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Day 3

I wake up to see that Charlotte is not in her bed, and the pillowcase isn't either. I get up and walk down the hall, to see Ms. Katherine.

"Good morning, Sunshine. You missed breakfast, they'll be back soon with your tray." I plop down in the chair I usually take, and put my head down. Ian comes sprinting down the hall. He sits across from me, and I take a subtle jab at his messy hair.

"Hey, Bedhead. How'd you sleep?" He takes this way further than I meant, and starts biting his hand.

"I'm angry," He gets up and walks away, biting his fist and muttering to himself. I shrug it off, and then realize why I shouldn't have. He comes back and takes a swing at me.

"I'm not dumb!!" He yells, even though I never called him dumb. Mr. Andrew, who was here when I checking in, comes over and pins him down. Pretty soon, a random nurse gives him a shot in the butt, as he screams:

"I DON"T WANT BOOTY JUICE!!" And falls asleep. Mr. Andrew carries him to his room, and it's silent.

"Is he dead?" I ask the nurse.

"No, just asleep." Everyone comes in. Courtney is the first to notice Ian's absence. I explain what happened, and Evelyn makes another comment.

"Wish I was here to see that," I eat, before Charlotte asks for a story. I brought a bunch of books when I was admitted.

"Which one?" She points to a script to the Cinderella musical I have.
"Are you sure? Its a script," She nods her head, so I open it and start reading, using different voices for the different characters.

When it's time for music therapy, I close the book, and hear more than just Charlotte groan. I realize that everyone had been listening to me read. Music therapy is really boring, we just analyze the lyrics of Sia's Chandelier. However it is interesting when Bryson discarges. The doctor calls me in, but our visit only lasts like 3 minutes, since my meds dont need to be adjusted.

However, Charlotte's visit lasts like 15 minutes. After music therapy we have some time to ourselves. The doctor has Charlotte for half that time. She comes out crying, and sits in my lap. I hug her.

"What's wrong, Sweetie?" She shakes her head, and points to the Cinderella book. I read another few pages before Recreation Therapy. At rec. I see the gym for the first time. It has a basketball court, but its odd because the walls are made of wood. There is a bench attached to the wall. Charlotte somehow smuggled a crayon in the gym. She gets on the bench, and starts writing a single word on every single board.

SEX

"Why are you writing that?"

"So everyone knows what my Grandpa does to me," My heart breaks for this tiny child who knows too much about the cruel world. On the last board, she writes:

WITH HIS GRANDDAUGHTER CHARLOTTE.

She nearly falls off the bench, but I catch her. I hold her like a baby and I spin her until I'm so dizzy I think I will drop her. She begs for more, but I set her down. By that time, it's time for lunch. I sit with Charlotte, Courtney, William, and Evelyn. Richard had to stay back because the doctor called him, and Ian is still knocked out.

For lunch, we get our choice of turkey or ham sandwiches. I scarf mine down, and just sit for the last 20 minutes of lunch. Charlotte guesses the ending of the Cinderella book. I tell her when she is getting closer to the actual ending, but they are all far off. Her guesses are dark and depressing. I try to keep the mood light, but Courtney and William are no help at all, too busy going ga-ga over each other.

"You'll just have to wait to find out!" She smiles, and compliments the voice I use for the prince.

After lunch, we go for process group. Girls with Ms. Stacie again. We spend the entire time talking about how to control our anger, but I'm not paying attention, considering that this doesn't apply to me.

We then have a while to ourselves. I take a seat next to Charlotte, and start reading the story to her. I'm at the part where she gets her pretty dress and shoes. Charlotte asks what the dress looks like, and I asked her to draw what she thought it looked like. 

"Okay! But can you wait to finish the story until I'm done?" I agree, and she picks up a flower coloring sheet, flips it to the blank side, and starts drawing a dress in pink and yellow. She barely has time to start when it's time for some special activity that was planned. I ask Richard what we are doing, he says we are watching some movie. 

Mr.Andrew has a big box of movies, we vote on which one to watch, and decide on the classic Cinderella.

Charlotte sits in front, staring at the T.V., enchanted by the film. Until the fairy godmother gives her the dress. She cries because the one she drew is different, and runs over to me. I hug her, Mr.Andrew notices, but doesn't scold either of us for violating that dumb boudaries rule. She continues to cry until the prince and Cinderella start dancing, and the tears in her eyes become tears of joy. 

After the movie, it's time for dinner. 

Charlotte sits next to me on my left, Courtney on my right. William is right next to her. Everyone else sits at a different table, and I don't pay much attention to where they sit. Charlotte keeps going on and on about the movie. 

"My favorite part was when the happily ever after, I real want a happily ever after." I smile at her, take a bite of my mush, and say,

"Everyone gets a happily ever after, but every single on is different," 

Ian comes into the cafeteria, groggily. He glances at me, but when he sees that I'm looking back at him, he averts his gaze. He goes and gets food, and sits down at a table alone. I call out for him, about to invite him to our table, but Mr.Andrew shakes his head.

After dinner everyone winds down. Hygiene and meds, and its time for bed. Charlotte puts the pillowcase on her pillow, and falls asleep as soon as her head hits it. I listen to her breathing to tire me, and fall asleep soon after her.