POSTED: The Home

                                                    Signed: Blacksheep Fiction = Swan

I did not hang around in my room. I have just spent a long time in a small room and then went to a jail cell. The last thing I wanted right now was to be held up in some room. I walked out of the room, slipping the key into my pocket. I wonder when my roommate will be around. I heard the little den mother Smiley calling everyone into some group therapy as I was coming down the stairs and snorted a little, walking past them as I headed for the door.

“Ms. Swan, aren’t you joining us for the group meeting?” Smiley said when she spotted me. I shook my head and smirked. “I got a date with the Marlboro man.” I joked, heading out the door and planting myself on one of the ancient rocking chairs on the porch. It was a nice night out, not too cold, though the usual clouds were covering the dark sky making it seem somehow even darker.

La Push never changed, I mean not in its core. People come and go. There were good people, bad people, kind and spiritual people, and hateful and bitter people. The land however, it’s core heartbeat. It never changes. I inhaled deeply and sighed lightly. I love that it never changed.

“Mind if I join you?” The male voice made me jump a little and I narrowed my eyes at the new comer. It was a man, which was my first suspicious fact, since this is a home for women. A very good looking man that had chocolate eyes, dark short hair and a kind smile. Why was everyone always smiling around here?

“Have you had a recent sex change, because if so, I would like to know the name of the voodoo doctor you used.” I asked as he sat next to me anyways, without the verbal okay to do so. The again I did ignore the question. “Why are you loitering around women’s home? Easy pickin’s?” I snapped my finger and nodded as if finally being enlightened with great understanding. “That must be it, right? Broken women are easy, right? Throw out a few compliments; leave out a trail of meth. You’re like the Candy man of the woods.”

The man had an amused smile on his face as he sat silently, watching me babble on about all the fucked up reasons he could be here. It was actually fun for a while, intentionally insulting this person’s very moral fiber and all the while he thought it was amusing. They need to make more of these types of men. “Sprinkle a little cock on some white roses and lure your battered victim into the woods with the promise of clean dishes and precooked meals.” I light another cigarette and laughed hard at the very image that my sick brain had conjured up.

“Can I ask you something, Isabella?” My silent visitor asked as he looked at me with his head slightly cocked to the side.

“Only if you’re not going to call me that again.” I snapped, losing all of my humor quick.

“It’s your name, I don’t use pet names or nick names, I use names.” He said, still keeping his calm exterior. “My name is Jared and I expect you to use it. Now, tell me, do you believe that you are a broken woman?”

Every single red flag that I have on my radar went up all at once. Oh god, he is a shrink. I rolled my eyes and flicked my cigarette over the rail as I stood up. “Great chatting with you, Shrinky, but I gott’a unpack.”

The man stood when I did and my eyes followed up. Now I am not a very big woman, but I got a big attitude to cover that up. This man however, made me have to look up when he stood. It wasn’t menacing or threatening, in fact, he was still wearing that amused look on his face, but you could see the seriousness behind it. He was handsome in a brooding kind of way. You could easily see him in some Romeo and Juliet tragedy looking moodily over every scene. He wore a suit, which looked awkward on him. He looked like he would fit much better with a pair of jeans and a heavy sweatshirt. “Isabella, you need to go to the group meeting that Mrs. Clearwater has set up for everyone because there are two of you new people today and all of the residence here deserve the respect of meeting you, especially the way that you arrived.”

“Don’t call me that.” I snapped automatically. “Respect? I am going to be here for the better part of quite a few years, Doc. I will save them the time, of having to go to the meeting. I will show them respect by not fucking with them and they will show me the respect of fucking off and leaving me alone.” I snapped, glaring up at him. “Don’t call me Isabella.”

I turned on my heel, heading for the door. Fuck this shit, I will call Mike and tell him they made a mistake in bringing me here. Tyler will just have to make good on his promise to lock me away for good.

I never made it to the door. There was a pinch in my right trapezius and I turned in time to see the dock putting the little orange protector back over the needle and slip the syringe back into his pocket. I opened my mouth to bitch him out and suddenly… forgot what I was going to say. Or no longer cared.

I started to wobble back and the Doc caught me, laughing slightly, helping me back to my feet. “Why did you give me that?”

“Relax and enjoy being relaxed. You see the great thing about Ativan is that if I inject it into the base of your neck, as I just did, it works within seconds. It only lasts about two hours, but it serves its purpose, which in this case was getting you to the group meeting.” I nodded and grinned. I was hearing everything he was saying, I understood everything, but I had a small leaking sensation in my brain that made me think I won’t be remembering it later.

“Should I call Mike?” I asked, hoping he knew who Mike was. I really was not at all interested in explaining how I knew him or why I would call him. I didn’t really care about anything at the moment. Except for maybe the color purple on this painting I was now face to canvas with.

“No, I will call Mike after the meeting to let him know what is going on.” Sexy doctor said behind me, just before the painting went sideways and started to float away. No wait, what?

I looked around me and saw that sexy doctor was carrying me. “Why can’t I walk?”

“Because you are easily distracted. See, at lease with me, I carry you in, if you called Mike he would do what Sgt. Lahote is doing right there and bring you down here in cuffs.” I am pretty sure I just licked his shirt.

“I like being carried better then cuffed, unless the cuffs are for fun.” I grinned at nothing and closed my eyes. “Sleep?”

“No, stay awake until after the meeting, then you can sleep it off all you want.” He plopped me down on a seat next to him and I looked around at a room full of chicks all sitting in a circle. Fuck I hate this drug shit. It makes it really hard to figure out if I am dreaming or this shit is real.

I turned to the shrink Jared and grinned. I’ll bet if I get him all hot that he will get me out of this shit. I tried to crawl up on his lap again, whispering close to his ear. “Come on, I want to go to sleep.”

“Isabella, I need you to behave now and try to pay attention. This group is going to help you.” He said easily, sliding me back to my seat. I smirked fixing my hair some. “I thought that was why they brought you in, to help me, why don’t you help me to bed and I’ll help you stay in bed.”

He gave me a reproachful look and I laughed, jumping slightly when someone started shouting about a tree. I shook my head, trying to clear the constant ADD that was trying to force its way into me.

Oh look, there is a penny on the floor.

Ms. Smiley started talking and I forced myself to look at her, but I got lost on watching how her lips formed the words she was saying. How the fuck is this shit supposed to help me when I can’t even focus on what is being said? I shook my head to clear it and put all of me into listening.

“…So the full list of rules will be on the bulletin board in the common room, but just remember; No smoking in the house at all. Keep your space clean. Report…” No smoking in the house, which is a fucking bummer, that means I have to walk my ass outside and stand in the rain to smoke. That shit is lamesauce.

Fingers snapped in my face and I turned to Jared glaring.

Everyone was laughing at something and I looked around the group to see the handcuffed chick standing up, looking ready to run and hide under her bed or something. “I’m Rachel.” She said quietly and then looked around at smiley who, of course, smiled. We all did the ‘Hi Rachel’ thing, though I really just made the appropriate noises without actually saying the words.

“Honey, tell us a little about yourself why are you here?” smiley said to the nervous girl. I snorted a little. There’s a loaded question.

The girl eked out a quick answer, which I guess infuriated one of the chicks. I think she was a chick. She looked like she took a dive into a pool of ugly and attitude and then drowned in it. “For fucks sake just tells us what makes you a nut case like the rest of us!”

Smiley’s smile was less bright and an odd mix of disapproval in there. I was fascinated by how she was doing it. I have never seen someone smile and frown at the same time. This woman was amazing.

I am pretty sure the penny on the floor moved three inches.

Shy girl suddenly flipped out and started shouting. “A nut case? I am not a nut case; I do not flip out when people make eye contact with me threatening to smash faces in. I, as a normal person, do not fucking freak out about imaginary cameras in paintings of trees, and I defiantly keep my lady bits in my pants.” She was panting. I was pretty sure she would hyperventilate herself. “You all might be fucking nut cases and fucking satisfied with being a low grade of a person but I am not. I am here because apparently taking a pad of paper is against the law and taking too many pills by mistake is a fucking crime that labels you batshit crazy.”

Smiley started to talk again.

Wait what? I glared at girl and suddenly I was talking before I even knew what I was saying. “You think we all started off this way?” I snapped, blinking when my focused wavered for a moment. Wait what was I saying? Oh right, the bi-polar bitch pissed me off. I shook my head to focus again. “Like we used to play crack head Barbie or some shit growing up? We all had dreams and shit but life threw piles of shit our way. I don’t give a fuck who you are or why you think you’re better all of us are here.”

I started to stand but was sitting again with a tug to my hand. “You’re the one out of all of us in cuffs, so you want to explain that? I am no better then you, but you damn well believe that there isn’t one of you bitches that are here better then me. These suited douche bags with your badges and your pointy needle drugs that are the low lives.” I shut up after that. No one needed specifics. I made my point.

I think. Hell I don’t even know what my point was. Other people were talking now so it didn’t matter. I was watching that tricky fucking penny though, I’ll tell you that. Fucker was not moving again without me seeing.

There was a tap on my shoulder and Shrinky was helping me stand. I looked at him and looked back at the penny, ready to pick it up. Who doesn’t need a moving penny?

It was gone. Damnit.

Smiley was standing in front of me with the shy girl and her little body guard. “Isabella, I would like you to meet Rachel, she came in only just today too.”

I glared at smiley and looked at the girl, who looked like she was on the flip side again and back to playing shy. I nodded at her and Shrinky poked my ribs. I grunted and sighed. “Hi.”

She gave a nod. “Hi there Isabella.”

“Don’t call me that.” I snapped.

She frowned looking at the shrink and her body guard. “Okay then… Bella?”

I shook my head glaring. “Don’t call me that either.”

She sighed and rubbed her face the best she could with the cuffs. I bet I could be out the door and up the road before they even moved. I eyed the door and then looked back at the group. Her body guard was eyeing me back and I lifted a brow daring him to try.

“Alright then, Izzy.”

“Jesus fucking Christ if you call me Izzy, I will choke you to death with your own fucking handcuffs.” I snapped, looking back at her.

“Well for fucks sakes, what do you want me to call you?” She finally snapped back at me making me smirk.

“I don’t want you to call me.” I moved past them and headed for the door only to be stopped by a hand on my shoulder and I tried to shake off but failed in my drugged state. I looked back and saw Shrinky behind me.

“That wasn’t very nice, Isabella.” He said directing me to the stairs.

“I don’t really give a shit, Shrinky.” I said heading up the stairs two at a time. At this point sleeps sounded much more appealing then escape. My feet where way too heavy to move any further and the stairs grew about 20 steps. I sighed, trying to sit, but was scooped up again by Shrinky. “You know I have been walking for a number of years now. All by myself and shit too, it’s a pretty awesome sight to see.”

Shrinky laughed and opened the door to our joined room, setting me on the bed before walking through the sheet door and flipping on a light switch in his room. “Stay there.” He said from the other room. I am pretty sure the meds where starting the ware off, which just goes to show how much I zoned off in the meeting I guess, or how long I can stare at a fucking penny. My head was starting to hurt pretty badly and I was almost positive I was going to throw up.

I groaned and stood up, stumbling my way to the bathroom. I started to retch and gag as I fumbled with the toilet seat. There was slap of feet against the floor and Shrinky came in sighing. “Didn’t I tell you to stay on the bed?”

I gagged and dry heaved over the toilet bowl and glared into the water. “Please tell me how any aspect of our relationship thus far has you believing that I will be doing anything you fucking say?”

There was another pinch in my neck and I turned to look at the doc too weak to do anything other then throw a serious mad face at him. “What the fuck did you give me now?”

He rolled his eyes at me and started to rub my back as I gagged over the toilet again. “Relax; it was caffeine nitrate, basically injectable coffee. It will counteract the effects of coming off the Ativan.”

He was right. Even as he was explaining it, the rolling of the room stopped and the nausea was subsiding fast. “You know I wouldn’t have had to give you anything tonight if you had just listened to me in the first place.”

Shrinky reached around my waist helping me up to my feet and, thankfully, let me walk by my self to the bed. I half joked, half snapped as I flopped onto the bed, ignoring my clothes that I didn’t have the energy to take off. “Did all your other roommates give in automatically and do whatever you say?”

“I have never had any other roommates who were my patients’.” He said evenly as he walked over to the bathroom sink and filled up a glass of water. He shook out three Tylenol and handed everything to me. I grunted taking the water and pills. “So you are saying in am you’re first? Like, you graduated out of shrink school and they used me to pop your cherry?!”

He laughed some and shook his head. “You are not my first patient.” He reassured, sitting how next to me on the bed and gently pushing the pills to my mouth so that I would take them. I complied, washing them down with the whole glass of water. He took the glass from me and set it on the night stand next to the bed. “I used to be a resident hospital psychologist; however this was more…fulfilling.”

I snorted nodding as I laid my head down on the bed. My eyes started to droop, but I was still talking. “Right, so they offered you twice as much to be in this secluded hell hole.” I joked, letting him move my arms and legs around as he attempted to carefully undress me.

“Absolutely.” He said calmly which made me laugh. I felt the covers being drawn over me and smoothed out. “Good night, Isabella.”

“Don’t fucking call me that.” I mumbled as I drifted off to sleep.