Everything is Wonderful Now

Chapter Four

The walls were stark white and the floor was cold.

Mumbling and the shuffling feet of nurses drifted back and forth, but it was all a blur as Sera sat in a chair that stuck to her skin. She held her security blanket close and stared at the teenagers around her, her eyes burning from dried tears. She wanted to go home. She knew she wasn't sick and shouldn't be in a hospital, so why her parents had brought her there was a mystery. Although she didn't know the dark visitor from the other night very well, she wished for his presence. She wouldn't be alone, at least.

She wanted her mom more than anything. If her mom said things were going to be okay, then things would always be okay.

"Hey," a teenage girl said as she sat beside Sera, who had begun to worry over the silk end of her blanket. "Why are you here?"

"I don't know," Sera shrugged. "My parents brought me here."

The teenager nodded and watched the child with sympathy. "Yeah, mine did too. I swallowed a bottle of Advil and had to go to the emergency room, then they brought me here."

Sera's fear grew and she turned away from the girl. She didn't want to be around people who were not well. They were all strangers and unpredictable at best. They were full of odd words and ways that Sera couldn't claim to understand, and she felt like a black sheep in a room full of scary people.

Her bedroom was safe. Danger couldn't touch her when she was surrounded by familiar walls.

"Sera?" A nurse kneeled down before the child with a small stack of papers. The woman placed a booklet into a shaking hand. "This is your schedule for school, which you'll be attending here. You'll still get weekends off depending on how much time you're with us. Are you doing okay?"

"I want to go home," Sera mumbled. Reality had sunk in hard that she was alone, despite the people surrounding her, and it chilled her to the bone.

The nurse sobered and spoke in soothing tones. "This is the best place for you right now. You'll be able to go home as soon as you're better, I promise." When the girl's pupils dilated in fear, a clear sign of an oncoming panic attack, the nurse smiled. "Is there anything I can do to make you more comfortable? Do you want a book to read or a snack, or someone to talk to?"

"I want my mom," the girl said. "I just want to go home." Sera's body finally fell victim to the panic attack that she could never stave off. Her limbs trembled like leaves fluttering in the wind, and her muscles hurt as they tensed too tight. Her teeth clenched as she attempted to keep them from chattering. Down the hall, she heard the sound of her mom and dad, and she turned as a ray of hope hit her.

They looked distressed as they argued with a nurse. Jon spoke up. "My daughter isn't staying in a place like this."

The nurse took a deep breath. "Sir, she needs to be here. Her psychiatrist recommended it."

"She's too young for this, and this isn't what she needs," Jon said firmly. He was just as concerned as Kate, and it gave Sera hope. Maybe she wouldn't have to stay there.

"I'm sorry, but I can't release her to you." The nurse grew firm. "If you take her home tonight, I'll have to report you for child negligence. It's not common for a child her age to have suicidal thoughts, and that's even more reason to keep her under watch. Don't deny her treatment."

"This is ridiculous," Kate spat. "Don't threaten us." The woman brushed by the nurse and approached her daughter, and held out a hand. "Come on, we're going home. You don't have to stay here."

Sera's heart grew warm with happiness and the tears stopped. Her mom had come to save her like she had many times before, and the girl quickly latched onto the woman's hand as she was led down the hallway. Jon joined them, and soon they were out of the hospital and on the road with city lights flickering past Sera's glossy eyes. She was tired and confused, but at least she would be able to sleep in her own bed that night.