Chalex Oneshots

Recovery

A/N: This is part two of relapse ❤️

It had been a month. 4 weeks of crying, no sleep and constant worry as Charlie waited for Alex to be released from the mental health facility.  His boyfriend had been admitted under caution after his history spiked concern for not only his doctors, but his parents, suggesting that an inpatient approach was the safest in this moment. Charlie couldn't help but picture Alex's face as he was told, his eyes quickly watering, his face flushed with anger as he fought against the decision.

Being isolated was hell for Alex. Charlie knew an inpatient facility would be torture for him. The younger boy hadn't slept, his mind constantly swimming as he thought of his boyfriend alone in a strangely sterile room, constantly watched as if he were a crazy person. Charlie wanted nothing more than to break in and get him, protect him and look after him until he felt no more pain. His eyes welled, his hand pressed against his forehead and he sighed in frustration. Looking after Alex was exactly what he had been trying to do for the past year, and this is where it had gotten him, sobbing at 3am, while his boyfriend plummeted into a darker hole of depression. Charlie had tried so hard to take it away, but could you really love someone back to life?

Alex needed help, and as much as Charlie hated to admit it, the facility was the safest place for him right now. It was the only thing that had put Bill and Carolyn Standall's minds to rest, knowing that their son was getting the help he needed, even if he did hate them for it.

Charlie had visited twice, the visitation rights restrictive as Alex continued to recover. The older boy had gotten thinner with the stress, his eyes panda like and sunken as he refused to sleep and eat in a protest. He had barely spoken to his counsellors, and point blank avoided group therapy, playing the TBI card more than a few times.

Bill called Charlie frequently to update him on his son's condition, each day sounding more defeated as Alex had still refused to see his parents. His hostility towards them was breaking the pair, and Charlie aimed to put it right, his new goal to convince his boyfriend to come around to the idea of treatment when he next saw him.

In fact, that day was drawing closer, proving to be the reason Charlie was tossing and turning in bed, his pillow wet with anxious tears. Alex had been granted a day release, choosing to spend it with Charlie only, defiant as his parents offered to take him out. As much as it broke Charlie's heart to see him reject them, he was excited to see him for longer than 30 minutes, determined to make it a stress free day for the pair of them. He had to swallow back his nerves, for he didn't know how to act around him. His boy looked fragile, and Charlie didn't want to make things worse than they already were. Alex was his boyfriend, but he felt as if he were walking in egg shells around him.

He closed his eyes, shook his nerves away and let the darkness envelop him. He was seeing Alex tomorrow, and that was all that mattered.
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"Hi, I'm here to pick up Alex Standall for a day release." Charlie tried his best smile with the receptionist the next day, his fingers nervously tapping the desk as she cross checked the system.

"Yes sir, take a seat, I'll let the warden know you've arrived." The woman smiled, gently pointing to a gloomy looking waiting area, littered with pointless quotes about living life to the fullest. Charlie found them ridiculously ironic,  as if they would fix anything that people in this place were going through.

After what seemed like the longest ten minutes of his life, he looked up from his phone to see his boyfriend, anxiously standing before him, his face brighter today as he smiled softly. His gaze was on the floor as he nervously twiddled his thumbs, but tentatively walked forward as Charlie stood to embrace him.

"Hey baby I missed you." Charlie beamed, holding back his tears as he saw what was now a frail figure as he hugged him close, his hands resting on his cheeks as he pulled back to get a better look at him. "You ready to get out of this hell hole for a few hours?" He giggled encouragingly.