with these words of mine ; [discontinued]

two

(𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗒𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝗂 𝗄𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗂𝗌 𝗇𝗈𝗍 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝗂 𝖺𝗆 𝗇𝗈𝗐, 𝖻𝗎𝗍 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾𝗁𝗈𝗐 𝗍𝗁𝖾𝗒 𝗆𝗈𝗋𝗉𝗁𝖾𝖽 𝗂𝗇𝗍𝗈 𝗈𝗇𝖾. 𝗌𝗈 𝗇𝗈𝗐 𝗐𝗁𝖺𝗍 𝖽𝗈 𝗂 𝖽𝗈?)

• • •

Three days past before you were released. Claire tried to visit when she could, but between work and her own life things didn't always go as planned. Once you were medically cleared to leave, Claire was the one who ended up taking you home. You were more moody than usual, but Claire knew that was just fear showing itself. She knew you didn't want to go, but no one ever did.

You huffed as you zipped your suitcase shut. "That it?" Claire asked. You nodded and moved to carry it to the backseat of Claire's car. "And you'll take care of Koda while I'm gone?"

Claire smiled, "He won't even notice you were gone by the time you get back." You gave the cat a soft kiss and held him for a few more minutes before finally making the choice to leave. You swore if you took one last look at him you'd drop everything and stay.

"You ready?" You looked back at your supposed to be home and nodded.

This was it, you were now officially on the road to recovery.

____

It was mid-day when you arrived. You were met with two people, both of them standing tall and proud. You scoffed at the sight of them, it was something you'd see in movies or tv shows, commercials even. "It's nice to finally put a name to a face! Claire has told me a lot about you. I'm Leanne Bossert, director of the young adults services. Right next to me is Lana Winters, one of nurses that will be assisting you during your stay." Leanne offered a kind smile and stuck her hand out for you to shake, but the you ignored her and stepped out of the car, placing your feet on the soft soil beneath you.

The luggage was taken out and given to Lana. You didn't really know what to expect, but a house-like residency wasn't it. It was huge, but you could tell they tried to keep it close to home for the guests. Your past knowledge was that all treatment centers were supposed to look plane and boring with white walls and eye-blinding lights. This wasn't the case though.

After filling out tons of paperwork and going through a thorough body check, both you and Claire were led to a set of double wooden doors unlocked by Lana's keycard. "This is as far as Claire can come. Y/N, you will be brought to the unit after you say your goodbyes." Lana spoke calmly, knowing exactly how hard this would be. Patient reactions varied from violent outbursts to breaking down so bad they fall to their knees.

You turned towards Claire, eyes begging for her to not leave. She noticed this and cautiously pulled you in for a hug. "You can do this, I believe in you. I'll be waiting for you on the other side of this road, and so will Koda. I added my number for phone time if you ever want to talk or vent about how much you hate it here." You managed to giggle through tears, and gently pulled away from the hug. With one final goodbye, Claire left, leaving you in the hands of Lana.

The doors opened and you walked with
Lana down a seemingly endless hallway. Each step felt more agonizing than the other. You had no clue why you were even here. Of course you recognized there were a few things wrong in your life, and maybe you needed a helping hand, but this just felt like an overreaction.