A/N: Hi guys! I'm sorry for being pretty absent from wattpad this past week. I have been busy editing my novel and sending some advanced copies to my first readers! Yay! So... anyways, that's why I've been kinda dormant on here. Okay, so, on to the chapter! Hope you enjoy :)

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01 - 21 - 2089

Just one more stroke... 

There. It's finished.

I step back and admire my latest drawing. It is smattered across the last bit of clean wall, darkening the bland grey into a series of black, dusty swirls. The sun.

Even though it's black, I can still use my imagination to picture myself standing beneath it, being warmed by its rays. Even though I've never seen it, I can use my imagination to experience such sensations. And even though I probably won't ever be allowed to see it in real life, at least I'll have this little sun of my own.

I carefully pack up my art tools before putting them away. Then I rest on my bed, waiting for something to happen. The tests ended early for today and now I'm bored. Usually I can't wait to have time to draw, but today I don't feel like doing any more art. 

I stretch out on my bed and stare at the ceiling, wide awake. I haven't even had my last meal for the day. That means it's still only sometime in the afternoon. Ugh.

I groan and roll around in bed, trying to distract myself. As far as I can remember, I've never had this much time to myself. And it's weird. I try to go into my imagination and be somewhere else. Maybe go to some place in a book. 

But everytime I try, it doesn't work. I'm so very bored. Like, really. And that's all I can think of.

With another groan, I roll off the bed and onto the floor with a thud. I drag myself onto my feet and head into the restroom. The stainless steel sink and toilet greet me in all their glory. Or not. 

I do my business quickly, but while I wash my hands, an idea pops into my mind. And it's a weird one, but it might just entertain me. 

After I dry my hands, I lean down at the edge of the bathtub and stare at the faucet that normally fills it. I wonder how high the water could get in this thing. I've only ever filled it half full (it's a big tub). But it might be interesting to see it full. And don't ask me why. Like I said, I'm bored. And I'm grasping for anything to do. 

I shrug and plug the drain. Then I turn the faucet so it's all the way on. Water gushes out of the metal tube and flows into the tub, already starting to fill it. The clear liquid sloshes at the sides of the white tub, slowly raising. 

I watch it, mesmerized. The water swirls, so glad to be free of its prison in the pipes. I can almost hear its laughter and sense its joy.

Then I hear it. A faint screeching just outside the bathroom. My door. Someone's coming. 

I jump up and race out of the restroom just in time. The door finishes sliding open to reveal an orderly. My forehead creases and I cross my arms, wondering why an orderly is here. 

But when he steps inside, I realize it's not just any orderly. It's Cade. 

"What are you doing here?" I ask as the door shuts behind him. He doesn't come any closer, instead opting to stare at me from the other side of the small room. When he doesn't answer, I can't help but stare at him. His hair is unkempt today, even more so than the other times I've seen him. And it looks like he's run his hand through it a couple times. 

Cade's jaw is tense, locked. He stares at me with deep eyes in a way that confuses me. It's a look I've never been given before. He's not studying me, like everyone else does. And I don't know what to make of it. 

Finally, I can't stand the silence anymore. "Are you going to answer me or not?" I blurt, my voice clipped. Why is he just standing there?

Cade seems to snap out of it as well and shuffles. "No, sorry." He frowns, the lines of his jaw twitching. And I can't stop staring at him...

"Then..." My mind's a hazy mess. I can't think of what I was going to say. Jumbled. Completely jumbled. 

"Anyways," Cade says. "I'm here to talk."

"Talk..." I mumble, not able to look away as a strand of hair dangles down over his forehead, out of place. My fingers itch to put it back. But I want to slap them. I can't think when he's around. 

Cade runs a hand through his hair, aggravating the mess further. "Sorry, I shouldn't be here." He starts to back away. 

His movements help me to snap out of it. I shake my head, clearing away the mental garbage so I can focus. "Yeah, what are you doing? No one ever comes just to talk."

Cade turns toward the door, his hand reaching out to open it. Then I remember the tub. My eyes snap to the door of the restroom, widening in horror. Water oozes out from beneath the door into my room. 

In that moment, I forget Cade. I forget his strange actions. And I don't think. I act. 

I race to the door and fling it open. Water overflows the tub and runs onto the floor of the bathroom. I run into the room, intent on shutting off the water. But when my feet hit the wet floor, I go flying. 

I slide across the floor, unable to stop, and slam into the far wall. My feet go up, and a splitting pain erupts in the back of my head. Then everything goes dark.

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When I come to, the pain is still there. It has lessened some, but still ever present. I'm on a bed, only it's not mine. And I've never seen it before. 

I sit up, trying to ignore the pain that follows. This room. This white room. I've never been here before. It's large. Well, larger than my bedroom. And empty. The only thing besides the bed I'm on are two monitors on either side of me. The rest is just an empty white floor and walls. 

Slowly laying back, I reach my hand to feel for the damage, but instead I'm met with cloth. A bandage. What happened? I remember talking to Cade, him acting strange, and then... the tub! I filled it too full. I must have slipped and hit my head when I ran to turn it off. How could I have been so careless?

"How is your head feeling, Gis?" 

I jump and turn to find the source of the voice. The left wall opens up to reveal a door, and standing in it, Doctor Acosta. She blends right in with her white lab coat and ashen hair. No wonder I didn't see her come in. 

She approaches me, and I see the A-book in her hand. I open my mouth to answer her, but find myself tongue tied. I don't know what to say. I'm not entirely sure how I'm feeling, though it isn't good. 

"Fine, I guess. It hurts," I say, managing to untangle my tongue. My voice is small and quiet. This is all my fault. My fault. Two words that keep running through my mind. I could have ruined everything. I still might have. 

"You took quite the fall," Doctor Acosta says, frowning down at me. 

"Yes..." I admit. "But I didn't mean to." I lower my eyes to my hands and fiddle with my thumbs.

"Of course not," she agrees. "But what exactly were you doing? Why did you leave the water running in the tub?"

"I don't know," I say. "I was bored. I didn't mean anything by it."

"Didn't mean anything?" She asks incredulously, her voice a whole pitch higher. "That was an incredibly foolish thing to do. You could have killed yourself."

"I'm sorry," I whisper. 

Doctor Acosta doesn't say anything else. She gives me a full exam and checkup without a single word except the occasional order. Then, she unwraps the bandage from my head. I hear her mumble several things to herself while she looks at my head. Then, she takes a clean bandage and wraps it up again. 

Once Doctor Acosta is finished, she pulls out her A-book and types something into it. Then she meets my gaze. "Rest," she says. And then she's gone and I'm alone again. 

I try to do as she says. I relax my body and close my eyes, focusing on my breathing. But nothing works. I'm wide awake, disorientated and hurting. I want to sleep like she said, but I can't. 

All I can think of it what she said to me. 

"You could have killed yourself."

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