Cheerio

For the next couple of days, Puck and Kurt came after Glee Club to fill me in on how the numbers were turning out for Sectionals. Kurt seemed overwhelmed with excitement, while Puck was much more understated about his optimism, but they both felt like the group was going to cinch first place.

But on the third day after my first discussion with the doctor, he made an appearance again. His eyes skirted across the empty room, his face taking a confused expression, before he regained his calm exterior. “Okay, Evie,” he started, clasping his hands together. “You’ve been responding to your treatment well, eating all the food that’s been given to you, and you haven’t tried to vomit it up yet.”

Not that I’d have the chance, I added inside my head, though not daring to voice it aloud. I knew the temptations would fade with time. At least, I hoped so.

“Which means,” the doctor continued, not noticing my inner monologue, “that tomorrow morning, we’re going to send you off to the treatment center your parents set up for you.”

“My mom,” I corrected automatically. Right after, I swallowed, knowing that, with the psycho state my family was in, it was entirely possible that my dad had something to do with it.

The doctor ignored my outburst. “Someone will be in shortly to bring you your breakfast. I’d make sure that you say all your goodbyes tonight because we’re leaving really early tomorrow morning. And I don’t know any high school kids that are up at five on a Saturday.”

I nodded, which he took as a dismissal. After the door shut behind him, my stomach sank.

I didn’t want to leave Lima, where I was finally starting to live a normal teenage life, one with friends and plans on weekends and not having to tear others apart in order to build myself up. I gnawed on my lip, fighting back tears, as I wondered what it would be like to go to the treatment center.

I figured it would look kind of like the hospital: white, bland, smelling too much of cleaning alcohol, sterile. Not to mention that all the kids walking around would look half-dead, circles under their eyes, sunken-in cheeks. Because, even though I didn’t quite look like that, I knew I was one of the lucky ones.

Well, maybe lucky was the wrong word, but…whatever.

* * *

That afternoon, when Puck and Kurt arrived, they were bickering about something. “I’m just saying,” Kurt sighed, “that there’s no need for you to drive to quickly down the street.”

“I wanted to make it before the red light,” Puck defended, crossing his muscular arms over his chest. “Are you saying you wanted to wait for that light for a third time?”

“I’m saying that you didn’t even make the light!” Kurt’s jaw was set, his eyes blazing. “It turned red before we even passed under it. And I almost got hit by a delivery truck!”

“Oh, please.” Puck rolled his eyes. “I’m a good driver. I wouldn’t have let the truck hit you.”

“And how exactly did you plan that? Would you jump out and go all Edward Cullen, holding the truck away from hitting me?”

“Hey, don’t underestimate my strength-”

“GUYS!” I interrupted, realizing that this argument had officially ventured into the ridiculous zone. “Hi, nice to see you.”

“Hey, Evie,” Kurt greeted, sitting next to me on the bed, as he always did. “It’s so great to see you in my healthy state, instead of lying next to you in another hospital bed.”

“Kurt, you are so dramatic,” Puck countered, sitting in the chair that was pulled up next to my head.

“Seriously, stop arguing. I have news.” The second the words were out of my mouth, it became really real. I wasn’t going to see these guys, my friends, for three months. Not until right before school would start for my senior year. At least I was going to be able to finish my junior year from the treatment center with the tutor that worked there.

“What news?” Puck asked.

“I’m leaving tomorrow to go to the rehab center,” I replied in a soft voice. “And you guys won’t be able to contact me until I get back, which will be, like, mid-August.”

Kurt stared at me. “Seriously? I won’t get to talk to you at all?”

I shook my head slowly. “But hopefully, when you see me next, I’ll be healthy. And we’ll have a chick-flick-a-thon and make cookies. Because I’ll probably be able to eat them by then.”

Kurt leaned over and gave me a long hug. “I’m so proud of you for getting help for this,” he told me sincerely, rubbing small circles on my back. “You’re so strong.”

That was enough to trigger a couple tears, but I sniffled, holding them back. I didn’t point out the fact that, had it been up to me, I probably would have died from my eating disorder happily. It was only because of my family and Puck and Kurt that I could ever hope to get better.

Puck, not yet comfortable with hugging me or showing any kind of physical affection, just leaned over and ruffled my hair a bit. “Good luck, Eves. And I can’t wait to see you on the other side.”

As if it was some kind of death. Puck had quite a way with words. “Thanks. I’ll see you, too.”

We sat in a sad silence for a couple minutes before Kurt broke it. “Alright, there’s no way that we’re going to sit around, moping. Let’s make your last day ridiculously awesome.”

“Uh, I’m stuck in this hospital room,” I reminded him. “There’s not a lot of awesomeness here.”

He pondered that for a second. “Not unless you know where to look. C’mon, get up.”

I looked at Puck, who shrugged. “Didn’t I just say that I had to stay in this room?”

Kurt rolled his eyes. “God, you take things too seriously. You have to stay in the hospital, not this room. In fact, they’d probably frown upon the fact that you haven’t gotten up in the past four days, other than to pee.”

I opened my mouth to object, but he was completely right. I hadn’t moved, unless I had to pee.

“So come on!” Kurt urged again, getting to his feet.

When I first stood, my bare feet against the cool tiles, I felt a little dizzy, which always happens to me when I lie down for long periods of time. I ran a hand through my tangled hair for a second before sighing and throwing it up into a high ponytail.

“Alright, where are we going?”

“You’ll see.”

I narrowed my eyes at him while we walked out into the hallway. Behind me, Puck was following, his sneakers squeaking on the floor every so often.

“How do you know your way around here so well?” I mumbled under my breath as Kurt moved through the hallways without hesitation.

He hesitated before saying, “I spend a little too much time in the hospital, I guess.”

When I realized what he meant, I mouthed, ‘Oh.’ “I’m sorry,” I insisted.

He waved me off. “Don’t worry about it. Okay, we’re here.”

Too bad I had no fucking idea where ‘here’ was.

Kurt pressed a button on the side of a door, which made the couple of heavy doors swing open. There was a scream that sounded right when we stepped into the main hallway, and my stomach seized.

“Kurt, what the hell are you doing?!” I gasped, looking around for where the noise had come from. “Is this a joke?”

“Shhh!” he urged, putting a finger to his lips as he turned to face me. “Just come on.”

I did as he said, though hesitantly. Leaning back to Puck, I said, “If this ends up being the mental hospital, you and I, we’re darting. Got it?”

He gave me a thumbs-up. “But I don’t think this is a psych ward, though.”

I gave him a questioning look, but he just nodded toward Kurt. When I turned in the direction he indicated, I sucked in a deep breath.

Lying out in front of us was the nursery, where they keep all the babies just after they’re born. There were probably about ten or so little babies, some sleeping, one crying, all snug in their little blankets. They were innocent, not yet having to deal with any difficulties of the world.

I knew what message Kurt was trying to send me before he turned to me and said matter-of-factly, “Evie, all these kids have a clean slate. They have their entire lives to figure out what they want to do and who they want to be.” He turned away from the babies and looked at me. “And even though you don’t think it, you’re the same way. You’re only sixteen. Going to this place, it’ll give you a fresh start. And you can be whoever you want to be when you come out.”

I stared at him. “When did you get so deep?” I joked.

“It comes with the maturity I needed to accept my gayness,” he responded sarcastically.

Puck snorted behind us. “Cute,” I commented, turning to grin at him.

“I just can’t believe that Kurt dragged you across the hospital just to give you a motivational speech.”