Lizzie gathered her things and stuffed them in the bag. She was leaving the hospital but wasn't going home. Her parents were forcing her to move to East Coast Rehab center.
"Lizzie are you ready to go?" Matt walked in.
"Hey, all set. Are you taking me?" Lizzie asked picking up her bag.
"Yes, I'll take that and meet you up front. The hot nurse is coming down the hall with a wheel chair to take you to my car." Matt grabbed her duffel bag and walked out the door and to his car.
When Lizzie looked back out the door Gordo came in with a wheel chair for her.
"Hey, ready to break out of this joint?" He said stopping the wheelchair in front of her bed doing a wheelie.
"Yeah, where I'm goings not better thought." Lizzie said.
"It will be in the long hall. Your tough, I know you can pull through." He gave her a smile.
"Gordo if I ask you something...be completely honest ok?" She said as he sat down on her bed.
"Ok sure, what is it?" He asked.
Lizzie wanted to ask him did he ever love her but the words out of her mouth were: "Why didn't you save me?" She surprised herself having courage asking that.
"Well on graduation you said you didn't want to see me or Miranda ever again. Lizzie, I don't know if this will make a difference or if you will believe me but it wasn't what it looked like." He said.
"Really? Then tell me was that your evil twin brother on Miranda's lap taking her top off? " She said getting a headache.
"Well Kate gave us some pills in our drinks and we never knew about the pills or what happened. I don't remember anything from that time but Ethan saw her slip us the pills and told us...well a little too late." He said looking into her eyes. There was a comfortable silence.
"Am I going to stay here or are we going to burn rubber out of here?" She asked breaking him from the trance.
While Lizzie was moving to the rehab center Miranda was miles away sitting in her dorm playing her guitar. Over the months she had recorded a demo, worked on her music performance and education degrees, and thought about her old friends. She was startled when she heard the phone ring. After she picked it up she turned on the mini TV to see the weather.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Miranda hey, the big man says he wants you to come to Las Vegas and perform at a club for him." Said her manager.
"Great but I'm tight on money." She said.
"We agreed that you would do it if he flew you first class out here and paid for your room."
"Great when dose the plane leave?" She asked.
"Tomorrow afternoon at one meet me at the north east entrance, ciao." She heard and hung up.
Miranda was headed down stairs to see her music professor but stopped dead in her tracks staring at the TV. The face looked familiar so she turned up the volume.
"The girl has been transported by a family member to East Cost Rehab center after a horrible chase, rape and will be in court on the 29th for the possession of illegal drugs found in the young woman's car.
Miranda didn't need to listen any more. She packed her bag, left a note for her roommate and headed to her car for a six-hour drive.
When Lizzie and Matt arrived at the rehab center it was eleven thirty and they were late. The building was large and pink. It looked like a retirement center for old people in a way. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"Hello I'm Deloris, I'm the receptionist. Are you visiting or checking in?" She asked with a smile.
"Checking in." Lizzie said looking down at her feet.
"Its ok dear, take this and fill it out." She said and pointed to a table with chairs.
Lizzie and Matt sat down at the table and filled out the forms. Lizzie signed her name on five papers and Matt had to sign, as a witness to say it was a voluntary act of admission. Afterwards, Deloris showed Lizzie to her room.
"Lizzie this is your roommate Sandra. Sandra this is Lizzie she's staying here for a while. I'll leave you to your unpacking. Mr. Jenkins will need to meet with you in ten minutes to start you file and talk to you." Deloris sat Lizzie's bags on the bed and walked out to the desk.
"So what are you in here for?" Sandra asked sitting on her bed. The room was like a hotel room with a desk, bathroom, TV, and a phone. Sandra had short purple hair and was curled up wearing an old jogging suit.
"Drugs, rape, and smashing the cutest car alive. You?" She tried to sound nonchalant as she sat down on he bed and looked out the window.
"Alcohol, suicide and loving Jared." Sandra started staring out the window. "Jared was my god. Till she showed up. We were getting married and on our wedding day the priest said any objections, and he raised his hand and said he loved Cecile who was mothering his child. I ran out to a bar and seven hours later a janitor found me with my slit wrist." She didn't show her wounds.
"That sounds like a familiar story..." Lizzie thought as she started unpacking.
"Well its time to watch The Worlds Apart." She turned the channel to Soap TV.
"Well, I'm going out bye." Lizzie escaped her roommate and went to the counselor's office.
There she saw Mr. Jenkins who was the counselor.
"McGuire, Lizzie?" He asked when she walked in.
"Yeah, how-" She started
"Did I know? I know all, see all and tell nothing." He laughed. "No, you're the only new person here today."
"Oh." She said quietly.
"Well, looking at you're file you were in an accident, admitted to drug use and was raped. You're in room seven fifteen with Sandra Owens. Tell me what do you think Sandra is in here for?" He asked.
"She told me her fiancée was cheating on her and she tried to kill her self." Lizzie said quietly.
"No. She's in here because she is a pathological liar. She picks up her life from her soap operas. I guess this week she's trying to be Savannah from The Worlds Apart?" He asked as Lizzie nodded.
"Lizzie, do you want help?" He asked her leaning over the desk.
"Yeah, I didn't check my self in just to make friends." She said sarcastically.
"I'm feeling anger, resentment, and sadness. Why Lizzie? You were such a good girl." He said.
"I'm not trying to be rude but do you talk fast for noise, security, or to just drive people crazy?" Lizzie asked him.
"Ok Tim, its-" Lizzie heard from the door. "Timmy are you playing doctor again?"
Lizzie saw a tall thin-balled man at the door. Timmy as the real doctor called him smiled.
Lizzie had a feeling this would be a long six months.
"Lizzie are you ready to go?" Matt walked in.
"Hey, all set. Are you taking me?" Lizzie asked picking up her bag.
"Yes, I'll take that and meet you up front. The hot nurse is coming down the hall with a wheel chair to take you to my car." Matt grabbed her duffel bag and walked out the door and to his car.
When Lizzie looked back out the door Gordo came in with a wheel chair for her.
"Hey, ready to break out of this joint?" He said stopping the wheelchair in front of her bed doing a wheelie.
"Yeah, where I'm goings not better thought." Lizzie said.
"It will be in the long hall. Your tough, I know you can pull through." He gave her a smile.
"Gordo if I ask you something...be completely honest ok?" She said as he sat down on her bed.
"Ok sure, what is it?" He asked.
Lizzie wanted to ask him did he ever love her but the words out of her mouth were: "Why didn't you save me?" She surprised herself having courage asking that.
"Well on graduation you said you didn't want to see me or Miranda ever again. Lizzie, I don't know if this will make a difference or if you will believe me but it wasn't what it looked like." He said.
"Really? Then tell me was that your evil twin brother on Miranda's lap taking her top off? " She said getting a headache.
"Well Kate gave us some pills in our drinks and we never knew about the pills or what happened. I don't remember anything from that time but Ethan saw her slip us the pills and told us...well a little too late." He said looking into her eyes. There was a comfortable silence.
"Am I going to stay here or are we going to burn rubber out of here?" She asked breaking him from the trance.
While Lizzie was moving to the rehab center Miranda was miles away sitting in her dorm playing her guitar. Over the months she had recorded a demo, worked on her music performance and education degrees, and thought about her old friends. She was startled when she heard the phone ring. After she picked it up she turned on the mini TV to see the weather.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Miranda hey, the big man says he wants you to come to Las Vegas and perform at a club for him." Said her manager.
"Great but I'm tight on money." She said.
"We agreed that you would do it if he flew you first class out here and paid for your room."
"Great when dose the plane leave?" She asked.
"Tomorrow afternoon at one meet me at the north east entrance, ciao." She heard and hung up.
Miranda was headed down stairs to see her music professor but stopped dead in her tracks staring at the TV. The face looked familiar so she turned up the volume.
"The girl has been transported by a family member to East Cost Rehab center after a horrible chase, rape and will be in court on the 29th for the possession of illegal drugs found in the young woman's car.
Miranda didn't need to listen any more. She packed her bag, left a note for her roommate and headed to her car for a six-hour drive.
When Lizzie and Matt arrived at the rehab center it was eleven thirty and they were late. The building was large and pink. It looked like a retirement center for old people in a way. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.
"Hello I'm Deloris, I'm the receptionist. Are you visiting or checking in?" She asked with a smile.
"Checking in." Lizzie said looking down at her feet.
"Its ok dear, take this and fill it out." She said and pointed to a table with chairs.
Lizzie and Matt sat down at the table and filled out the forms. Lizzie signed her name on five papers and Matt had to sign, as a witness to say it was a voluntary act of admission. Afterwards, Deloris showed Lizzie to her room.
"Lizzie this is your roommate Sandra. Sandra this is Lizzie she's staying here for a while. I'll leave you to your unpacking. Mr. Jenkins will need to meet with you in ten minutes to start you file and talk to you." Deloris sat Lizzie's bags on the bed and walked out to the desk.
"So what are you in here for?" Sandra asked sitting on her bed. The room was like a hotel room with a desk, bathroom, TV, and a phone. Sandra had short purple hair and was curled up wearing an old jogging suit.
"Drugs, rape, and smashing the cutest car alive. You?" She tried to sound nonchalant as she sat down on he bed and looked out the window.
"Alcohol, suicide and loving Jared." Sandra started staring out the window. "Jared was my god. Till she showed up. We were getting married and on our wedding day the priest said any objections, and he raised his hand and said he loved Cecile who was mothering his child. I ran out to a bar and seven hours later a janitor found me with my slit wrist." She didn't show her wounds.
"That sounds like a familiar story..." Lizzie thought as she started unpacking.
"Well its time to watch The Worlds Apart." She turned the channel to Soap TV.
"Well, I'm going out bye." Lizzie escaped her roommate and went to the counselor's office.
There she saw Mr. Jenkins who was the counselor.
"McGuire, Lizzie?" He asked when she walked in.
"Yeah, how-" She started
"Did I know? I know all, see all and tell nothing." He laughed. "No, you're the only new person here today."
"Oh." She said quietly.
"Well, looking at you're file you were in an accident, admitted to drug use and was raped. You're in room seven fifteen with Sandra Owens. Tell me what do you think Sandra is in here for?" He asked.
"She told me her fiancée was cheating on her and she tried to kill her self." Lizzie said quietly.
"No. She's in here because she is a pathological liar. She picks up her life from her soap operas. I guess this week she's trying to be Savannah from The Worlds Apart?" He asked as Lizzie nodded.
"Lizzie, do you want help?" He asked her leaning over the desk.
"Yeah, I didn't check my self in just to make friends." She said sarcastically.
"I'm feeling anger, resentment, and sadness. Why Lizzie? You were such a good girl." He said.
"I'm not trying to be rude but do you talk fast for noise, security, or to just drive people crazy?" Lizzie asked him.
"Ok Tim, its-" Lizzie heard from the door. "Timmy are you playing doctor again?"
Lizzie saw a tall thin-balled man at the door. Timmy as the real doctor called him smiled.
Lizzie had a feeling this would be a long six months.