w o n d e r ; l a n d

“One of the kiddos said they needed to wash their stuffed hippo’s teeth before bedtime. Which, y’know, made perfect sense, but I wasn’t about to let her use my toothbrush.”

“Mhm. Next building over,” Emerson directed. “You waiting on something special?”

“can i help you?” charlotte had been taking a hit of her cigarette for the past hour before she was rudely interrupted by whoever had just walked by, she knew she wasn’t allowed to smoke here due to it being a trigger for most people, but she didn’t care, it was the only way to calm herself down after she had gotten horrible flashbacks about her kidnappers. “if you’re here to tell me to put it out, you’re wasting your time.”

allegra had been slouched over on the couch, doing a pretty bad job of watching over the kids in the play room. she’d been the one who came up with the whole ‘nerf war’ and was honestly having a good time scrolling through her phone to ignore the absolute chaos that was afoot. as soon as someone came back over to relieve her of her position, she approached her aunt’s office, “you know, i told them not to aim for the head, right? kinda feel like you owe me something,” she joked, before letting out a sigh, sitting on the chair across from the woman, placing muddied combat boots up on the desk. “in exchange for heroically saving your life, can i get a cat?” 

“don’t ask me —” too late. her nose scrunches, disgusted at the sight. “i don’t ever come in here unless i have to for that reason alone.”

“an addiction to what?” she asks, eyebrows furrowed in concern. the girl has no clue what the younger is talking about, the word addiction having her pause —— a negative connotation apperant in her question.

“are you sure about that?” he can’t help but laugh, an amused grin on his face as he enters the office. it’s not like dr. nelson was like most doctors he knew — she was more lighthearted and less strict, all things miles could work with. “i just wanted to talk to you about some of the kids. they don’t seem to be .. adjusting well.” as if most of them do within the first month, but he can’t help but be concerned.

“nope, no idea whatsoever.” charlotte lied, trying her best to hide her laughter. she loved messing with her best friend, it was her favorite past time after playing minecraft vr on the daily.

she hadn’t been there as long as most others – in fact, she still feels like a newbie, but hey, kennedy doesn’t need to be here for years and years. yes she does. eyes glance up at the other, furrowed in confusion. “hi —” her voice is drowned out by the question. “the mailroom? what do you need there? thought it was like, for staff.”

gracie jumped at first, startled and confused by the familiar sound. she thought her brain was playing tricks on her again. and then she heard her name, not once but twice. memphis.  her head snapped around and she made eye contact with her big sister in two years, her very best friend. it too all of three seconds for gracie to stand up and essentially close the full distance with a huge hug. “memph…you’re here! you’re really here! i….i thought i’d never see you again.” she blubbered, feeling tears of joy at the base of her throat.

Teddy watches her for a few moments before deciding it was probably safe to give her a smile back. The only female figures he’s ever had in his life were the nuns who raised him at St. Theresa. It’s a positive connection. ‘‘ Uh, SURE, why not. What’re you looking for? ’’

“But what if I n-never find them? What if i’ve come all this way and they aren’t even here…” Gracie murmured to her stuffed lamb, Lambie on the floor of her bedroom, door ajar. She missed her siblings more than anything and being a newbie in the psychiatric wing made her feel lost in the names and new spaces. She did like how clean everything was. 

allegra sat out in the cool autumn day, back pressed up against the building. a red flannel covered her shoulders and her knees were pulled up as she tediously rolled a cigarette. the brunette let out a sigh, as it was quite a struggle to do so with a broken arm - but she’d rather struggle than buy pre-rolled. green eyes go up as she sensed someone in front of her, “what a wonder-fucking-ful day today, huh?” her words were nothing near friendly, “did i grow another head, or something?” 

“ hey , you ! we’re doing some arts and crafts in the next room over, wanna join us?” meadow asked, a gentle smile tugging on her paint covered features. “ you missed the part where i lost the art contest and had to become the canvas as punishment - but ! we’re breaking out the play doh for the next activity !”

MEMPHIS jumped. good god her fucking nerves were terrible. she wasn’t expecting anyone else to be around. though the thought of art interested her, she quickly lost interest in the group activity when she mentioned the painting portion was over. no way could she do anything good with play doh. perfectionism was something she was tied down to, always making her so competitive, a silly play doh activity would embarrass her if her creation wasn’t the best, she smiled still, to be polite. “oh, no thanks.” she shrugged. “m’not really sure i’d be any good with play doh.”

TWO WEEKS. He’s been here for two weeks, and it hasn’t gotten any easier.  To be fair, he also hasn’t made much of an effort to make it easier on himself, for the most part, he’s isolated himself. But now he’s sitting cross-legged on the rec room couch, feeling oddly exposed. Teddy bites down on his nails anxiously, waiting, NO, expecting someone to come in and have a go at him. and like clockwork, the door opens. ‘‘ uh hi, sorry. ’’ why are you apologizing, Teddy? what for? ‘‘ I can - I can leave if you want the room to yourself. ’’

MEMPHIS could feel her skin starting crawl, anxiety setting in hard, her mind refusing to think about anything other than the fact she’d lost her lucky bracelet, her MOTHER’S lucky bracelet. it was one of the only things she had left of her mother’s. she was flashing back to the moment where she slipped the bracelet off her mom’s limp wrist moments before the carruthers’ siblings hauled ass, the last memory she has of her mom. it was the carruthers’ mom’s lucky bracelet, she never did a show without it, memphis hadn’t taken it off since that day. her thoughts retreated when she walked through the doors of the rec, a soft voice coming forward. flashing a warm smile at the younger boy she spoke. “no, no you’re fine.” she tried to reassure him. “m’just looking for something is all. something important that i lost, maybe you can help me?”