Dusk at Rehab

After that night, things were hard to explain.

"What the heck happened!" Ronnie and Kelsy demanded at breakfast.

"Tyler had a costume, too. He figured out a way to make wings that actually make you fly. Tyler was pissing me off, showing off his wings, and I fought him outside." Travis lied. He was pretty good.

"But we saw that you had wings too." Kelsy said.

"I made wings, but none that can fly."

"I guess that makes sense." Ronnie said.

End of discussion.

But that was two months ago. Everything went back to normal after that night. Today was Ronnie's birthday.

"Ronnie!" Kelsy sobbed. We were in her room, helping her pack. I had tears in my eyes, Kelsy was crying her eyes out, and Ronnie wouldn't talk to us.

"Leave her alone. She needs some time alone." I said, patting Kelsy's shoulder.

"Let me try to talk to her." Travis said. He was sitting on Ronnie's bed, watching us work. He literally jumped off the bed, took Ronnie's arm, and pulled her out of the room. Kelsy and I looked at each other, then back at the door.

ஜ۩۞۩ஜ

~Travis~

"What's wrong, Ronnie?" I asked the girl.

No response.

"Please tell me."

"It's just, today is also the boy I like's birthday. And he is also turning eighteen. I'm hoping that we will be in the same mental hospital." Ronnie said quietly.

"What's this boy's name?"

"Jexton."

"I know him. Do you want me to talk to him?"

"Yes please." Ronnie hugged me. I hugged her back.

We walked back into the room. I walked over to Crystill. Her back was turned. I wrapped my arms around her waist.

"I have to go." I whispered.

She turned around to look at me.

"Can I come with you? Please?" She asked.

"No. I want you to stay and say your good-bye's." I kissed her. Her mouth was sweet. Her mouth tasted like peppermints.

"Okay. I'll stay here." She kissed me. I slid my hands up and down her back. Someone cleared their throat, and I reluctantly let her go. I missed her touch.

I walked out of the room and went to room 555, just down the hall. When I got to the door, I knocked. A tall boy with caramel brown hair, hazel eyes, and freckles answered the door.

"Hey, Jex. Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked.

"Sure." He let me in his room. His room had bare walls, the bed stripped. The closet looked sad with no clothes in it.

"Do you know a girl named Ronnie?" I asked him.

"What'd she look like?"

"She has brown hair, blue eyes, and a scar that goes across her cheek."

"Oh! Her!"

"Aye. Do you like her?"

"Describe: 'like'."

"As in: 'I have a crush on her!' 'like'."

"Then yes."

"Great! It looks like it all worked out. Come with me." I motioned to the door.

"What? Why?"

I grabbed his arm and pulled him out of the room. I knocked on Ronnie's door and let myself in. When I got in, they were drawing on Ronnie's temple.

"What are you guys doing?" I asked them.

"We are drawing on Ronnie's temple. It's a star, for her to remember us by. We are using permanent markers. These marker's literally never come off. Not with finger nail polish remover or anything." Kelsy said.

"Uh, Crystill?"

"Yeah?" She looked at me.

"Do you have a star on your temple, too?" I left Jexton standing in the door way and took Crystill's face in my palms. I didn't see any.

"No. On my ankle." She held out her ankle to see. It was about the size of a half-dollar.

"Why?"

"On each point in the star, there is an initial. On the top of the star is the person who the star belongs to: 'C' for 'Crystill, 'T' for 'Travis', 'R' for 'Ronnie', and 'K' for 'Kelsy'." She pointed clockwise.

"Mine is on the back of my neck!" Kelsy said, looking up from Ronnie's face. She pushed the hair out of the way of the back of her neck to show me.

"You have to have a star, too." Crystill said.

"I will in a minute. First, I need to borrow Ronnie." I promised. When I said her name, one of Ronnie's eyes opened and looked in the door way. When she saw Jexton, her face turned red.

"I can tell that you guy's are in a middle of something, I'll come by later." Jexton started to walk out of the room, but Ronnie jumped out of her chair and ran to him.

"No, please no! I am done with my star, so we can talk." She said.

Crystill walked over to me and wrapped her hands around my waist and hugged me tightly.

"Next year, I'll be leaving." I mumbled to her. She hugged me tighter.

"Please don't leave me." She said into my waist.

"I won't."

"Let's work on your star, Travis!" Kelsy said, holding up some markers.

"Crap. I'm screwed." I whispered to Crystill, who just laughed.