madhouse / fillie

Chapter 1

Millie's POV

"We're ready for you, Ms. Brown," the security guard said with a straight face.

I crawled out of the uncomfortable, scratchy bed grabbing my small bag and headed towards the door at which the guard was standing. He guided me to through the dull hallways and lead me to the main entrance. In the small reception area, my parents stood at the desk, signing a large stack of papers. The overdressed reception lady slid one of the papers over to me and handed me a pen.

"Sign here, please," she said in a monotone voice.

I walked over and read over the paper. At the top, it read "Lakeview Mental Institution Release Form" in bold, black letters. My eyes scanned down to the small line that read "Patient Signature". I scribbled my name on the line and tossed the pen down, picking up my bag that sat next to my feet.

"Ready to go, kid?" Asked my dad, looking over at me.

I nodded as I looked down at my shoes. I should be happy that I was being released after a week, but I'm not. Even though it felt like a prison here, I still had to return to school tomorrow, which in my eyes was just as bad. However, I did get to see Sadie tomorrow, the one person that genuinely made me happy. A slight smile spread across my face as the thought of her popped up in my head.

Me, my mom, and my dad all loaded ourselves into the car and pulled out of our parking spot. I stared blankly out of the window and slightly rolled it down. I took a deep breath of the fresh air, and admired the trees and grass that had surrounded the facility. For the past week, I breathed in nothing but stale air, and stared at nothing but gray walls and many patients, all of us wearing the same ripped, worn-down gowns.

I glanced over at the large institution that I had come from, sighing. I will never have to go back in that place, I told myself. I should have never ended up there in the first place. I am not crazy.

We had been driving for a few minutes when my dad disrupted my thoughts. "Oh, by the way kiddo, here's your phone," he said. He began to hand it back to me, keeping his eyes on the road. I grabbed it immediately and clicked on the power button. I haven't had my phone for a week, and all I had was four notifications- all from Sadie.

I slid to the left, which opened up the camera. I stared at myself, disgusted with what I saw. Two large scratches laid over my right eye and other small one on my left eye. I sighed, powering off my phone, not being able to look at myself anymore. Although the scratches had healed quite a lot over the past week, I still looked awful. I looked drained, emotionally and physically. My skin was pale, for I had not gotten to see the sun.

I'm not good at sharing stuff about myself. I never have been, and never will be, it's just that simple. I truly care about others, and I really do have a big heart. I'll always be there to listen to others, but the other way around is just a different story. However, there is one thing that I can tell you about myself. I'm not crazy.