Besides Dean, the rest of my partial hospitalization experience was...not the greatest. I found it almost terrifying to talk in group, and besides that, most of the other members were people I didn't particularly care for. Ruby, a dark-eyed, brown-haired senior, had the same problem as me- only she was much more resistant to help. Meg, a curly-haired junior, was nice on the surface, but had a ferocious temper. Lisa, well, thinking back on it, I was very likely only jealous of her. She had long, sleek, dark hair, and admittedly flawless skin. Dean obsessed over her. I did not.
I talked to Dean whenever I could, and I found some things out. His last name, of course, was Winchester. He was 15 years old, a 9th grader at the same school as me. He was an Aquarius- January 24. He liked pie, classic rock, sunsets, long walks on the beach, "frisky women" (his words, not mine). He had a little brother named Sam- though he affectionately referred to him as "Sammy" and glared at anyone else who called him that. He liked history, science, and English the best out of all of his classes. Sam gave him the amulet for Christmas when they were younger. He was a perfectly normal, perfectly...perfect boy. He wanted to kill himself.
From the moment I met him, I was fiercely protective of Dean Winchester. So when I heard that, I didn't want to believe it. I promised myself we'd keep in touch. I needed to keep him safe, no matter what happen or what I'd feel (or not feel). Even if we barely knew each other, I think we both knew that. It was in my nature somehow, in my blood, and I didn't really want to change it.
I was at the hospital 6 hours a day, 5 days a week. Anna drove me home at 3:00 P.M. every day, and back at 9:00 A.M. In itself, the program didn't help, but I did have someone to get through it with. In all honesty, he was the only reason I did not drop out. That, and the fact Anna probably would have killed me herself if I did. But mostly Dean.
Forgive me if I don't give much detail about the hospital. It was incredibly uncomfortable, to be quite honest. I was only telling you because it's necessary for the story. The whole program, though, only lasted three weeks. That was the one (well, not quite one) thing I was glad for. After all, afterwards I'd get to go back to school. The people at school weren't the friendliest, but at least I got to learn.
Dean and I would have left on the same day, had I not felt as if I needed to stay. Maybe if I found a way to help myself, I could help him more. But there was nobody and nothing there that could help. I left seven days later. He told me afterwards that he missed me. I was kind of happy to hear that, though I wish he could have been happier- less lonely.
Since we were there in the winter, we missed a few weeks of school. Because Dean was in the year below me, it made it that much easier for him to get caught up on his work. He must have worked hard, because within a couple weeks he was done with the missed homework. It took me a month. Unfortunately, we never had any classes with each other. But every day, when our classes were over, Anna would pick the two of us up outside the school.
It goes without saying that Dean did not have a good life at home. His father, John Winchester, was someone I'd never like to meet. I'm hoping I don't have to. Dean has told me that he's verbally and psychologically abusive, and, while I'd like to protect him, there are some things that are out of my power. It was hellish, not being able to help him, but I was- still am- only 16. I still felt guilty, though.
Due to all of that, Dean was usually at my house. Anna had filled out some paperwork and was now my legal guardian, so I lived at her house, and she was more than willing to have him over. If you're wondering, no, my parents didn't care that she took me in. On occasion, Dean brought Sam over, but that was a rare occurrence. Normally we just spent time alone with each other. I suppose being alone with him was the reason a lot of what happened, happened.