Chapter Three
Three more weeks passed. At least he’d gotten his pillows and blankets back. Could wear normal clothes and even choose what he wanted to eat. He still had strange bouts of feeling really unwell; nausea, vomiting, fever, shaking. A day or two in bed unable to sleep, until he blacked out. But he made an effort to talk to the doctors, and sit in the open area near the nursing station, reading a book or the stack of letters.
No one else visited. His mom sat with him every other day as there was limited visiting hours. He’d watched once while she was searched and stripped of anything that they could possibly deem harmful to him, the people ever suspicious that someone might sneak something in. He felt bad for that. The cravings came and went. Worse when he was alone late at night and his bones seemed to shake inside his skin.
But Tommy was going to be transferred. Though the idea of an inpatient facility brought back memories of the place he’d visited Dane. His was not a youth facility as he was now twenty-one—missed his birthday and everything—and he’d be headed to an adult center. High-end, the perk of having money, Katie had assured him. This detox center was supposed to be high-end too. High-end hell, Tommy thought.
He expected Katie or his mom to arrive to ride with him. Was told he would beescortedto the new place via medical transport. Which meant the burly guys with eagle eyes who watched everything he did, would be sitting in the back of a car with him. He’d been told he could have a guest travel with him, a way to feel less like he was a prisoner being transferred to a new block of cells. But it wasn’t Katie or his mom who appeared.
The guard buzzed through a thin redhead. Her curls were swept away from her face in a loose ponytail, and she wore an off the shoulder top in pale green, with a knee-length skirt in dark plaid. Schoolgirl like, and Tommy tried to place her face as the hair pinged a few memories. She was pretty, delicate in bone structure, thinner than he normally liked, but not in a bony way. The smile she threw his way was radiant. He felt his heart warm a little at the idea that someone other than his mom was happy to see him.
Tommy sat at one of the open tables, the only patient in the room, his stuff on the counter of the nurse’s station in sight and ready for his move. They searched her, patting her down and seemed to pause a minute. She frowned at them, they led her away. Tommy frowned too as she was taken into another room and the door closed. Maybe she wasn’t here for him? He tried to recall why she looked familiar. A few minutes passed and she reappeared looking a little flushed, but fine, purse gripped tight.
The nurse waved in Tommy’s direction and finally the girl headed his way. She was here for him then. He tried to remember what his mother said. Marissa was the one with dark hair. The redhead was…Paige? His head began to throb with the beginnings of a headache. That dark patch hollowed out above his right eye still sat there like a blight he thought people would see.
That blot stole his joy. Often, he thought he might feel something, but it would never arrive in his brain, even things like this. The chance to move, and maybe see his friends, he should have been happy. He only felt numb.
“You look better than I expected,” she said, her voice a bit husky, but soothing. “I was worried you would look like Dane did. All bony and washed out.”
“Hi,” Tommy said, feeling a bit awkward. “Not to sound disappointed, but I was expecting Katie or my mom.”
“Your mom is waiting for us at the new place. She wanted to make sure some of your stuff was there ready for you. Katie had to take care of some things for Ru. Bas and Dane are in California looking for an apartment, their classes start soon. I’m technically the only adult available. I believe Adam and the Corbins plan to visit as soon as you’re settled, but he’s already studying for his senior year exams. He’s in all AP classes this year. He also can’t come on his own since he’s not legally an adult yet.”
“Christ, I’ve missed so much.”
She sat down beside him at the table, adjusting her skirt over her knees. “Last time I saw you, you were in the ER. It was bad. Everyone was crying. I think they had already restarted your heart once? You were bleeding. From your nose. That happened on and off a lot in the beginning. I remember the doctors telling your mom they had to burn something inside your nose to stop the bleeding?”
He remembered none of that. “I’m sorry I put everyone through that.”
She put a hand on his arm and gave him a wide smile. “You ready to move? The new place is a bit more lux than this.” She waved her hands. “This is for the rich and famous too, but meant to be temporary. I think the new place is all yoga and good food, while this is a fancy lockdown with an ER?”
“Honestly, I feel like anything is better than here.” He’d had his first encounter with another patient a week ago. An actor he thought, though couldn’t remember the name, and the guy had gone on a rampage, tearing up shit and punching walls with strength Tommy hadn’t known possible. The small space of Tommy’s room had suddenly felt much safer with a locked door after that encounter.
Paige patted his knee and got up to talk to the nurses at the counter. After another minute or so, they were guided out to the waiting van. No cuffs, thankfully, although he felt like a prisoner, bookended between two meaty guys and put in the back of a car with a metal grate separating him from the driver. Paige crammed in next to him. His paper bag of stuff shoved into the back.
They rode in silence. The drive longer than he expected. The green towering trees indicating he was still in Minnesota, and he thought it was almost fall now. They turned down a road marked private, and followed that for a long time until they came to a sprawling type of hotel.
“Wow,” Paige remarked. “Life of the rich and famous.”
“I’d trade it in a heartbeat,” Tommy assured her.
“You need to be here,” Paige said. “We all decided. Picked this place. It’s not cheap, but it’s more than trying to medicate you again and generalized talk therapy. We get to see you more, and you’re treated as an individual rather than some random addict.”
Tommy sighed. He felt like an addict. The craving burning, though he knew most of it was irrational. And it was alcohol he wanted physically. He could almost taste it. He had yet to talk to a regular type of doctor, and his mother had avoided answering questions about his physical health and why he felt weak. Recovery? Or something else.
“At least I’m unlikely to have helicopters with paparazzi flying around,” Tommy said eyeing the thick trees surrounding the place.
“Yeah, security is tight,” Paige agreed. The vehicle parked near the door and the escort team got out, one going to the back to retrieve Tommy’s stuff. He wasn’t allowed to carry it, and was told it would be searched again.
The giant, double glass door entry, looked more like a spa than any rehab facility Tommy had ever imagined. Inside he could see a fountain, and beyond that high ceilings as well as a sizable reception area, but the stairs were daunting. And there was only four of them. He frowned and slowly made his way toward the door. The steps weren’t all that steep, shallow in height but long enough to make him step twice before the next. He wasn’t sure it was a good thing as he made it to the top.
The giant doors slid open and the escort with his stuff went in first. Tommy took another step and his right leg gave out. One second it was fine, then it felt like it had vanished and he was falling. He had a moment of horror, of thinking he’d land on his face on the concrete or bounce down the stairs, but Paige caught him, taking the brunt of his weight with a grunt.
He shook for a minute, unable to control it, as the strange little flashes traveled through his body as they often did. Like electrical pulses, popping up in a toe one minute, and his left eye the next. It happened a lot, though less often than it had a few weeks ago.
“You’re okay,” Paige assured him. “I’ve got you.”
One of the escorts lingered close but didn’t try to touch, for which Tommy was grateful. He tried to relax a little, let the pulses do their thing, knew he’d be worn out when they were done, but unable to really function at all until it faded.
