Chapter One-Hundred and Seventy-Five

Holly returned to her seat, picking up a small prescription pad and scribbling something down. "I'm going to prescribe an anti-anxiety for the flashbacks, and I think that after John stops treatments in the center, that he should see a therapist regularly." She handed Clarissa the paper. "It's up to you if you want to use the anti-anxieties, but treatments will take much longer without them, and they're also not addictive."

Clarissa looked at the paper, placing her hand on John's knee as she read over it. "I'll talk to our family about it." She smiled, feeling him slump in his seat and his tired form leaning slightly on her back. "Would these help with his exhaustion?" She asked, listening as John's breathing evened out. "He can barely get through a school day without sleeping in classes, and when he goes to work, he comes home on the verge of passing out."

Holly nodded, remembering how he often had to take breaks while his tutors were helping him continue his studies so he could graduate. "I'm afraid not, the only thing that will help with that would be time and maybe some coffee if he can have that."

"Don't you have coffee here?" She asked knowing that they didn't have anything that could hinder recovery, but coffee wouldn't do that would it?

Holly shook her head, placing a blanket over John's lap as he snuggled closer to his foster mother. "The caffeine can slow the detox process, and it can become a mood changing habit, so we try to not keep it on campus."

Clarissa adjusted John's sleeping form pulling his upper body from behind her so that he was laying on her lap. "How much longer do you think he'll need to stay?"

Holly smiled, looking down at her notes. "He's been making incredible progress through the detox, it's just a matter of treating his PTSD and depression at this time."

"Depression?" Clarissa asked, her heart jumping with fear at the illness known as the Silent Killer. "He has depression?"

Holly nodded, watching as Clarissa ran her fingers through John's coffee bean colored hair. "It's a common side effect after the drugs he's taken, as well as the abuse from his childhood, and that combined with his PTSD, could be a very risky combination. I've seen a lot of people go off the deep end with just one of those disorders, but combined… Clarissa, if he ever gets in a bad enough place… it could be a death sentence."

John whimpered in his sleep, only relaxing when Clarissa whispered in his ear. "It's okay, Pumpkin." She looked back up at the therapist, fighting the fear in her chest. "What should we do to help?"

Holly smiled, noticing how gentle Clarissa was with her charge. "He obviously trusts you, so I think that if you just check up on him, and see how he's doing that he'll be alright. But I wouldn't let him have any knives, or any other weapons, just to be safe."

Claire laid with John on his cot that the center had given him, her ear pressed against his chest as he slept. She listened to his heart, noticing that the beat had gotten stronger since the last time she'd seen him. The rasp in his breath was still there, the cocaine and smoking having a permanent effect on his lungs. She pressed her hand between his shoulder-blades, closing her eyes as his arms tightened around her. "I love you." She whispered, kissing the base of his throat. "I can't wait for you to come home tomorrow. Even if it is only for a few hours." She touched his jaw, able to see that he hadn't shaved for a few days if not weeks. "I got us both a costume that I think you'll really love."