Scream
Goodbyes
We both looked toward the staircase as we heard Brian's footsteps. He was looking at us kind of suspiciously.
"Hey, what's going on," he asked.
"We're just talking about how things are gonna be for her there," Matt said. Brian nodded and looked at me as he stood next to my chair. He put his hand on top of my head almost like he was going to pet me.
"It'll be fine, kid. I promise," he said. I looked down at my cereal and continued to pop the little chocolate balls in my mouth. That's kind of dirty.
"What are we supposed to do until we have to go," I asked quietly, keeping my eyes down.
"Just hang out I guess," Matt said. I sit back and shut my eyes.
"I can not believe this is happening," I say quietly. No one said anything for a long while. Eventually during the silence we all got up and did different things. Brian started cleaning, Matt watched tv and I just kind of walked around, trying to memorize every inch of my house. I couldn't imagine how much I'd miss it all. My heart was already aching at the thought of not living with Brian, but I never thought about the actual house. It was 1pm by the time anyone got my attention.
"Hey, Courtney, wanna do something fun," Matt said, still sitting in the same place he's been for hours. I looked at him questioningly. He nodded to the seat next to him, so I took it. He handed me a rubberband.
"What do I do with it," I asked quietly. He shows me his right hand, which has a rubberband wrapped around his pinky, behind his knuckles and wrapped back around his thumb.
"The point is to get it off using only the hand it's on," he said, and he started. It almost looked like his hand was twitching severely. I could see his face getting slightly frustrated. After a minute, he got it off. He smiled. "You try." I set it up like he had it, and stared for a couple seconds.
"I have no idea..." He chuckled.
"Just do what you think you should do." I started trying to get my thumb under the part of the band around my pinky. I couldn't do it. So I tried using my index finger to work it off my thumb. I got it about halfway until I just pushed my index finger through under it and got it off. I looked at Matt with a slight smile. He put his arm on the top of the backrest on the couch behind me. "Good job," he smiled. Brian came back in the room from the bathroom and looked at us.
"We might wanna start getting going," he spoke softly.
"It's just past 1 o'clock," Matt said.
"I mean getting ready. Get her stuff in the car, maybe we can get some McDonald's..." My smile grew as I looked at Brian, who had his own smile. I ran upstairs and got my suitcase and carried it downstairs, struggling a little. I certainly wasn't the strongest person. Brian took it from me with ease once I entered the living room. I looked around one last time before we all walked out to the car. Matt beat me to the back seat.
"You take shotgun," he said, smiling. I got in, all excited, until something hit me. They were being so nice because of what's going to happen. They would never be like this on a normal day, no matter what. Until now, because we don't know when I'll be back home.
We drive to the closest McDonald's, ten minutes away, and park in the lot. We go on in and it's not busy at all so we can order right away.
"What do you want, kid," Brian asks, looking at the menu. I look at the cashier guy.
"6 piece chicken mcnugget happy meal with a chocolate milkshake, no whip cream or cherry," I say, perfectly rehearsed. The guy puts it in the register and looks at Matt.
"Um," he says, eyes wide. "I guess a McDouble meal with a Coke?"
"I want a McChicken meal with Mountain Dew," Brian says, satisfied that he made a decision. The guy rings it all up and Brian pays for it all. It only takes a minute for us to get all our food. Then we find a booth and I sit next to Brian, wanting to be as close to him as I can in this last hour.
"Wendy's chicken sandwiches are better," Matt said, taking a bite into his burger.
"Yeah, but Court likes Mickey Dee's best, so I wanted to come here," Brian said, eating some fries. I dig around in my happy meal box for my toy. It's a Littlest Pet Shop kitten.
"Aren't you lucky," Brian said, knowing my love for cats. I ate in silence as he and Matt started talking about songs for the new album. When we all finished, Matt looked at his watch.
"1:45. I guess we should get going." None of us moved as we all looked at each other. I was the first to stand, and without saying anything I started walking out of the restaurant. Brian and Matt got rid of the trays and followed. Nothing was said the entire way to Huntington Institutional Facility. Once we parked, Brian cleared his throat.
"All right, Court," he said, his voice sounding thicker. I felt the tears coming, but I couldn't lose it just yet. I had to stay calm for him. He couldn't see me freak out. Brian got my suitcase out of the back and we all walked in. We went to the front desk.
"Ah, you must be Courtney," the woman said. She was small, young, and had light hair and skin. She gave me a soft smile. I nodded. "I'll call Dr. Faye." She picked up the phone, dialed a five digit extension and waited three seconds before saying, "Hi Lori, Courtney Haner is here." She hung up and almost instantaneously, an olive skinned woman in a white doctor's coat came walking down the hall. She stopped a couple feet in front of us. She gave Brian a quick once over before looking at me.
"Hi, Courtney," she said. She waited. She wanted a reply.
"Hi," I said softly. Brian squeezed my hand.
"Okay, well I'm going to take you all through a quick tour," she says, then gesturing to Matt and Brian, "so you both know what she'll be doing for her stay here." They both nodded and she turned and started walking. We followed, and it felt like Brian wouldn't let go of my hand for anything.
"Everyday you'll run on a schedule, which you'll get tomorrow. It will consist of school sessions, individual and group therapy, and an activity," Dr. Faye informed us.
"What kinds of activities," Brian asked.
"Arts and crafts, always different materials. Fitness time, reading time; she will fill out a form later checking off things that interest her." She looked back at me, smiling. "We want your stay here to be as painless as possible." I looked down for a second. I still couldn't wrap my head around what was happening. She showed us the hangout area, where I saw multiple girls and a few boys, all around my age group, just hanging out. Like normal kids. I don't remember the last time I talked to someone my age. A few looked back at me, analyzing my appearance. Then she showed me the cafe and lastly, my room.
"It's small, but it's enough," Dr. Faye said. No roommates. I felt it coming. This was it. She looked at all of us. "I'll leave you all alone to say your goodbyes." She walked out. I felt myself falling, but Brian caught me. He held me against him as I cried.
"Honey, it's okay, I'll be back as soon as I can," he said quietly. Once I calmed down a little, he passed me to Matt, who held me tight, stroking my hair.
"I'll be back, too. So will the other guys." It felt like forever later (it was actually only five minutes) when we were all walking to the lobby where they would leave me here. I took a deep breath.
"You'll be back tomorrow," I asked Brian. He nodded, smiling.
"Of course." I gave them both one last hug and waved as they walked out. Then Dr. Faye came walking over to me.
"You have group therapy in about ten minutes," she told me. I nodded. I made my way to my room to sit down for a couple minutes. Then it was time.
I made my way to the room my group therapy would be in. There were already about seven other teens in there. A woman, one that looked alot like the one at the desk, walked over to me.
"Hi! You must be Courtney," she exclaimed, but quiet enough so no one else heard. I nodded. She gestured for me to come in and take an empty seat. I took one that was between two other empty ones. This was going to be hell.
"Hey, what's going on," he asked.
"We're just talking about how things are gonna be for her there," Matt said. Brian nodded and looked at me as he stood next to my chair. He put his hand on top of my head almost like he was going to pet me.
"It'll be fine, kid. I promise," he said. I looked down at my cereal and continued to pop the little chocolate balls in my mouth. That's kind of dirty.
"What are we supposed to do until we have to go," I asked quietly, keeping my eyes down.
"Just hang out I guess," Matt said. I sit back and shut my eyes.
"I can not believe this is happening," I say quietly. No one said anything for a long while. Eventually during the silence we all got up and did different things. Brian started cleaning, Matt watched tv and I just kind of walked around, trying to memorize every inch of my house. I couldn't imagine how much I'd miss it all. My heart was already aching at the thought of not living with Brian, but I never thought about the actual house. It was 1pm by the time anyone got my attention.
"Hey, Courtney, wanna do something fun," Matt said, still sitting in the same place he's been for hours. I looked at him questioningly. He nodded to the seat next to him, so I took it. He handed me a rubberband.
"What do I do with it," I asked quietly. He shows me his right hand, which has a rubberband wrapped around his pinky, behind his knuckles and wrapped back around his thumb.
"The point is to get it off using only the hand it's on," he said, and he started. It almost looked like his hand was twitching severely. I could see his face getting slightly frustrated. After a minute, he got it off. He smiled. "You try." I set it up like he had it, and stared for a couple seconds.
"I have no idea..." He chuckled.
"Just do what you think you should do." I started trying to get my thumb under the part of the band around my pinky. I couldn't do it. So I tried using my index finger to work it off my thumb. I got it about halfway until I just pushed my index finger through under it and got it off. I looked at Matt with a slight smile. He put his arm on the top of the backrest on the couch behind me. "Good job," he smiled. Brian came back in the room from the bathroom and looked at us.
"We might wanna start getting going," he spoke softly.
"It's just past 1 o'clock," Matt said.
"I mean getting ready. Get her stuff in the car, maybe we can get some McDonald's..." My smile grew as I looked at Brian, who had his own smile. I ran upstairs and got my suitcase and carried it downstairs, struggling a little. I certainly wasn't the strongest person. Brian took it from me with ease once I entered the living room. I looked around one last time before we all walked out to the car. Matt beat me to the back seat.
"You take shotgun," he said, smiling. I got in, all excited, until something hit me. They were being so nice because of what's going to happen. They would never be like this on a normal day, no matter what. Until now, because we don't know when I'll be back home.
We drive to the closest McDonald's, ten minutes away, and park in the lot. We go on in and it's not busy at all so we can order right away.
"What do you want, kid," Brian asks, looking at the menu. I look at the cashier guy.
"6 piece chicken mcnugget happy meal with a chocolate milkshake, no whip cream or cherry," I say, perfectly rehearsed. The guy puts it in the register and looks at Matt.
"Um," he says, eyes wide. "I guess a McDouble meal with a Coke?"
"I want a McChicken meal with Mountain Dew," Brian says, satisfied that he made a decision. The guy rings it all up and Brian pays for it all. It only takes a minute for us to get all our food. Then we find a booth and I sit next to Brian, wanting to be as close to him as I can in this last hour.
"Wendy's chicken sandwiches are better," Matt said, taking a bite into his burger.
"Yeah, but Court likes Mickey Dee's best, so I wanted to come here," Brian said, eating some fries. I dig around in my happy meal box for my toy. It's a Littlest Pet Shop kitten.
"Aren't you lucky," Brian said, knowing my love for cats. I ate in silence as he and Matt started talking about songs for the new album. When we all finished, Matt looked at his watch.
"1:45. I guess we should get going." None of us moved as we all looked at each other. I was the first to stand, and without saying anything I started walking out of the restaurant. Brian and Matt got rid of the trays and followed. Nothing was said the entire way to Huntington Institutional Facility. Once we parked, Brian cleared his throat.
"All right, Court," he said, his voice sounding thicker. I felt the tears coming, but I couldn't lose it just yet. I had to stay calm for him. He couldn't see me freak out. Brian got my suitcase out of the back and we all walked in. We went to the front desk.
"Ah, you must be Courtney," the woman said. She was small, young, and had light hair and skin. She gave me a soft smile. I nodded. "I'll call Dr. Faye." She picked up the phone, dialed a five digit extension and waited three seconds before saying, "Hi Lori, Courtney Haner is here." She hung up and almost instantaneously, an olive skinned woman in a white doctor's coat came walking down the hall. She stopped a couple feet in front of us. She gave Brian a quick once over before looking at me.
"Hi, Courtney," she said. She waited. She wanted a reply.
"Hi," I said softly. Brian squeezed my hand.
"Okay, well I'm going to take you all through a quick tour," she says, then gesturing to Matt and Brian, "so you both know what she'll be doing for her stay here." They both nodded and she turned and started walking. We followed, and it felt like Brian wouldn't let go of my hand for anything.
"Everyday you'll run on a schedule, which you'll get tomorrow. It will consist of school sessions, individual and group therapy, and an activity," Dr. Faye informed us.
"What kinds of activities," Brian asked.
"Arts and crafts, always different materials. Fitness time, reading time; she will fill out a form later checking off things that interest her." She looked back at me, smiling. "We want your stay here to be as painless as possible." I looked down for a second. I still couldn't wrap my head around what was happening. She showed us the hangout area, where I saw multiple girls and a few boys, all around my age group, just hanging out. Like normal kids. I don't remember the last time I talked to someone my age. A few looked back at me, analyzing my appearance. Then she showed me the cafe and lastly, my room.
"It's small, but it's enough," Dr. Faye said. No roommates. I felt it coming. This was it. She looked at all of us. "I'll leave you all alone to say your goodbyes." She walked out. I felt myself falling, but Brian caught me. He held me against him as I cried.
"Honey, it's okay, I'll be back as soon as I can," he said quietly. Once I calmed down a little, he passed me to Matt, who held me tight, stroking my hair.
"I'll be back, too. So will the other guys." It felt like forever later (it was actually only five minutes) when we were all walking to the lobby where they would leave me here. I took a deep breath.
"You'll be back tomorrow," I asked Brian. He nodded, smiling.
"Of course." I gave them both one last hug and waved as they walked out. Then Dr. Faye came walking over to me.
"You have group therapy in about ten minutes," she told me. I nodded. I made my way to my room to sit down for a couple minutes. Then it was time.
I made my way to the room my group therapy would be in. There were already about seven other teens in there. A woman, one that looked alot like the one at the desk, walked over to me.
"Hi! You must be Courtney," she exclaimed, but quiet enough so no one else heard. I nodded. She gestured for me to come in and take an empty seat. I took one that was between two other empty ones. This was going to be hell.
Notes
I'll be honest, at first I wasn't too sure how I felt about the new sound on this album, but I let a day go by and listened to it again, and it sounded completely different for some reason lol but I'm loving it. The only ones I'm not too keen on are Acid Rain and Crimson Day, I think my faves are Doing Time and Coming Home. :)Follow?
I so glad theres sequel!!!!
10/11/16