All usual disclaimers apply.
**
"Are you coming out to receive your visitor today, Mr. Johnson?"
Dwayne didn't answer. He kept rocking back and forth on the rocking chair, giving his back towards the door and looking towards the window. It was snowing. And with each snowflake, a single tear would run down his cheek, remembering Alex. Remembering his son. And also remembering that that very same snow which Alex loved so much had been around when the accident happened.
When his world tore itself apart.
"Mr. Johnson?"
At the tone of pity in the nurse's voice, he got irritated. Who did they think they were? Wiping his tears away from his cheeks and trying to hide them as much as he could, he stood and slowly started walking outside of his room, holding onto his ribs with the arm that had the sprained wrist. Walking outside had been something that he hadn't done in days. Weeks, maybe.? Not like it mattered to him. For the first few days, the doctors had allowed visits in his room so that other visitors wouldn't see him there, but they realized that that was a bad idea because it meant he was being isolated how he wanted to be. And the point of all this was to bring him back to normal. Heh.
The walls were painted in a very light beige color, and there were no pictures around. There was a single payphone in the whole place, which consisted on the first floor for doctor's offices, visitor's lounge, and the reception by the entrance. On the second floor, there were the rooms for the people staying. They were rooms that were pretty small, but it wasn't like anyone needed anything here. Some were in for depression. Others for rehabilitation of some drug problem that they had, or some other type of addiction. Most were in for depression, though, and it was a pretty expensive place that Vince had found for him. Since the doctors and the nurses tried to keep it as simple as they could, though, that was why it seemed slightly empty. The third floor, where therapy and counseling rooms were set up, though, those were fancy. Hell, the first floor was as well; the only one that wasn't was the second floor. The outside gardens were, as told by others, 'gorgeous'. They had different flowers, a green house, and even water fountains where benches were set up around so visitors and patients could sit outside as much as they'd like. He wouldn't know, though. He never went outside.
As he made his way to the visitor's lounge, he saw just how.cheerful the place was decorated. It had different art work that was pretty colorful, different small "living rooms" for each family that came to visit, and a TV. When he walked in, though, he leaned against the threshold of the door, tired from walking so much. His family wasn't there.why was he here when he could be upstairs?
In a corner, he saw Kurt Angle, fidgeting around in his chair nervously, though.
With a sigh, he debated whether to leave or go talk to him. Before he could answer his own questions, though, Kurt spotted him and smiled, waving him over. Dwayne didn't smile, though. He just started walking towards him and sat down slowly, silent.
Kurt smiled at him, "Hey, man. How have you been? I haven't been over to visit, but we've all been pretty busy." As he talked, Kurt took a look at him for the first time since he had last seen him a few weeks back. Dwayne had lost a lot of weight and it was obvious he hadn't shaved in days. His clothes seemed to be getting old, and he had bags under his eyes; showing that he hadn't been sleeping.
Dwayne simply shrugged, though; not answering.
"Come on, man. You can't just.not talk, you know."
"What are you doing here.?"
With a small smile, Kurt sighed in relief mentally. It was a start. it was more talking than he had done the last time he had been here. "Well, I was in Pittsburg, and I figured to come over and see how you were doing." The 'hospital' was in the middle of nowhere, but it was a few hours away from Pittsburg.
"Huh. How nice of you." After a few minutes of silence, he finally looked up at him. "How's your family?"
The obvious pain that Dwayne went through each time he asked that made Kurt hurt as well. They had been close friends and he had been close to Dani and Alex as well, but Dwayne was taking things pretty hard. Especially because he believed it was his fault. That it was because of him that he was in this place. That it was because of him that his life was now ruined. "They're doing great, thanks. Listen, DJ, do you need anything? Clothes, food, something.?" When Dwayne shook his head, he sighed slightly. "I.talked to your doctors."
Dwayne had been looking down at his hands as they rested on the table. He was mainly staring at the hospital bracelet that was on his left wrist and how it had become loose since they had put it on him the day he had come in. When Kurt said that, he didn't turn to him, though. He acted as if he ignored him.
After all, he knew what they had said.
Kurt, nonetheless, continued; "They say that you don't cooperate in sessions. That you stay in your room the whole time."
"I *am* here for depression, aren't I?" Dwayne turned to Kurt before down at his hand again. "You shouldn't be here. Go back to your family."
"No, I'm not leaving. Dwayne, you're here to get better. When you get better, you can leave from this place. You can go home."
Slowly, Dwayne shook his head, still not turning to him. "Don't have one anyway."
"So you're happy here?" When Dwayne didn't answer after a while, he sighed. "Look. I know what you're going through and I know it must be pretty hard for you to think that it was your fault. I know that you think life is a bitch, and it can be sometimes, but you have so much more to live for. Do you think that Dani and Alex would like to see you like this? You think that they're happy to see you locked up in here? Come on, DJ. We need you in the company. All your friends need you. Your fans, your family. Everyone does."
When Kurt had said that he knew what he was going through, Dwayne had snapped his head towards him, frowning. "You *know* what I'm going through.? Do you?"
Kurt stayed silent for a while before shaking his head. "No. I don't know what you're going through. I just know that you're killing yourself. Slowly, but you're doing it more here than how you were when you were outside. You don't eat, you barely drink anything, you obviously don't sleep. You never go outside to just.walk around. You don't talk with your doctors and you're just stuck in that hole that you insist in staying at. It's hard, Dwayne. It's really hard to come and see you like this. I was hoping you made some change or something.some improvement."
Dwayne stood. "No one asked you to come."
"No, you know what?" Kurt stood in front of him, stopping him from leaving. "Your doctors asked me to come. They thought that by having your best friend come, you'd be able to see that what you're doing is wrong. You *do* have a home to go to."
Dwayne was starting to get upset and irritated at Kurt. In fact, he was getting irritated so much that his lifeless eyes started to harden slowly and to glare. "Where, Kurt? Where do I have a home? In Florida? In Miami where the memories of my son and my wife lurk around everywhere? Huh?"
As Kurt noticed the glare, a small smile spread across his lips. There was a hint of the Dwayne he had met. There was still part of him that wasn't dead yet. "Karen and I've talked about it. You could stay with us while you find something else."
"No, I can't do that."
"Why? Are you scared that you might actually like Pittsburg? You could stay for a few days or as much as you like, honest. We have a guest room and everything, remember? Really, we don't mind. We'd be happy to have you. Now it's all on you. You have to get better, alright?"
A knock made both turn to the door before Dwayne could answer, and a nurse informed that visitation time was over. The two men turned to each other and Dwayne stared at Kurt before shaking his head slowly. "I'll think about it.but thanks."
Nodding, Kurt patted his shoulder as he smiled. "Don't mention it. How are you being treated here, by the way?"
"I.have to go. Visitation's over. Thanks for coming." Not wanting him to stop him, he started to go out towards the stairs again. He didn't want to talk anymore. He was tired. Besides, he didn't want to bore Kurt with the ugly facts of hospital life.
But what he didn't want to talk about was the 'talks' he had with that same person that had talked to him the other night.
"Hey!"
Dwayne turned to Kurt and frowned slightly. "Huh?"
"I left you some new clothes and a razor for you to shave with your nurse. Use them, ok? Don't look so unkempt next time, 'cause I'll bring you a visitor next time."
Unsure of what that meant, Dwayne kept frowning in confusion. A visitor? Who else would come see him here? Before he could ask him, though, the same nurse came for him and told them once more visiting was over. With a single wave, he headed towards the stairs and up to his room, silent the whole way and ignoring what Kurt had said. He could hear Kurt's talking with the nurse, but he wasn't interested in it so he didn't pay attention.
On the halls of the second floor, Dwayne didn't look around at the bare walls and kept walking towards his room. He only wanted to sit again.look out the window. When he opened the door, though, he frowned at the sight in front of him. New clothes were laid out on his bed.
He didn't care about any of that, however.
What stood out the most was a note on his nightstand and, after walking to it, he picked it up and read it to himself.
'Passed by and didn't see you. I'll come by later. We have a lot to talk about. P.S-Nice clothes. ~'
Crumbling up the piece of paper, he threw it in the garbage can before sitting down on his rocking chair and closed his eyes. Even if he tried to ignore everything Kurt had said, his words still rang in his mind. But he couldn't.
Could he?
Opening his eyes, he noticed the garbage can and remembered the piece of paper that was in there. Closing his eyes again, he sighed. At least, if he left this place, those talks would be gone.
He wouldn't get visits anymore.
**
"Are you coming out to receive your visitor today, Mr. Johnson?"
Dwayne didn't answer. He kept rocking back and forth on the rocking chair, giving his back towards the door and looking towards the window. It was snowing. And with each snowflake, a single tear would run down his cheek, remembering Alex. Remembering his son. And also remembering that that very same snow which Alex loved so much had been around when the accident happened.
When his world tore itself apart.
"Mr. Johnson?"
At the tone of pity in the nurse's voice, he got irritated. Who did they think they were? Wiping his tears away from his cheeks and trying to hide them as much as he could, he stood and slowly started walking outside of his room, holding onto his ribs with the arm that had the sprained wrist. Walking outside had been something that he hadn't done in days. Weeks, maybe.? Not like it mattered to him. For the first few days, the doctors had allowed visits in his room so that other visitors wouldn't see him there, but they realized that that was a bad idea because it meant he was being isolated how he wanted to be. And the point of all this was to bring him back to normal. Heh.
The walls were painted in a very light beige color, and there were no pictures around. There was a single payphone in the whole place, which consisted on the first floor for doctor's offices, visitor's lounge, and the reception by the entrance. On the second floor, there were the rooms for the people staying. They were rooms that were pretty small, but it wasn't like anyone needed anything here. Some were in for depression. Others for rehabilitation of some drug problem that they had, or some other type of addiction. Most were in for depression, though, and it was a pretty expensive place that Vince had found for him. Since the doctors and the nurses tried to keep it as simple as they could, though, that was why it seemed slightly empty. The third floor, where therapy and counseling rooms were set up, though, those were fancy. Hell, the first floor was as well; the only one that wasn't was the second floor. The outside gardens were, as told by others, 'gorgeous'. They had different flowers, a green house, and even water fountains where benches were set up around so visitors and patients could sit outside as much as they'd like. He wouldn't know, though. He never went outside.
As he made his way to the visitor's lounge, he saw just how.cheerful the place was decorated. It had different art work that was pretty colorful, different small "living rooms" for each family that came to visit, and a TV. When he walked in, though, he leaned against the threshold of the door, tired from walking so much. His family wasn't there.why was he here when he could be upstairs?
In a corner, he saw Kurt Angle, fidgeting around in his chair nervously, though.
With a sigh, he debated whether to leave or go talk to him. Before he could answer his own questions, though, Kurt spotted him and smiled, waving him over. Dwayne didn't smile, though. He just started walking towards him and sat down slowly, silent.
Kurt smiled at him, "Hey, man. How have you been? I haven't been over to visit, but we've all been pretty busy." As he talked, Kurt took a look at him for the first time since he had last seen him a few weeks back. Dwayne had lost a lot of weight and it was obvious he hadn't shaved in days. His clothes seemed to be getting old, and he had bags under his eyes; showing that he hadn't been sleeping.
Dwayne simply shrugged, though; not answering.
"Come on, man. You can't just.not talk, you know."
"What are you doing here.?"
With a small smile, Kurt sighed in relief mentally. It was a start. it was more talking than he had done the last time he had been here. "Well, I was in Pittsburg, and I figured to come over and see how you were doing." The 'hospital' was in the middle of nowhere, but it was a few hours away from Pittsburg.
"Huh. How nice of you." After a few minutes of silence, he finally looked up at him. "How's your family?"
The obvious pain that Dwayne went through each time he asked that made Kurt hurt as well. They had been close friends and he had been close to Dani and Alex as well, but Dwayne was taking things pretty hard. Especially because he believed it was his fault. That it was because of him that he was in this place. That it was because of him that his life was now ruined. "They're doing great, thanks. Listen, DJ, do you need anything? Clothes, food, something.?" When Dwayne shook his head, he sighed slightly. "I.talked to your doctors."
Dwayne had been looking down at his hands as they rested on the table. He was mainly staring at the hospital bracelet that was on his left wrist and how it had become loose since they had put it on him the day he had come in. When Kurt said that, he didn't turn to him, though. He acted as if he ignored him.
After all, he knew what they had said.
Kurt, nonetheless, continued; "They say that you don't cooperate in sessions. That you stay in your room the whole time."
"I *am* here for depression, aren't I?" Dwayne turned to Kurt before down at his hand again. "You shouldn't be here. Go back to your family."
"No, I'm not leaving. Dwayne, you're here to get better. When you get better, you can leave from this place. You can go home."
Slowly, Dwayne shook his head, still not turning to him. "Don't have one anyway."
"So you're happy here?" When Dwayne didn't answer after a while, he sighed. "Look. I know what you're going through and I know it must be pretty hard for you to think that it was your fault. I know that you think life is a bitch, and it can be sometimes, but you have so much more to live for. Do you think that Dani and Alex would like to see you like this? You think that they're happy to see you locked up in here? Come on, DJ. We need you in the company. All your friends need you. Your fans, your family. Everyone does."
When Kurt had said that he knew what he was going through, Dwayne had snapped his head towards him, frowning. "You *know* what I'm going through.? Do you?"
Kurt stayed silent for a while before shaking his head. "No. I don't know what you're going through. I just know that you're killing yourself. Slowly, but you're doing it more here than how you were when you were outside. You don't eat, you barely drink anything, you obviously don't sleep. You never go outside to just.walk around. You don't talk with your doctors and you're just stuck in that hole that you insist in staying at. It's hard, Dwayne. It's really hard to come and see you like this. I was hoping you made some change or something.some improvement."
Dwayne stood. "No one asked you to come."
"No, you know what?" Kurt stood in front of him, stopping him from leaving. "Your doctors asked me to come. They thought that by having your best friend come, you'd be able to see that what you're doing is wrong. You *do* have a home to go to."
Dwayne was starting to get upset and irritated at Kurt. In fact, he was getting irritated so much that his lifeless eyes started to harden slowly and to glare. "Where, Kurt? Where do I have a home? In Florida? In Miami where the memories of my son and my wife lurk around everywhere? Huh?"
As Kurt noticed the glare, a small smile spread across his lips. There was a hint of the Dwayne he had met. There was still part of him that wasn't dead yet. "Karen and I've talked about it. You could stay with us while you find something else."
"No, I can't do that."
"Why? Are you scared that you might actually like Pittsburg? You could stay for a few days or as much as you like, honest. We have a guest room and everything, remember? Really, we don't mind. We'd be happy to have you. Now it's all on you. You have to get better, alright?"
A knock made both turn to the door before Dwayne could answer, and a nurse informed that visitation time was over. The two men turned to each other and Dwayne stared at Kurt before shaking his head slowly. "I'll think about it.but thanks."
Nodding, Kurt patted his shoulder as he smiled. "Don't mention it. How are you being treated here, by the way?"
"I.have to go. Visitation's over. Thanks for coming." Not wanting him to stop him, he started to go out towards the stairs again. He didn't want to talk anymore. He was tired. Besides, he didn't want to bore Kurt with the ugly facts of hospital life.
But what he didn't want to talk about was the 'talks' he had with that same person that had talked to him the other night.
"Hey!"
Dwayne turned to Kurt and frowned slightly. "Huh?"
"I left you some new clothes and a razor for you to shave with your nurse. Use them, ok? Don't look so unkempt next time, 'cause I'll bring you a visitor next time."
Unsure of what that meant, Dwayne kept frowning in confusion. A visitor? Who else would come see him here? Before he could ask him, though, the same nurse came for him and told them once more visiting was over. With a single wave, he headed towards the stairs and up to his room, silent the whole way and ignoring what Kurt had said. He could hear Kurt's talking with the nurse, but he wasn't interested in it so he didn't pay attention.
On the halls of the second floor, Dwayne didn't look around at the bare walls and kept walking towards his room. He only wanted to sit again.look out the window. When he opened the door, though, he frowned at the sight in front of him. New clothes were laid out on his bed.
He didn't care about any of that, however.
What stood out the most was a note on his nightstand and, after walking to it, he picked it up and read it to himself.
'Passed by and didn't see you. I'll come by later. We have a lot to talk about. P.S-Nice clothes. ~'
Crumbling up the piece of paper, he threw it in the garbage can before sitting down on his rocking chair and closed his eyes. Even if he tried to ignore everything Kurt had said, his words still rang in his mind. But he couldn't.
Could he?
Opening his eyes, he noticed the garbage can and remembered the piece of paper that was in there. Closing his eyes again, he sighed. At least, if he left this place, those talks would be gone.
He wouldn't get visits anymore.
