December

Avery's POV

"C'mon, Ave, you have to wake up now."

My eyes fluttered open, taking in the plain sight of the grey and sea foam green room, along with the nurse standing over me.

"I just finally fell asleep, Alice." I whined, flipping to the other side and squashing the pillow against my head. Alice sighed, yanking the pillow from my hands.

"You have a visitor coming in 10 minutes." She said, her voice shaking. My eyes shot back open, and I sat up, excited for the first time in over 10 months. Alice gave me a small smile, knowing why I was so excited.

"They really didn't forget about me, did they?!" I squealed, hopping off the bed, and throwing some plain clothing on. A white v-neck, off white oversized cardigan, and my only pair of skinnies. I already had socks on; there were no need for shoes when hospital socks existed. If they're going to put me in debt after this long visit, I might as well get something I enjoy. And man, these socks are perfect.

It's kind of nice, enjoying the simple things again. It's been awhile since anything made me smile in the slightest, now I'm getting excited over mental hospital socks. Strange.

As I sat in the sink, staring into the mirror as I brushed my hair, Alice came shuffling back into the room.

"Avery, your visitor is here." She said, avoiding eye contact with me. I spun off the counter and out of the sink, feeling my heart sink down into my stomach.

"Wait... Visitor... No plural. Who is it?" I asked, curious and worried now. I knew of no one else. I only talked to my family. And by family, I mean mom and dad. And by mom and dad, I mean I saw them last about 10... maybe 11 months ago. The first year, they visited all the time. By my second year stuck in the mental hospital, I saw them twice. That was it. Mom was busy at the studio, always photographing someone's obnoxious family. Dad was always traveling the country.

"I have never seen him here before. You're sure no one other than your parents know you're here, right?" She asked, concerned. I nodded, confused.

"I haven't had friends in years. No one else should know I'm here." I whispered, shrugging. Alice gently grabbed my shoulder, and pushed me out of my room and into the hall. We started walking past the day room as she escorting me down the hall, and I shot her a look.
Usually, visits took place in the day room on weekends. Weekdays, the dining hall. It was a Saturday, and we walked past it, to head to one of the doctor's offices.

Alice reached for the doorknob, slowly turning it to reveal one of the head doctors of the unit I stayed on, and a young man who looked not too much older than me. Confused, I sat in the forest green chair in the corner, away from everyone. My usual spot was here during some therapy sessions. I always felt safe in this corner, and pulled my knees up to my chest, burying my chin into my knees.

As if on cue as I sat down, I did just that. My bony fingers wrapped around the sleeves of my cardigan, making sure to hide any scarred skin exposed to this random guy. He had his eyes glued to the floor, only once or twice looking up at me for a split second, his glance filled with concern.
He also looked like he was just crying, with his eyes red and swollen.

Dr. Frampton glanced at me a few times as he whispered on the far side of the room to Alice, who looked even more concerned now, shaking her head. As they talked, I took the opportunity to glance at the stranger in the room with us again. He looked like if we were standing, he'd tower over me. His hair was blonde, but you could tell his hair had been dyed that way awhile ago. He fiddled with the fraying ends of his sweater, trying to distract himself, I guess.

I should have taken all these small observations as signs and prepared for the worst. But it hit me like a freight train, and I wasn't ready at all.

"Avery, we're meeting a day early because we were just informed your parents were tragically killed in an accident yesterday night." Dr. Frampton said, taking his glasses off for this far too serious moment. I felt myself space out, until I felt Alice's warm hand on my shoulder, gently shaking me. She knew when I would escape to somewhere comforting in my mind, she knew how to break me free from it. The doctors said it was a new coping mechanism. While healthier than self harm, it's still unhealthy to lose yourself in your mind for God knows how long.

"How?" I croaked out. I could feel the tears just sitting behind my eyes, being held back. Dr. Frampton was hesitant. "I need to know."

"Double suicide. Your parents took cyanide pills and just went to sleep. No notes were left, no clues as to why, but the police are obviously going to investigate further." The doctor said, and that's when the tears finally left my eyes full speed.

I started shaking violently. My mind rapidly started going through all the good memories I had with my parents. But they were melting away in front of me, turning dark and evil. I started screaming, my fingernails digging and scratching up my sleeves and tearing open my scars. Some, still fresh. Being in the mental hospital for too long forced me to become creative with my self harm addiction.

Someone grabbed my hands, squeezing them tightly. It wasn't a completely new feeling, just finally found after being lost for years. I found safety again, and my body began to calm down. My memories weren't blinding me, and I was able to see reality in front of me again. Well, somewhat, through the thick tears.

As I calmed down, I noticed it was the strange man in front of me that was in the room with all of us. I forgot he even existed, for a minute. He was kneeled down on the floor in front of me, and my ears started to let in the sound around me, when I noticed he was singing to me.

You are my sunshine
My only sunshine
You make me happy
When the skies are grey
You'll never know dear
How much I love you
So please don't take
My sunshine
Away

My head snapped up and I started crying more, with my hands wrapping around his tighter. The tears slowed down. I remembered now. It's been so, so fucking long.

"Evan?" I whispered, trying to catch my breath. He nodded, with a soft smile appearing on his face. I remembered now, he used to sing me this song to cheer me up or calm me down. It's been so long since I've heard it from him.

"We'll give you both a minute," the doctor said, escorting himself and the nurse out of the room, sighing relief as they closed the door behind them.

"I told you I'd come back. I promised, didn't I?" He whispered, not letting go of my hands. I nodded, eyes wide in disbelief.

"That was like, when I was 15. Jesus Christ, 6 years ago today." I said, not sure whether to be happy he kept his word, or upset it took this long.

"I didn't know you were here. If I knew, I swear I would have come back sooner." He said, looking away with guilt. I hiccuped as I held in a sob. "I thought you forgot about me, so I stopped trying. Your parents never told me you were here. I only found out because I'm still in both their cell phones as an "emergency contact" when I still lived next to you. I'm so sorry, Ave."

I shook my head, slumping down next to him on the floor and throwing my arms around his neck. I buried my head into his shoulder, sobbing again. Things would be okay, because my childhood best friend finally found me, like he promised. Everything would work out, right?

"You're getting out of here. Today. I'm taking you home." Evan whispered in my ear, holding onto me tight. "I'm not letting you out of my sight ever again."