I rub my head, opening my eyes as I take in my surroundings. I notice Luke who is looking around the room anxiously while Mandy; the nurse, is writing a few things down on her notepad.

As I take a look at Luke, I notice how scared he is by the look in his eyes. The eyes that always held so much happiness are now covered in sadness and fright and I can't help but feel bad that I caused him to feel this way.

Luke's hands are rested on his knees as his legs bounce up and down on the marble floor, his eyes settling on the ground. I clear my throat, causing Luke and Mandy to look over at me in suprise.

"Oh my god, your awake!" Luke says, jumping up from his seat and attacking me in a hug. I smile and hug him back, enjoying the feeling of Luke being close to me. Luke pulls away after a few seconds and sits next to me on the uncomfortable bed that I am on.

"How are you feeling?" Luke asks and before I can answer the question, Mandy chuckles, walking over to me with the clipboard in her hands.

"I should be the one asking her that." Mandy says, smiling at Luke and he playfully rolls his eyes and grabs my hand, making me smile slightly. Mandy directs her attention on me and lifts my chin up slightly before stepping back to look me over.

"How are you feeling, Grace?" Mandy asks and I shrug.

"I'm okay, I guess. Like every other time." I say with a chuckle and Mandy shakes her head, the smile still on her lips.

"You seem to always end up here but what I want to know is why?" Mandy asks and I shrug again, looking down at my hand which is holding Luke's.

"I don't know. My life honestly sucks." I say and Mandy let's out a sigh and sits in the chair in front of me. She clicks her pen and bites her lip in thought and I have a feeling that I know what she is about to say.

"Everything okay at home?" Mandy asks and I let out a sigh, knowing that I honestly can't keep lying to Mandy. I think of her as a second mother to me anyways so what is the point of lying if I trust her?

"No." I say firmly before continuing. "I just want to leave this place and go hide away for the rest of my life so I can finally have some peace and stay away from the danger that just keeps on following me around like a lost puppy." I say and Mandy frowns. She looks over at Luke and sends him a sad smile.

"Can Grace and I be alone for a minute?" Mandy asks and Luke nods, letting go of my hand. He quickly pecks my lips before leaving and when the door closes, Mandy let's out a sigh.

"Grace, do you know why I chose to be a nurse?" Mandy asks and I shake my head, placing my hands on my thighs as I look at Mandy who is sitting with her right leg crossed over the other.

"The reason why I chose to be a nurse is because when I was younger, my parents got into a lot of fights with each other which caused them to either have bruises on their skin or cuts from sharp objects being thrown across the room, accidentally hitting one another." Mandy begins and I frown, not liking this side of Mandy.

Mandy is always bright and happy but now... it's like the walls are down and she is showing me the real Mandy; the one who has been through so much and no one has even noticed.

"You see, Grace, my parents weren't always civil. The moments where they would be lying on the couch, cuddled up next to each other while watching Wheel Of Fortune were the rare moments of my parents that I actually liked seeing. The other moments, the bad moments, were the ones that still haunt my mind to this day." Mandy says, tears forming in her eyes and I bite my lip as I feel my heart clench at Mandy's story.

"The memory of my parents dying is the most painful memories that are in here," Mandy points to her head, a tear falling from her eyes as she smiles weakly. "Do you want to know how my parents died, Grace?" Mandy asks and I find myself staying silent, not being able to speak.

"A car crash had killed them. They were both angry at each other and when they went out to get away, they ended up crashing into each other a few hours later." Mandy says, more tears rushing down her cheeks.

"I... I'm sorry, Mandy. I didn't know you... went through all of that." I say and Mandy shakes her head, wiping away her tears with her free hand.

"Its not your fault, Grace. Not even mine. I guess what I am trying to say is that everyone lives with bad memories and even though you want to try and escape yours by running, you must know that it always doesn't work." Mandy says and she stands up, walking over to me and pulling up her sleeves to reveal scars that make my wince.

She pulls her sleeves down and sends me a small smile. "Life's hard, Grace, but do you know why I am still here doing what I do now?" Mandy asks and once again, I can't answer her so she continues.

"It is because I like to help people. I don't like to see people in pain because that tears me apart in so many ways. You see, people like me also have stories and they might be mind-scarring but like I said before, everyone has there own stories. Good or bad. We still have them." Mandy says and she walks over to her seat and sits back down, letting out a sigh.

"I guess I am telling you this is because I know you are strong. You have coped through so much stuff over the years and everytime you come in here, you seem to block out your true emotions because your afraid of saying what is true." Mandy says and I nod slowly. Mandy grabs her clipboard and clicks her pen, the small smile still on her lips.

"So, what I want you to learn is to never give up, no matter how hard things may seem right now because eventually the problems will fade into nothing and you'll be able to say 'I'm fine' without lying to anyone. You'll actually be able to mean it and not be afraid to scream it out." Mandy says and I smile, nodding slowly. I jump off the bed and pull Mandy into a hug, taking her by suprise.

"Thank you, Mandy. Thank you so much." I say and Mandy chuckles, hugging me back.

"No problem, Grace. Just know that I am always here for you, okay?" Mandy says, pulling away from me and I nod. Before I go to leave, Mandy grabs my arm, stopping me.

"Your mom would be so proud of you right now, you know?" Mandy says and I feel my heart tug as the words 'your mom' circles my head.

I smile and nod. "I know." I say, turning around and leaving the room. Luke looks up and me and frowns.

"Everything okay in there?" Luke asks and I nod, taking Luke's hand in mine.

"Yep. Now, please tell me the plan still worked because it would honestly make my day." I say and Luke scratches the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Uh, not exactly."

●●●