Therapy

"Did... Last n-night. D-did you hear?" Ryan asked in a whisper the next morning. They were the first two out in the day room.

"Yeah. It was Jack."

"J-Ja-Jack?" Alex had grown used to Ryan's stutter and it no longer bothered him. In fact, he barely noticed it anymore.

"Yeah, he had a complete mental breakdown."

"Who? Jack? Rian asked. He had entered the room with Zack.

"Yeah. He freaked the fuck out." Alex spoke in a soft voice as he explained what he saw last night. If the nurses caught him gossiping, he could get in trouble. "He flipped over a table and was screaming about how "they" were out to get him."

"What kind of shit is he on and where can I get some?" Rian joked. "Sounds like that boy was trippin' big time."

Ryan mumbled something so low that nobody could hear. Alex almost didn't realize he'd said anything at all.

"What'd you say, man?" Zack asked. "You gotta speak up."

"I-I said it s-sounds l-like he's schiz-schiz-schizophrenic." Ryan's face was bright red at this point and he was shaking violently. He evidently hated attention.

Mr. Anthony sat down on the couch on the other side of Ryan, ending the conversation. He slumped back, appearing warn out; like he hadn't slept in days.

"Alright, guys. I know you're talking about last night and I don't want rumors spread so we're going to skip goals to discuss it a bit. I know some of you-" He stopped to give Alex a dirty look. "-may have seen what happened. Yes, Jack had a psychotic episode brought on by the abrupt stop of his medication. Guys, I can't stress this enough. Quitting your meds is stupid and dangerous. Jack relapsed as a result and could have seriously hurt himself or someone else."

"Is he like a skitzo or something?" Jackie asked.

"You guys know i can't give out personal information about him."

"So that's a yes." Hannah whispered with a giggle.

Mr. Anthony either didn't hear her, or simply didn't care. "Any other questions?"

"When will he be back?" Rian asked. He wasn't laughing anymore.

"We put him back on his medication but unfortunately it'll take a while before he's lucid enough to return."

"That sucks, man." Zack muttered.

"Why did he stop taking his pills?" Alex found himself asking.

"For the same reason most people stop. He thought he was better. Most people don't realize they're better because of their meds. You gotta take them, guys." Mr. Anthony stood up and rubbed his big, ashy hands together. "Alright, let's go down for breakfast. You can talk more about this in group."

In the cafeteria, Alex chewed on his pancakes absently. He was thinking about Jack. He clearly remembered the tortured look in Jack's eyes. The vulnerability. The fear. Alex can't imagine how terrifying it would be to hallucinate like that. To think at someone was out to get him. That was some freaky shit.

After breakfast, the nurse surprised everyone with a trip to the rec center. It was located across the street. Three nurses and a security guard ("Just in case.") escorted the group through the underground tunnel to the rec. They were given the options of playing basketball, -no contact- run the indoor track-with a chaperone- or work out on one of the machine.

Jackie and Hannah chose to run the treadmills, Zack and Rian played one on one basketball, and Alex and Ryan walked around the track. Nurse Sarah was trailing behind them, only a few feet away, typing away on her phone. Alex didn't think she was allowed to be texting but didn't say anything. It was better than her watching their every move.

Him and Ryan walked silently lap after lap. Ryan even walked nervously. He kept his arms wrapped around himself, constantly tugging at his sleeves or pulling at his sweatpants that were two sizes too big.

Alex was still curious as to why Ryan was like that. Alex could be pretty shy but Ryan was on a completely different level. He felt bad for Ryan. Alex could tell Ryan has been through a lot just by looking in his eyes.

Alex thought about Jack momentarily. Was he ok now? Alex hoped so. Not like he cared or anything.

They arrived back at the hospital around eleven and went directly to group therapy where they discussed more about why stopping your medication was bad. It was the same shit the doctor told him when he started his meds.

The rest of the day was pretty boring. Talk about Jack and his freak out had stopped and the day went on as usual. It was Sunday so they had family therapy. Alex sat alone in the day room, staring at the TV, though he wasn't paying attention. He was feeling lonely.

At least when Jack was here, he'd at least distract Alex from his thoughts. But he was alone, and he was thinking about Tom again.

Thirteen year old Alex sat in his room tuning his guitar that Tom gave him for his birthday about a year back. It was his prized possession.

Tom was in his old room, visiting for the holidays. Alex noticed Tom was acting different. He didn't laugh as much... Or at all really. He slept most of the time. He didn't play guitar with Alex or toss the football around like they used to.

Tom got angry a lot, especially when someone brought up Danielle, his ex fiances. They dated four years and got engaged a few months ago. She died Halloween night after getting hit by a drunk driver.

"Alex?" Ryan said in that quiet voice of his. Alex looked up in a daze. Alex hadn't even noticed he had entered the room. Was family therapy over already?

"Huh?"

"Y-you ok? You lo-lo- look upset."

"Oh, um just thinking."

"Oh." Ryan whispered.

"Yeah." Alex trailed off, shaking off the feeling of grief and regret.