Page 4

"And I want us to be friends again, too, Teagan," Blakely says. "I want to be there for you; I want you to be a bridesmaid at my wedding."

"Isn't that nice, Teagan?" my mom asks.

"Yeah, that sounds great," I lie. That's the last fucking thing on Earth I want to do now.

"Anyway, I know you have your appointment soon; we meant to get here earlier, but traffic was crazy, wasn't it, Blake?"

"The 5 was a nightmare," Blakely agrees.

"But I wanted to talk to you about some of the boundaries we've set for you coming home," Mom says. "And we've talked to Dr. Miller about this, too—she agrees that these are good rules to have to help you readjust."

"Okay…"

"Well, first, you'll have to start seeing Dr. Miller again once a week. Secondly—and this is a big one—no social media, no trying to communicate with any of the…fans."

"Bloodsluts," I say.

"I'm not going to say that. It's disgusting," she says. "I got you a new phone with a new phone number, and you're going to have to get a job and start helping out with the bills and around the house."

"Fine."

"And you cannot bring men to my home, Teagan," she adds. "Or women. No sexual partners. You'll have a ten o'clock curfew, and I'll expect to see you there—alone—every night."

"Mom, for fuck's sake—I'm twenty-one years old."

"And when you can support yourself and live on your own, you can do whatever you want. But as long as you're in my house, you'll live by my rules. Dr. Miller agrees that this is the best way for you to transition back into society. And I think once you get used to it, Teagan, you'll like it."

If it weren't for the Percocet, I'd be furious right now. As it is, I'm pretty relaxed, enjoying the heavy feeling in my limbs, and I don't bother to argue.

"Yeah, I think I'm finally ready to contribute to society. I've learned a lot here," I tell her. "That all sounds great."

Blakely scoffs and shakes her head, but my mom just stares.

"I hope you do take this seriously, Teagan. I hope you feel the weight of this."

"Do you have any idea how many deaths they're responsible for at this point, Teagan?" Blakely asks.

"Not really. I'm not allowed to watch or read the news."

"Well, it's a lot," Blakely says. "Consider yourself lucky that you're sitting here and not in the ground or a prison cell. And that's becausewelove you."

"I know that," I tell them both. "And I am grateful. I just…I'm trying. I'm trying my best. It'll be easier once I'm out of here, I think, to remember who I was before all of this happened. It's hard when there isn't much to do aside from staring at the wall."

"Well, you need to be better than you were before all of this happened, too, Teagan," my mom says. "Maybe it's better if you don't remember."

"Townsend?" a female voice calls.

"Right here," I reply, turning back to the nurse. Her name is Dana; she's around my mom's age, and she's an asshole. She eyes me with disgust just like she is now any time she's burdened with my presence.

"I'm here to take you to your appointment," she says.

"Gotta go," I tell my mom and sister.

"I'll be here to pick you up at this time tomorrow," Mom says.

"Okay."

"I'm really excited to have you home," she adds.