A week had gone by and everything had seemed great for Vanessa and Zac. Zac was doing exceptionally well in rehab and was receiving every type of therapy treatment that was offered to him. Vanessa would visit him every day. One day, Vanessa walked into the waiting room of the rehab and went up to the desk.
"Hi I'm here to see Zac Efron" Vanessa said.
The nurse, who had recognized her from previous visits, let her go back to Zac's room. She had also started walking down the hall.
"How's he doing today?" Vanessa asked.
"He's having a rough day" the nurse said.
Vanessa stopped walking and looked at the nurse.
"What happened?" Vanessa asked.
"With treatment, the patients will have good days and bad ones. Since he still is detoxing, he's very up and down. Today, he's on one of his down days" the nurse said.
"Is he upset?" Vanessa asked.
"He's just frustrated" the nurse said.
"Alright. I am going to go see what's going on" Vanessa said.
Vanessa continued walking down the hall until she got to Zac's room, which was dark. She turned on the light.
"Baby?" Vanessa called.
"Turn the light off please" Zac said with his back to Vanessa.
Vanessa turned off the light and walked over to Zac's bed and sat on the edge. She put her hand on her boyfriend's leg.
"Zac, how are you doing today?" Vanessa asked.
"My head is throbbing and I am very anxious" Zac said.
"Look at me, please" Vanessa said.
Zac turned over and looked at his girlfriend and saw that his eyes were bloodshot and had dark circles around them and he was sweating.
"Have you been sleeping?" Vanessa asked.
Zac shook his head.
"Every time I close my eyes I can't fall asleep. I had an anxiety attack earlier" Zac said.
Vanessa smoothed her boyfriend's sweaty hair back.
"How's your anxiety now?" Vanessa asked.
"Better. I had to go see Dr. Bradley and she calmed me down" Zac said.
"All of this is normal. I talked to your nurse and she said it was. Once you are fully detoxed, then all of this will go away okay?" Vanessa said.
Zac nodded.
"I'm sorry if this scared you" Zac said.
"Don't worry how I feel. I want you to be okay. If all of this is going on, you need to get the right help" Vanessa said.
Zac nodded.
When did this all happen?" Vanessa asked.
"It started this morning and just progressed" Zac said.
"Alright. I want you to get some rest okay? Just relax and get some sleep. Do you want me to stay here until you fall asleep?" Vanessa asked.
"Yes please" Zac said.
"Okay" Vanessa said as she moved so Zac's head was lying on her chest.
Zac entwined their fingers together. He kissed Vanessa's hand softly.
"I love you" Zac said.
"I love you too baby" Vanessa said.
"I can't wait to go home and get out of here" Zac said.
"I can't wait for you to come home too" Vanessa said.
Zac started to fall asleep. He kissed Vanessa's hand again.
"I think I'm going to fall asleep" Zac mumbled.
"Okay honey. I love you. Sweet dreams" Vanessa said kissing his lips softly.
"I love you too" Zac mumbled.
Zac fell asleep. Vanessa walked quietly out of the room and went down the hall. She left the rehab and drove home. Vanessa parked her car in the driveway and walked into the house. Her phone rang and Vanessa looked at the caller ID which "Starla". She smiled and picked up her phone.
"Hey Starla" Vanessa said.
"Hey there. How's it going?" Starla asked.
"I just came back from visiting Zac" Vanessa said.
"How's he doing today?" Starla asked.
"He's having a rough day" Vanessa said.
"What happened?" Starla asked.
"He's detoxing so basically his emotions and everything are very up and down. The nurse told me that it was normal. He didn't sleep last night" Vanessa said.
"Poor baby" Starla said.
"Yeah, that's what's going on with him" Vanessa said.
"Thanks for the update Nessa and for taking care of the situation" Starla said.
"I did it because I love him and I want him to be healthy and happy" Vanessa said.
"Is he up for visitors?" Starla asked.
"I would hold off on going to go visit. He had told me when he first started rehab that he felt like he disappointed you. I think that once he's in a better state, then you could go visit. He's just up and down right now" Vanessa said.
"I'm not disappointed in him. I'm disappointed in the choices he made" Starla said.
"I am too. I think he's just thinking a lot about everyone and how they feel about the situation" Vanessa said.
"Yeah. Let's just hope this never happens again" Starla said.
"I will make sure of it" Vanessa said.
Starla and Vanessa talked for a little while longer until they both hung up. The next day, Vanessa woke up to the sun streaming through the window and onto her face. She opened her eyes and got out of bed and walked into the bathroom and took a shower. Twenty minutes later, she came out of the bathroom and walked downstairs and grabbed her purse and left the house. Vanessa drove to the treatment center and parked her car. She walked into the lobby and smiled at the receptionist, who now knew her by name. Vanessa walked down the hall and saw Zac's nurse.
"Is he feeling any better today?" Vanessa asked.
"He's having a good day. He's much happier and more talkative" Amy said.
"Good" Vanessa said.
Vanessa continued walking down the hall until she got to Zac's room. She knocked on the door and poked her head in. Zac looked at Vanessa and smiled.
"Hi baby" Zac said.
"Hi. How are you?" Vanessa asked.
"I feel a lot better than yesterday" Zac said moving over in bed so Vanessa could lay down next to him.
Vanessa lied down next to Zac and kissed his lips.
"That's great babe. Did you sleep last night?" Vanessa asked.
"A little. It was on and off. But it's better than before" Zac said.
"Good" Vanessa said.
"Thank you for coming. I know what you are going to say but I want to thank you anyway. Hanging out in a rehab isn't the best" Zac said.
"Wherever you go, I go" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"I love you" Zac said.
"I love you too" Vanessa said.
"I had therapy today" Zac said.
"How did it go?" Vanessa asked.
"I set some goals for the future" Zac said pulling out a piece of paper.
"What are these goals?" Vanessa asked as she snuggled into Zac's side.
Zac looked at the piece of paper.
"Dr. Bradley wanted me to come up with some personal, occupational, and mental goals for myself. She told me to write as many as I wanted to in each category" Zac said.
"What did you write down?" Vanessa asked.
"For my personal goals, she had told me that it could anything but what I came up with was ideal for myself. First off, I want to apologize to my mom because I know that this whole thing has been hard on her. Secondly, I want to continue working on our relationship and eventually want to go to the next level" Zac said.
"The next level? What are you talking about?" Vanessa asked.
"You are the love of my life Van. I could never picture my life without you. Eventually, when we improve our relationship, I want to marry you" Zac said mumbling the last few words but Vanessa heard them loud and clear.
"Oh Zac" Vanessa said breathlessly.
Zac looked at Vanessa embarrassed by his personal idea. Vanessa kissed Zac's lips softly. Zac pulled back and smiled. Vanessa moved back into her original spot.
"Okay, what are the other ones?" Vanessa asked.
Zac continued to discuss his goals with Vanessa. Vanessa couldn't have been prouder to hear all that Zac wanted to accomplish.
"I'm really proud of you baby" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"Thanks Van. It's only a couple things but at least it's something" Zac said.
"Yeah, and you can add and eliminate goals as you go to better fit your needs and wants" Vanessa said.
Zac nodded.
"I talked to your mom" Vanessa said.
"You did?" Zac asked.
"Yeah, she wanted to come visit you. I told her to hold off for a little bit until you were okay" Vanessa said.
Zac smiled.
"Is she upset with me?" Zac asked.
"No baby. I told her what you had said and were concerned about and she said that she isn't disappointed in you. She's just disappointed in the choices that you made to get to this point" Vanessa said.
Zac nodded.
"Come on, you need to get up and start moving around" Vanessa said taking Zac's hand.
"Mm..Nessa. I don't want to" Zac said whining.
"Zachary David Alexander Efron, you get that cute little butt out of that bed now" Vanessa said.
Zac sighed. He threw the covers off of him and stood up carefully. The couple walked out of the room and went down the hall to the tables where they had always hung out at.
"See doesn't that feel better?" Vanessa asked as she moved a stray hair away from Zac's face.
"Baby, I'm on a detox. I don't feel very good" Zac said.
Vanessa sighed.
"What would you like me to do?" Vanessa asked.
"Just stay with me" Zac said.
"Okay, let's get you back to your room" Vanessa said.
The couple walked back to Zac's room. Zac got back into bed, closed his eyes and sighed.
"Are you okay?" Vanessa asked worriedly.
Zac opened his eyes and smiled.
"Baby, come here" Zac said.
Vanessa walked over to the bed and sat on the edge. Zac took her hand in his.
"I'm okay. I promise. This whole detox thing is just wearing me out a little bit that's all. Don't worry okay?" Zac said.
"I'm going to worry because I want you to feel okay" Vanessa said.
"I know and I am really thankful to have a loving, sweet, and beautiful girlfriend that cares so much" Zac said kissing her knuckles.
Vanessa smiled. She leaned over and kissed Zac's lips.
"And I'm thankful to have you even though you get into trouble" Vanessa said.
Zac laughed.
"I have four weeks left. Four weeks until I am hopefully going to come home clean" Zac said.
"You better come home clean" Vanessa said.
"I will baby" Zac said.
The couple talked for a little while longer until Vanessa could see that Zac was getting tired.
"Get some rest babe. I'll come back tomorrow" Vanessa said.
Zac nodded tiredly. Vanessa kissed Zac's lips and left the rehab center. Four weeks later, Zac was released from the rehab facility and was currently resting and recovering at home. He was so happy to be home. Vanessa had moved Zac's stuff back into her house so that when he was released he didn't have to do it. One day, Zac came downstairs and walked into the living room and saw Vanessa sitting on the couch, looking at her phone. Zac sat next to her and sighed.
"Hi baby, how was your nap?" Vanessa asked looking at her boyfriend.
"I slept all day and still feel tired" Zac said rubbing his eyes.
"The nurse said that was normal. You are going to feel like that for a while until all of the medication is out of your system" Vanessa said.
Zac sighed.
"Did you talk to your mom?" Vanessa asked.
"Not yet. I don't know how to start that conversation. Do I just say I'm sorry?" Zac asked.
"Why don't I invite your family over for dinner? That way it will be less awkward" Vanessa said.
"Okay" Zac said.
Vanessa leaned over and kissed Zac's lips. Zac wrapped his arms around Vanessa and kissed her back. The couple pulled back and just rested in each other's arms.
"How are you feeling?" Vanessa asked softly.
"A little anxious but okay" Zac mumbled.
Vanessa kissed Zac's cheek softly.
"If you start feeling a lot of anxiety when your parents are here, let me know and I will get them to leave okay?" Vanessa said.
Zac nodded.
"Go take a shower and get dressed. I'll call your parents" Vanessa said.
"Okay" Zac said.
Zac got up and walked upstairs. A couple hours later, the doorbell rang. Vanessa walked over to the front door and opened it. She smiled when she saw the Efron family.
"Hi guys" Vanessa said.
"Hey sweetie. How's Zac feeling?" Starla asked as the family walked into the house.
"He's doing well. He's a little anxious but he's okay" Vanessa said.
Zac came downstairs and saw his family. Starla smiled when she saw her son.
"Hi mama" Zac said hugging his mother.
Starla kissed Zac's cheek.
"You look really good Zac. How are you feeling?" Starla asked.
"I feel alright. I'm just trying to get back into my daily routine" Zac said.
"Are you in therapy?" Starla asked.
"No" Zac said.
"You don't think you need to have a therapist just in case?" Starla asked.
"I haven't thought that far ahead. I just came home. I need to breathe a little" Zac said.
Starla sighed. Zac walked outside to the backyard and sat down on a chair. He sighed. Zac knew that he needed to have family around him but he wanted to make the right decision for himself and not do what people thought that he needed. He was pulled out of his thoughts when he heard the back door open. Starla walked outside and sat down next to her son.
"Are you okay?" Starla asked.
"Yeah, I'm just thinking" Zac said.
"I heard that you have been doing a lot of that recently" Starla said.
Zac nodded.
"Rehab gave me a lot to think about. I'm sorry for putting you through what I have" Zac said.
Starla's face softened.
"Zac" Starla started.
"No, I have put you through hell. I have put everyone through hell for the last year. None of you deserve that. I'm a grown man who should be looking after himself and not making my family worry if I will wake up the next day or not" Zac said.
Starla's eyes began to water.
"Honey, I know that you have been through a lot this year and in the last couple of years too. You didn't put us through hell, Zac. You were dealing with serious issues that needed to be addressed" Starla said.
"I'm still sorry, for everything" Zac said.
Starla smiled. She stood up and motioned Zac to stand up. Zac stood up and looked at his mother. Starla put her hand on her son's face.
"I love you and I just want you to be safe and healthy. That's all. Don't apologize" Starla said.
Zac hugged his mother. Starla kissed Zac's cheek.
"I love you too" Zac said.
"Come on, let's go inside" Starla said.
Zac and Starla walked into the house. Vanessa looked at Zac and gave him a curious look. Zac wrapped his arms around Vanessa's waist.
"Did you guys talk?" Vanessa whispered.
"Yeah, everything's fine" Zac said.
Vanessa smiled and kissed Zac's lips.
"Goal number one is done" Vanessa said.
"Now, onto all the other ones" Zac said.
The couple and Zac's family had dinner together. They talked about what was going on in each other's lives. Everyone was so happy that Zac was home and finally sober.