Teenage Runaway

Chapter 9

When I got to Kelly's office the next morning it felt a lot colder and more artificial than usual. Although the receptionist was just as nice and the sky was as blue as a spring morning could be, everything didn't fall into place as casual as before.

When I walked into her office she of course was on a business phone call. I could tell it was for business because when she makes calls to her family her mood isn't as cheerful as it is now. She's a bitter woman but she means well I presume.

"There you are, Harry." She says, hanging up the phone. "We have major matters to discuss."

"I know we do, I'm sorry I ran off." I take a seat across from her and open the bottle of water on her desk for me.

"You've said you're sorry before. We can't have this happen again, Harry."

"What do you mean again?" I lean forward in anxiousness, "This is the first time."

Kelly took in a heavy sigh and placed her hand on mine. "I wasn't supposed to tell you because you were supposed to forget." Her voice never lost the bitterness.

"How could I forget something like that? If it's something this big I think I would remember ditching."

"That's when you were in a coma for those two days. It wasn't anything major. The doctors were sure you were going to live, but you didn't remember anything leading up to you falling off the roof." She removed her hand and placed them together, sitting back in her chair.

"What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You fell off a roof Harry. It's not a big deal. We just didn't want to tell you because we were scared you were going to run away again. You see, the hospital was not your first breakdown, in fact it was more of a relapse."

"So you're saying I've had medical history about this stuff before?"

"I guess you can say that, yeah."

This entire time I thought the institution was the first time I ever freaked out. How could I not remember something like jumping off a roof and running away? And how could they not tell me about it?

"Did I intentionally jump off the roof." I asked her. I felt like this is a good question to ask. But all she did was shrug and say, "I don't know, I wasn't there." I don't know how she found me.

Maybe I was with someone else.

"Now," Kelly said, "we need to discuss what your plan is. We cannot have you act like this again Harry, I am serious this time. I told you to stop freaking out again and look at where you ended up, running away for almost a week."

I knew that in order to be okay I had to commit myself to this. I guess that was another problem before, although I knew what it meant to be a singer in a band, and I knew what it meant to not only have a family to look after, but an entire fanbase as well. Somewhere along the way it became too much, I don't necessarily know where, but I guess before my two day coma.

"I'm ready to sign that contract." I said.

I knew what I was doing now. I needed to make myself better.

"Good choice. If you run away again you're out. I know this is a serious choice, but this shouldn't even have to be one."

I knew exactly what she meant by that as well. I shouldn't have ran away and leaving shouldn't be an option at all. But now that I'm thinking deeper into the situation, how will I ever see Alexandra again?

She handed me the contract and a pen. I looked through it, carefully and longingly. But it didn't feel right. The words seemed too fake. No matter what though, this had to be the decision I'd take.