Page 55 of Husband to Go
The first step is untangling myself from my blanket cocoon. Then I make my bed and wait for one of the orderlies to let my out to have breakfast. It’s one of our many social times, where I interact with the other crazies here. They’re okay, to be honest. I probably come off as the craziest person of the bunch, come to think of it.
There’s one girl in particular I’ve struck up a kind of kinship with. She’s quiet like me, always drawing something whenever I see her. Though it’s only been a short time, the two of us have gotten really close.
“Hi Cheri.” She looks up from the napkin she’s doodling on and smiles.
“Hi Kylie.”
“What are you drawing?”
“Um, a human sacrifice.” The first time I saw one of Cheri’s drawings, I was a little freaked out, but I’ve gotten used to them. They’re the reason she’s in here. Her parents started to get worried as her paintings got more and more disturbed.
But I try not to judge the people here because I don’t know what led them to become the people they are today. And, just like them, I’m here to work on myself.
“It looks nice. I wish I could draw as well as you.”
“I’ll give you lessons, if we ever get out of here,” Cheri says in a low tone. She puts her drawing away and goes back to her breakfast. Today is oatmeal. “What are you doing with Dr. Fulton today?”
I sigh.
“He said he wanted to start a new treatment because he thinks talk therapy is moving a little too slow. I’m happy to do whatever if it means getting better faster.”
Cheri drops her spoon into her bowl, causing the wet oats to splash up onto the table.
“Hey,” I say. “Are you okay?”
Cheri looks warily at me.
“Yeah, did he say what he wanted to do?”
I shake my head. “No, he promised to explain it all today.”
“Oh, okay. Just, um, be careful. And don’t do something just because they tell you to,” she mumbles.
“What?”
“Never mind. I have to go.”
With that, Cheri picks up her tray and speed walks away. I can’t figure out why she’s so jittery. I don’t have time to think about it though because it’s time for my therapy session.
I’m escorted to Dr. Fulton’s office and he’s already there, waiting for me.
“Kylie, please sit. We won’t be having our session here today. Remember I said there’s a new method I wanted to try? We need special equipment that’s kept in a dedicated room.”
That sounds promising.
“Sure, no problem. I’m all ears.”
He nods.
“Great, follow me. We’ll be meeting Jonathan and Skylar there. They’ll be helping me out today.”
I’m somewhat excited to see what Dr. Fulton is going to have waiting for me because improvement in my mental state would be nice. We walk down to the basement and enter a room along the long hallway.
Inside the orderlies Jonathan and Skylar are already waiting, fiddling with some kind of machine. I can’t even begin to fathom what it does, but it looks intense. It’s a giant grey cube that has all sorts of flashing lights on it, some red, some orange, and some yellow. It’s attached by a nest of wires to a reclining lounger.
Dr. Fulton pats the leather covered chair.
“So, this is where we’ll strap you in. Don’t worry, it’s just to ensure that you don’t fall out. It’s for safety. Next, we’ll put these electrodes on either side of your temple and it will send an electric current through your brain. What this is supposed to do is dampen those obsessive thoughts you’ve been having. It’s literally going to re-wire your mental circuitry, and help you develop new neural pathways. Does that sound good?”