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“It’s not weird at all. It’s common for patients to miss the safety and security of a place like this.”
Drew holds up his marked wrists. “Can’t imagine I’ll miss this.”
Dr. Erica frowns. “I’m sorry that happened to you, but you know the protocol. If you’re a danger to yourself or others—”
“I have to be restrained and sedated.” Drew rolls his eyes. “I know, I know.”
Dr. Erica turns to me. “Are you ready?”
I nod and hug Drew. “Try to keep your cool, okay? Whenever you get mad, just think about our Fourth of July party.”
He ushers me toward the door. “Don’t worry about me, Nix. I’ll be fine.”
I follow Dr. Erica down the hallway and into her office.
“It’s strange being back here when I’m not a patient.”
She smiles. “You’ve come a long way.”
I sit in the familiar yellow chair and smooth my hands over the armrests. “Sometimes it feels like I’m in a different place than I was, and other times I feel like I’m right back where I started when I came here.”
“That’s because you’re still the same person, with the same core beliefs and values. As you experience life, you learn and you grow, and you become different versions of yourself, but you’re still the same person essentially.”
Wish I could change into a different person altogether.
“Tell me, how has your first week been?”
I let out a soft laugh, gazing out the window behind my therapist’s chair. “Eventful.”
Her eyebrows lift. “How so?”
“I’ve been keeping busy with renovating the house.”
“That’s good.” She scribbles something on her notepad.
“I’ve been running every day.”
“Excellent. That’s important.”
“And I met my new neighbors.”
“Oh?”
“The father is a police officer, and so is his oldest son, James. I’d say he’s around my age, late twenties. His brother Leo is a few years younger.”
Erica glances at me over the rim of her glasses. “Making friends is a great way to become part of the community. I know you were nervous about living on your own before you left here. How have you been feeling?”
“I get nervous at night, but it helps knowing there’s a family of cops next door.”
Even if they’re the ones scaring me in the middle of the night.
“And you’ve been taking your medication?”
I nod. “I wish the antidepressant didn’t dehydrate me. I’m drinking so much water, half my day is spent running to the bathroom to pee.”
She chuckles. “That’s an irritating side effect.”
“But hey, I guess it’s better to feel thirsty all the time than to feel like I want to die, right?”
