Addicted to You

Detox

Five days at the clinic, nine more to go. Maya counted every minute until she could leave and get back to Riley. For a premium, Shawn was able to convince the clinic to take her in for a shortened stay. The standard thirty, sixty, or ninety day stints were a deal breaker for Maya. She refused to be away from Riley for that long, particularly given the current circumstances. For a premium they agreed to a fourteen day in-patient program. She would need to come up for the counseling sessions for the remainder of her thirty day treatment but could move back home.

The first night she spent at Whillcrest was terrible. She woke up in nightmares and cold sweats, but there was no Riley to comfort her. She screamed out in panic, forgetting where she was. Sleep never found her again that night. She simply stared at the ceiling while thoughts of Riley zoomed through her head. There was no way for her to check on her, the clinic had taken her phone when she checked in, and every minute they were apart was another "what-if" thought in Maya's mind.

The second night wasn't any better. She didn't have a nightmare, but that was only because she refused to sleep. Shawn had dropped off letters from himself and Katy. They told her how Riley was doing and how they all missed her. Maya stayed up all night reading them over and over again. At some point she passed out from sheer exhaustion, only to be woken up needing to throw up. The sickness was overwhelming. It was if she had the flu but with an added dose of paranoia for good measure.

Every day after that Shawn would drop off a set of letters. There were some from her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Matthews, even some from their friends. Maya didn't know why she was surprised to see them; her being in rehab would have obviously made the gossip rounds.
Maya opened her daily set of letters only to be greeted with Riley's elegant script. The moment she saw "Peaches" greeting her at the top of the page her heart leapt. It was the first shred of joy she felt since Riley had woken up.

Peaches,
Mom and Dad told me where you are. I'm so proud of you.
Can you write to me? No one here is sure. If you can please do. I woke up missing you so much.
Don't worry about me. I'm doing better now. The doctor's told me I can go home tomorrow.
I love you,
Riley

The letter was short. Maya could only assume it was because Riley still had issues staying away from the pain killers. That didn't matter though. Riley could have wrote one word and it would have made her entire day.

Riles,
I'm so happy you're doing better! I'm sorry I'm not there to take you home. Will you be going to your mom and dad's? I hope so. That way I know someone will be taking care of you.
I'm glad I can make you proud after everything I've done. I'm sorry for relapsing. I'm sorry for storming out on you. I'm sorry you got hurt because of me. I will spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you. That's a promise.
There isn't much to say about my time here. It's been a lot of sleepless nights and awful days. I know I have to do this though. It's hard to be here without you, but I'm doing this for us. You deserve more than a drug addicted girlfriend. I'm getting clean for you, baby. This is all for you. I love you so much.
I have nine more days here before I can see you. When I'm home I'm never leaving your side again. You mean everything to me, Riley. You are the most important person in my world. I love you with every beat of my heart.
Love you forever,
Maya

Maya read over her reply and smiled to herself. She folded it up and stuffed it into an envelope. Group therapy was set to start in ten minutes which gave her just long enough to drop Riley's letter off at the front desk and get to the session room in time.

-

"Good morning, Maya," Doctor Lawler greeted her as she joined the group. "You are the last one so we can get started."