It's Been a While

[GreyZone]

His eyebrows skyrocketed at her request, but he didn't question it. Why did it feel so formal and foreign to touch her? Despite his conflicting thoughts, he folded her into a tight hug and rocked her back and forth a little. "At least you tried, Bentley. You made an effort, and anything that happened in there was not your fault. And now we move on."


As they headed back to his car, a strong feeling of guilt began to set in. He should easily be able to support his girlfriend after she returned--he was in his fourth year of college, after all. Normally, he would be heading out to the real world and he didn't even have a penny to his name. If he hadn't won so many science and English awards in high school to earn scholarships, no way would he even be going to college, let alone one as good as the school he was attending. "I'm just trying to figure out what I can do to help you. I don't have money, and I'll be up front about that."

 

[kailey]

Bentley greatly appreciated his embrace, and once they parted she couldn't help but feel a bit of sadness overcome her. All she wanted was to just stay in his arms forever, but that was incredibly unrealistic.


"I wouldn't make you pay for anything for me, that's not the kind of person I am," She responded, giving him a gentle smile. "I'll figure something out."


Sighing, she slid back into the car and passed a hand tiredly over her face. This whole reality stuff was exhausting her.

 

[GreyZone]

"I know that you wouldn't make me pay for anything," he retorted once they were back in his car. "But that doesn't mean I won't feel like a huge douche by just letting you off as soon as you're thrusted back into the real world."


He began to drive back to a restaurant that they used to go to all the time in high school because it was close and cheap. And far away from any bars. "Regardless, I'll at least buy you a meal. I really want you to look into college soon, though." He didn't do a good job keeping the apparent concern off of his face.

 

[kailey]

Bentley shot John an inquisitive glance. She had thankfully gotten at least an Associates degree before the whole fiasco started.


"You really want me to, don't you?" She whispered. Maybe he was right, maybe going through life without at least a four year degree was unrealistic.


"I guess I'll look into it. Maybe I'll just go to the community college and finish off my last two years." She mumbled, nearly to herself. It wouldn't be too hard for her, but the debt was what was troubling.

 

[GreyZone]

"Okay," he responded quickly, glad that she was at least thinking about it. "I don't want to pressure you into doing it if it'll stress you out and cause you to drink again, but I think it's really a good idea, especially if you're going to be paying a full rent instead of half of one.


He pulled up into the parking lot of the little restaurant, listening for the familiar ding.


When the hostess saw them, her slightly wrinkled face lit up and she quickly grabbed some menus. "Mr. Montgomery over here has been all alone for months and months! So your girl has made a reappearance?"

 

[kailey]

Bentley smiled at her as they entered, glad to see a familiar face. "Yes, I'm back." She responded.


The hostess seated them rather eagerly and asked for their order on drinks. "I'll have a water, thank you." Bentley ordered. She had to get into the habit of ordering just simple things like water or coffee.

 

[GreyZone]

John ordered a regular Coke and didn't even look at the menu before telling the waitress what he wanted to eat. "She ruined my secret; I have been coming here a little more than I should be. Alone, like the cool college student that I am."


He had definitely missed having someone to eat with, even if he had introverted tendencies. There was just a large difference between eating with a medical textbook and eating with a person he had loved.

 

[kailey]

Bentley laughed gently and ordered her meal. She turned to John and placed her chin in her hand.


"I would really like to hear all about this cool stuff you're studying in college. Let's talk about you."


Really, it would be a nice distraction for her. She used to love sitting with him while he explained to her all the new and exciting things he had learned that day, or just little things he found interesting.

 

[GreyZone]

His eyes instantly lit up when she asked about his school. "I really am intrigued in how diseases can be passed down from parents to their children, codominance, recessive alleles, you know the sort..." He took a quick drink of his soda. "Or how cell production can affect everything--one corrupted cell can ruin an entire human being. And brain scans, you can see so much in a simple glance--"


John stopped quickly. "But I know that none of that makes sense. Sorry to just ramble about it."

 

[kailey]

Bentley's smile widened as he continued to talk. True, she hadn't any clue what he was talking about, but just the fact that he was there talking to her.


She reached across the table and squeezed his hand gently as she looked into his eyes.


"Don't be sorry. I love hearing about your passions." After a moment, she pulled her hand away and took a sip of the water. "Even if I don't understand half the words you said." She admitted.

 

[GreyZone]

"You start to learn about it in basic biology classes," he continued, smiling a little that she was interested in what he had to say about his schooling. "But... I don't know. I just find it really interesting. We did a brain dissection lab last week if you want to see pictures!" He teased her.


John reached into his pocket, threatening to take out said pictures. "It was a sheep's brain, of course, but it's still really fascinating if you want to see the chambers of it. Perfect lunch topics."

 

[kailey]

Bentley had always hated blood and things of that nature, so the thought of seeing a brain made her almost gag.


"No, I uh, I think I'm good, John. Thanks though." She muttered, glaring at him.


But she couldn't help smiling once more. She had missed this. Missed just sitting here talking about their lives with John. Occasionally holding hands or stealing glances. Would it ever be back to normal? She didn't know, but at the moment she was going to take what she was given.

 

[GreyZone]

He stopped talking for a moment just to watch her, offer a slightly shy smile. "I'm glad that we could catch up together. Can you tell me any more details about what you've been going through? Your roommates and whatnot?"


The rehab center honestly intrigued him. He had been interning in a ward for severely psychologically distressed patients, and he wanted to know some of the differences they had from where Bentley had been. Hopefully she would understand that he cared about it because it had happened to her just as much as it intrigued him for other reasons.

 

[kailey]

Bentley shrugged and stared at a fixed point behind John's shoulder, trying to recall any details about the center. Most of the time she was too pissed off to notice.


"Erm... Well basically they just have you wake up, eat, do some therapy, eat, interact, eat then sleep. It was honestly very boring, but I guess it helped."


"The therapy was very slow and steady at first, but it was hell. It's basically like they dangle the stuff in front of you and tell you all of the negatives until you're absolutely terrified to touch it again."


She thought a moment. "I'm probably more scared of alcohol now than I am of gross medical stuff."


"Anyways, toward the end the therapy was vigorous and go go go and non stop. They basically pounded it in me. As for my roommates. I had a few. My first one turned out to be wanted by the cops and she escaped into rehab. The second was the sweetest young girl who had suffered a lot of abuse and turned to drugs. She got out quickly, we talked a lot."


Bentley sighed, realizing how much she had said. "That's... About it, actually."

 

[GreyZone]

John listened to her entire story intently, nodding along with all of her points. They would do similar things to some patients if their treatment called for it. "You don't sound overtly affected by the treatment, just sort of scared into submission. Did it make you not want to touch alcohol again, or did you just do it to appease your doctors and the people who put you in there?"


He continued with, "We have one girl at the ward I'm interning for that is schizophrenic and has multiple personality disorder--t's fascinating how they choose to adapt to her. I get to work with her a lot, and most of her personalities enjoy me. They're so vastly different and you never quite know who you're going to get."

 

[kailey]

Bentley sighed and passed a hand over her face tiredly. "No, I'm pretty much scared of it by now. At first I just wanted them off my back, but over time it actually began to have an effect."


She smiled sadly. She'd always felt bad for those types of people, they couldn't control it and it was sad. Then again, most normal people felt bad for the likes of her.


"That's interesting. And kind of disheartening."

 

[GreyZone]

"That makes sense." He paused as the waitress sat down their food, thanking her quickly before she left. "But I'm glad that you made the decision to take it seriously."


He nodded, taking a bite of his sandwich before answering her. "I find it bizarre and a little fascinating how she can be so clueless to her surroundings. For example, sometimes she's this Scarlett O'Hara-esque who thinks the Civil War just ended and that I'm her dead husband come back to haunt her. And other times she'll be this sexpot from the twenties who does her hair up like a flapper. All the while, her real name is Rosalyn and she's in a hospital gown in a psych ward. Those are her most interesting personalities, though. I wonder if she was somehow involved in theatre, or maybe her mother was, maybe just literature. The personalities have to come from somewhere."

 

[kailey]

Bentley nodded and forked her salad, her gaze dropping to it as she continued to listen to him speak. One of the things they did tell her to do was eat healthier and exercise so that her body recovered quickly. She was already quite athletic and fit, but the addiction thing definitely set her back.


"Or maybe those are just things she wants to be? I don't know, I don't understand how those things work. I just feel bad for the kid, you know? She's never going to lead a normal life or fall in love or-" her voice caught in her throat. That was the saddest part. She would never fall in love...

 

[GreyZone]

He hadn't failed to notice her healthier food choice and water, but decided not to comment on it. He didn't want to make her feel pressured or watched as she tried to bounce back from her almost-fatal addiction.


"Well, she's seventeen," he told her with a casual shrug. "Beautiful, actually. And some of her personalities are in love with fictitious people, but you're right. She's never getting out of there. I'm dying to know her backstory because I'm sure it's a strange one. Another thing I'll just have to live with not knowing about."

 

[kailey]

Bentley nodded and ate a few bites of her salad. It was hard for her to eat because during rehab, they tried weaning her off bad habits so it's difficult for her to eat a lot.


She ran a hand through her hair and stared out the window. A couple walked by laughing and holding hands, occasionally kissing. It made her heart hurt. She cast John a quick glance.

 

[GreyZone]

He gave her a strange look when she was obviously distracted and not replying to what he had said. But when his vision traced hers and he found the object of her attention... "Wait, what? Are you okay?"


John ate a little more while he waited for her response. "You're picking at your food. Do you want some of mine?"

 

[kailey]

Bentley snapped to attention and nodded quickly. "Yeah, yeah I'm good." She forced a smile and ate another bite of her salad.


"No, I can't, but thank you. I'm just not that hungry right now," she responded with a shrug as she drank her water.


She missed how they used to be. They were on of those couples you'd pass that you just knew we're going to last a long time. Then she had to go and be a moron and ruin the whole thing, and she hates herself for it.

 

[GreyZone]

"Okay," he replied, giving her a bit of a concerned look. "If you don't like it, we can order something else?"


Really? Was the only thing he could manage to talk about was their damn food? "I'm sorry, Bentley. I know I'm being so awkward... It's just different. I'm working on it, I promise."


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[kailey]

Bentley sighed and have John a sad smile. She did like it, she just didn't have much of an appetite when her mind was somewhere else.


"Hey, don't worry about it. It's not your fault at all. It's going to take a while, I realize that." She mumbled.


"Is there anything you'd like to do that would make things a bit less awkward then? I want you to be comfortable with me... Even if it will take a while." She peered over at John over her glass of water.

 

[GreyZone]

"I don't know," he replied with a slight shrug. "Do you have anything in mind?"


He felt like he didn't even know this woman in front of him anymore, didn't know what made her tick or triggered her. He had spent so many countless hours learning it only to have it shattered in his face. But he would just have to get over it.


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