Brielle Starters

“Who’s there?” Ellie called out, turning on her heel. She had managed to sneak out into the garden in the dark but she had expected to be alone and she could have sworn she heard something just now.

“You’re not fucking real,” Noah tried, swallowing thickly. This, of course, didn’t dissuade Gracie, as it never would. Instead, the whispering began. 

‘silly, stupid girl. where are all your friends? that’s right. one abandoned you, one got better, and one found somebody else to love. isn’t it so sweet to see two lovers reunited?’ a sick, twisted smile tugged at her former friend’s lips. ‘i guess it’s just you and me now, huh bunny? you’ll always have me…’

Noah spun on her heel and clenched her fist around the shake, teeth grinding and knuckles turning white. Her mantra of ‘not real’s and ‘all in your head’s rattled on in her mind, though they did nothing as the apparition continued to taunt her. 

‘you’re sick! you were always born to be sick. come on, bunny, be sicker. you’re too pathetic to “get better”. look at you. you’re disgusting, repulsive - it should have been you on the road. he should have let you bleed out when he had the chance-’

“Shut the fuck up, Grace!” The shout ripped through Noah’s throat roughly as she twisted back around. By the time she was forward facing again, the figure was gone, but the narcissist had already hurled her shake towards the wall, watching as it splattered over the floor.

For a moment, she looked around herself, stunned. Then, the presence of someone in the doorway caught her attention, and without looking up, Noah cleared her throat. “What the hell are you looking at?”

“Who’s there?” Ellie called out, turning on her heel. She had managed to sneak out into the garden in the dark but she had expected to be alone and she could have sworn she heard something just now.

“does you want a picture that looks like yous?” the little blonde suggested to the person who had just entered.

Maeve felt restless today. Since waking up from a brief hour of sleep, she couldn’t shake the insects the crawled along her muscles and the electricity that burned her nerves. Several nurses and patients had gained the brunt of her irritation, and her mood tracker was filled boxes of purple, red and orange. Because she was angry and annoyed but she didn’t know why.

The only thing that offered a distraction was using a selection of her markers to mark scribbles on wall down the hall. She sat on the floor, leaning close to the plaster and watching the colours mark the textures surface. She had covered a fairly large area, but she was more then content to carry on

It was in that moment when he remembered a staff member saying something about a music room. Did it have a piano? He thought he remembered them saying something about a piano… and guitars, right? Where was it… fuck why couldn’t he remember where they said it was? The boy got up in a hurry and walked to the hallway, hoping he’d magically walk up to the room. However, the hallway just felt like it was never ending, and all he saw were closed doors that appeared to be offices. Eyes frantically looking from one door to the next, it was clear that he was not paying any attention or noticed the person walking towards him. It was only when he walked directly in their path and collided with them had he realized they were there. The boy stumbled back, eyes wide in shock. He wanted to say sorry.. He wanted to make sure they were alright. God dammit, why couldn’t he say a simple sorry? Instead he just stared at the person for a few seconds in pure panic. After that painfully awkward and stressful encounter, Leo gave up on trying to apologize and started to continue walking down the hall in search for the music room. ( @bhqstarter )

Elliot was talking to his dad with one of the phones by the nurses station. He hadn’t made many phone calls since he’d been at Brielle, but he figured he should, as it was Mother’s day. He and his dad would always plan together about how to surprise Elliot’s mom with elaborate gifts and celebrations… As Elliot got older, and as his parents got more and more wrapped up in work, the planning and celebrations lessened in intensity each year… but they were always there. And now it was the first mother’s day without a mother to celebrate for. “Sorry, um— I know it’s kind of… weird for me to call you, but um… I dunno, I know it’s mother’s day and all, and I just… I don’t know.” He spoke quietly, almost in a whisper, to his dad. His voice was tired, and his eyes were already watering with tears. 

He was on the phone for fifteen minutes before the nurse nearby was telling him to wrap it up. By that point, Elliot hadn’t done much talking at all. He was just answering in one to two word responses, sometimes just a ‘mhm’. The more he spoke, the more evident it was that he was crying, and he didn’t want his dad to know that… he didn’t want his dad to worry. He tried so hard to stop himself from crying, but every time his dad said something like ‘hang in there’ or ‘i’m proud of you’ or ‘I love you’, the tears would just intensify, and it began to become harder and harder to breathe with each positive affirmation. How could his dad say that? How could his dad love him when he was the reason for her death? Elliot believed, with all his heart, that his dad should hate him. That he should despise him. Everything inside was screaming, telling himself that he didn’t deserve his father’s love. 

Elliot and his dad exchanged their goodbye’s, and his slowly hung up the phone back on the wall with shaky hands. He took a moment to try to compose himself, drying his tears and rubbing his eyes, before turning his chair around to see someone standing nearby. “Uh… Sorry,” He started in a hushed and weak voice. “Did you uh– wanna use this, or?” Elliot nodded his head towards the phone, indicating that was what he was asking about.