Morning came. Sleeping in the hospital was less difficult than Justin anticipated. Despite everything he was going through in his own mind, the sleep he had that night was a rare moment of tranquility. It felt almost as if he had some sort of sentimental connection with the hospital, almost like a sense of security.
But all good things must come to an end. He was woken up at around 8 AM to the sound of his girlfriend calling him.
"Babe? Hey, wake up! Rise and shine." Tiffany said, trying to awaken her struggling boyfriend.
"Ugh... What's going on?" he said, still in a disoriented state. He saw the blondie standing over him, looking somewhat optimistic.
"Good, you're awake. It's time to discharge." she said.
He rubbed his eyes, not exactly a fan of an interrupted sleep. But, he understood that he couldn't simply stay in the hospital. It wasn't a hotel.
"Agh... Give me a minute." he said, sitting up. He always struggled to wake himself up, especially early in the morning.
A nurse came in to do one final vital check, as well as handing him the discharge papers, which he willingly signed.
Finally, he was given his clothes back. Walking around in a hospital outfit wasn't exactly ideal, so it felt refreshing changing back into his purple button-up and black pants.
But whenever he tried to walk, he struggled.
"Ah!" he shrieked. Tiffany was quick to check on him.
"Are you okay?"
He nodded, looking as if he almost fell to the ground. It was obvious that he was having a hard time keeping his balance.
"I might need to get a wheelchair in here." she said.
The blondie went away for a moment to fetch a wheelchair for him. Although she wasn't working today, she still wanted to act like she was.
She really likes taking care of people, doesn't she?
Tiffany walked in, pushing a chair in front of him, He looked at it, ready to sit down. It was time to discharge and go home.
She strolled him down the hall, into the elevator, and out of the entrance, all while Dr. Beckman followed. It felt a bit unnerving having him follow. Justin still didn't trust this 50-something year old doctor with minimal hair.
"Okay, here we are." Tiffany said, opening the passenger side of her car. JD struggled to get in, but it wasn't too much to handle.
"Got it?" she asked, wondering if he needed any assistance.
"Y-Yeah."
He hopped into the passenger seat. She shut the door and began talking to her boss. He couldn't hear what they were saying, but he knew their lips were moving.
What the fuck is he doing?
They spoke for a few moments and departed. Tiffany then got into the driver's seat and started the car.
She then rolled down his window so that Beckman could tell him something.
"Take care of yourself, Mr. Justin. I hope to see you in my office real soon." he said with a humble tone.
JD didn't acknowledge him, but rather looked down. Tiffany knew he was being difficult.
"I'll see ya later." she said, driving off.
During their car ride, Justin didn't say a word. He just kept his head down. Tiffany would constantly glance over at him, wondering if he was okay.
"Babe? Is there anything you wanna tell me?" she asked, wondering if he wanted to share any secrets now that it was just the two of them.
"I want my phone." he said.
She lightly nodded, knowing that he was on his phone a lot recently.
"So, is there someone you need to text or?" she asked, wanting to know why he wasn't being transparent with her.
"No. Never mind. Forget it."
She frowned, knowing that he was trying to dismiss the conversation. There's something he's not telling me.
"Well, when we get home, you can have your phone back. But I just wanna know what you've been doing."
He looked at her, knowing she was starting to catch on.
"What are you saying?"
"I... I noticed you've been on your phone a lot more than usual. It always looks like you're reading something and well... The look on your face raises a lot of concern."
She knows something's up...
"It's fine, dear. I just... I have a lot of people online that talk to me. That's it." he said, still trying to dismiss the conversation.
"Well, if there's anything you wanna talk to me about, you know I'm here for you. And besides, I think it's good to stay off of social media for a while and hang out with the ones you love."
Ugh... She has a point, but she wouldn't know. She's never on social media.
The conversation came to a halt. Tiffany continued to drive home. She was very concerned with Justin's mental health. She had a feeling that it wasn't only the trauma he was suffering from. There must've been more that she didn't know about.
They arrived back at home in the suburbs. She turned off her car and they got out, heading inside of their home.
The living room was still a mess from when he overdosed on pills, as well as hitting his head on the coffee table. There were small blood stains on the carpet.
"Sorry this place is still a mess. I didn't really get a chance to clean it last night." she admitted.
He shrugged, not really bothered by it. If anything, it was just a reminder of how mentally disturbed he was.
She laid him on the couch, making sure he was comfortable.
"Why can't I go to my room?" he asked, not sure what her reasoning was.
"You're on suicide watch for two weeks, so I'm gonna keep you out here. I'm not taking any chances." she said, starting to sound like an over-protective mother.
Ugh...
She then handed him the one thing he was asking for: his bulky black cellphone. He was glad to finally have it back.
Tiffany then headed to the kitchen, sounding like she was ready to prepare lunch. He was hungry, after all.
He turned his phone on and began catching up on whatever he missed in his online life.
Later on, Tiffany brought him a plate of food.
"I figured you'd be hungry, so I made you lunch."
The plate consisted of two grilled cheese sandwiches, six chicken nuggets, and a can of diet cola.
"Oh, wow. Thanks, Tiffany." he said, appreciating her kindness.
She smiled at him. "You're welcome, babe. I'm gonna let you eat first, then we can talk. I wanna ask you a few things."
She walked away, being very vague. The anxiety that he suffered for the entirety of his life slowly started crawling it's way up. But, he ignored it for the time being and enjoyed the wonderful plate of food that she had prepared for him.
As soon as he finished, he felt much more relaxed.
That food filled a hole.
Tiffany came back, looking to be holding her cellphone, which was much more lightweight compared to his.
"Are you done?" she asked.
He nodded. The blondie took his plate and empty soda can and disposed of them, putting the plate into the sink and the can into the garbage.
But he couldn't help but wonder why she had her phone in her hand all of a sudden. Not to mention: He could've sworn he heard her talking to someone in another room.
She came back in and sat next to him on the couch.
"So..." he said.
"So... what?" she replied.
"What did you? I mean, what were you... Uh..." he stuttered, feeling a bit confused.
"What's shakin, bacon?" she said, using her rather odd catchphrase.
"W-What were you wanting to ask me?"
She looked down, ready to have a lengthy conversation with him.
"I wanted to ask you if you were OK."
Oh, figures.
"I'm fine."
She shook her head. "No, you're not fine. We went over this. If there's something bothering you, you can tell me. I won't judge you."
Justin frowned, not knowing what to say. He was at a loss for words.
Suddenly, she shifted over to another serious question.
"What happened to you?" she asked.
"What do you mean?"
"What I mean is that you don't seem like the same guy I met over three years ago. Do you remember when we first met? Do you remember all of the heartwarming conversations we had? The awesome dates we went on?"
The moment she said that, the memories started flashing before his eyes.
THREE YEARS AGO...
Justin sat by himself at the bar & lounge. He was sad, chubby, and lonely. But kept his head up regardless. As soon as he was approached by this one person, his life was changed forever.
Kyu Sugardust, the pink-haired love fairy, made him get good with the ladies, introducing him to eight other girls, one of which was Tiffany Maye, a freshman at the university of Glenberry.
She had just got done talking to her teacher, who had a major hangover that day. He approached her, being as straight forward as possible.
"This is your classic girl next door situation. She's nice, so don't say anything to scare her off. But don't afraid to take a chance!" Kyu told him.
The first thing he said to the blondie was "Hey, don't take this the wrong way, but I thought you were cute and just wanted to say hi."
Of course, her immediate response was "Oh, no. I'm not cute. But, thanks for the compliment."
It was an awkward way to start a relationship, but it only grew from there. Although he used to be a cheating asshole, having sex with multiple girls every week, he still had genuine feelings for her. Everything was perfect until a series of unfortunate events happened, which put him out of commission for a year and several months.
END OF FLASHBACK
"Tiffany, things change. People change. Sometimes for better, sometimes for worse." he said, trying to be a bit more clear with her.
"Still, I wanna know why you've been acting off lately. It's like you forgot how to smile. I thought you fixed all of this back in January?"
He shook his head. "You can't fix mental illness. You can only treat it. You can mask your emotions for so long. Eventually, the bullshit will catch back up with you."
She nodded once more, understanding this concept. She was a nurse, after all.
"But still, I don't like having to worry about you all day while I'm at work. Do you know how heartbreaking it is coming home and finding my boyfriend on the ground? It's traumatizing."
During that last sentence, it sounded as if she were trying to hold back several tears. She was right. He remembered that he had felt the same way when he found Aiko unconscious on the ground that previous December.
"I'm sorry." he said, feeling an extreme amount of guilt.
"It's okay. I just REALLY think you need to get therapy. Howard's offered it several times, but you keep rejecting it."
JD sighed, still knowing that eventually it was gonna happen.
"You know what? How about this: The next time I have a mental breakdown, I'll go to his therapy session, okay?"
The blondie smiled, feeling somewhat relieved that he was finally willing to go to therapy, even after the damage was done.
"Okay. And if you go to therapy, I promise to attend each and every session. I really wanna be there for you." she said, suddenly holding his hand.
He smiled, thinking of how thoughtful she was if she made the promise to attend therapy with him.
"T-Thank you, Tiffany."
"You're welcome, JD. You have no idea how much you mean to me."
There was love in the air. The amount of affection they were both feeling in that very moment was real. She then got on the couch with him and cuddled him, being the big spoon in the scenario.
"I love you, Tiffany."
"I love you too, JD. You're on suicide watch, so I called some friends to keep an eye on you while I'm at work."
What the fuck? I don't need a babysitter.
"Okay..." he said, thinking that was odd.
She continued to secure him, kissing him and making sure that he was safe.
JD was lucky to have someone like Tiffany in his life. She truly cared about him, even more so than Audrey, Nikki, or even Ashley. His mental health was still in decline, but at least there was somebody there for him. Things were lonely ever since Momo left the nest...