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SIX MONTHS LATER
"Ms. Brown?" a low voice calls out to me. I turn my head, the small french braids that Maddie had so nicely done for me hit the side of my face as I focus on the older man.
He intertwines his fingers, setting his elbows down on the table to where his hands sit in front of his winkled face and grey hair. He's seemed to age, though it has been awhile since i've seen him.
"Today's the big day, isn't it?" he asks me, my immediate response being to lower my eyebrows.
"I get discharged today—but of course you knew this, Dr. Modine," I remark, raising the corner of my mouth into a knowing smile.
"Why yes, but first I'd like to read this um, story you have?" he questions. My eyes widen, not expecting such a request.
"It's not important," I confess, looking down at my hands that fumble in my lap. "It may not be to you but in your discharge plan, Shannon stated that you wrote a story. I'm curious, do you blame me?" he chuckles deeply.
I crack a forced smile, deciding that settling might get me further than declining. "I wrote a story about Finn," I bluntly state. "Not just him...the others as well but he was my main focus."
"Oh—Claymore's finest, Mr. Wolfhard," Matthew sarcastically remarks. I glare at him, his smile dropping as he clears his throat. "Continue."
"I wrote about how I felt, how he felt—how others felt. The only difference is-" I cut myself off with a giggle. "I made everyone animals," I confess.
"Animals?" Matthew raises an eyebrow, a playful smile returning. "Yes! As odd as it may be, it was fun to change the story slightly," I say in-between our laughs.
It made the story much more enjoyable to write, visualizing Finn as a cat and Maddie as a dog. I made Sadie a snake.
"That's awful creative. And forgive me for changing the subject but are you still handling, you know, the past situation well?" he asks with a fake, concerned, doctor expression.
My breath catches, the memories of what had happened months ago flooding my mind. Opening a feeling that was hidden—a longing for a certain person but also a deep hatred.
But also an undying love.
"I'm still handling it quite well, thank you," I reply. Though of course I've been handling it well. I haven't thought about it much and have made the effort to push it towards the back of my mind; for it to be left unfelt like it never even happened.
Dr. Modine nods, looking down at the papers in front of him as he picks up his pen. See, doctors never care to follow up. You could lie through your teeth—lie your way through treatment and you'd leave within months.
"Looks like everything is correct-" he looks back up to me. "Are you ready? Ms. Brown?"
I nod eagerly, my smile growing at the thought of once again being free, and this time not a runaway.
"Well then—it's been nice knowing you, miss. I wish you the best of luck out in the world," he says with a smile. I nod him off, raising from my chair and turning over my shoulder in a hurry.
