-On Hiatus- The Great Escape || Ben Hargreeves x Reader

Prologue

"... Daddy dearest was never the spoon full of sugar type of guy...  He always disapproved of my decisions... My hair, my clothes... My ex-fiancee, Emily. God, I miss her..." Klaus sobbed overdramatically as crocodile tears started to form in his eyes. "... that's what... That's what really got me into this shit hole, Y'know... I was just..." he continued his sob story with a flare of exaggeration but even with his obviously sarcastic tone his circle therapy groupmates seemed to have believed his ramblings and the leading therapist even offered her sympathies.

Ben was leaning on the wall behind Klaus with his arms crossed as he rolled his eyes at his adopted brother and his "performance". Klaus was never a good liar even when they were children and it puzzled Ben to no end how he was able to fool everyone in this place with his bullshit. He somewhat understood the naivety of recovering drug addicts but the nurses and staff had no excuse.

The hooded specter noticed that some of the circle members were starting to tear up as Klaus continued to share his woes and Ben decided that he didn't want to stick around for the full water show. He walked down the hallway and passed by rooms that had other circle groups within them. Ben kept walking with his hands inside his jacket pocket until he reached the lobby.

The receptionist was behind the desk while talking into the phone while a caretaker was signing something next to him. Ben took notice of five other people in the room, talking the head nurse. He overheard their conversations and found out that they were all siblings and that they were here to get their brother, he heard that his name was Luke, rehabilitated for his drug addiction. He watched as one of the sisters gave him a hug goodbye before Luke was escorted inside one of the rooms. He looked at the Luke's sister and he couldn't help but remember his own sister, Vanya. Her soft voice and awkward attitude was very similar to Vanya's personality and it made him smile for a bit when he thought about the life he had before his brutal death. He tore his gaze from the family as he quietly took a sit on the couch and looked outside the window that was starting to accumulated water droplets from the rain outside.

He relaxed in the couch for a while, enjoying the serenity of the moment until he heard the the bell ring on the front desk. He glanced over at the (h/c) woman that leaned over the desktop as she talked to the receptionist. She was wearing a green wool coat that had spots of rain darkening the fabric. He deemed her uninteresting and returned to daydreaming.

_

You sat at the passenger's seat of your sisters car. You were shivering at the cold as you rubbed your arms with your hands in order to generate more warmth. With shaking breathes you looked outside and scanned the building you were parked in front of. It was fairly big to say the least. It looked clean and from what you could tell the staff seemed friendly when you saw your sister laughing inside with the receptionist. You sighed and leaned back into your the car seat. You thought back to recent events that had lead you to this situation.

Your sister was at work when she got the call from your parents. Ever since you lost your job at the diner and got kicked out of your apartment a few months ago, you have been crashing at your parent's couch ever since. They didn't mind that much and they even enjoyed your company while you looked for another job around the city. However, one night while you were off to another interview you didn't come home and this caused them to worry a bit. When morning came and you still haven't come home they lost it. They spammed your inbox with messages and missed call notifications and they even called all the managers you were supposed to have interviews with the day you disappeared but when they answered they said that you were a no show for all of their appointments. They tried to call the police but they said they couldn't start an investigation until you have been gone for at least 48 hours much to your parent's frustration.

That's when they called your sister. It wasn't like you to disappear like that without any explanation so naturally, she suspected something was amiss as well.

She excused herself from her job, saying that it was a family emergency and drove two hours into the city to start looking for you. She called a friend she had in the police department and asked if they could look for your car in one of the high way cameras. An hour later her friend called back saying that she found footage of your car driving down to the docks at around midnight and it never left. She thanked them and drove to the docks with your father. It took them an hour to find your car parked in a dark and abandoned warehouse on the edge of the vicinity. You were passed out on the drivers seat, reeking of alcohol, cigarettes, and body odor as bottles of cheap whiskey surrounded your limp body.

The next day, your sister drove you to your old psychiatrist that you had when you were 15. Your sister was next to you while you talked with your psychiatrist. She looked at you in disbelief and disappointment as you tiredly confessed to your almost two years of alcoholism and drug abuse. Needless to say, your family was horrified at the news and they started to look for rehabilitation centers in the city.

Now, here you are sitting in your sisters car, following her with your eyes as she speed walked to the drivers seat to avoid the rain. "This place seems nice. Better than the other ones we saw." was the the first thing she said as she got it. She closed to the door and looked at you with a smile. "They have nice place, the people are friendly..." she listed off as she started the car. You just kept quiet as she talked about their clean facility and their self-claimed success rate and you two drove off.

"I already signed you up for 30 days." she said as she stopped in front of a red light. She looked at your face and searched for a reaction but there was none. She looked back to the road and lightly shook her head as she tapped her thumb on the steering wheel.

The rest of the ride was silent until you reached your parent's home. Your sister stopped at the front while you exited the car. She watched you as you walked up to the front door but before you could turn the door knob you heard your sister call out to you and you turned around. "I love you."  was all she said before driving off. You waved as her car turned a corner. you went inside the house only to be greeted by a hug from your mother. You slowly hugged back and closed the door.