CANARY CRY [pretty little liars]

16. preservation of all things bitchy

[ trigger warning for sexual assault, mental illness, and drug use. do not read if you feel like you can't. ]

Adaline read the letters from Spencer over and over again. Anything was better than the dull, white walls of The Preserve at Addison-Stevens Mental Wellness and Rehab Center. Recently, she had studied each of the walls, running her fingers over the small bumps in the drywall, staring at it for days on end. Every other day, Adam visited, and on the days he didn't drive over, he called. Located on the Pennsylvania-Delaware line, there were patients from both states. Although, the overall majority of patients came from wealthy backgrounds, so their life-experiences ranged from spending their summers in Italy or spending them in France. Adaline occupied herself away from the 'trust fund kids', stashing herself away in her room, only coming out for visitors and walkabouts. She got bored easily.

"Knock-knock," Matthew Priestley greeted, walking into Adaline's room. "Anything new going on in Rosewood?"

Adaline, who laid flat on her back in the uncomfortable bed, watched as Matthew pulled up a chair next to her. She quickly shifted, sitting up with her legs crossed. "Same old, same old in the eyes of Spencer Hastings."

Matthew placed his notebook in his lap, opening it to take notes. "Is Spencer the blonde who steals?"

"Oh, no. The blonde who steals is Hanna."

"Oh, of course. I took notes somewhere." Matthew flipped through the pages of the notebook, looking for his previous writings. "Yes, here it is. Spencer: uptight smarty with equally uptight smarty family. Aria: cousin-like artist. Hanna: the blond who steals. And Emily: the swimmer with the homophobic mom."

"Wow, remember that for the quiz," Adaline said  jokingly.

"Will do." Matthew nodded.

For the past couples weeks Adaline spent at The Preserve, Matthew has been her therapist. They worked well together. His sarcasm complimented Adaline's cynical humor perfectly. Together, they were actually working through Adaline's problems.

"So," he sighed, nervously. "Want to get back into Spring Break?"

Adaline bit the inside of her cheek, probably drawing blood since a copper taste formed in her mouth. She tucked the papers under her pillow. In their last meeting, she brought up the 'Spring Break Incident,' but she failed to go on in detail. She hoped he forgot. Unfortunately for her, he hasn't forgotten, and he seemed eager to hyper analyze it.

"Can these be between us? I know you can't discuss things because of patient/doctor confidentiality unless it's something that could harm me or someone else or whatever, but this can't be written down or spoken out loud, or whatever."

Matthew closed the notebook and dropped it on the ground next to him. "I'm all ears."

"Okay," she said quietly, sighing deeply. "In freshman year, me and Alison went to some college bar that, if you're underage, will draw an 'X' on the back of your hand. Anyways, we got in and Alison was able to wipe the X off, but I kept it on. I, uh, went to the bar and got a Sprite. Then, I started feeling sick. I went to find Alison, so we could leave, but I felt someone grab me instead." Adaline stopped talking suddenly, feeling sick now. She took a pause and then started again. "He brought me to a room above the bar, something for privacy. I kept telling him no, but he wouldn't listen. I told him how warm I felt. Like, my skin was on fire." Adaline gulped, not wanting to continue.