Leashed | • • • | Blue Exorcist

Triggered

It's been a few days since I've been admitted to the psycho den, and while I wish I could say it was absolutely unbearable, it wasn't horrible. However, it wasn't the best, either. I still had to get up early, just like I had for school. I had a lot of free time on my hands, even after group and individual therapy. Also, my homework has never been more organized and I was actually farther ahead in my bookwork. It was just so.... boring. I spent most of my time in my room, reading manga or trying to figure out Algebra with nothing but my own intellect.

There were a few others who'd tried to get to know me, but I kept my distance, I didn't know why they were here, nor did I care, all I wanted was to serve my time and get the hell out. We were all inmates here, to this sanitary prison, that didn't mean I had to get along with any of them.

Therapy was going well, I suppose. I tried my best to sound sane, keeping my secrets where I needed without sounding like I was hiding anything. Everyone wanted to focus on the fact that Dad was dead, and I was there when it happened. They made it seem like the root of all my problems. However, how can it be, when I'm the goddamned son of Satan?!

Ugh, I slammed my head against my textbook, I was tired of studying. I was tired of this blue room, with nothing but a bookshelf and chair. I wanted to go home, I wanted this all to be over. I missed school, and the carelessness that people had toward you. I hated being tiptoed around, like a bomb about to explode. I sighed and pushed myself off my bed, shoving my homework to the floor, the textbooks smacking against the linoleum. I fixed my collar and sleeves before pushing open the curtain.

The commons area was fairly full, but that was unsurprisingly considering the time. Dinner had just been served and most people were just chilling around waiting to get tired. I shuddered, some patients were given sleep meds at dinner, and a lot of them barely managed an hour or two before turning in for the night. A lot of people here seemed to be medicated, and I paled at the thought of becoming one of them. I didn't want to be fooled into a false sense of serenity. I didn't want to rely on a med to survive. Some of them here seemed to thrive off it, some even begged for their meds early, but they wouldn't never get them, protocol or something.

I walked over to the nurse's desk, a different woman than I'd seen the first night was there. She seemed to be one of the night shift, which started after dinner and ran until right before people started to wake up. She sensed my presence and stopped typing at her computer. Her gaze met mine and she quirked an eyebrow. "Uh," I started, "I was wondering if I could walk around the fountain, could I go out for a minute?"

I hadn't even finished my sentence and she was shaking her head, clucking her tongue. "No going outside after six o"clock." I'd heard that before, but it never hurt to try. I simply sighed and went to turn away, but she spoke up, "why not stay and make some friends, Rin?" I shook my head and she sighed, exasperated. "Give it a try," she basically demanded that I stay out here, and I relented. Before I stepped away from her, she asked me the same question I'd heard every night since I came. "Do you want to call anyone? Visiting hours are still open for another two and a half hours." I was shaking my head and she gave up, shooing me away.

Slowly, I walked over to the empty chair near the TV. A few people looked over as I sat down, most of them seemed disinterested and tuned back into the sitcom. A few, however, continued to stare as I got comfortable in my seat. My skin became heated under their gaze and I returned their pointed looks. All but one continued their staring. It was that damn kid from the first night, Thomas.

His eyes fixated on me and I almost snapped at him to mind his business, but he spoke up before I could. "If you don't mind me asking; what happened to you?" His demeanor was a complete one-eighty from the first encounter we'd had, and I wondered sourly if medication had anything to do with it. The others seemed interested in what Thomas had said, a few heads turning back to me.