about rape.”

I snorted loudly and for once he looked vulnerable as he looked down at his hands, “Really? Why?”

I stumbled around for the words, “Got accused of rape.”

Wow that was pretty heavy stuff. “Whoa that’s pretty grody.” A smile slipped into his face as he nodded and snatched the control, “Mhmm.”

I watched intently as the fucker channel surfed until he landed on a million or so reruns of Tom & Jerry. He laughed manically at all the violent parts and even I caught myself chuckling along when Tom accidently dropped a weight on his head. “Name’s Harold ‘Sixty-Nine’ Styles.” He turned to face me with an extended arm and I shook it, “Zayn ‘Romeo’ Malik.”

“Nice nickname.” He turned away as quickly as he turned to me. I wasn’t sure how to respond to it, “Thanks? You too.”

He laughed loudly and wiped an imaginary tear from the corner of his eye, “You’re not that bad Romeo.”

“I’m not calling you sixty nine.” I added tartly. He snapped his fingers in failure before shrugging and adding softly, “Always worth a try.”

We watched in peace as the damn rat and cat tried to kill each other, you know I never really thought about it but this is so violent and eerie once you think about it. “Zayn hey buddy it’s time to go.” Harry was shoving my shoulder, “What time is it?”

“Nine, time to sleep dumbass.” He pulled me up and dragged me to our room. I couldn’t have been thinking that long could I? I looked over the glass wall and sure enough it was a deep purple velvet engulfing the once bright blue sky and the puffy clouds were now replaced by flashing stars, millions of light years miles away.

I collapsed on the creaky bed and flipped on my side, trying my best to make myself comfortable, so this was the first day of the rest of my life? Did mum missing me? What are they doing? Did she cry? Who tucked Waliyah to sleep tonight?

My hands ducked underneath the small of my neck and I began to count the stars in an attempt to aid myself to sleep, which didn’t help it just made me feel much smaller than life and it left me alone to ponder other relatively hard questions which I had no meaning to answer. It wasn’t long before my roommate’s obnoxiously loud snore echoed in our small room and finally I concentrated on how long it took him to inhale and exhale and slowly I slipped into sleep.