He nodded his head in agreement.
�That�s nice,� she said shoving a piece of pizza in her mouth.
�That damn bastard deserves it. Mother fucker tried to hold an intervention today with the assholes that put me in this place. They�re not the reason I�m so depressed! Stupid idiot doctors who think they know everything just because they went to college. I went to college but you don�t see me thinking I know everything,� Chris said bitterly.
�You went to college? Wow. Look where you ended up,� Kandi said.
He looked over at Crystal and saw the she was looking down at her plate, not eating anything. She still had that glazed look in her eyes that he knew should have been gone by now. He reached under the table and took her hand. She looked up and he smiled with a look that said �everything will be ok.� She smiled and gently squeezed his hand.
Kyle spooned some soup into his mouth and then dropped it immediately. He moved his hand over his mouth trying to cool it off.
�Fuck!!� he screamed at the top of his lungs.
�Well, there goes his protest,� David said nonchalantly.
Kyle stood up on the table, nearly knocking everyone�s food to the floor.
�Damn Kyle, watch it,� Kandi said.
�Hey you! Yeah, you so-called chefs! Are you trying to fucking kill us?! Let the soup cool before you practically shove it down out throats! You fucking assholes need to learn how to cook! No, get away from me,� he yelled as some guards came up to restraint him. �You shall not silence the truth!� he yelled as they picked him up and started taking him out of the room. �The truth will be known! They�re trying to kill us! Kill us!� With this he disappeared from the room.
�All that over soup,� Margaret said shaking her head and turning back to her food.
Chris and Crystal sat on Chris� bed that night playing �Go Fish� in place of the usual smoking. After Kyle�s outburst and placement into solitary confinement they decided to take a break.
�So, are you ever going to tell us why you�re here?� Chris asked picking a card up from the stack.
�No, but I�ll tell you. I tried to kill myself. I couldn�t take my life anymore, you know? I�ve lost everything; my dad, my best friends, and lately it seems my sanity as well. So my family tried to hold an intervention after I got back from the hospital for downing a bottle of Tylenol with bourbon. I naturally didn�t like this so they took me here against my will. I-� She sighed. �I was just too stressed.�
�No one understands more about stress than me.�
She laughed. �Ah yes, the terrible burdens of being in a boy band.�
�It�s not as easy as you think. There are a lot of psychotic girls out there waiting until you�re alone to jump your bones. That�s a lot to deal with.�
�Heaven forbid everyone wants you.�
�That�s the deal, though. Not a whole lot of the Nsync fans actually like me. They all like Justin, or JC, but not me.�
�Why would you say that?�
�Oh come on. Why would anyone want the old man of the group?�
�Age has nothing to do with your self-esteem problem.�
�I don�t have a self-esteem problem. I am just very aware of the truth.�
�Come on. You�re an attractive man, and you�re a big sweetheart. You should think more highly of yourself.� He blushed and looked down. �Now, come on! Do you have any damn threes?�
Two more weeks passed by quickly and nothing more happened in Chris� healing process. He still couldn�t sleep and he often succumbed to the pain and cried silent tears. He and Crystal had become close; surprisingly close considering Chris� condition. Kyle was finally let out of solitary confinement complete with a stronger medication which left him as a walking zombie.
�So buddy, how you feeling?� Kandi asked Kyle as they all sat in David�s room smoking.
�I�m feeling great. Life is just� great. I love you guys,� he said dazedly.
�My God, what do they have you on?� David asked.
�A lot of milligrams of� something. I don�t really care. It makes me feel great. I love it,� he said laying his head back against the wall and smiling.
David shook his head and took another puff. �Do you all ever feel like we�re in jail? I mean, first they put him in solitary confinement, and now he acts like they gave him a lobotomy.�
�It is jail, just with a little more freedom and better accommodations,� Margaret said.
There was a knock at the door and everyone panicked. David frantically took everyone�s marijuana and put it in the hidden ash tray in his desk. Everyone began waving their arms in the air, trying to get rid of the smoke. Chris opened the window and everyone began flailing their arms in that direction.
�Mr. Carmichael, please open the door. I know you�re having a party,� Dr. Lauren said.
When things looked as normal as they were going to get David opened the door with a look of pure innocence on his face.
�Are parties against the rules?� he asked sweetly.
�Yes, they are. No patients are allowed out of their rooms at night.� She took a big whiff of the air. She narrowed her eyes and stared at David. �I�m a doctor, Mr. Carmichael. I know the smell of marijuana and I know that you have some for your glaucoma.� She turned and looked at everyone. �Get out of this room right now and go back to your own. There shall be repercussions for this offense, but we�ll talk about it tomorrow. Now, leave.�
Everyone left the room in a hurry, except for Kyle who strolled out of the room in a dazed state. Crystal snuck into Chris� room giggling all the while.
�Oh my God, we are going to be in so much trouble,� she said covering her mouth to subdue her laughter.
�I know. What do you think they�ll do?�
�Probably just watch every move we make. What can they do? We�re adults for crying out loud.�
�Not Kandi and Kyle.�
�How old are they?�
�Kandi is turning eighteen in a week actually, and Kyle is only sixteen. Are we going to get in trouble for giving illegal drugs to minors?�
�I think we�d get in trouble for giving illegal drugs to anyone. And besides, they were doing it before we even got here. So technically, we didn�t give drugs to them, they gave it to us.�
A knock on the door revealed that Dr. Lauren was going around to everyone�s room making sure they were there.
�I guess I�ll see you later, then,� Crystal said getting up and going to the door.
�Bye,� he said as she opened the door and walked out innocently.
�You shall be watched twenty-four seven. I will have surveillance put outside each of your rooms to ensure that you will never leave them at night again. David, your glaucoma marijuana will be put in our custody and will only be given to you at certain times in the day, which will change every day. I am very disappointed in you all. You�re adults and should know better,� Dr. Lauren told everyone in a conference in her office the next morning.
�In all fairness, maim, I�m not an adult,� Kandi said with a smile on her face.
�You will be in a week. You sure do have a lot of growing up to do in that time,� she said angrily. �I should separate you all permanently, but then you wouldn�t get a lot of healing done. Just know that I�ll be watching you. So don�t screw up,� she said standing up, signifying the end of the meeting.
As everyone got up to leave the room Dr. Lauren put a hand on Chris� shoulder.
�You need to stay. There�s someone here to see you.�
Crystal turned around and he nodded to tell her that it was ok to leave. She turned around and Dr. Lauren closed the door.
�Who�s here?�
�Someone your friends sent over.�
�My real friends or the people who put me in here who call themselves me friends?�
�Well, they are you friends, but the ones who put you in here.�
�Great.�
The door reopened and Chris� heart jumped into his throat; it was her. She glided across the room and sat down in a chair opposite Chris. He couldn�t take his eyes off her and he still couldn�t believe what he was seeing.
�Now Chris, I believe that confronting your problem will make things better. So, your friends sent your ex-girlfriend.�
�Did they tell you I was dying so you came to restart the relationship so you could get all my stuff when I�m dead?� he asked bitterly.
�No. I was worried about you.�
�So now you�re worried about me? You weren�t worried about me when you left.�
�Mr. Kirkpatrick, bickering isn�t going to get you anywhere,� Dr. Lauren said.
�I�m sorry if I�m a little bitter that the only woman I�ve truly loved left me alone with only a broken heart. I can�t see you right now, it�s too soon,� he said getting up and leaving the room.
Dinner that night was a quiet one. There was their resident space cadet Kyle who spent the whole time staring at his food and laughing quietly. Chris naturally wasn�t speaking. And the rest weren�t saying anything from the incident which had taken place over the past two days. Crystal looked up to see the dullness in Chris� eyes and became worried.
�Chris, are you ok?�
�I�m just peachy.�
�Why did you have to stay in Dr. Lauren�s office today?�
�My ex came.�
�Oh.�
Nothing else was said and they all went straight to their rooms afterwards.