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Jerkchicken
DojiBoy
Time - Morning
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Stop lying.
The disheveled blonde was brought to an unpleasant awakening as the comms crackled to life, announcing the departure of one of the residents in Spring Hill. Bethany, her name had been.
"...She is hoping to finish her college degree and pursue a career in psychology, she wished us to tell everyone who knew her that they can also finish their rehabilitation and find a good life for themselves," the voice declared as the announcement went on, and Rory had to roll over in her bed to cover her ears with her lumpy pillow. There was a sharp stab behind her eyes, growing more insistent the longer the speaker went on. They are lying. Why won't they just shut up?
Aurora hadn't slept so well. It wasn't anything out of the ordinary, though. Her medication helped her some, aiding her into a dreamless sleep which honestly was much more welcomed than the nightmares that would follow normally. Still, it felt like she had barely slept at all. The blonde could feel the strain behind her eyes, the burning dryness and gnawing hunger in the pit of her stomach. The hunger that never left, a constant reminder to Rory that she deserved this. That if no one else punished her for her actions, she'd do it herself.
Filtering the dim morning light with her bony fingers, Rory stared out of the window while still lying on the mattress, paralyzed. What's the point? she found herself thinking.
Oh, fun. It was one of those days, then.
------
"So, Aurora--"
"Rory," the blonde interjected. Dr. Gaston smiled apologetically, nodding.
"Right, Rory. So, I see that... it seems you've harmed yourself again," the soft-faced doctor said, gesturing to the fresh bruises along Rory's arms and chest.
"Have you been taking your medication regularly? Or is this... do you want to talk to Mrs. Seething about it? Your recovery is our first priority, but you can't recover if you're unwilling to do so." Dr. Gaston's voice sounded concerned, almost maternal. Rory stared at her, expression blank, feeling a stab of pain behind her eyes at the doctor's words. She didn't think much of it. Obviously the doctor was lying. Their first priority wasn't her, it was money. She didn't really expect anything else.
"I haven't harmed myself," Rory sighed, annoyed, rubbing her sore arms with chilled fingers. "The bruises just seem to appear out of nowhere. And I feel really sore," she explained. Rory decided to leave out the headaches. They weren't that bad, really. She had a thousand problems, some dumb headaches weren't really at the top of her list.
Dr. Gaston nodded, turning to her computer for a second to type something in. Rory waited. Her whole being felt heavy with exhaustion, low energy slowly buzzing through her body. It was kind of cold.
"You know, Rory, the staff has noticed you haven't been conversing with the other residents or even taken part in any of the activities we provide. We are worried about you," Dr. Gaston said as she turned back to Rory. She wasn't done talking, either.
"We don't want to push you to do anything you aren't comfortable with, but staying in isolation is not helping you recover. I'm afraid it's actually doing the opposite," the doctor continued. Her voice seemed concerned in the way a medical professional's voice should - it seemed almost like she really cared, but Rory found it hard to believe. To them she was just a patient. She was nothing personal to them.
"So you're saying..." Rory drew out, jittery fingers tapping at her forearms impatiently.
"So I'm saying -- while we don't wan't to force you -- we have enrolled you into one of today's activities. You will attend the cooking lesson later today. In addition to that, you will be eating your breakfast in the cafeteria like the rest of the residents. I know lately we've been allowing you to take food to your room because of your... situation, but it is becoming apparent that it isn't helping you. So from now on, you'll eat at the cafeteria like the rest of the patients. As per usual, the staff will make sure you have eaten and keep you under surveillance for thirty minutes afterwards."
Rory scoffed, her brow furrowing at Cecile's words. That was a lot to digest, literally and figuratively. The blonde groaned and pinched the bridge of her nose. It was okay. She didn't deserve the special treatment anyway, not that it made her any happier to hear she'd have to be around others.
"I might have an eating disorder, but I'm not a fucking bulimic," Rory spit, annoyed, "I'm not gonna go throw up after eating, that's desperate... And cooking? Really? How do you know I won't snatch a knife or something?"
The doctor cast a disbelieving look at Rory's crude words, her blue eyes big and serious.
"You know it's just protocol. And, the patients aren't allowed to handle knives. You will be cooking something that doesn't involve sharp objects. Now I really wish I could talk longer, but you need to go eat and I have to continue with the morning check-ups."
-------
On her way to the cafeteria, Rory felt she was being watched. She was allowed to walk around on her own, all the way from the doctor's office, but Rory knew better than to believe no one was monitoring her. They were making sure she was actually going where she was meant to. It didn't annoy the woman any less, though.
She felt a bit light-headed, not that it was anything new. It was probably the low blood pressure. Rory would have to watch out for that. Last time she got up from her seat too quickly and suddenly the world had been spinning, turning into a black sludge right before her open eyes. Fainting wasn't fun. Rory still had a huge bump in the back of her head from that.
During her walk Rory spotted two young women walking in the same direction as her. She'd seen them before, but had never really talked to them. She had never really talked to any residents here, not apart from some off-handed comments that were easily forgotten.
The teal-haired woman Rory surely remembered. She was pretty - really pretty - and her name was apparently Olivia or something. Rory didn't know why she was here, but she didn't really care. They were all here for a reason.
The girl Olivia was talking to was someone Rory didn't remember the name of, but Rory knew her as the person with the prosthetic leg. It came without saying that she was very beautiful as well. It seemed everyone here was young and good looking. That was a bit weird, but Rory decided she shouldn't care.
Arriving to the cafeteria, Rory's mouth watered at the smell of breakfast. Fuck.
There weren't that many people at the cafeteria, much to Rory's relief. Or was it relief, really? Either way, it took the blonde a painfully long time to decide on what to eat. It felt like she'd been staring a hole into the bread collection at the food line. Finally moving, Rory picked up a banana. She also took a delicious looking blueberry muffin after a long consideration. She wouldn't probably eat it, but at least it looked like she had taken something more than a fruit.
Walking off, Rory took a seat at one of the tables in the cafeteria, the large table a stark comparison to how alone she looked sitting there alone.
