A New Beginning (Adopted by Ariana Grande and Jai Brooks)

32

• Amelia •

*Skip into the 3rd week*

I've been here for 3 weeks and 2 days now. Maya and I have become extremely close. It's like we've known each other our entire lives, but really we just met 23 days ago. I've gotten to talk to Jai every day so far. Ariana's progress hasn't moved. She still hasn't waken up and all she can do is squeeze Jai's hand. It makes me really sad to keeping hearing that she hasn't made any progress. I've cried to Maya about it. She doesn't mind. She hugs me until I calm down and then reminds me everything is going to be okay. But overall here at the treatment center, things are going well... or at least (way) better than I expected things to go. Riley started to teach me and the rest of the girls to love ourselves and it's actually working. It's actually working. Over the time that I've been here, I've already gained 12 pounds and I actually feel good about it... like I'm doing something right.

Day 23:

I wake up early as usual and head downstairs to the cafeteria.

I see Maya waiting outside the door.

"Sup muffin?" She asks, laughing a little.

"Not much buttercup." I respond giggling.

She calls me muffin because I have never eaten a muffin in my life until I came here. I call her buttercup because she's never had a Reese's in her life.

We link forearms and walk into the cafeteria. We get our breakfast and go through the usual process. Then we sit down at the table that we've sat at since day one.

I pick up my muffin, which is my new favorite food, and take a bite of it. She takes a bite of her biscuit.

"So how are you?" I ask her.

"Good now that I'm with you." She responds.

"You weren't good before?"

"Eh"

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Just another nightmare."

Maya opened up to me about her nightmares. They're usually about either her mom leaving her and never coming back or about meeting her dad and her dad ends up being a bad person and hurting her.

I get up and go around the table to sit next to her. I put my arm around her shoulder and she lays her head on my shoulder.

"It's okay Maya. None of it is real" I tell her.

"It's just scary... what if it is real? What if it ends up happening?" She asks me, lifting her head off my shoulder.

I push back her hair behind her ear and look into her scared ocean blue eyes.

"Maya as long as we're friends, no one will hurt you." I assure her.

"But -"

"No buts. No one is going to hurt you. I promise."

"I trust you."

"Good. I'm happy you trust me. I trust you too."

I give her a hug and go back to the other side of the table so I'm facing her and she's facing me. We finish eating and then go to Riley's for counseling.

Riley keeps me after to ask about Ariana. I tell her that there's still no progress. She's still the same. As she has been for the past 3 weeks. Then she lets me go.

Maya is waiting outside and we go to the art room to paint. This has become our routine. Maya is so talented. I love to watch her paint. As she paints we talk. Time flies when we're talking and before we know it, it's time for dinner.