Long Way Home
1
"Aubree, you know we're doing this because we love you, right?" The middle aged man in the front seat asked his daughter softly, looking at her in the rearview mirror with a look of fake concern that made her want to vomit.
"Yeah, I know." She replied shortly, wanting nothing more than to be out of the car.
He sighed and gave her step mother a look between them that she wasn't privy to the meaning to as they pulled up outside Mount Pleasant hospital.
She looked up and took in the sight of where she would be living for the foreseeable future. It was smaller than the purple haired girl expected, but looked pretty inviting. She sighed and got out of the car, slamming her door shut and grabbing her bag from the trunk. When Bree's father started out of the car, she stopped him.
"I don't want you coming with me." The teen spat.
He looked as if she'd slapped him.
"Aubree-"
She shook her head.
"Just tell Violet I love her, yeah?"
His face softened and he nodded. The girl knew he would tell her little sister no such thing in reality, but nodded anyway.
She started to walk away, but his voice called after her.
"Be careful!" He called. "We'll see you soon."
Bree scoffed and turned on her heel, walking toward the building.
She walked her converse clad feet toward the front office of the hospital, and coughed, making the receptionist look up from her computer, offering a bright smile.
"Are you Aubree?" She asked, too cheery for the teen girls liking.
Bree just nodded and offered up a fake smile in return.
"Great!" The receptionist smiled. "Just have a seat over there, and Zoey will come meet you in just a minute."
Bree took a seat in a waiting room chair, pulling out her phone, but just as she opened a news app, a women strode into the room with a white labcoat on and a smile on her face.
"Hi, Aubree." She said softly. "I'm Zoey, and I'm your medical doctor here. You will also have a therapist assigned to your case, but that will come later. How about a tour?"
Bree nodded and stood up, following the doctor out the door.
"So, your family isn't with you." Zoey stated, looking over at the teenager.
Bree shrugged, scoffing her feet on the floor.
"Nah." She said in response. "Just me."
"Well, that's perfectly okay." Zoey smiled, pressing up on the elevator. "Now, I'm going to show you where you'll be living so you can put your stuff away and get sorted. Also, you can meet your roommates."
"Roommates?" Bree asked apprehensively.
"Oh, well, technically you'll only be sharing a room with one girl, Sasha. But, since there are only 5 other people in the hospital around your age, they all share an apartment of sorts. There's 3 rooms, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and a dining room all in the apartment. So you'll be sharing with Sasha and then the other boys share with each other. Also, there's a recreation hall of sorts downstairs that also serves food, so if none of you feel like cooking, they will serve you."
Bree's stomach clenched at the mention of food, but she nodded along anyway as the elevator stopped at the 3rd floor.
Walking down the hallway, Bree heard the noises from inside before they even got to the door of her new apartment.
"Leave Callie alone!" A girls voice shouted.
"Never!" A deep Australian voice shouted back as giggles erupted on the other side.
Zoey rolled her eyes before knocking on the door and then opening it.
The sight on the other side of the door was not what Bree was expecting, but it made her lips curl into a smile.
2 bodies sat on the small living room couch, and a girl stood over them, a hand on her hip. A tall brown haired boy lay on the couch, and a boy with curly blonde hair lay on top of him, tickling his sides, giggles emitting from both of their mouths.
Zoey whistled, and immediately the noise in the room stopped, and Bree could feel the atmosphere change, all heads turning to look at her.
"Alright, so, now that I have your attention." Zoey smirked. "This is your new roommate, Aubree!" She put her arm around the teens shoulders. "Aubree, this is Sasha." She said, gesturing to the girl. "Ashton." She said, gesturing to the curly haired boy. "And Calum." She gestured in alum's direction, but the brown haired boy had curled into Ashton's side. Bree was confused by the boy's change in attitude, but she shrugged it off.
"You can call me Bree." She corrected softly.
Sasha was the first to grin, walking over and opening her arms, raising an eyebrow in question. Bree simply nodded, a smile on her face as her new roommate hugged her.
"Well, Bree, we're happy to have you in 306, our crazy little apartment." She smiled, draping an arm over Bree's shoulders.
"We really are." Ashton chimed in, smiling up at the girl.
"Thank you." Bree said softly.
Calum remained silent.
"Alright." Sasha said. "Let me go show you our room!"
Bree looked over at Zoey, who nodded encouragingly.
"Go ahead, Bree. I'll be in my office, which is in 310 if you need me, okay?"
She left, and then Sasha practically dragged the other girl to their bedroom, shutting the door after them.
"So, that's your bed." Sasha gestured to the empty bed by the window of the small room. Bree put her bag down on her bed and looked around the room, smiling as she took in the Blink 182 and All Time Low posters on the wall.
"You have a good taste in music." She complimented the other girl, who grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"We're gonna get along, well, Bree." She smiled, helping the other girl pull her clothes out of the bag and hang them in her small closet. "How old are you?"
Bree sighed shyly.
"I'm 17. How old are you guys?" Bree asked.
"I'm 17, too!" Sasha replied. "Ashton is 19, Luke is 17, and Michael is 18. Oh my gosh, Bree, you're gonna love Michael! He dyes his hair crazy colors too." She tugged teasingly at Bree's bright purple hair. "And Calum is 18, too."
Bree bit her lip, wondering how to phrase her next question.
"Did I u-uhm, did I do something to offend Calum or something?"
Sasha shook her head, softly sighing.
"Callie's having a bad day dealing with his anxiety." She said sadly. "He just sometimes gets really clingy and quiet, and he will have a slight stutter on his bad days, just a fair warning right now."
Bree's mouth formed an o shape in recognition.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Bree said.
Sasha shook her head.
"No. It's good you know these things. Usually, he's pretty clingy to Michael, who is his roommate, or Ashton. But Michael and Luke are both out at their therapy sessions, so it's just us here."
Bree nodded, digesting the information.
"So, Bree, what are you in here for?" She asked, teasingly hitting her hip against the girl's.
Bree opened her mouth to respond, when a loud crash signaled the opening of the front door, and loud voices signaled the return of their other roommates.
"C'mon, Bree, come meet Luke and Michael!"
Sasha dragged the girl out of the room and towards the living room, but Bree stopped in her tracks when she saw the most breathtaking boy she had ever laid eyes on.
"Yeah, I know." She replied shortly, wanting nothing more than to be out of the car.
He sighed and gave her step mother a look between them that she wasn't privy to the meaning to as they pulled up outside Mount Pleasant hospital.
She looked up and took in the sight of where she would be living for the foreseeable future. It was smaller than the purple haired girl expected, but looked pretty inviting. She sighed and got out of the car, slamming her door shut and grabbing her bag from the trunk. When Bree's father started out of the car, she stopped him.
"I don't want you coming with me." The teen spat.
He looked as if she'd slapped him.
"Aubree-"
She shook her head.
"Just tell Violet I love her, yeah?"
His face softened and he nodded. The girl knew he would tell her little sister no such thing in reality, but nodded anyway.
She started to walk away, but his voice called after her.
"Be careful!" He called. "We'll see you soon."
Bree scoffed and turned on her heel, walking toward the building.
She walked her converse clad feet toward the front office of the hospital, and coughed, making the receptionist look up from her computer, offering a bright smile.
"Are you Aubree?" She asked, too cheery for the teen girls liking.
Bree just nodded and offered up a fake smile in return.
"Great!" The receptionist smiled. "Just have a seat over there, and Zoey will come meet you in just a minute."
Bree took a seat in a waiting room chair, pulling out her phone, but just as she opened a news app, a women strode into the room with a white labcoat on and a smile on her face.
"Hi, Aubree." She said softly. "I'm Zoey, and I'm your medical doctor here. You will also have a therapist assigned to your case, but that will come later. How about a tour?"
Bree nodded and stood up, following the doctor out the door.
"So, your family isn't with you." Zoey stated, looking over at the teenager.
Bree shrugged, scoffing her feet on the floor.
"Nah." She said in response. "Just me."
"Well, that's perfectly okay." Zoey smiled, pressing up on the elevator. "Now, I'm going to show you where you'll be living so you can put your stuff away and get sorted. Also, you can meet your roommates."
"Roommates?" Bree asked apprehensively.
"Oh, well, technically you'll only be sharing a room with one girl, Sasha. But, since there are only 5 other people in the hospital around your age, they all share an apartment of sorts. There's 3 rooms, a kitchen, a living room, a bathroom and a dining room all in the apartment. So you'll be sharing with Sasha and then the other boys share with each other. Also, there's a recreation hall of sorts downstairs that also serves food, so if none of you feel like cooking, they will serve you."
Bree's stomach clenched at the mention of food, but she nodded along anyway as the elevator stopped at the 3rd floor.
Walking down the hallway, Bree heard the noises from inside before they even got to the door of her new apartment.
"Leave Callie alone!" A girls voice shouted.
"Never!" A deep Australian voice shouted back as giggles erupted on the other side.
Zoey rolled her eyes before knocking on the door and then opening it.
The sight on the other side of the door was not what Bree was expecting, but it made her lips curl into a smile.
2 bodies sat on the small living room couch, and a girl stood over them, a hand on her hip. A tall brown haired boy lay on the couch, and a boy with curly blonde hair lay on top of him, tickling his sides, giggles emitting from both of their mouths.
Zoey whistled, and immediately the noise in the room stopped, and Bree could feel the atmosphere change, all heads turning to look at her.
"Alright, so, now that I have your attention." Zoey smirked. "This is your new roommate, Aubree!" She put her arm around the teens shoulders. "Aubree, this is Sasha." She said, gesturing to the girl. "Ashton." She said, gesturing to the curly haired boy. "And Calum." She gestured in alum's direction, but the brown haired boy had curled into Ashton's side. Bree was confused by the boy's change in attitude, but she shrugged it off.
"You can call me Bree." She corrected softly.
Sasha was the first to grin, walking over and opening her arms, raising an eyebrow in question. Bree simply nodded, a smile on her face as her new roommate hugged her.
"Well, Bree, we're happy to have you in 306, our crazy little apartment." She smiled, draping an arm over Bree's shoulders.
"We really are." Ashton chimed in, smiling up at the girl.
"Thank you." Bree said softly.
Calum remained silent.
"Alright." Sasha said. "Let me go show you our room!"
Bree looked over at Zoey, who nodded encouragingly.
"Go ahead, Bree. I'll be in my office, which is in 310 if you need me, okay?"
She left, and then Sasha practically dragged the other girl to their bedroom, shutting the door after them.
"So, that's your bed." Sasha gestured to the empty bed by the window of the small room. Bree put her bag down on her bed and looked around the room, smiling as she took in the Blink 182 and All Time Low posters on the wall.
"You have a good taste in music." She complimented the other girl, who grinned like a Cheshire cat.
"We're gonna get along, well, Bree." She smiled, helping the other girl pull her clothes out of the bag and hang them in her small closet. "How old are you?"
Bree sighed shyly.
"I'm 17. How old are you guys?" Bree asked.
"I'm 17, too!" Sasha replied. "Ashton is 19, Luke is 17, and Michael is 18. Oh my gosh, Bree, you're gonna love Michael! He dyes his hair crazy colors too." She tugged teasingly at Bree's bright purple hair. "And Calum is 18, too."
Bree bit her lip, wondering how to phrase her next question.
"Did I u-uhm, did I do something to offend Calum or something?"
Sasha shook her head, softly sighing.
"Callie's having a bad day dealing with his anxiety." She said sadly. "He just sometimes gets really clingy and quiet, and he will have a slight stutter on his bad days, just a fair warning right now."
Bree's mouth formed an o shape in recognition.
"I'm sorry, I didn't know." Bree said.
Sasha shook her head.
"No. It's good you know these things. Usually, he's pretty clingy to Michael, who is his roommate, or Ashton. But Michael and Luke are both out at their therapy sessions, so it's just us here."
Bree nodded, digesting the information.
"So, Bree, what are you in here for?" She asked, teasingly hitting her hip against the girl's.
Bree opened her mouth to respond, when a loud crash signaled the opening of the front door, and loud voices signaled the return of their other roommates.
"C'mon, Bree, come meet Luke and Michael!"
Sasha dragged the girl out of the room and towards the living room, but Bree stopped in her tracks when she saw the most breathtaking boy she had ever laid eyes on.