Kinder's Health

“ Well go ahead,” the therapist waited for me to respond. She was short with caramel skin. She wore large glasses and annoyingly swung her feet. As if she was enjoying watching us sit here like domesticated animals.

“ How did I get here? Well, I… guess I went to the lake one night and slipped.” I shrugged and leaned back into the chair.

The therapist shifted in her chair. The stale smell of the room filled up the silence. These white walls were hideous. The therapist carefully watched me. I assumed she wanted me to continue.

"Then my family panicked and sent me to a stinky creepy mental hospital. They thought I tried to harm myself, but I didn’t. I didn’t want to die. I struggled, I let myself fall when I got tired, but it was never my intention. Wouldnt you get tired?"

“I want to let you know that it is okay if it was,” her wrinkled sullen eyes shot out sympathy.

“ Of course it would be okay.” I started to get annoyed. Was she not listening?

I wish you people would get that I did not want to die.

The floor creaked as one of the patients moved their chair awkwardly. He began to shift until he shouted out,

“ Pft She’s lying, I know she wanted to!”

“Shhh, Ryan, you are being rude”.

I rolled my eyes, then I got up out of the old chair and walked back to my room.

That session was a mess as usual. Every week since I got to Kinders we have had group therapy. It is no help so far, I feel more trapped here than when I went to regular therapy. I sat on the cold milk-smelling bed and laid my head in my lap. I wanted to go back home, but I knew that going to my family would not end well. They think I'm insane, I think they hope I am.

The room was white, filled with two beds for me and my suitemate. We both had a side table, of course empty. We shared one toilet and we had a shower down the hall. My suitemate was an okay girl. She was brown-skinned around her early teens. She was quiet and her family, like mines, rarely showed their face in this horrid building. I guess they were too embarrassed and it was easier to pretend we didn’t exist. I thought she was approaching when I instead saw Nick.

He walked towards me slyly. He looked like he was up to something. He knocked and leaned against the door. I walked up to him and raised my brow.

“ Hi,” he looked at me intensely. It was weird but nice. I couldn’t help but enjoy the entertainment in this dry place.

I bunched up my lips annoyed, “ Can I help you?” He was around 5’8, not too tall. He was dark-skinned with the sexiest lips. He was eighteen and He had a chubby build. His dimples made my legs weak and his hair was so curly and bouncy.

“Yeah, listen I’m sorry to hear your story, I can kind of relate.”

He sat on my bed and looked up at me with his deep luscious dimples. My lips started to rise into a smirk.

“ Oh really,” I said. I sat down giving us some distance and listened to him.

“ Nope, I just wanted to talk to you,” He smiled and his all-white teeth instantly made me get a little flustered.

I twisted my box braids, he had my attention. There wasn’t much to do around here anyway.

“ Okay, mystery guy, what would you like to talk about?”

I nudged him.

“I want to hang out with you. You’re beautiful and I would like to get to know you more”. His direct eye contact was very enticing. We both had a year until our mandated time here was over. We were both almost nineteen and maybe we could build a connection.

“ Thank you, your not too bad yourself”. We flirted and talked for hours. I never knew he was this interesting, I mean we hadn't talked much but I was glad we were now.

His laughs were contagious and I enjoyed the way he looked at me. We talked about how much we hated the Kinders care facility. This place was supposed to be supportive but, it felt toxic. We also talked about our families and what we wanted from life.

The staff had to practically force him out of my room by the time “pills and sleep” came. The grumpy night shift man handed my roommate and me the night cup and watched as we downed the large bulky pill with smooth water. Sweet dreams right?

I sat up that night and thought about Nick and his cute face, oh my! I had been here for a few weeks and talking to him was the most fun I'd had. I had about a year left of being here and I hoped that I would get to rush past the days with him.

As about a month passed, I couldn't wait to leave Kinder. Therapy was annoying and my Family still did not visit. I mostly wasted the days away with Nick and tried to think about my future. Everything was bearable until…

I went into Nick’s room and found him pacing back and forth. He looked shocked when he saw me standing at his door.

“Michelle come in, please crack the door!” he whispered. His face looked flushed.

“ Nick, sit down, talk to me.” I grabbed his hand and sat us down on the bed.

He shook his head slowly and placed his head in his hand. I rubbed his arm and waited for his words. He was beginning to scare me. We had been hanging out for a couple of weeks and I’d never seen him this flustered.

“ They’re trying to hurt me. I know it. We have to go. I gotta go. Let’s go.” He pleaded desperately.

My eyes scanned his face to clear up my confusion.

“ Why we can go, just calm down. Did they hurt you? “ I felt my blood begin to boil. I knew something had been up about this place.

“Nobody family visits and we are locked up at night in our rooms like dogs. I can’t do this Michelle. This place isn’t right. The pills make me feel like I’m losing my mind!” he began to shake. I sat behind him and held him into my arms.

“ It’s okay. We are leaving tomorrow. I have a plan” I said rubbing his head. We were going to get out of here. I wasn’t sure where we were going to go but, I knew we could find a job. My cousin in Dallas will help us. She knows I’m not crazy.

“Listen, in the morning when the nurses come in and take their evening shower, they take off their keys. If we are in the showers around the same time I can slip one of the woman’s nurses and you can grab the man’s. There’s a lake about 5 miles from here. I’ll write down the directions and leave them under your bed".

--- Getting Out Of Dodge ---

I sat by the lake impatiently. I wanted to enjoy my freedom for the first time in months, but I couldn’t help but watch every person walking by. Hoping it was Nick. He was supposed to have shown up an hour ago but nothing yet! I resented not having a phone.

When I snuck out all I had was myself and a couple hundred I had stashed away.

I sat and thought about the new life I and Nick were going to have. I began to daydream about us having a life together.

It wasn't until the sun went down when I heard rumblings from the woods. I was groggy but I could see people reluctantly approaching me. I sat up and called out Nick’s name softly. It was met with loud chuckles. I walked towards the woods to see who was there. They must have heard me because they grabbed me roughly. I fought back but they surrounded me!

I shouted before they shoved their dirty grimy hands over my mouth. I bit one of their fingers and their bland blood seeped into my mouth. They swung their hand back and socked me in the face, I winced. They picked me up and carried me towards the lake. Their laughs got heartier and heartier. They were enjoying this.

I flopped around but it was four of them overpowering me. I heard a man's voice laughing hysterically as I tried to break free.

“ Let me go, what is wrong with y’all!” I screamed out. I was able to kick one of the guys in the lower region. He winced and I fell to the ground banging my head. Before I could get up they snatched me back up forcefully. They moved quicker this time.

They picked me up and swung my body into the water. I flung in the air for a second then plopped into the water. I felt myself sink to the bottom.

Before I could pull myself up from the ten-foot lake, I felt their heavy hands holding me down in unison. The water filled my lungs aggressively. I gagged and tried to press my head against their hands. I attempted to hold onto my breathe for a few seconds. It was no use, after seconds my clothes were weighing me down... It felt like hours before they let their grimy hands off my head.

I drifted up slowly, not sure if they let me go or thought I was dead. When the night light glided behind them I could make out that they were some of the patients at Kinders. I watched as their frames ran out of the area, running towards the path to the hospital. My blood boiled with rage, but I knew I couldn’t take them all at once.

I pulled myself completely out of the lake once they were out of sight. My clothes were wet and soggy. My braids were pulling me down. I felt weak and angry. The cold wind caused me to shiver.

After some thought, I decided I needed to get a hotel for the night. They wouldn’t tell the hospital they saw me. I couldn’t go back there either, I knew I would hurt them. I couldn’t do it childishly as they did. Nope, especially not Nick. They needed to pay.

I went to the closest hotel and thought about my plan for revenge.

I got to the hotel and plopped onto the crunchy bed. I needed to rekindle the faces from the lake. I saw a glimpse of Nicks frame in the forest. His other three idiot companions had to be Luke, Missy, Mitch. They had been hanging out more lately and I knew they were up to something before I left, but I had wanted to trust Nick. It was nice to feel wanted, especially since my parents act like I don’t exist! I scoffed and went to take a shower.

--Sneaking into the Hospital--

I snuck through the back door, moving swiftly to avoid my recapture. After yesterday I never wanted to see any of these people again, they’re insane. I held onto the knife under my coat and stuffed it deeper into my pocket.

I hid in between the corners and decided I would hide out in the bathroom while everyone went to sleep, then I would make my move.

“ Alright Jake, I’m out. Make sure you check on the patients before you take your lunch”. I heard coming from outside of the bathroom.

I waited ten minutes and then I went towards Luke and Mitch’s room. I looked at the bland halls and winced, I hoped that I would not get caught. I couldn’t stand the thought of being stuck here again. I tried not to think about it and continued my quest.

I crept up behind his bed, carefully creeping alongside the walls and taking light steps. I pulled the knife out of my pocket and placed it carefully on Mitch’s throat. His eyes were closed and he let out a slight sleepy growl. I pushed the knife against his throat. I felt my heart racing and my thoughts rushed. I tried to press down but I began to contradict myself.

Then I heard the door open and the light flicker. A tall man ran up behind me before I could move and shoved me to the ground. A large throbbing pulsing pain ran over me and I passed out.

I woke up in the hospital bed, back in my ugly long Kinders patient shirt. I was not in my old room and my head felt like it was going to jump out of my skull. I tried to sit up but my arms were restricted. My legs were sprawled open and I was forced to the bed. I looked at the ceiling and tried to yell. These crazies put a mullet over me. I shook my body intensely. They couldn't treat me like this. I felt my body get hot and tears dripped down my face.

" Oh no, don't cry, you're fine!"

I turned my head and saw one of the therapists. She walked over to me and patted my head.

"We just need you like this for safety okay sweetie? Everything is just fine."

She laid a blanket on me and exited from the room.

I laid down in the bed irritated and annoyed. I shifted from side to side uncomfortably.

*Creek* the door pushed opened and My parents entered the room. I let out a loud sigh.

"This is unacceptable" My mother looked at me with disgust. My father walked behind me and began caressing my head.

" You are staying here even longer now you know that. They called us here and said you attempted to kill someone. Do you not know how serious this is". I looked at her with disgust.

My father was quiet, as usual. I looked at him with pity. iHs eyes were old and wrinkled with age. I felt bad for the stress I was causing him. I saw some sympathy in his old eyes for a few minutes.

I did not want to reply to my Mom. Her taunting was more annoying than this dreaded silence. She left the room, most likely to contain her temper.

My father followed behind her but not before dropping a key onto the table.

I scantly slid the keys into my hand and unlocked my body from the hard bed.

I jumped out of the window and ran, this time not stopping, this time not looking back.

Written by Kya. Jonae