Rehabilitation

The house was hot. The sweat was already starting to run down Alex's back. She could feel the bass thumping through the walls as she walked down the narrow hallway. It smelled like weed and booze, and she had had a headache ever since her and her boyfriend Bobby got in the car to go to Matt’s party. She pushed herself against the wall as a group of young guys shoved their way through, slurring drunkenly about going to get some McDonald’s. The open door revealed a large smokey room that flashed with neon lights, loud enough to make her want to cover her ears. The heat hung over her like a suffocating quilt as she held the door open for Bobby. He went through carrying three bottles of Grey Goose Alex had stolen from Walmart earlier that day. The bottles were set down on a cheap, white plastic table littered with various containers of alcohol. She saw their friend Matt stumble through the crowd to greet them.

...

“Name.”

“Alexandria Thorton.”

“Alright, Ms. Thorton, right this way.” The receptionist led me down the hallway and into the room on the right. “Take a seat.” she said. I sat down in a large cushioned chair and took in my surroundings. The decor was very common for a counselor's office. The desk, the chairs, and the various portraits of eyes and forlorn expressions made me feel like I was in an interrogation room.

“Dr. Renee will be here to see you soon.” The receptionist closed the door, sealing me in the uncomfortable room. I twirled my short  hair around my finger as I waited. I regretted cutting it. It was above my shoulders with one side shaved and I had it dyed blue and red; I missed my long hair. Then again, I missed a lot of things -- like home, for example. Damn, I missed home.  I lived in Manitowoc, Wisconsin. There weren’t many people. It was quiet and beautiful. I missed the forest and the river. But no, here I was in Rockford, Illinois, in a rehab center and straight out of juvie. I suppose it was a good thing.

A lady, probably in her late 50s walked in holding a clipboard and a cup of black coffee. She wore a plaid sweatervest over a long sleeve tan shirt, rolled up green dress pants, and tan combat boots. It was an odd combination.

“I’m Dr. Renee. You’re Alex, right?” she asked.

I nodded in response.

“How are you?”

“I’m doing alright I guess.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Now where are your parents?

“They’ve refused to see me until I complete the program”

“Ah, I see.” She sat down behind a dark stained desk and flipped through her clipboard, pulling out different papers and looking them over. “I’m going to ask you a few questions and then I’ll show you to your room, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Now here it says that your DOC is marijuana. Is that correct?”

“Yes, that’s correct.”

“Have you ever tried any other types of narcotics?”

“Yes.”

“Could you please list those for me?” I squirmed nervously in my chair. I hated these kind of questions.

“Um. Heroin, Ecstasy, and Whip its.”

“But you never used any of those on a consistent basis?”

“No.” I said.

“Alright, now would you care to explain how you came across these drugs?”

I exhaled loudly and sat up in my seat, running my sweaty palms up and down my torn jeans.

...

Matt was obviously stoned as hell. He was trying to be a good host by offering people drinks and making small talk, but he kept spilling his beer on everyone and could barely carry a conversation. He tripped over two girls as he weaved his way around the table to where they stood. “Hey, man, you came, and you brought drinks! Awesome!”

Bobby cracked open a Budweiser and took a sip before replying. “No problem -- and thank Alex. She lifted the drinks for us.” He put his arm around Alex and kissed her on the cheek.  Their friend Patrick joined the conversation. He wore an unbuttoned red plaid shirt with an ‘I pooped today!’ tshirt underneath topped off with a green beanie. He was smoking a blunt and seemed to have his eye on a dark-haired girl dancing in the corner.               

“Yo, Alex. Good to see you.”

“Yeah, good to see you too.”

“Want a hit?” he offered her his blunt.

“Sure.” She took a long drag and gave it back. Matt stumbled off to go change the music, and Bobby put down his beer.

“Come on,” he said. “Let’s go have a good time.” He took his Alex’s  hand and led her into the crowd.

...

“My ex-boyfriend, Bobby, used to have me steal liquor so we could sell it to buy pot. I sold my parents’ stuff. I owe them a shit ton of money. My friend Patrick gave me heroin for my sixteenth birthday. The rest of it I usually got at parties.”

“Your boyfriend asked you to shoplift?”

“Yeah. He taught me how to smoke a joint when I was fourteen. This is before we dated. He asked me if I liked it and I said yes. He told me he knew a way that I could get more. At first I only did it for him, because I liked him. After we started dating, it became more of a tradition. I’d go out and lift some booze. We’d keep some of it for ourselves and we’d sell the rest and buy some dope. Then we’d just go home, get baked and have sex.”

“Did you ever get caught?”

“Three times, but I always got away..”

“What’s the story behind your arrest?” Dr. Renee asked.

...

Alex and Bobby had been dancing for a while. They’d both had a couple beers and smoked a few joints. Bobby kept asking if they could fuck, but she kept turning him down. She wasn’t in the mood. As she wriggled through the crowd she noticed several people wearing cheap looking beaded necklaces with something attached to them that they had in their mouths. Curious she tapped a random guy on the shoulder. He couldn’t have been over seventeen. She asked him about his necklace and he laughed.

“They’re binkis.” he said. “The ecstasy makes you grind your teeth together. Some guys have chewed their tongue off without even realizing it. Have you tried it before?” He pulled a few small tablets out of his pocket. He told her to pick one. She hesitated for a moment, but ended up picking the pink one with a Superman logo on it. She found Bobby and made him dance.  They moved about drunkenly as vision sharpened, and the sounds around her became more distinct. Bobby’s arm felt like a silk pillow. Everything she touched felt soft and light. She sat down on a couch because she kept falling down. She sang She’ll be Comin’ Round the Mountain to herself for what felt like a long time. She wished she had a guitar to play. Each noise was like a water droplet falling into a peaceful pond. The waters shifted uncomfortably as unusual sounds wove their way into her consciousness. She heard a scream bubbled surface. She looked toward the front of the house to see people moving out of the way.  Everyone got quiet suddenly.

“What the fuck, Patrick?! What the fuck?! You called the cops?!” It was Matt talking. Alex could tell that much. ”You could have just drove him to the hospital, but no you had to call the fucking cops!” She heard cries of pain, but she couldn’t find the source.

Patrick yelled, “He’s gonna bleed out! What did you want me to do, let him die?!”

“I’ll tell you what I don’t want to do, go to jail!” Matt threw a bottle of whiskey at the ground. The wail got louder as a new boy came into the room. Several shrieks erupted at the sight of him. He was a teenager, dark-haired, blood running out of his mouth, splattering onto his blue shirt. A piece of his severed tongue hung out of his mouth. Alex’s head spun and she became nauseous. The last thing she remembered before she passed out were the shrieks of sirens, the door being forced open, Matt screaming, and blood.

...

“I’m so sorry for what you’ve been through. That must have been a really difficult experience.” Dr. Renee looked at me with sympathetic eyes.

“It was, but Juvie was worse. There was no privacy, no friends, no nothing. Not to mention everyone there was an asshole.”

“I bet not. Come, let me show you to your room.”

I followed slowly behind her as she led me to a small room with bare white walls, a bed, a nightstand, a dresser, and a desk with a cheap lamp. I unpacked my small bag, organizing my few belongings into the dresser drawers. I wasn’t really looking forward to this whole this whole rehab thing, but anything was better than jail. I finished unpacking, got a glass of water, and took a nap in my own bed.