Dear Diary

t w e n t y

On Monday, I visited Ari. On Tuesday, I visited Ari. It was almost as if the mental hospital was my home, I was there so often.

The nurses most likely thought I had no life, but they didn't say anything.

Ari and I grew closer, but we haven't yet told each other our secrets. We respected each other's privacy.

It was Saturday, however; visitors weren't allowed, and Ari told me that the hospital had higher security because they noticed the missing uniform. It was sitting in my closet at the moment.

I had tried texting Ari, but she didn't reply. I felt a little worried but told myself she was busy, that's all. She was still alive.

I tossed my phone on the other end of the couch and tuned in to the TV. The news was on, which I had been watching since my run-in with Mrs. Bliss. I didn't want to miss anything else.

As I took a sip of my coffee, which I had been drinking as of late because I hated sleeping, a headline caught my attention.

Aristasia Merrivale manages to escape Child & Adolescents Psychiatry Center.

I choked on my drink, coughing violently. Once my coughs had subsided, I turned the volume up on the TV.

"A major scandal is going on over at Child & Adolescents Psychiatry Center," the reporter said, glancing at her papers. "A patient there by the name of Aristasia Merrivale escaped at twelve o'three this afternoon."

I glanced at the clock. Twelve twenty-two. She's still out there.

"Police are searching for the girl as I speak, for the hospital claims 'she's a danger to herself and anyone out there.'"

"That's not true!" I yelled, overcome with a sudden anger that it scared me. I threw my remote at the screen as the reporter was saying something like, "Stay tuned for more updates!" The remote didn't do much damage, just made a tiny scratch, but that alone satisfied me.

I stood up, ignoring the Charman's commercial that had just come on. Ari was still out there, and I needed to find her.

A knock came at my door. I mentally groaned, knowing that whoever it was would distract me from finding Ari, but I opened the door nonetheless, snapping, "Yes?"

My mouth opened slightly when I saw who it was. Ari. She was shivering violently.

"Ari!" I exclaimed, giving her a hug and then pulling her inside my house, my cheeks red. I wasn't sure where the hug came from. Ari didn't seem to notice however.

She sat down on the couch I had just been sitting on. I shut the TV off before fetching a blanket and draping it around her shoulders. She murmured something incoherent; it sounded like a "thank you" but I wasn't too sure.

I ambled about my kitchen, making some hot chocolate for Ari. The colour of it reminded me of her eyes. I shook my head before handing the mug to her. She took it immediately, taking a gentle sip.

Looking at her then, I could definitely see why she was shivering. She didn't have a coat, and she was still wearing the thin white hospital gown. She didn't have any shoes, and her legs were bare. Her feet were muddy, but I didn't care. Of course the day she escapes has to be cold.

"Are you alright?" I asked gently once I noticed her shivering died down.

Ari nodded. "Y-yes, as l-long as I'm out o-of that horrid p-place."

I sat down next to her and she rested her head against my chest, managing to sip her hot chocolate and not spill any on me. I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

"It's cold out there," Ari said, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I said, remembering one of the first things she said to me. "How'd you escape?"

"I hid under the bed, and when Nora came in to check on me and saw I wasn't there, she left the door open and went and got people. I snuck out and left through an emergency exit before they caught me." Ari shrugged.

"Even though they raised their security, it's still not the best," I noted.

She smiled. "No, it's not."

"The police are looking for you," I told her. "Apparently, the hospital says that you're a danger to yourself and anyone else out there."

Ari snorted. "That's bull."

"I know."

She looked up at me. "Niall?" she said.

"Yes?"

"Promise you won't turn me in?"

I looked back at her. "I promise," I assured her. "I wouldn't ever turn you in. What made you ask such a question?"

Ari shrugged, seeming somehow shyer than usual. "Everyone that I got close to either left or betrayed me in some way. I didn't want you to be the same."

"I'm not the same," I answered. "You said so yourself, the day we met."

"People change over time."

I was silent. I knew that already. I was way different than I was a year ago.

Ari looked up at me again, noting my silence. "People change for the better or the worse," she said softly. She lifted herself up, pressing a soft kiss to my cheek, causing me to blush. "You changed for the better."

Oh, if only she knew.