different ▸ m.c.

sixteen

"Well you two weren't exactly emotionally stable when they found you. The neighbors had heard screaming and that's how the police found you, screaming and sobbing. You also needed medical help so we decided here would be the best place."

"Well you thought wrong. We don't belong here." I pipe in.

"Denying it gets you nowhere."

"Whatever." I say irritably.

"Now I'm going to need you to describe exactly what happened." Dr. Peters tells us.

"But what if we don't want to?" I ask, I really didn't want to have to retell that experience.

"You're going to need to."

Allie and I begin to tell the story. She includes the details of her pain and I include the details of mine. Hers blew mine out of the water though. What I had gone through just seems like a scratch compared to her.

The doctors seemed scared of what we told them. I know they think we're insane, but how can you explain this? How do you explain the clear wounds that came from nothing? They think there was a person who hurt us and we didn't see them. They think we went through so much emotional trauma that we can't remember clearly.

They're wrong though. I know what happened. Allie knows what happened. My mom believes us. Everyone else are a lot harder to convince.

"I think we're done for today, then." Dr. Peters places his papers in his folder and stands up.

"Ms. Chloe, your nurse, will come in now and then to check up on you. Michael, when you are hungry you may go down the hall to get food. I would appreciate if you brought Allie food too considering she can't really move." Dr. Lenard says to which I nod in response. Then both the doctors leave, not locking the door this time.

"I hate it here. We don't belong here." Allie says quietly. "We're not actually insane are we?"

"No, Allie. No, no, no. Especially not you." I climb out my bed and sit on Allie's, feeling a bit of uncomfortable pain as I move.

"But then why are we here?" She sobs softly and I wrap my arms carefully around her, making sure not to hurt her.

"It's all my fault." I press a kiss to her temple.

"How? You haven't explained it to me." She looks up at me.

"It's a long story."

"We've got time." She laughs lightly and I smile, despite what I'm about to tell her.

"You'll probably hate me."

"Okay you're scaring me now but I could never hate you."

"We'll see." I'm silent for a minute.

"So are you going to tell me?" She asks.

"I don't really know where to start." I admit. There was so much to say and I had never told it to someone before.

"The beginning." Allie jokes. I love how despite the situation and how much pain she is she can still he her happy, lovable self.

I sigh. "It started when I was five." I begin my story. Allie stares at me with attentive eyes and I tremble a bit.

"Calm down, love. It'll be okay." She smiles and grabs my hand with her own.

"Well I wasn't the most emotionally stable kid you could say. When I was little, I still had a dad and we lived in a different house."

"But you said you lived in the same house your whole life." Allie says, confused.

"I lied." I smile sheepishly and she nods. "Well anyways my father was an absolute dick. He always had people over and had parties in the basement. They got drunk and I could never sleep. My mom would always cry herself to sleep. My dad cheated on my mom, constantly. I didn't know exactly what that was then but I always saw him kissing other women and I knew that wasn't right."