beautifully broken

“Nice to meet you too…” He said with a polite smile. “So– um… how are you?”

“I’m alright.” Just tired from sleepless nights and worrying. “Thanks for asking.”

“Ever been to the garden before?”

Maeve hadnt expected to hear a voice. She was out here practically hiding of course. The aim was to be left alone. So when a disembodied voice finished her jittery attempts. Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter. She could almost here Reggie mutter it beside her. But that wasnt Reggie. Which meant that someone had found her and knew that she was stupid.

Knees drew closer to her chest, hand clutching the book and toying with the aged page. The other hand tugged at her hair as she waited for someone to appear. To be told off, to be laughed at. 

“I– N-No it’s okay!” Elliot was used to being the one apologizing… not the other way around! He wasn’t quite expecting it, nor did he know how to respond. He felt bad for making her feel the need to apologize, though… “Umm— h-have I introduced myself yet? I… I’m Elliot.”

She smiled at him warmly. “Well, it’s very nice to meet you, Elliot. My name’s Hayden.”

“Yeah– maybe.” He said with a soft shrug. He bit his lip, thinking about calling him. After a few seconds, he just shook his head. “I don’t think so…—He’ll probably be too busy, y’know? He’s a busy guy… and… I don’t know– I just… He’ll probably be having fun with his other friends and all, and I just–” He let out a heavy sigh, offering another shrug.”I’d probably just bring the mood down…” 

Hayden nodded, though didn’t really know what else to say then. He was probably just beating himself up unnecessarily but still. “I’m sorry.”

Elliot nodded in response. It did sound nice… the only problem was that he couldn’t go. “No– I haven’t really… been here for a long time, and–” It didn’t help that he still refused to talk in therapy or group. Part of him wanted to. He wanted to just get everything off his chest, all of the anger and frustration and despair he’d been holding inside. Besides, that same part of him also knew he’d probably be making the staff’s jobs a whole lot easier if he was just honest with them. Still, he couldn’t shake the feeling that he just didn’t matter. That his problems weren’t really problems at all. Everyone had to deal with hardship, that’s part of life… the only different was that Elliot was too weak to just get over them himself. “Maybe I’ll try to call him later? I don’t know…” His friend probably wouldn’t even want to talk to Elliot. He’d just be mad and disappointed that Elliot wasn’t there with him to celebrate his birthday. It was probably better for everyone if he just didn’t call— He’d probably just be bothering his friend by calling. 

Hayden offered him a soft smile. “Maybe your friend can visit sometime and make up for it..” She suggested, trying to come up with some alternative that might be at least semi positive. “I’m sure he’d love a call from you though!” She replied with a nod, smiling a little brighter. She felt bad if he was down about it, Hayden didn’t like to see people hurting or struggling.

He nodded, trying to smile in return. “Yeah…—It’s my… It’s my friend’s birthday kind of soon, and… we sort of had plans, you know?” He felt like he was letting his best friend down for being in the hospital rather than celebrating with him… He also felt like he was letting just about everyone down for being stuck at Brielle. His father most of all… His dad was going through enough hardship, and Elliot just always seemed to cause more stress for him. Even when his dad tried to shrug it off and force a reassuring smile, Elliot could tell he was making things worse. He always did. 

Hayden smiled back at him,. “That sounds nice.” Birthdays. Not that she celebrated many except her daughter’s nowadays. “Are you eligible for day passes?” She wondered, not sure what his situation was or how long he was here or anything.

Well, that was something. “Sure! I wouldn’t mind that.” 

“Lead the way then.” She smiled back at her, not minding.

“I swear it’s not as horrible as you think. Maybe you’ll like something?”

Skylar appreciated the help, just about managing to shuffle back into her chair she let out a sigh of relief but she still felt sore, though the idea of seeing the nurses made her groan. “They jus’ like poking me”