. . .

Everly Clark

I TIGHTENED the hold onto my purse, shooting Gabriel a nervous glance. His oceanic eyes softened and he gave me an encouraging smile. Gabriel had taken me to his stepsister as soon as I had woken up, he was determined to make sure I smiled at least once.

We both currently sat in one of the waiting rooms, anxiously waiting for her arrival. I've never done this before, I know that I'm depressed but I made no effort to try and help that. The only way to help myself was to cry, which is all I did for nine years.

The doorknob twisted sideways and we were greeted by the creaking sound of the door opening. A young woman, not much older than I, stepped in; greeting us with a warm smile. Her midnight colored hair was wrapped into a tight bun, not a single hair out of place. She was dressed in a professional looking dress, matching with glossy high heels.

Her heels made a click-clacking sound on the wood floor as she walked over to us, "Oh Gabby, it's been forever!"

Gabriel stood up and gave her a sheepish smile, before hugging her tightly, "Nice to see you too Aspen,"

Gabriel then turned to me, "Everly this is my sister Aspen,"

I managed a small smile and stood up to shake her hand, "Pleasure to meet you,"

She grinned, "The pleasures all mine, please have a seat,"

We all sat down, a comfortable silence filling the air for a couple moments.

Aspen cleared her throat, "So Everly, I'm not going to beat around the bush or anything okay? I need you to be as honest as you can with me,"

I nodded, ignoring the lump in my throat. Aspen then turned to look at Gabriel, coughing slightly.

"S-Should I wait outside?" he stuttered, looking at the two of us.

"No!" I burst out, "I-I mean, it's fine if you stay."

Gabriel nodded and sent me a reassuring smile. Aspen smiled and crossed her arms, studying me intensely.

"Okay, so Gabby has told me that you are suffering from depression and PTSD?" she asked, raising one of her eyebrows.

I released a shaky breath, "I-I'm pretty sure, the memories they won't ever go away,"

She nodded and wrote something down on her clipboard, "Alright so I'm going to be using Exposure therapy, so we'll make sure to help you with your nightmares and flashbacks okay?

"Now, how long have you been getting these flashbacks and nightmares?" she asked, her eyes filled with kindness.

I pursed my lips, "N-Nine years, ever since it happened,"

She nodded once more, "Do you feel comfortable telling me what happened?"

I quickly shook my head, "N-No,"

I felt my cheeks burn with embarrassment, as I quickly looked at the ground avoiding both Gabriel and Aspen.

Aspen coughed, "That's fine, we'll take baby steps okay?"

I slightly nodded and gave her a small smile.

She continued to ask more and more questions, but I no longer felt comfortable. Every so often, I smiled and nodded along to what she was saying. After a while, I had zoned out of what she was saying and looked at the paintings on the wall behind her.

Abstract. Oh, how I loved abstract paintings. They were beautiful, yet so confusing. They made people stop and stare, almost in a hypnotizing way.

"Everly?"

I quickly looked back at Aspen, my eyes wide, "Sorry, you were saying?"

"I'll give you a prescription for anti-anxiety medications and I want you to promise me you'll take them okay?"

"However, I won't be prescribe antidepressts just yet because they tend to have a lot of different side effects, okay?"

I stood up along with Gabriel, "Of course,"

"Thanks, Asp, I'll call you later," Gabriel cut in, grabbing my wrist gently.

We both walked out nothing but the sound of our footsteps filling the air. I took a look around at the people in the waiting room on the way out, the way some seemed bored, others depressed.

"That wasn't so bad right?" he asked hesitantly, shooting me a cheesy smile.

I let out a dry laugh, "No, it wasn't,"

His smile widened and I wondered how someone could smile so brightly, "Great! She's amazing and I promise you that I'm gonna get you to be free again,"

My smile dropped, "Again with the promises,"

His smile also faltered, "Yes, unlike other people I like to keep my promises. I wouldn't make them in the first place if I knew that I couldn't keep them,"

It was silent for a minute before I spoke again, "High school was the best years of my life,"

He seemed surprised by my outburst but nodded.

"I had everything; a happy family, great grades, caring friends, and a loving boyfriend. I had it all and I was the happiest woman on Earth," I paused, sitting down on one of the benches outside of the rehab.

Gabriel sat down next to me, "Sounds like the opposite of me,"

I glanced at him for one second before looking away, "You know everything was perfect. One second, I was living in a fairytale swimming in my happy ending. The next second, reality showed up and drowned me and had crushed my happy ending,"

"It seemed like a nightmare, to surreal to be true. So imagine my surprise when I walk into my house and find the people I trusted the most, taking every fucking thing away from me," I bitterly continued.

"That day on, I had not once had the courage to trust anyone anymore. I didn't even trust myself,"

"You would think that a girl would get over a guy after nine years," I laughed bitterly, "I mean what kind of girl is still madly in love with a guy that she ran away from nine freaking years ago?"

"This is about your boyfriend?" Gabriel asked, looking down at the concrete.

"E-Ex boyfriend," my voice cracked, "Every damn thing is about him! I-I mean he's always on my mind and it's killing me, Gabriel."

"H-He's back," I paused, looking at him with my eyes wide and alert, "He came back yesterday."

He looked up and smiled sadly, "Well, that's good right?

I shook my head, letting out a small whimper of pain, "No, not at all! He came back and threatened me, he freaking threatened me and left!"

"I-I mean, I know I deserve it but he didn't even let me call him Ricky! He didn't smile, he didn't laugh, he didn't kiss me!" I started to laugh, "It's so pathetic that I actually had hope, hope that hey maybe I didn't have to live in depression forever."

"B-But no, because Everly Elise Clark deserves to feel nothing but pain and loneliness!" my laughs quickly turned into sobs. I was extremely thankful that the streets were empty.

"I am delusional. I knew deep down that this was going to happen, but I held onto that small ray of hope," I looked ahead at the horizon, my face holding no emotion.

"Hopes a major bitch," Gabriel finally said, kicking a pebble.

. . .

a/n: i myself have never suffered from a heartache (#single4life) so i tried to show everly's heartache as best as i could.

if you are suffering from PTSD or depression please, please, please talk to someone as soon as you can and help yourself! my pm's are always open, so never ever hesitate to talk to me!

have an amazing day and don't forget to smile !! :)