The Original High (Koli) ✔️

22: Welcome To Wonderland

haven't updated this in a while... oops, I guess? 🙄

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Slowly, I woke up from what seemed like the deepest slumber I had ever been in. I groaned softly, feeling my body ache all over and a horrible ringing in my ears. I winced softly as I sat up, the ringing leaving slowly and being replaced by the sounds of birds chirping. I felt the warmth of the sun starting to warm me up. And then I finally opened my eyes. It took a moment before they could adjust to the light, and when they did, I panicked.

"Where the fuck am I?" I breathed, desperately scanning my surroundings for something familiar. But there was nothing familiar about this place.

I looked down, finding myself lying on a bed with plain white sheets. Even I was dressed in plain white tracksuit pants and a v-neck shirt.

I then looked over to my side, feeling a soft breeze enter the room. "Well hey there, sleeping beauty." An unfamiliar man said as he walked in. "Welcome to Wonderland." He then added.

"Wonderland?" I questioned with a frown. "Am I. . . am I dead?"

The man laughed as he ran a hand through his hair. "I tell you you're at Wonderland, and you ask if you're dead? Who are you, Mad Alice?" He asked mockingly.

I swung my legs over the edge of the bed and jumped out, ready to get the hell out of wherever I was. My quick movements instantly made me dizzy, fucking with my equilibrium as I tried to walk.

"Wow, take it easy!" The man exclaimed, grabbing onto my arm just in time, as I was about to tumble over. I blinked and waited for the room to stop spinning before my eyes. Slowly I then looked at the man's tattoo covered hand, still gripping tightly onto my arm. I followed his arm with my eyes until I reached his face.

"What is this place?" I choked out.

"Wonderland." The man stated, as if it should've been long obvious by now. "You're in a private rehab, dude." My eyes widened at his statement. I was in rehab?! "Now can I let you go, or will you fall again?"

Without a word, I yanked my arm from his grasp and looked around me again. "So, rehab, huh?" I mumbled with a slightly confused frown. "And who might you be, my coach or something?" 

He let out a loud sarcastic laugh. "Nope, I'm a patient here, just like you." He then held out his hand for me to shake as he gave me a sincere smile. "I'm Justin. Justin Hills. . . recovering alcoholic, drug abuser and local asshole."

I frowned again yet couldn't help but to smile as I shook his hand and realized how he was probably joking about the last part. "Kellin Quinn. . . and I have no idea how I got here."

"Well the story goes. . ." Justin then started.

He explained to me that apparently I overdosed. . . and not just a little. I had managed to put myself in a coma for three whole months and after they found there was no initial brain damage and I was stable, they transferred me from the hospital to this fairly private rehab facility.

Apparently that was my sister's idea. She insisted on it.

"You've been slipping in and out of consciousness for a few days now, this is the first time I've seen you really awake."

I raised an eyebrow and looked at him questioningly. "Have you been coming in here a lot?" I asked him, feeling a little suspicious and uncomfortable.

"I did at first." He admitted. "Because I wanted to know what the fucking screaming was for in the middle of the goddamn night. You did that a lot in your sleep. . . panic attacks and withdrawal or whatever, so doctors had to sedate you."

I buried my hands in my hair and groaned. Fuck, what had I gotten myself into?

"So, just a drug addiction, or. . .?" He wondered curiously. I just looked at him again with a questioning frown. "Sex addict?" He then added with a grin.

"You're disgusting." I murmured. "Just drugs, I assure you." He laughed at that.

Justin was then kind enough to show me around and introduce me to some of the other patients. He also warned me about a few of them along the way. Ironically enough, there were only partly famous people in this place. It made me wonder how I ended up here, of all possible rehab facilities in LA?

Justin kind of wondered the same thing.

"I mean- to say it bluntly- I fucked a few famous guys, as the press would call it. . . So I guess that I'm famous for that." I murmured jokingly, sighing at the end.

Suddenly, a bell rang through the facility. Justin told me it meant that dinner was about to be served, so we made our way to the dining area.

"Hey hold on a second. . ." Justin then mentioned, breaking the silence as we walked down the hall. He stopped me and made me turn towards him. "Yeah, I know who you are now. I read about you." He stated with a smile, which then soon faded. Oh dear. "Is it true what Mullins and Garland did to you?"

He was the first one to actually ask me about that part. "It's true." I confirmed sadly.

"Shit, I'm sorry." He sounded sincere, not really what I expected. "Good thing Fuentes was there to kick his ass."

"You know him?" I then asked, as we both continued to walk.

"Yeah, for a while now. His cousin's in the same band as me, so we see each other often enough. I think he's told me about you. Small world, eh?"

"Small world." I murmured, wondering just what Vic had told Justin about me.

Dinner was. . . interesting to say the least. It was all fresh and super healthy stuff; food for hippies, or so I called it. My plate was overloaded with veggies and quinoa. Even the drinks were mashed up fruits and vegetables, barely left recognizable by taste, as they'd thrown so many types together.

My face cringed as my taste buds felt like they were twitching from overworking, dealing with the taste of the horrible drink. Justin chuckled at the face I made and just gulped his own down like it was nothing.

"How the fuck?" I muttered in clear distaste.

"You'll get used to it." He told me. "It's all part of cleansing your insides."

"Since when is throwing up considered a good thing?"

Justin then simply busted out laughing. No, I wasn't going to get used to this crap. I wasn't planning on staying here long enough to let myself get used to it.

I was in rehab. What the hell.