Battle Scars

twenty three

I raise an eyebrow as Michelle enters my room and shows me a sheet of paper.

"Well. Ms Collins, it seems like the doctors have decided to prescribe you with a new medicine." Michelle says the other day. I have been on this medicine for 4 days now.

Denvelose. 25mg.

"What sort of sorcery is this?" I remember thinking. Medicine is just a fancy word for drugs.

Michelle chuckled and grabbed back the paper. "It's an antidepressant medication. We're going to start you off at a low dose and see how your body reacts."

A lump forms in my throat as I'm suddenly reminded of Robin.

"Hey um.. Michelle?" I say quietly, looking over at sleeping Robin.

She raises an eyebrow as we exchange glances.

"Is..is Robin going to be okay?"

Michelle looks back over at Robin and frowns. We watch as she twitches in her sleep and lets out short breaths.

She managed to calm down quite a bit. I crawled in bed a little bit ago and, bam, Robin's was dead asleep.

"I'm not sure." Michelle says, her eyes glued on the poor girl. She's been sick snd sleepy for about a say now.

I shake my head and chuckle. "Sorry. My mind has been drifting lately."

"How come?"

I hesitate as I recall the past few days.

Ethan. Emily. Robin. Blaine. Me.

"It's just.." A warm adrenaline rush kicks in, and a smile plants on my face.

"You're what I should have been searching for this entire time.." Ethan's voice chimes in my head.

"This place.." I start. I look down at my arms. The once-opened wounds now appear white and fading. "I feel like this place has changed me."

And it has. I actually feel happy. Happy!

Most importantly, I haven't felt the need to use that paperclip. Not even once.

Michelle smiles and takes notes on her clipboard. "Changed you in a good way, right?"

I grin and nod my head.

"So you're admitting you like this place?"

"Oh, come on Michelle. That's not fair."

The room fills with quiet laughter, as Robin lays in her bed, snoozing away.

. . .

"Room time is over!" Justin's voice echoes over the loudspeaker.

I stretch before kicking the covers off of me. Footsteps start shuffling outside and indistinct chattering initiates.

I happened to fall into a deep sleep after Michelle exited my room. I don't think I've ever taken a day nap before. It felt nice.

"Amber."

I move my head to face the voice. Robin lays on her bed, staring at me through pink, tired eyes.

"Hey, Robin."

She runs her fingers through her hair and lets out a sad yawn.

"Boys are dangerous." She says.

I raise an eyebrow and sit up in my bed. "What?"

"I saw you and Ethan earlier. I knew you liked him."

I smirk and stand up, slipping on my hospital shoes and putting my hair in a messy bun. "Yeah, I guess you were right." I say with a smile. "I like that boy a lot."

I start to walk out of the room. Robin doesn't follow. I look back at her and frown as she lays in the same position on her bed.

"Are you okay?" I ask sympathetically.

She looks up at me, then rolls over.

"Boys are dangerous, Collins. Remember that."