Dome → Isaac Lahey

4.6 : eichen

"I'm not so sure about this . ."

"It's only 48 hours."

"A lot could happen in 48 hours."

"Well, just try not to die."

Carmen stared blankly at her brother in the driver's seat, not amused in the slightest by his joke.

"I'm kidding." Piers clarifies, "I know you can take care of yourself."

"I don't get why I even have to do this," Carmen sighed, glaring outside of the window. A familiar, huge, fenced building was coming up on their right, where she would be spending 2 days in near solitary confinement. Eichen house.

"Wherever Stiles goes, you go." Piers explains, "He turned himself in because he's scared the Nogitsune will hurt more people."

"So he's not possessed anymore?" Carmen asks, not taking her eyes off of the eery building.

"No, which is why you need to act like you were possessed that entire time as well and weren't part of the plan."

"I have a really bad feeling about this . ." She bit the inside of her cheek nervously.

"You'll be fine. You're strong, you're independent," Piers compliments, bringing her into a loving hug over the gearshift, "And the days will fly past before you know it. I love you."

Carmen sighs timidly and pulls away, grabbing all of her possessions which was only her phone and house keys. She doubted that a mental facility would allow her to bring her entire bedroom along with her.

She climbs out of the car and looks up. The building almost seemed to blend into the darkness of the night, the small lanterns on the brick walls being the only thing keeping it dimly illuminated from the outside. The stairs of which she was currently walking up were cracked and near crooked, implying that the building had been standing for a very long time. The door that her hand raised to push open was large and wooden, resembling that of a haunted house's. Which, to her, seemed to be essentially what this was anyways.

When she first entered, she was relieved to see that it was a bit less dark in the building, though it wasn't by much. The lobby was empty aside from a man in a wheelchair, whispering to himself in the corner of the room, and the receptionist at the front desk.

"Ms.Taylor," The woman calls, her curly haired head bouncing when she spoke, "You're checking yourself in, right? This way please."

Carmen keeps her feet planted for a second, weirded out by her already. She wasn't aware that Piers had called in advance. Had he?

Still, she leisurely saunters over to the counter, watching as the woman places a sheet of paper in front of her.

"The first 48 hours there are no phone calls, no emails, no visitors." She begins, rummaging around in her desk for a few seconds before pulling out a pen and handing it over to her. "In the morning you'll be assessed by a staff psychologist, speak to a social worker, and attend group therapy.

"You will be wearing these," The woman sets a pair of beige house shoes on the marble surface, "No laces allowed. Do you have a belt on?"

Carmen gulps nervously as she stands up and begins to take off her belt, placing it atop the paper for the woman to take. She then leans down and slips out of her shoes, replacing them with the ugly house ones.

"Now please empty your pockets in here," The woman instructs, sliding a white box over to her.

Carmen reluctantly handed over her keys and her phone, biting her lip as the woman slides it away. Carmen grabs the pen and scans over it a bit before her eyes wander down to the signature section. Her trembling hands glide over the paper and she signs her name in the neatest cursive she could, officially deeming her a patient of Eichen House.