Trying...

Chapter 1

⚠️Trigger Warning(s): Panic attacks, violent behavior⚠️
Let me know if I missed anything.

I would like to note before we start that I purposely made this different from regular mental hospitals so please don't correct me on that. Also, if I gent anything wrong about a mental illness, please let me know. I did a lot of research before writing this but I could still be wrong.
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Virgil stared blankly out the car window at the foothills as his mom drove. He had been in the car for almost two hours now, stuck with his own anxious thoughts. He tried everything in his power not to go on this trip. He had gotten out of it multiple times before, but the doctors and his mother weren't having it this time. This wasn't going to help him. It was going to make him worse. He'd lose his mind there. He wouldn't last a day. No friends, not that he had many anyway, and no family.

It wasn't much longer until the two had pulled up to a big brick building with many windows. The building was surrounded by chain-link fences that rounded inwards at the top so it wasn't as easy to climb. Security cameras were everywhere in case someone tried to escape. It looked like a prison, and that's what scared fifteen-year-old Virgil. There was a giant sign outside that read 'T. Sanders' Junior Mental Institution'. Virgil felt the panic rise in his stomach. Sure, he was anxious before, but everything became so much more real once he was there.

It felt like the car walls were closing in on him as his chest rose and fell quicker than it should due to panic. He had no idea what was going on around him until his mother's voice made it through his clogged ears.

"Virgil, breathe sweetheart, breathe. Remember your breathing exercises." His mother reminded him in a gentle tone. She at some point had gotten out of the car and opened the passenger's door. Tears blurred Virgil's vision as he launched at his mom, clinging onto her like his life depended on it.

"D-d-don't l-l-l-leave me h-here! P-p-p-please! I-I d-d-don't want to b-be alone! P-please, mom! Please!" Virgil sobbed into his mother's shoulder. He felt pathetic doing this, but he couldn't control himself. His mother wrapped her arms around her son, rubbing comforting circles on his back.

"You won't be alone. This is the number one rated mental hospital in the country for kids. Everyone here is very friendly and will do everything to help you. I'll visit you every week, alright? Please don't cry, sweety." His mother hushed him, doing everything in her power to soothe her distressed son. After a few minutes, Virgil was left sniffling and hiccuping, but he wasn't having a panic attack anymore. He still felt like he was going to puke, but there's not much he could do about that.

Virgil's mom led him out of the car, grabbing his backpack with clothes and other personal items along the way, handing it to Virgil. After that, she led him to the front gate where there was a buzzer and a camera. Virgil's mother hit the buzzer and no more than a minute later a man's voice came out of a small speaker next to the buzzer.

"Hey. Who are you here to see?" A man with a very chilled back voice said. Virgil's mom leaned in closer to the speaker subconsciously so the man could hear her better.

"Hello. I'm actually here to drop off my son, Virgil Black. This is Kristina Black by the way." Virgil's mom said.

"Virgil Balck? Ah, yeah, he's the new patient. Wait one second for me and I'll let you in." The man said. A minute later, the gate creaked as it started to open on its own. Virgil and his mother walked through the now-opened gates, heading to the entrance of the building. Once they entered they saw a man, no older than twenty-nine sitting at the front desk with a leather jacket on and a Starbucks coffee in hand. He smiles brightly at the two. Though, that smile flattered a bit when he saw Virgil's glassy and puffy eyes.