LAUREN'S POV
"Dinah, I'll be fine." I chuckled. "There's no need to worry. I just need a change in scenery." I sighed as I put my bags down on the street next to me. We were now waiting for the cab to get here. My old roommate stood by my side as a saddening feeling took over the both of us. Earning a new start in a whole new state was certainly nerve wracking. I didn't know anyone, I didn't know what I was getting myself into but there was still that underlying excitement that ran through my veins.
"That doesn't mean leaving your best friend behind, though." She pouted. I gave her a lopsided smile before bringing her into a hug. By now the taxi was here and Dinah helped me put my bags into the back. My heart started beating faster knowing that this was finally it. I was throwing myself into something and I honestly didn't know what was going to happen. It could either be the best decision of my life, or the worst.
"I'll be sure to keep you updated." I said. When we were done putting my bags in the back we closed it and stood in front of each other. I pulled her in for another quick hug before she spoke up. The taxi driver who was once helping us put my stuff in the trunk made his way to the driver's side where he took his spot once more, waiting for me to get in so he could do his job. I knew my flight was leaving soon so there was a part of me that wanted to get this conversation going and over with.
"Why Nevada though? Like I just don't understand that part. There's nothing there." I shrugged in response to Dinah's question. I honestly didn't know why I picked Nevada, it just spiked my interest for several different reasons. There was just so much that was still undiscovered and I wanted to be the one to change something even though I was still scared shitless over the whole process.
"I'm going to be late. I promise to text you when I get there." I gave Dinah a wave as I slid into the taxi seat. She waved back but cupped her mouth with her hands. "You better call me, bitch!" She shouted. I chuckled to myself once the taxi started moving, leaving behind my best friend and the only home I've ever known. I did one of those cliche movie scenes where the girl looks out the back window as the car gets farther and farther away. I waved at Dinah one last time so she could return it before she disappeared from my sight. With a happy sigh, I turned to face the front of the cab which was on its way to the airport. I became nervous at starting a new life.
Miami was the only thing I knew and to go into a completely different place is kind of nerve wracking. I somewhat calmed down when I realized that I was doing this for a good reason, for a new direction in my career even though I was doing the same thing. This is what I wanted so it's what I'm getting. It was for the better. The taxi soon came to a stop in the unloading area of the airport. The driver helped me take my bags out of the back before I paid him. I stood in front of the airport for a while before leaving to check my bags in. Then I had to go through the process of security check and all that. When that was done I found my gate number and went to go sit down. There was only like fifteen minutes until boarding began so I got here on good time.
Since it was an eight hour flight I made sure I stocked up on food and drinks in that short time before the plane would be here. I got some Starbucks and got back to my gate just in time for boarding. They had us line up in order to take our tickets. It took forever to get on the plane and I knew that it would take like three times longer to get everyone else on since I was among the first to get on.
As I waited for us to takeoff, I got my headphones in my ears so I could play music off of my phone. Thankfully it wasn't a full flight so no one had to sit next to me. I watched out the window once we started moving some time later, zoning out on the flight attendants as they went through their normal procedure of stating exits and everything.
There was no other airplane on the tarmac so we had an easy time taking off. I watched the lights of the night sky get smaller and smaller the farther we got up. My eyes watched outside the window for maybe an hour until I became tired. I figured I should get my sleep because I wanted to go into the facility as soon as I could tomorrow. Throughout the ride I didn't sleep the whole way but instead had periodical naps. Weirdly, I didn't feel tired.
The plane provided a small breakfast sandwich that I happily ate with some orange juice. Soon enough we landed and I was ready to start my day. For now I had to use a rental car to get around but I already had the keys to the small apartment I owned. When I had gotten the car from the airport and my bags I made my way to the apartment to drop everything off and so I could take a look at it. I had some ideas for furniture placement and everything but all I wanted to do was head into the facility for some odd reason. I got back in the rental car after dropping everything off before heading towards my new workplace.
When I arrived, there were several officials with a patient or two each walking around. It honestly didn't look like a mental facility at all. Everyone there had name tags including the patients, but how I knew was because the staff there were working in their scrubs as the patients got free reign with what they wanted to wear. I made my way to the receptionist's desk. "Hi my name is Lauren Jauregui, I start working here tomorrow but I just wanted to familiarize myself."
The lady looked up and gave me a warm smile. "Oh yes! We've been looking forward to your presence here. I can have Ally come down here and show you around." I nodded my head and thanked her before going to sit down. Ally Brooke Hernandez was basically classified as my boss, I would be reporting to her. A couple minutes later I saw the familiar face walking towards me, a doctor's coat hanging over her arm.
"Doctor Jauregui." She held out her hand with a wide smile on her face. I stood up and took her hand into a handshake before she motioned for me to follow her. I laughed a little bit.
"You can call me Lauren." I said. "Doctor Jauregui is too formal." Ally turned back to me with an incredulous look on her face just as she also stopped walking. I raised an eyebrow at her when she looked at me like I was stupid.
"You're the Lauren Jauregui, number one psychiatric doctor in the world! I feel obligated to be formal if that's what you call it because I'm also honored that you've come to work with us." Ally used her arms for emphasis. I laughed and waved her off once more.
"Really, Ally. It's okay. I would rather you call me Lauren than Doctor Jauregui." I nodded. Ally sighed but eventually gave in and stared walking again. I followed her as she started explaining what was going on here and how they ran things. I looked around in amazement, I've never worked in a mental hospital that looked like this.
"We really leave everything up to our patients, how they want to go about their treatment, how many days they want to do it for, what activities they want to complete, what they want to wear, what they want to eat, pretty much all of it. Obviously if a staff members sees fit, the staff member will alter the scheduling if needed. The process of actually admitting them into the hospital isn't that much different from other hospitals, so I'm sure you got that part down. There's really not much else, we just have to show you where everything is and you'll be good to go." Ally smiled. I nodded and motioned for her to lead the way.
"Our building has four floors. The first floor, the one were standing on, consists of the lobby as you can tell and most of our emergency medical services. It also holds some meeting rooms but that's about it. The next three floors are pretty much the same as they hold the patients' rooms and most of the staff members' rooms who choose to stay here. The second floor holds a gaming room, the third a theater room, and fourth holds our more difficult patients." Ally explained.
"So you said about one or two patients get assigned to a staff member, how does that selection process happen?" I asked as both Ally and I stepped into one of the many elevators. She pressed the button to take us to the second floor and we were off. I stood with my arms behind my back as my left hand gripped my right wrist loosely.
"Usually we have the pair as close in personalities as possible. After that we take into consideration the skill level of the staff member and place them accordingly. It can ultimately be up to the patient in whoever they're comfortable with." The elevator came to a stop and the two of us exited. I followed Ally as she showed me where the major rooms were, such as the gaming and theater rooms. "If you want, I could show you the fourth floor. There's just not much other than patient rooms and it requires a key to allow access on that floor."
I rose my eyebrow in confusion at the revelation. "Okay so let's take the most complicated patient you have here, who's taking care of them?" I asked. Ally and I walked back onto the elevator and the smaller girl pulled out her keys to insert one in the slot. She turned the key and pressed the fourth floor button before the elevator started moving in that direction. Only then did she relax and answer.
"Nobody yet." Ally sighed. "Everybody's always been too scared to try. Plus as more minor details we haven't been able to see what she's like so we don't know who'd fit with her the best." I nodded my head as the elevator came to a stop. Ally took her keys out and motioned for me to follow her. I noticed someone standing there, and it clicked in my head that it was a guard waiting until something happened, so they could stop it.
"So this girl hasn't been getting any help?" I asked incredulously. The two of us had come to a stop in the hallway so that I could get the information I needed about this patient. It was crazy to think that she wasn't getting the help she deserved just because some people were scared of the poor girl.
"It's not that she hasn't been getting any help, she just doesn't have someone catering to her every needs like staff members do with other patients." I crossed my arms over my chest at the news. This just kept getting worse and worse. "I've tried to get her help but this patient is starting to become a lost cause. She's been in and out of mental facilities since she was twelve, none of them being able to fix her problem." Ally said.
"Okay well what's wrong with her?" I felt sympathy for the girl even when I didn't know her. "Just fill me in, who is she?" I was starting to feel that if no one else was going to help her, I'd be the one to do it. I wasn't sure yet but this was ridiculous. Ally started walking again so I followed her, soon coming to a stop in front of a room that I presumed was the girl's.
"Her name is Y/N Y/LN," Ally started out with a sigh. "She's nineteen years old. I'm sure you're acquainted with what Alien Hand Syndrome is?" I nodded my head. AHS was a type of schizophrenia, one in which the person felt as if their body was not their own. They felt that it wasn't under their control, they didn't understand what was going on, and usually they would blackout in times where their consciousness was needed most. There are times where acts of violence would come out, and many of them would revolve around the person's left hand, where they experience the most problems with. "Y/N showed symptoms at a very young age up until the point where her parents couldn't handle it anymore. They dropped her off at a mental facility and disappeared after that. They could never help her so they took her to a different facility, it becoming a reoccurring thing."
"Has anyone ever even tried?" I threw my hands up in the air only for them to fall back at my side. Ally pursed her lips before shaking her head. "Okay I need to see this girl." I said. Ally seemed to think about it for a while before she sighed.
"There's more you need to know." She sounded nervous. I clenched my teeth together just waiting to see what else was going on. "We're her last chance. She's gotten into so much trouble that death row is a serious consideration right now, and nothing can change the state's mind as you know. If there isn't any sign of improvement, well, you pretty much already know what would happen."
"That's illegal, they can't do that!" I rose my voice. Ally nodded her head sadly and placed her hand on my shoulder in a comforting matter. My heart was aching for this girl, it was seriously seeming like nothing could be done but that wasn't going to stop me from at least trying to help.
"It's not completely illegal, it's just immoral, especially considering that she's mentally unstable. Thirty-one states, including this one, haven't ruled out the death penalty so it's still a likely possibility. She's hurt many people already, they want to prevent the chance of it happening again." Ally stopped and chewed on her bottom lip. She hesitated before looking back up at me. "Look I wasn't going to tell you but I feel like this is important. Well it is but yeah. Y/N doesn't recall this at all, because she was in a blackout, but she killed someone, Lauren. That's another reason why the state feels the need to put a stop to the chance that she does it again."
I was speechless after that. I didn't want to believe it, I couldn't. But just the thought that there was the slightest chance that this girl could be killed, set a fire inside of me. I had to do everything in my power to make sure that didn't happen. "Okay, I will take her as my patient then." I said. Ally looked at me in surprise and shook her head erratically.
"Lauren why don't we start out with an easier patient-" Ally started going but I cut her off by raising my hand. I sighed and dropped it back to my side once Ally was quiet. I rubbed my forehead in frustration at the situation.
"I couldn't live with myself if I didn't at least try to help this girl Ally. I know I can handle it just let me do it now. I will do everything in my power to make sure she isn't executed for bullshit reasons. Execution is for mass murderers, not mentally unstable teenage girls. I know what I'm doing Ally, I am one of the greatest after all." I never used to boast about my position or how great I was but I needed to grasp at everything I could to make sure I could help this girl now.
Ally sighed deeply and finally settled with a nod of her head. "Okay, follow me then and we'll go meet her." She said quietly. I followed behind the smaller girl as we walked towards the end of the hallway. She used her keys to unlock the door but she hesitated on stepping inside. She looked at me and nodded before stepping into the room with me on her heels. At first I couldn't see the girl but when I looked around I saw her in the corner of the room, rocking back and forth as she sat with her knees pulled up to her chest. Y/H/C hair shielded most of her face from me but I could see that her hands were shaking as they tried to keep her knees against her chest.
"Y/N, it's me Ally." The short girl spoke very quietly. "I brought a visitor. This is Lauren, she's going to be with you lots now. She's going to help." There was no response from the girl, it was awkwardly silent. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Ally open her mouth to talk again. Before she could though, Y/N started punching at the wall next to her. Ally and I were quick to jump in and pull her away from the wall, but when the guard stepped into the room short after Y/N had accidentally hit Ally, causing the tiny girl to fall backwards. My eyes caught sight of the blood on the wall coming from Y/N's knuckles.
The guard took my spot and held Y/N facedown on the ground, her arms behind her back. She groaned loudly and tried to kick him off but he was too strong. "Get the fuck off of me!" She yelled loudly. I made the rash decision to step in and get the guard off of her. He was reluctant at first but eventually he stood up and made his way to the back of the room. Y/N was quick to sit up but she backed away into her corner again, a harsh glare aimed towards the guard. "Fuck you." She spat.
"Y/N. Y/N look at me." I had to call her name a couple times to get her attention. She finally met my eyes but her face was still held in the form of a glare. I looked down at her hand to see it bleeding but I quickly looked back up again. "My name is Lauren Jauregui, I'm going to help you."
"Fuck you too, and your help." Y/N snapped. I knew that she was still in a blackout stage so I didn't take anything to heart. I gave her a disapproving look nonetheless, but I kept my ground. The Y/E/C eyed girl's glare started to fade the longer I went without saying anything. Her pupils were dilated which also gave the impression that she wasn't herself. As she looked behind me her pupils shrank back to their normal size and I could see guilt sweeping through her eyes. I looked back to see Ally standing there still pretty shaken up about everything.
"We'll start again. My name is Lauren Jauregui, and I'm here to help you. But I need your help too, I need you to calm down and do as I say so you're not getting into trouble anymore." I said softly. Y/N gulped slightly before taking another glance at Ally. She nodded her head before her eyes dropped to her hands resting in her lap. "Can I see your hand?" I asked quietly. Y/N hesitated before holding her left hand out to me, it still bleeding.
"Rob can you go get a doctor." I heard Ally whisper behind me, footsteps following soon after. I felt Y/N's hand twitch in my hold and by the look on her face I could tell she was getting nervous. Her hand moved more and more as time went on and now she was looking scared. I interlaced our fingers together while being careful for her wounds. Since Y/N's eyes were trained on her hand I tipped her head up so her eyes met mine with my opposite hand.
"Look at me, and just make sure your hand doesn't leave mine." I said softly. "If it helps you can squeeze my hand. Just try to fight it." I kept encouraging. Y/N grunted before I felt her grip tightening on mine. She closed her eyes but I tapped her chin again, causing her to look at me with her teeth clenched. As soon as it happened, it was done and Y/N's grip loosened as she took a deep breath. "The key is going to be to keep your left hand occupied and your mind elsewhere. If you can do that, you can fight this." I smiled.
Y/N nodded her head just as the doctor entered the room with a first aid kit. As I went to move, Y/N didn't let go of my hand which rooted me to my spot. I looked at the doctor and motioned for her to give me the first aid kit. Y/N allowed me to use both of my hands but she clung onto me once I grabbed her hand so that I could fix it. I cleaned it with some rubbing alcohol but there wasn't any severe damage. There were just minor cuts.
When I was done I saw Y/N shrinking back into herself, her knees coming back to her chest and her arms crossing over her knees. I turned around to see everyone still standing in the room with starstruck looks on their faces. I knew the Y/E/C eyed girl was uncomfortable so I motioned for the three other people to step out of the room. Ally tapped her wrist letting me know we didn't have much time. When it was just Y/N and I the bigger girl seemed to relax. I sighed and sat down in front of her. "Y/N I know it's not going to be easy, but I want you to try. We're going to be going through this together, so I need your help. I know today was sort of brief, but we'll get started tomorrow. I'm going to do everything I can to make sure you're not getting into trouble anymore."
"Okay." Y/N whispered. I smiled again and placed my hand on her arm in a comforting manner. Y/N met my eyes and I could see her lips twitch slightly, the tiniest smile breaking out. After that I got up and walked out of the room, waving to the Y/H/C haired girl on my way out. Ally was waiting for me in the hallway but she quickly shut and locked the door. When she had finished she let out a breath.
"Are you okay?" I asked. Ally nodded her head and I was surprised when she gave me a huge smile. She started walking back towards the elevator but she came to a stop in front of the guard that was in the room earlier.
"Lauren this is Rob, or as we call him Big Rob, this is Lauren." Ally introduced the two of us. I smiled and stuck my hand out for the huge man to shake. His hand practically swallowed mine and he only gave a grunt in response to Ally's introduction. Okay then. After that both Ally and I awkwardly walked away back into the elevator. She pressed the button to go down onto the first floor. After getting off Ally gasped, stopping me in my tracks. "I forgot. Doctors are offered coats to wear but like I said earlier it's not really mandatory for you to wear as it's up to you. But I'll get it for you to have anyways, just if you want it."
I followed Ally to her office where she grabbed me a long white doctor's coat. I took it with a shrug of my shoulders. "Thanks Ally." I hadn't noticed how dark it had gotten outside until I looked just now. "I'll see you bright and early tomorrow." I smiled. Ally returned the smile and goodbye before I made my way back to the rental car, to where I then traveled back to my home. When I had gotten there I hung up the doctor's coat on the rack and left my shoes by the door. I stared at the unpacked boxes that lined the small apartment.
I didn't have the energy to do anything except grab a couple blankets and a pillow before collapsing on the couch with a sigh. I wrapped myself up in the blankets before laying there and staring at the ceiling. I knew that what was coming ahead was going to be the most difficult thing I've ever done. The thought that it was going to take everything in me started to wear me out already, and soon enough I fell asleep with Y/E/C eyes on my mind.
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For future reference, I'm thinking to keep this whole story in Lauren's POV so I don't have to keep writing it. If I do decide to switch it up I'll obviously let ya know at the beginning of the chapter. And the first few chapters are gonna suck because yeah