WHEN THEY CRY.

☤seventeen

"that soon?"

the worried look on taehyung's face worsened, nodding his head bitterly. "yeah, they're all convinced you're fine by the reports they're getting from namjoon and his lab. they're planning on prescribing you some antidepressants and sending you back home."

jimin looked down at the glossy flooring, not minding as his shaggy blond hair fell in front of his eyes again because of the amount of growth its had during his stay here. in eight days from now they were planning on releasing him. as long as everything went well until then, he could finally leave.

"-but don't worry," taehyung continued, leaning just a little bit closer to the distracted boy. "i have a plan that might give you some more time here-"

jimin's head shot up, eyebrows furrowed and a pointed stare aimed directly at the grey haired therapist in front of him. "i don't want more time here." taehyung paused, looking at the patient with wide eyes as he interrupted him. "i want to leave. i just want all of these people here telling me i'm nothing but an attention seeker and a faker to just go away and stop making me feel so bad for existing anymore because they think i'm putting on an act." a tear fell from jimin's right eye as he spoke, showing just how serious he was being. "i hate it here —i hate everyone here— even you."

the therapist watched as more tears dripped down to the white floor off of jimin's jawline where they had gathered together when they fell from the grasps of his long eyelashes. that's all he could do, just watch.

there wasn't a thought in taehyung's mind that when he came in here to find jimin and try to help him get more time to find his true diagnosis and get him the real help he needs that maybe the teenager didn't even want it. that jimin was so unhappy with constantly being called a liar when he talked about his hallucinations that one day he'd just give up all together on getting the truth out and just accept whatever he was told by people that simply couldn't even begin to understand him.

taehyung finally had a plan and motive to help him, but it was too late. jimin had already given up. there was no helping this boy now that he accepted the fact that no one would ever be willing to believe him.

it didn't matter how many stories he told of jungkook's abuse. it didn't matter how many more injuries he would mysteriously and impossibly obtain. it didn't matter how much taehyung would be willing to try. no one with the ability to help his schizophrenia would ever listen.

"jimin, don't say that."

taehyung reached out his hand towards the other, but jimin smacked it away before it could connect with any part of him. "don't touch me."

grazing his bottom lip with his teeth and tugging it back with uncertainty, the therapist retracted his arm. he wanted to help. he wanted jimin to want him to help. however, that was just not happening anymore.

as the sound of a door unlocking behind them in the doctor's wing barely managed to reach their ears from where they were standing, jimin turned around and started walking back towards where he came from. the last thing he needed was a lecture about not listening to instructions. besides, if the guards saw taehyung with him, he was sure the man would get a little more than a verbal warning this time.

"so you're fine with living like this?" jimin froze in his movement, hand barely wrapped around the door's handle loosening it's grip at the question. "waking up to bruises you don't remember getting, always feeling on edge and paranoid of saying or doing the wrong thing because it could result in you getting your body torn apart and violated, always being ridiculed and terrorized by things that don't exist. you're fine with jungkook having complete control over you forever?"

taehyung's words were challenging as if he were trying to give the nineteen year old a wake up call, begging him to listen to reason. unfortunately though, jimin wasn't willing to listen. he didn't want to wake up and do what was right. he just wanted all of this to end.

"jungkook isn't real and neither are the shadows. i do things to myself to make it seem like they are, but they don't exist. all of this is just for attention. it always has been."

the patient opened the door, not looking back as he bid a final goodbye as he existed back into the doctor's wing just in time to not get caught by the guards.

as jimin was lead away by them back to his cell room, kim taehyung could only stare in silence and try to ignore the painful twisted feeling in his stomach until the patient was finally out of view.