Overdose

15. Yvonne Mcreary

Lilith had stayed by my side ever since Xander had done his experiment. During that time, I learned a lot about her. She constantly talked about what she wanted to do after she got out of The Facility. How she really wanted to go back to school. Since most of her life was spent in The Facility, she never really got the chance to get a good education. But for some reason, most of the staff either didn't bother with her, or were very kind. She told me about how Dr. Evelyn, one of the doctors who seemed to have been at The Facility for a very long time, was like a mother to her.. She told me about her friend, Nathaniel. Apparently he was in the Containment Unit. Dr. Evelyn would take her down there to speak with him almost everyday. She also told about how she would tutor her.

"She really loves teaching me about science." Lilith had said. We were sitting in our room, avoiding the rec room and the rest of The Facility as usual. "Her favorite thing is talking about plants. Apparently, she has her own greenhouse. I really want to see it one day."

"Well, when we get out of here, we'll go there." I promised her. "Once, you know, we're done hiding since Xander and the staff will be looking for us. By the way, where are you going to go after this?"
"Damion has offered to let me move in with him, since I don't have parents anymore."

"You don't have parents?"
"To be honest, I don't know. I can't remember anything about them."

My mind flashed back to memories of my dad, the smiles we shared, the laughs. How could someone forget all of that?

"How can you not remember anything about your parents? Parents are there to take care of you, to love you. There's no way you can forget about them." Lilith looked angry at that.

"It's not my fault I forgot about them! I couldn't control it! Why did you leave your mother?" I could tell that she felt bad about that sentence the moment it came out, but it was already done. As close as we had become, there was still so much we had yet to learn about each other. I always believed ignorance fueled the worst insults, and in this moment, I proved my own beliefs.

"It's fine. Don't worry about it." I said before she could say anything. I didn't really feel so good after Xander's experiment, and it had been a while since I really had something to be happy about. I didn't need to add an argument with one of the only people I could trust in the Facility to my list of things that was wrong. The panic attack I had a few days before definitely did not help my mental health. I could feel myself slipping back into a very bad state. Since I was confined to a room, I didn't have much of a chance to talk to anyone besides Lilith, and as much as I appreciated her sticking with me, I had missed Damion's smart remarks and Veronica's rants. Lilith had refused to let me work on escape plans, so I didn't have those to take my mind off things. All I wanted was to just stay in bed, for everyone to leave me alone. Sometimes, I wished I would die in my sleep.

"Are you sure you don't want to leave the room? Maybe get out a bit? Maybe you could come with me and meet Nathaniel!"

"If I leave the room, everyone is going to crowd around me like they did before, and I don't want to have a panic attack." How hypocritical of me, complaining that I was confined to a room when really I was confining myself to avoid the one thing I wanted to talk to people. But there is a difference between people talking to you and people crowding you. "But you can leave. I feel bad for making you stay in here with me. Besides, I don't want to intrude on your time with Nathaniel."

"You didn't make me do anything. I like your company." She gave me a small smile. "Well, I'm gonna go find Dr. Evelyn" She gave me a small wave and left the room.

The room had become completely silent. I couldn't tell if I liked it or not. I turned the light off and covered myself up with the blanket.

I stayed under there for a few minutes until my door opened. "Hello?"
The voice sounded like a woman, older, but soft. She spoke again. "My name is Dr. Evelyn. I wanted to come in and check on you. I understand you've gone under quite the ordeal. If you would like me to go away, just say so. You won't hurt my feelings." She added a soft laugh.

I peeked my head over the covers. A middle-aged woman stood there with a smile on her face, holding a tray of something that smelled like chicken noodle soup. She wore the standard black staff uniform, but somehow it didn't make her look intimidating. She looked kind, something that was rare to see from the staff. She looked behind her, and then shut the door.

"How are you feeling?" She asked. And that undid me. Someone asked how I was feeling. Someone cared. I knew Lilith cared, but there was something I was missing that Lilith didn't have. Dr. Evelyn coming in with soup and asking me how I was doing just brought back memories of when I was first diagnosed with depression and my mom was by my side the entire time. She would come in my room with a movie or fast food and asked me if I wanted to go into the living room and have a girls afternoon.

The dam broke, and I found myself sobbing, being held by some woman I had literally known for about three minutes.

"I left it all behind. I left my mom behind. What if she thinks I left her? I can never talk to her again. Even if I get out of here, I can't even look at her. I feel so ashamed. I am so selfish. I didn't even...I didn't even leave a note."

"That's quite enough." Dr. Evelyn said softly. "I can assure you your mother loves you, and she does not think anything bad of you. You should not think this way."

"But she-"

"Poppycock. I want to hear no more. Your mother loves you. And you will see her again."

"What do you mean?"
"A little bird told me you were planning on escaping."

I jumped up. "No, no, of course not. Whoever said that was lying. Please don't tell Xander-"

Dr. Evelyn cut me off, patting my hand. "First, wipe those tears. And second, I can assure you Xander has no idea about this. Lilith only mentioned it to me because I am aware of the injustices going on inside this place. If you are planning on leaving, I will help you. But you must wait. I know you do not find your newfound abilities to be helpful, but with training it will help. Take your time. And I want you to be happy when you see your mother. Not sad and hopeless. Promise me you will hold off on this escape, and I will do as much as I can to make sure you can get out."

"I'm not sure I can wait much longer." I sat up, wiping my tears. "But, if you are promising me that you will help me, then...well then I can wait."

"I'll keep an eye on you little ones." She stood up and took something that looked like a napkin out of her pocket. "Keep this. For when you need to dry your tears." I took it from her. The uniforms they had us wear didn't have pockets, so I put it under my pillow.

"Thank you. Dr. Evelyn, can I ask you something?" She nodded. "Evan...Evan told me that Xander made him take this serum that made him emotionless."

Dr. Evelyn sighed, and I was sure that she already knew about it. She didn't say anything.

"I was wondering...if you had any idea if there was something like less stronger, maybe? I don't want to get rid of my emotions, but I think maybe it could help and I-"

"Yvonne." Her voice was stern. "I do not believe that those serum and pills would help anybody."

"Pills?"

She stood up and gave me a thin smile. "Honey, nothing like that would help. I am sure that you've heard this so many times, but it is going to get better, I promise you. You have friends by your side, and you now know you have me. Those pills are dangerous, they have unknown side effects. Taking them would only make you feel worse. I will not talk about this any further." She held her arms out.

I stood up and she hugged me tightly. I realized at that moment how long it had been since I had a real hug like that. "Thank you." I said, dropping the conversation about the pills.

"You're welcome." She gave me another small smile and then left.

Knowing I had someone with authority that I could trust made me gain a little faith. It was someone I could count on, someone that not even Xander could control I didn't know that was possible. Dr. Evelyn was one of the most incredible women I ever knew. She was a hero.