Scott's POV
"So... what happened?" I ask Iris. She tucks her blonde hair behind her ear, and looks down.
"I've had this voice in my head, for as long as I can remember. I can't remember much, I remember being 16 to now, but the rest is just a blur."
"I know what that's like."
"What?"
"The voices, there's always someone, well, it's my voice, saying 'You don't fit in, you never have, they don't even like you. Don't you see how they all fit in? They like you, maybe, but you don't fit in.' Even if I'm with people, I feel like I don't fit in, and don't say, 'Oh, everyone loves you! You're so amazing and have so many friends, we all love you!' because I can't control it. It's my voice, but I'm not saying it. Did you find out yours?"
"Yeah. It was my mom." she says, nervously.
"What happened to her?"
She hesitates and loudly breathes in, "my dad... killed her. Peter's going to see me next week, he thinks my brain is trying to forget everything."
My phone vibrates and makes a bell noise. Iris' phone does too a minute later, with an electronic ringtone. It's from Kian.
Kiaaaan: Head over to Mickey's, it's about Amber.
Iris looks up at me and nods. She grabs her bag, and swings it over her shoulder. "Do you think she's alright?" she asks.
"I'm sure she is." I wrap my arm around her shoulder, and pull her closer to me. We walk over to Mickey's, the same place I was at when Amber's heart stopped. Kian, Rey, and Noelle are sitting at the table. Noelle takes a large sip of her water and scrolls through her phone, and says something to Kian. I open the door and let Iris in first, it's a small 80's diner with lights hanging around the walls.
"Okay, we're all here now. How's Amber?" Rey asks, softly drumming his fingers on the table.
"She's alright. She's going to stay at a mental hospital until she feels better, and I was thinking we should visit her before she leaves." We all smile, and Noelle starts laughing from happiness.
"I'm in." I laugh, and the rest of them repeat. The voices start again, and I look into their eyes. They all love each other, they're 'infinite', but I'm just there, the tag along.
***
"Amber!" Noelle yells and hugs her. Everyone takes a turn to hug her except for me. Kian almost starts crying from happiness but keeps it in.
"Yay!" she says sarcastically, "now I get to spend months in a mental hospital! How lovely!"
"We're just glad you're alive." Rey says.
"I'm not. I don't know where I went, but it was great there. Nothing bad happened, I was safe. Safe from all the bad people and things and the insanity."
"Where are they taking you?" Kian leans against a rocking chair.
"Leiwind, I believe."
"Sounds fun." I say sarcastically. She turns her head and stares out the window, caressing the plastic table next to the bed.
"I don't want to go there, I guess I'll just tell everyone I'm okay. They believe that, every time. They don't care about you, just the money. There was this old nurse, Anna, she was the only nice one there. She really did help me, I didn't even lie to her. I think she stopped working there last year though." A nurse with bright red hair walks into the room, towards Amber.
"I'm sorry guys, now we are supposed to bring her to Leiwind now. Say your final goodbyes."
"Oh, now you're just shipping me off! Like I'm some sort of package!" Amber laughs, and we all say goodbye.
"I love you. I really mean it." Kian gently kisses her forehead, and we all exit the room.
Kian, Rey, and I hop into Kian's car, and he struggles with getting it to work.
"Damn car!" he yells, slamming the steering wheel.
"What's wrong with it?" I grab the head of the front seat to pull myself up.
"I don't know." he groans, trying again and again to get it to start. The engine stops making noise, and then suddenly, it loudly roars.
"There we go." Rey says, and we start driving towards my house. No one was home. I turn the music on the stereo up really loud. Rey lights up a cigarette and sticks it in his mouth. I grab one from the middle of the table and the lighter. I light mine and breathe in, feeling the smoke travel through my lungs. The stress and pain seems to fade away, and I place it between two fingers, and breathe out. The smoke creates a large cloud drifting to the ceiling, and disappears. I get a large bottle of alcohol from the kitchen, and drink half of it. The room is foggy and I laugh.
This is peace.
