This is a spin-off of several works I have completed or are currently underway.
This series of short stories will follow a few of my characters through the rehabilitation process until they have their moment of clarity.
Some issues dealt with in thi...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
"Do I have to do this every morning?" I asked, as the nurse handed me a robe to wrap up in.
She nodded, recording my weight on the paper that was just out of my line of vision. "Weight and vitals, every morning at 8:00."
"Like clockwork, huh?"
She ushered me toward the door. "Someone will be with you to take you to breakfast, shortly. Go ahead and get dressed."
I wonder how much bribery it would take for me to get just a peek at my file.
My room was the third on the left, and I dipped inside the open doorway.
My roommate wasn't here. I hadn't had the chance to speak with her last night, as she was asleep when I entered the room.
I recognized her from the cafeteria and common area, though. I didn't know her name, but she seemed to know her way around the place.
I didn't plan on staying here long enough to become a veteran myself.
As promised, a nurse was standing at my doorway within five minutes. I'd managed to pull on a sweatshirt and a pair of Emmett's soccer sweatpants, which were oversized on me. But it's what I felt most comfortable in.
I'd been to the cafeteria the day before, but the nurse still led me to it anyways.
"Breakfast is always at 8:15," she said, glancing over her shoulder toward me. "So it's best to just get dressed and come on down."
Or they'd come find me. Noted.
My eyes began to flicker around the school-style cafeteria as I stepped inside.
People were seated at long tables, laughing and exchanging stories as they ate.
I felt like an outsider to a party that I wasn't invited to.
The nurse at the head of the lunch line checked my wrist and then gave me a sheet of paper.
"These are your meal requirements," she informed me.
A container of yogurt and a cup of fruit. And one bottle of Ensure.
I felt the sudden urge to gag. Ensure was a weight-gaining tool. I couldn't drink that.
"Go on then," the nurse said, with a nod. "Keep the line moving."
I stepped into the small kitchen, showing my paper to the woman behind the counter.
"Pick a fruit cup," she said, gesturing toward them. "And then all we have left is plain yogurt today, no granola."
You wouldn't hear me complaing.
I picked up the yogurt container before moving onto the fruit cups. I picked two up in my hands, trying to weigh them.
