Someone Out There Loves You (Adopted by Frank Iero)

19

FRANK

The previous time I took Lexa out for the day I had asked the day before to give the hospital notice. That was a thing apparently. However, that obviously wasn't going to be the case for today when this was decided last night. I was crossing my fingers and hoping that if I showed up early enough at the hospital it would be okay. The staff knew me by now so that was helping my case. I just hoped it would be enough.

Walking briskly down the familiar path to the psychiatric wing reception, I decided to test my luck. 

Seeing Elise sitting behind the desk gave me hope. She was always friendly and enthusiastic and had the kid's best interests at heart.

"Hey Elise!" I greeted, smiling at her warmly as she looked up from her computer.

"Frank, hi! Good to see you! What can I do for you?" she asked in a perky voice, adjusting her glasses.

"I know it's short notice but uh, I was wondering if I could possibly take Lexa out today?"

She put her hands on the tops of her thighs and furrowed her brow slightly. "Hold on a moment, I'll have to go check," she said lowly, holding up her hand in a 'give me one minute' gesture.

She swiftly stood from her chair and disappeared down a corridor, leaving me worried this wasn't going to go the way I had planned it in my head.

Unsure of whether I should sit or stand while I waited, I ended up pacing back and forth anxiously in front of the desk while I waited for Elise to return.

Are they going to let me see her after whatever the fuck happened last night? Did they know I knew? What am I going to if they say no? I told Lexa I'd be here today. Oh fuck, I hope she's okay.

My head snapped up and my thoughts were brought to a halt when I heard footsteps echoing down the hallway, increasing in volume.

Elise beamed at me, far less tense than before, putting me at immediate ease. "She's just getting ready."

I breathed a sigh of relief and nodded, returning her smile, but I couldn't stop wondering why she hesitated.

"You made me worried for a sec there," I chuckled, keeping it casual.

"Oh, no, there's nothing to worry about," she reassured me. "The reason I had to check for you was because Alexa had a note on her file that was added last night, and I needed to make sure it was okay with her primary treatment team. But she's good to go!"

The certainty in her voice made me wonder if she even knew about what happened, but I wasn't about to make an issue of it - even though I had plenty to say about how the fuck one of the patients here was able to attack not only one but two others before someone intervened.

"Oh, fair enough," I nodded.

I would have continued to make small talk with her but a couple some years older than me stopped behind me, forming a line.

"Thanks for your help," I added before stepping aside, allowing her to attend to them, but not before she smiled warmly at me.

Elise was always exceptionally nice, and you could tell how genuine she was. It made me feel like Lexa was in safe hands here, but then I would think about the things she had told me about other nurses and doctors and things that went on behind the scenes, and it would bring me back to a sad reality that not every staff member here cared about the well-being of the kids. I couldn't help but let out a sigh as I thought about it. I wished Lexa could get out of here for good.

Taking a seat in the otherwise empty waiting room, I focused on typing out a quick text to send to the guys to let them know that the plan was going ahead and she was coming. I tried to fight the grin creeping its way onto my face, and once that was done and my phone was back in my pocket, I occupied myself by twisting the blue string bracelet around my left wrist while I waited.