“My fucking head,” I groaned, curling up on my side as my head throbbed, really mad at myself for hitting my head against the wall twice.

“We’ll go to a nurse and get you ice, okay?” Bree said softly, her hand on the left side of my face as she sat on the side of my bed.

I nodded with a sigh, closing my eyes and enjoying the feeling of her palm on my cheek. I didn’t know how long this was going to last, so I needed to savor every moment.

“Bree?” I whispered, and she looked at me expectantly. “What do we do?” I asked lowly.

She bit her lip and sighed lightly, a mixture of sadness and concern swirling around her features. “I-I don’t know…” she said quietly. “I guess we’ll just take it one day at a time,” she said, patting my cheek gently a few times, and I nodded.

“Is he okay?” my eyes widened when a new voice entered the room—Dr. Crowly—her voice sharp and loud.

“Yeah, he just has a headache,” Bree answered coolly, standing up. I wanted to wrap my arms around her waist and pull her back down, but that was obviously a terrible idea, being in the presence of Dr. Crowly.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, sitting up and turning my body so my legs swung over the side of the bed—sitting where Bree had been previously.

“Good. Miss Lewis, you are needed in the main lobby,” she said.

“For what?” Bree asked.

“To meet a new patient. You seemed to be successful with Vic, so we are assigning you to another schizophrenic patient,” she said, and I despised the way Dr. Crowly talked as if I wasn’t in the room.

“Oh, alright,” Bree said. She turned to face me—for a moment, her face looked stressed, but then it relaxed. “Good session today, Vic. I’ll see you soon,” she said with a wink, and I tried my best to contain an excited grin. Instead, I forced a weak smile and waved, but I knew she saw the smirk in my eyes.

With one last significant look, Bree turned and followed Dr. Crowly out of my room, leaving me alone.

I sat there quietly for a few minutes, smiling stupidly at myself. “I gotta find Tony,” I said to myself, sliding off of the bed. I exited my room and walked a little ways down the hallway to where I remembered Tony’s room was.

“Hey, man,” Tony nodded at me when he saw me in his doorway. He was sitting in the middle of his room on the floor, not really doing anything at all.

“Nice posters,” I said, referring to the several band posters and single Ninja Turtle poster he had taped to the walls—once again, I was envious of the way he could personalize his room and make himself feel more comfortable and at home.

“Thanks,” he said. “What’s up?”

I had intended to tell Tony about what happened with me and Bree, but as I sat down in front of him, I began to realize that I probably shouldn’t do that. I trusted Tony—he seemed like a genuine dude—but I couldn’t risk it. Bree would get in so much trouble, and I knew that whatever we were needed to remain a secret—at least for now.

“Just dropping in to say hello,” I said, and Tony smiled softly at me. “How are you?” I asked. “Did you get in trouble for running off by yourself?”

“I’m good, and nah, not really. What are they going to do, ground me?” he asked bitterly, and I shrugged my shoulders.

“That’s good then,” I said.

“Yeah. How was talking with Bree?” he asked.

“It was nice seeing her again,” I smiled. “I’m worried about her, though,” I said before he could press the topic further.

“Why?”

“She has this horrible bruise on the right side of her face, and a cut on her eyebrow. It looks awful,” I said, furrowing my eyebrows as the image of her beat up face flashed across my mind.

“Did you ask her about it?” he asked.

“Yeah, but she blew it off like it was no big deal. But it looks serious,” I frowned, sighing.

“Oh, I don’t know man,” Tony said lowly, gnawing on his bottom lip. I wondered why he did that, but I assumed that it was because he didn’t know what to day.

“Thanks for talking to me earlier, by the way,” I said. “It was really helpful,” I added.

“No problem, Vic. It’s what friends are for, right?” he smiled carefully, and I reciprocated the smile, nodding.

“Bree said I might be getting out of here soon,” I suddenly remembered.

“That’s awesome! Maybe we will get to leave at the same time!” Tony said hopefully, and I smiled again excitedly.

Before I could say anything else, though, we were interrupted—this seemed to happen too often in this place.

“Tony?” a nurse poked her head insides.

“Mhm?” Tony looked up, raising both of his eyebrows.

“Your mother is here to visit you,” she said sweetly. Tony’s eyes lit up, and a pang of jealousy ripped through me.

“I guess I’ll be going, then,” I said, standing up and immediately getting a head rush.

“You alright?” Tony asked warily.

“Yeah, just a head rush. I stood up too fast,” I answered. “See you tomorrow, Tony,” I smiled and waved, knowing that I wasn’t going to see him for the rest of the day.

The nurse smiled happily at me as I exited his room, and I felt kind of bummed that I couldn’t hang out with Tony longer. There was always something else going on, but, then again, we were in a mental hospital, and we both had recoveries to worry about as our main priorities.

“Hey,” I gentle hand lightly touched the top of my arm, and I slightly turned to see Bree.

“Oh, hi,” I said. “Aren’t you supposed to be meeting with a new patient?” I asked, confused as to why she was back so quickly.

“It was only a five minute thing. I start actual sessions with her tomorrow,” she said, and I nodded. “Here,” she handed me a cold-press. “For your head.”

I smiled thankfully and held it to the back of my head as we walked.

When we got to my room, I plopped down on to my bed and Bree took the spot next to me, our legs dangling off of the edge.

“Bree, what seriously happened to your face?” I couldn’t help but ask—it was eating me alive. I turned so I was facing her better and traced her wound with my fingertips.

Bree sighed and bit her lip. “It was an accident,” she said simply, but something in her demeanor indicated that there was much more to the story. I didn’t want to annoy her or press the topic, though.

“As long as you are okay,” I said, smiling softly at her and meaning the words genuinely. Sure, I wanted to know what happened, but I was more concerned for her wellbeing. I didn’t want her to be hurt, and if she claimed that it was an accident, then I believed her.

“I am,” she said. “Thank you,” she added, giving me a hug. I hugged her back gently, but I still felt this nagging in the back of my mind. I knew it was none of my business, though—or was it? I frowned; I was in a fucking mental hospital, and if Bree needed protecting, I wasn’t going to be able to be there for her. Although we were close in age, I was weak, like an adolescent. I couldn’t push the thought out of my mind that Bree needed someone a little stronger than me.

“You’re the strongest person I know,” she whispered in my ear, and I shivered as her lips brushed over my skin. My cheeks heated when I realized that I had spoken my last thought out loud. I squeezed her gently.

“Oh, I forgot to tell you,” she said calmly, pulling away.

“What is it?” I asked curiously.

“I think it’s a good thing, but I don’t know,” she said, and I nodded—allowing that to sink in—and then she continued. “Dr. Crowly informed me that your time here is wrapping up, but it is required that you have to be cleared for release by a certified doctor,” she said.

I scrunched my nose up. “What does that mean?” I asked.

“Well, she has been following my notes from our sessions, and she thinks that you are probably ready to be cleared. I’m not allowed to clear you myself,” she said, rolling her eyes. “I’m not officially qualified. I’m only allowed to talk to you and advise that you, for example, need new meds or can be cleared. I can’t make any decisions. Dr. Crowly is in charge,” she explained.

“So, no more sessions with you?” I raised my eyebrows, and she nodded.

“But it’s a good thing,” she smiled reassuringly. “I’m not just saying it when I say that I really think you can get out of here soon,” she said, brushing a thumb across my cheek. “And if at any time the next few days you need to have a session, you can schedule one. It’s just the mandatory ones are over now,” she added.

“But I have to have sessions with Dr. Crowly, now?” I frowned, despising the idea.

“Not exactly. She just has to monitor you closely for a few days to make sure you continue to respond well to the medication,” she said, and I nodded. “But my job here, apparently, is done.”

“That’s not too bad,” I commented.

“Yeah, it’s not,” she smiled. I smiled back, trying not to think about the negative things—I had no home (I was not going back to my parent’s house), I had a dead brother, and I had no idea when I would be able to see Bree again once I was released. The negativities remained pressed up in the back of my head, but I focused on the positive things, for now—I had Tony as a friend (and possibly a place to live), I had Bree, and I was beginning to really recover.

“Thanks so much,” I blurted, giving her another hug and holding on to her tightly. I didn’t know what in this moment exactly inspired me to thank her, but it was definitely necessary. Bree healed me—in more ways than one.

She chuckled, squeezing me back. “You don’t have to thank me,” she said.

“You’ve helped me so much. I feel like a new person, Bree,” I said—my words coated and soaked in utter honesty. “I don’t know what else to do,” I admitted. A simple thank you could not cover what she did for me.

“Oh, really?” she asked, a mischievous grin playing upon her soft lips.

I smiled as I caught on, meeting her halfway. It all felt so surreal—was I really kissing Bree Lewis? Her hands tangled in my hair, my arms wrapped around her waist, and the sizzling sensation on my lips told me: yes, I was kissing her. I loved every millisecond of it. I desired to be as close to her as possible, locking my hands behind her waist and pulling her nearer. Her grip tightened around the hair on the back of my neck as the kiss deepened, slowly but surely our tongues beginning to twist together passionately.

But, suddenly, we froze—our body’s now rigid but our lips still connected, and our eyes wide as we stared at each other in alarm. The door to my room swung open, and then it was quickly slammed shut.

“…What is going on in here..."

Notes

Yay, a mostly fluffy chapter, I think. Sorry it's kind of short! But there's also important stuff in there. Drama shall happen soon, don't worry ;)

And
uh oh
Who walked in on them??