Burn It Down

I met with my doctor the next day and she didn't seem too upset; she told me that she employed a strike system when it came to things like that. She liked to give everyone a fair chance, so she said. I asked her about Zack and she assured me he was probably going to be fine also.

We also talked about Zack and I's newfound sort-of relationship. Obviously we weren't a couple or anything, but she was very interested in our connection, understandably. She told me that it was actually pretty rare for patients of the ward to become friends like we had in such a short amount of time. I asked her if she thought he was good for me and she told me that he probably was, as long as we didn't end up getting into too much more trouble together.

She also informed me that it was visiting day and my parents had checked in to say they'd be there. I was instantly nervous about that. I hadn't seen or talked to either of my parents since I'd checked in. To be completely honest, I had no idea what to say to either of them. I hadn't had a real conversation with either of my parents in probably ten years. I'd been surprised when they'd both snapped into action after my little "incident".

I made my way down the visiting room. My parents weren't there yet so I took a seat in an empty chair to wait for them. As I waited, Zack came in and made his way to a table with three guys about his age circled around it. I knew at once that they had to be his bandmates just by the way all of them had the same exact heartbroken look about them as he did. They exchanged hugs and I saw him smile at them, maybe the first genuine smile I'd ever seen him have. As I watched, he happened to glance my way and our eyes connected before I was able to look away. He smiled at me and told his friends something before walking over to me.

"Hi," he said, coming to stand in front of me.

"Hi. I'm sorry I got you in trouble," I told him, feeling like a little kid.

"You didn't. I'm good. Are your parents here?" he asked, and I shook my head.

"Not yet. Are those your bandmates?" I asked, glancing at them. He looked over his shoulder briefly and when he looked back at me his eyes had more life in them that I'd ever seen.

"Yeah. Wanna meet them?"

"Is that weird?"

"Not at all. Come on," he said, offering me a hand to help me up. I stood, thinking he'd let go of my hand when I did. He didn't, though. In fact, he laced his fingers with mine as we walked back across the room.

His friends looked up as we approached the table, and I could tell that all three of them were trying to figure out what the hell was going on.

"This is Emma. Bri, I told you about her," he said to one of them specifically, nodding towards maybe the saddest looking one of the bunch.

"Yeah, of course. Nice to meet you. I'm Brian," he said, standing up and shaking my hand.

Zack introduced me to the other two, Johnny and Matt, and then pulled a chair out for me to sit in. We talked casually for a little bit and that's all the time it took for me to realize that all of them were just wonderful people. They all seemed so sad but also all of them seemed to be so positive and supportive of Zack. They even asked how I was doing, even though I was pretty sure they didn't even know what I was in for. I mostly just wondered what Zack had said to Brian about me. I hoped it was good things.

Finally, a while later, I saw my parents walk into the room. I said goodbye to Matt, Johnny, and Brian. Zack stood with me and gave me a hug.

"Do you want company?" he asked, knowing how nervous I was about seeing them.

"I promise you, you probably don't want to meet them," I told him, only half-joking.

"Suit yourself. I'll see you later," he whispered in my ear, giving me a final squeeze. I waved goodbye to his friends one last time and made my way across the room.

My mom was watching me intently as I approached them and I knew at once that she'd seen me hugging Zack.

"Hi, guys," I said once I was standing in front of them, and I could tell that my mother already had a bad taste in her mouth about the entire situation.

"Emmaline," she said formally, using the full name that she knew I hated. She opened her arms for a quick hug and almost pushed me away as we separated.

My dad greeted me a little more warmly, giving me a genuine hug and ruffling my hair like he did when I was a kid.

"Hi, Ems," he said as we separated, taking a good look at me. "Have you lost weight?" he asked as we sat at a table.

"Who's that guy you were with, Emmaline?" my mom asked, taking the spotlight from my dad like I'd known she would.

"He's... I met him in here. He's really great," I told her, knowing she'd probably make a snotty comment.

"I'm sure," she said through tight lips. There it was.

We talked for a while, making casual small talk. Both of them seemed uncomfortable around me, like I was a bomb about to go off or something. The whole time they were there, I mostly just couldn't stop thinking about how much more comfortable I'd been with Zack and his friends.