Page 2 of Fought and Freed

Maddy had missed Thanksgiving. Why didn’t the guys tell her? She planned on having a big dinner with everyone.

Her stomach flipped. If it was already the twenty-sixth, that meant she’d miss Christmas, too, while she was in rehab.

Tears blurred her vision.

“Miss?” The receptionist leaned forward. “Are you all right?”

“I’m sorry.” Maddy wiped a hand across her eyes. “I just realized I missed Thanksgiving, and I’m going to miss Christmas.”

“I’m sorry.” She patted Maddy’s hand in sympathy. “I can only imagine what that feels like, but I’m sure your family will celebrate once you’re home.”

Maddy smiled sadly and signed the papers, her heart breaking a little with each letter she wrote.

After she completed the sign-in process, the receptionist walked Maddy through the door she’d taken the other girl. “You’re in a single occupancy room, but the floor is co-ed.”

“That’s fine.” Maddy took a deep breath, smelling lemon-scented cleaner. At least they didn’t use the strong astringent ones she associated with hospitals.

The halls Maddy walked down were an off-white color, with paintings adding splashes of color.

The receptionist showed Maddy different rooms she’d be allowed to use once she completed her detox. First, there was a library, followed by a craft room, then an art room.

Maddy looked forward to using that last one.

“There’s also a gym and a pool you can use, but they’re on the other side of the building,” the receptionist said.

This place was huge. Maddy was already lost just getting to her room.

“This is you, Ms. Walsh, room fourteen.” She stopped next to a door and gestured toward it. “Go ahead and get settled in. A nurse will be with you soon to gather your clothes and anything else you must turn over. Enjoy your stay at Sunny Days.”

Maddy opened the door to her room.

The walls were a calming sea green, and a queen size bed rested against the right wall. Cool November light came from the windows that filled the far wall, and a table with two chairs sat in front of them.

Maddy opened the first door on the left, which turned out to be her own bathroom.

How much did Lucca spend on this place?

She opened the second door and found a closet filled with T-shirts, shorts, a tracksuit, and two sweatsuits, all with the Sunny Days logo.

Maddy walked over to the bed and sat down. Right now, all she wanted was to crawl into it and sleep. Her head was killing her, and every muscle in her body hurt. Especially her heart.

A few moments later, her door opened, and a woman wearing scrubs strolled in. “Ms. Walsh, my name is Amy. I’m your nurse today. Let’s get you changed and into something more comfortable. This might be awkward, but we have to monitor your first change for your safety.”

Amy respectfully helped Maddy out of her clothes and into a T-shirt and shorts.

Once they finished, she motioned toward the bed. “Go ahead and crawl under the covers and get comfortable while I go over a few things.”

Maddy gratefully slipped beneath the blanket, the exertion of changing having added to the pain in her head.

Amy sat in one of the chairs by the window. “First, tell me about your drug use.”

Maddy told her what she remembered of the time Mike was drugging her, about the hallucinations and her emotional outbursts.

Amy then spent what felt like hours asking question after question. Sometimes it was the same question, like she was trying to catch Maddy in a lie, but the pain in Maddy’s head made it hard to focus.

Once she was satisfied, she explained the rules. “Sunny Days has a ten pm curfew. There’s one nurse per floor at night in case of emergencies that come up after hours.”

Maddy dragged her eyes to the red button on the table beside her and nodded.

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