It Happened To Me- Chapter 11

[DragonLadyKira]

Lesse... when was the last time I owned Gundam Wing? Uhm... Never. Yes, It's sad, but true. I don not own Gundam Wing. *I don't own her either.

It Happened To Me- Chapter Eleven

The newspaper's carried the story the morning after she arrived in rehab. James Hannish was found dead in his office the day after he lost the elections. His wife, Relena, was sent to rehab to conquer her drinking problems. It made front page news; it was the scandel of a lifetime. But a lifetime's a long time to live with that kind of issue.

Relena looked around the room that would be her home for the next twenty-eight days. The walls were bare and gray. The air was musty and humid. The bathroom was small and hardly fit the bathtub and toilet. The mirror was cracked and the window missing. Relena wanted to sit down and cry; or better yet, down a bottle of vodka, but since she was here to get over her addiction it didn't seem the best way to go. Her roommate was in group therapy, but she didn't know when she'd be back. Though she never met the girl, she knew her name was Taylor Thursten and she was in on drug abuse. Relena took another look around the room and tried to think positively. Finding nothing positive about the place, she dropped her bags and tried to take deep, calming breaths. "In and out... breathe in and breath out."
"Don't forget the 'out' part. It's a very important step."
Relena whirled around to find her roommate, Taylor. Taylor stood in the doorway dressed in a light blue tee shirt and a pair of long jeans, her copper hair pulled away from her face and her large, brown eyes outlined in heavy, black eyeliner. Relena felt far too over dressed in her black, v-neck, knee-length dress and her hair pinned up in a sloppily done french twist. Relena smiled weakly. "Hi, I'm Relena..."
She didn't know how to finish her sentence. Who was she? Was she Relena Hannish? Dorlin? Peacecraft? She didn't know anymore. She was a widow, a mother, a pacifist, a princess, an ex-queen, but here there only thing that mattered was that she was an alcoholic.
"Yea, I know. Everyone was real exicted about getting a real celebrity in here. We haven't had anyone famous since Beverly Mitchell*."
Relena let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding. Taylor suddenly burst out laughing, making for a very confused Relena. "W-what?"
Taylor slowed her breath enough so that she could continue. "I told you not to forget the 'out' part!"
And with that said, Taylor erupted into another fit of giggles, bringing Relena with her.

Dinner that evening was one to remember. Taylor invited Relena to sit with her and her 'gang'. The group was introduced and included of; a frizzy haired blond named Sammy, a long haired brunette named Lori, another blond with tamer hair named Ashley, and a brunette with cherry red streaks running throughout her hair named Brandy. Relena speant the meal watching the gang. Ashley, Brandy, and Lori seemed to be a close knit trio while Sammy and Taylor were the duet. Her food went untouched, she was deep in observation of their behaviors. While the trio was close, it was Brandy and Ashley that dominated while Lori was just more or less there. Sammy and Taylor appeared to be in a deep conversation, but Relena noticed the way the Taylor's eyes wandered. Things ran smoothly until a fight broke out between Ashley and Lori on the other side of the table. No physical contact, just verbal and emotional blows were delt. Relena hurried to break up the arguement, while Brandy simply watched in mild amusement. She leaned over to Brandy and whispered, "Aren't you going to try to stop them?"
Brandy didn't turn away. "Nope, they're big girls. They can handle it."
And they did. Ashley was the first to run out of insults, so she stormed away with Brandy in tow. Lori was left to finish her meal in silence. Relena felt bad for the girl, so she took her tray and sat across from her. It wasn't long before the two became good friends, the bond only to grow stronger.

Within weeks, Relena began to feel better. Every night she called Heero to check up on Beth who was staying with him for the four week period. The couldn't talk as long as Relena would have liked, but others needed the phone. Her friendship with Lori blossomed, the two were inseperable. Taylor also proved to be a large help in the healing process. She went to group therapy on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, individual therapy on Tuesdays and Thusdays, she did motivational exercises on Saturdays, and Sundays were visitation days. She never got any visitors, Milliardo refused to let Heero or Beth come in case of a form of regression. She needed her time away in a different enviroment to get over this. By the beginning of week four, things were looking up for the young politican. But these things were not to be.

Relena walked with Lori around the courtyard on her last Sunday afternoon, she was to be released that Friday. She saw Taylor and Sammy sat inside near the window, playing a game of chess. She also saw Ashley and Brandy staring at Lori and herself. Relena could tell by Ashley's angered expression that they were up to no good. Ashley stood up and sauntered across the courtyard, Brandy following with a confused expression gracing her features. Relena thought nothing of the pair as they brushed by Lori's shoulder, but when Lori fell, clutching her stomach, Relena knew that whatever Ashley had been planning just passed. Relena dropped to her knees at her companion's side and began to scream for help.

Relena sat in therapy the next afternoon with Taylor on her right and an empty chair to her left. A tear stained tissue lay balled up in Relena's hand, wiping at her eyes was her only reaction to the discussion around her. They were talking about Lori, and how to come to terms with another's death. Relena had come to terms yesterday as she watched her best friend being loaded into an ambulence, when she saw Ashley being lead away to a waiting police car, when she saw Brandy being interrogeted near a second cruiser. She spent the afternoon yesterday in her room with Taylor and Sammy, waiting for the phone call that came sometime after dinner. Their friend had not made it. So here she sat now, trying not to listen to the conversation floating around her. She didn't need to remember what happened. It was the other memories that would make her stronger. Relena straightened in her chair. Since she couldn't quit for Heero or Beth, she would quit in memory of Lori's faith in her.


*cries* I just killed off one of my best friends! Lori was my B.F. when I used to live in West Virginia. She's the one that got me hooked on G.W. *cries harder* I didn't mean it Lori, I still love ya! But I lost you with the move and since you were in Relena's life, she had to lose you too. I'm sorry... but at least Relena's going to get better. Right?

[Desert Bloom]

*sobs* Very sad. You're a master at angst.