Diagnosed Chaos

Chapter 5 • Drugs, Drugs, & Drugs 💊

I layed in the quiet room for what seemed like ages, and I eventually dozed off. I was woken up by someone shaking my arm.
"Lauren, you have to wake up, its dinner time." It was John. He gave me a small smile.
"Why are you still here... if it's dinner you should have left." I just layed there and stared at him. God he was beautiful.
"Eager for me to go? I work a double shift today. Now let's go, Abby wants to lay down." He said with a chuckle.
I slowly sat up, and as I did, John put his hand on my back to assist me. I can't say I needed it, but I also can't say it wasn't MUCH appreciated. Ha. We walked together down to the dayroom. They were handing out the dinner trays. I wasn't really hungry, but I knew not eating was going to make me have to stay longer. It was Kay who was passing out the trays. Great.
"Hey, Kay. Can I have my tray?" I asked sweetly, so I didn't upset her.
"I SAID JUST WAIT IN THE LI- Oh Lauren hi! I heard you were napping! Did you have a good nap? I'm so happy to see you! I'm so sorry for yelling, these people can be so pushy. Oh my gosh Lauren I just love you so much. Hug?" She said as she grabbed my arms and pulled me in.
My eyes dashed to John and Darian, Kay's one-on-one. I gave them my best, 'please help me' look.
She pulled away a little and kissed my neck again. That sent chills down my spine and I almost cried right there. I have a serious phobia of being touched, and I am not into girls. Let alone Kay. Darian put his hand on Kay's shoulder.
"Remember Kay, no touching the other patients."
She turned around and gave him a blood curdling look. "She doesn't mind! She's my friend! Right, Lauren?" She yelled.
I nodded yes vigorously. How could I say no? She might try to scoop out my eyeballs in my sleep.
"Let's get your food." John said. We started to walk around to the other side of the cart.
"Please don't let her touch me again." I looked at him with the most serious face I could manage.
He stopped walking. I could tell that it bothered him, that I was scared so badly by her.
"I won't. I'll let the other staff know, too." He said with a nod. He looked up and down the cart, until he stopped at one tray in particular. He handed it to me. I walked over to where Rose was sitting with a large group of girls.
"Hey ladies. Did I miss anything?" I asked.
"No, but what did we miss? Why does Kay like you so much? She literally hates the rest of us." Rose said with a giggle.
"Ugh, I figured there'd be some questions about her. Well, when I was at Hartpledge in January, guess who else showed up shortly after my arrival. Kay. I had already made some lifelong friends, and Kay got jealous. She was like, IN LOVE WITH ME. Like, girlfriend, kissing, fucking, marriage, life partners, in love. I told her, I am not attracted to girls, nor am I looking for a relationship in a psych hospital. She got so upset she started cutting IN THE HOSPITAL, daily. I thought she was so annoying, and my roommate Clara thought she was the worst, so it pretty much swayed my thoughts towards hatred. By the time I left there, I was happy I would never have to see her again. Until now. I didn't expect her to be here. And I certainly didn't expect her to still be in love with me." Everyone just stared at me.
"Yeah so the food here, horrible, right?" I said.
They all busted out laughing.
     Just then, Nurse Regan walked in the dayroom and motioned me to come to her.
"Hey Lauren, how are you doing?"
"Meh. Did you need something."
"Yes, Dr. Timpani wants to see you." She said with a smile.
"Okay, lead the way."
     She and I walked out of the day room and down the hall. She led me into a very small room, where I see a tiny Indian man sitting at a desk, madly typing away at his laptop.
"Please, sit down. I don't have long." He said without looking up.
"So currently you are on nine medications. That's simply too many, I'm taking you off of four of them starting today. That's all, you can go."
     He waved his hand at me, and with that I left.
I couldn't believe he would make such a drastic change. He also took me off of both of the medications that control my movement disorder. How was I going to control it? I took a medicine cocktail two years ago that ended in an allergic reaction of Tardive Dyskinesia. A serious movement disorder I will now suffer from for the rest of my life.
     I didn't know what to do, so I just went back into the dayroom. I finished my dinner, and that evening, I took a shower. We watched TV and worked on a puzzle until it was time for bed. I had a special order from the doctor to be in a private room, so I wouldn't have to deal with a roommate. Nice.
     I was just getting settled into bed when John walked into my room.
"I saw the Doctor changed a lot of your medications around. How are you feeling?" He asked, his face full of concern as he moved closer.
I pulled my legs close to my chest. "I'm fine. I'm always fine. You don't have to keep asking about me John. I'm really okay."
He chuckled and scratched the back of his neck.
"You know, I remember you from that party a few years back. I guess because I know you, I care a little more than usual. I just want to make sure you're okay." He said as he put his hand on my shoulder.
     I felt frozen, I didn't know what to do. I really liked him, but I refused to allow him to lose his job over my arrival. I put my hand on his, and he pulled away.
"I should go. I'll be at the end of the hall if you need anything." He smiled, his bright eyes shining in the dim light of my room. He turned and walked out, and I couldn't help but wonder. What just happened.

Sorry for posting so late! I hope y'all enjoyed. 🌬🌸
Chapter 6 • The Pain Begins tomorrow @ 5pm ❤️

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