Broken Strings (Avalon/Dream)

Hey you! Alright, obviously I'll be using Adam as my character in this...however I gotta run! I will most likely be on later tonight, but I'm excited to get this started!
My bio is in my signature.

That's perfectly fine! Just go ahead and do what you've got to do! Chances are I'll be here when you get back.

My character is in my thread. Molly-Evelyn Taylor.

And also on an opening post.

Alright, here I am! I'll probably be hanging around here for most of the night, but anyways...shall we get started?

Yeah, sounds good! I'm working on the opening post as we speak. Not sure how good it'll be but that should be fine.

I'm guessing our characters will meet at the meeting or would he greet her at the door?

Mmm, just 'check in' to the center, and...the characters will meet in the group session, I believe!

The taxi came to a very slow stop in front of what looked to be a very fancy looking building. There wasn't a sign above the door the way I thought there was going to be though there was a stone sculpture with the name of the rehabilitation facility at the very front where the beginning of the property was marked by a waist-high stone wall with metal fencing that I assumed surrounded the whole place.
As I climbed out of the cab, paying the driver with a bit of an absent wave of my hand that was meant to mean that he could keep the change, I grabbed my duffel bag and slung it over my shoulder. It was then that I really took a moment to look over the area as a whole.

For a rehabilitation facility the building looked surprisingly modern compared to the grounds that surrounded it. The cleanly cut grass and carefully cut bushes that were formed into intricate shapes and designs. Even the pathway that led up to the front door seemed to be like something out of a movie. I wasn't really sure what to expect from a place like this.
Would I really want to live here for the next few months? Would I be able to become accustomed to how things work?
The more I thought about it the more I realized that I would be fine. More because I had become very good at adapting to my surroundings in the military.

Spoiler:

With a final huff of irritation and a bit of 'umph' to get myself going, I started along the pathway towards the front doors of the place I was to call home for the next truly undefined period of time. I suppose my parents wanted me to leave when I felt like I was ready to leave. Once I had gotten rid of my 'issues' and the 'troubles' they said that I just couldn't live with.
Of course they were right but it didn't feel any better to know they thought that way about me. Those were my parents though.. got to love them.

As I reached the door I came to a stop, hesitating there. What if I didn't go inside? The cab was still there. The driver hadn't even gotten back into his seat. I could turn away from this whole thing and no-one would be the wiser.
I let out a quiet sigh of irritation at my own stupidity. Of course I couldn't do that. I knew I needed this just as much as everyone around me knew I needed it. I wasn't going to be able to adjust to a normal life if I didn't take care of the thoughts and memories that haunted me.

Without another thought I pushed my way through the door and headed inside, walking straight towards the receptionist who was quietly typing away at her keyboard. Quite a pretty woman, probably in her late 30's by the looks of things, with long black hair that was tied back in a pony tail. I approached the desk and cleared my throat so I could get her attention.
"Yes?" She asked while glancing up at me.
I gave her whatever smile I could muster.
"I'm here to stay.. and.. uhm" I trailed off as I tried to think of how to describe what exactly I was there for. Before I needed to do that though the woman typed something quickly into her computer.
"Miss Taylor I presume? Yes, we've been expecting you. In fact your meeting is about to begin. If you'd head down the hallway and take the first conference room on your right, you'll make the beginning."
She pointed me in the direction she mentioned and then went back to work.

I muttered a quiet thanks before turning to follow the directions she had given me, hoping that the doors would be labeled somehow so I would know what she meant by conference room. Fortunately enough for me the room was easy to find especially seeing as there were a number of people already gathered inside. I could see them through the glass window in the door.
As quietly as I could I slipped into the room and tried to find a seat near enough so I could hear but far enough away to where I didn't attract all that much attention to myself. At least I thought so until my foot caught on the leg of a chair and when, out of reflex, I tried to catch myself with and adjustment of my step I ended up falling straight to the ground.
My prosthetic leg was better than nothing but it left a hell of a lot to be desired.

“Shit.” I growled to myself, gracefully walking with long strides down the stone path, white walking stick retracted small enough that I could hold it in my palm. I didn’t need it here, I knew the paths all by memory. All the bumps, all the branches, all the twigs and the ferns and the flowers.
Pathetic, I know.
I was late for my first group mediation session. And I was the one giving the lecture this time, instead of one of the shaken-up patients sitting in those nasty, stiff, plastic chairs. A frustrated sigh passed my lips as I jogged a little bit down the path, my old leather bag flopping around on my shoulder, threatinging to spill out it's contents as I wondered how in the world I could have let myself sleep in on today of all days.
The smell of the lilac trees woke me up as I rubbed the sleep off of my face, feeling the prickles of nerves chasing their way up the back of my knees, my spine, my neck…I was nervous. I had taken a few weeks of training from the staff here at the Fredericks Center, and thought it was about time I paid them back for all the help they had given me.
I heard myself scoff as I walked up the front steps, knowing that even after all that help and therapy, I hated myself, and I hated this life. Being blind wasn’t really so bad. Being blind and alone really took the cake though.

“Morning Mrs.Aberbalm.” I said as I pushed the front, glass door open with my shoulder, flinging my jacket off and tucking it under one of my arms. I heard an audible giggle from my right, and flashed a boyish grin in her direction. “How’s Phil?” I asked as I kicked the dirt off my shoes, already walking down the halls without giving her enough time to really answer.
"You’re late, Adam!” She called behind me, and I could almost see her shaking her head behind me, or rolling her eyes…almost.

My shoes slapped against the linoleum tiles beneath me, and I made a few turns down the halls I knew much too well. This place was like my home. I’d spent most of my youth here, and even when I was an adult I tended to return from time to time. I had nowhere else to turn to.
When I got to the door, I stopped, clearing my throat lightly and taking a deep breath before entering in a sweeping, graceful motion, letting my eyes rest calmly forward. I always kind of liked the feeling of…I don’t know what I would call it…mystery. No one in this room knew I was blind except for me, well, just yet.

Spoiler:

“Good morning, everyone.” I said in a very gentle, polite tone. I’d been in the same place these people had been in. Scared. Nervous. Numb. I knew all too well that I couldn’t take things too fast just yet. In a quick motion, I drew out my retractable walking stick to its full length, and began walking to the front of the room, turning to face the class…which had gone dead silent.
“I always hated the way this place was set up…how about a circle?” I offered the group, still staring forward, but letting a small smile touch my lips as I placed my walking stick under my arm for a moment, raised my chair up and turned it slightly. I could hear the others silently following along, and sat down slowly, retracting my stick again and placing it on my lap calmly. When the noise had stopped, and my ears perked up at the sound of serene quiet in the room, I cleared my throat again, taking out a tape recorder from the depths of my leather bag I had set on the floor beside my chair, leaning forward casually, holding it in my right hand and turning it on.

“Welcome to the Fredericks Center. My name is Adam, and I will be with this group for a month. I am blind.” I said in a soft tone, expression painfully neutral. I think I might have been more nervous than all of these people, my stomach knotting together in anxiety. “Let’s go around and introduce ourselves, and why we think we are here.”

I leaned slightly to my left, gesturing to the person beside me, and slowly, a woman began to speak. “M-my name is Anita, I just had my th-th-third miscarriage five weeks ago.” She said, and I thought for a second she was going to burst into tears. But she held strong. I smiled encouragingly in her direction, and the next patient was already starting.

“I’m Brian. My…girlfriend committed suicide in the summer. I…I found her.” The man sounded young, probably only a few years older than me. I nodded at him, and the introductions continued around the circle. Such horrible things had happened…from rape to attempted suicide. There was noticeable tension in the room between Brian, and a middle aged woman named Ellen who had tried to kill herself two months ago.

I seriously didn’t know if I could deal with these people. But I was going to have to figure it out one way or another. So far I had counted seven people out of the ten who were supposed to be in the group session, and I patiently waited for the next one to introduce themselves, gracefully running a hand through my thick curls and leaning forward a little more, resting my elbows on my knees.

See, falling down wasn't the problem. Hell I'd gotten used to falling down by now. The problem was making a fool of myself in front of the group I was supposed to meet with every day for the next few months. How was I ever going to live down the embarrassment of having fallen over pretty much the moment I walked through the door. Not only that but I also managed to draw all of the attention in the room towards me as opposed to what I originally wanted which was to remain pretty much incognito for as long as possible. Of course, being the klutz that I am, I managed to screw that up pretty badly.

Quickly I pulled myself to my feet with the help of the chair I tripped over and, although someone got up to offer help, I apologized for having disturbed the group so suddenly. Much to my surprise it did not seem like any of them minded the disturbance. If anything they seemed somewhat relieved by the activity as the room had been dead silent up until my falling over.
After all who could expect a room full of strangers to just start talking? Especially a room full of strangers who were supposed to be going through some form or another of rehabilitation. Usually not the most social of people.

I found my way to a seat in the room and settled down with a sigh, lifting my leg so the joint in my prosthetic would bend to a sitting position. No-one paid me any mind and I found that I was okay with that. They didn't need to know the reason I was here just yet..no..they'd find that out eventually depending on how things went during the sessions.
For now though I wanted them all to believe that I was just as physically normal as can be if only because I did not want to stand out to however was leading the group.

Speak of the devil, a man appeared almost out of the blue. Tall, dark hair, beautiful eyes.. The moment my gaze settled on him I found myself somewhat stunned. Suddenly I was thanking whatever kind of god or powerful deity there was out there that he hadn't been in the room when I tripped myself up.
Now that would have been embarrassment I would not have been able to live down.
Of course this was the thinking of a teenager in high-school but hey, he was absolutely gorgeous. What was I supposed to think?
With those thoughts in mind I moved with the rest into the circle he proposed.

When he pulled out a cane though I felt my eyes widen in both surprise and what could have been relief. The relief because I knew he couldn't see how..probably terrible..I looked right now. Though there was much more surprise. He did not look or act like a blind person. Not those that I had come across anyway.
Usually they had that blue or grey tone to their eyes but his eyes were full of life and color. A twinkle of playfulness that could draw you in with only a glance.
I sat there dumbfounded as the group began to introduce themselves. It took someone to gently nudge me to bring me out of my reverie.

"Oh! Uhm. My name's Molly and.." I began strongly but I trailed off as I tried to think of what I wanted to introduce myself as. What was I anyway? A traumatized soldier? A slowly healing amputee? A troubled individual? Or all of the above? Either way I could not quite settle on the best way to describe what I was so I settled on something else.
"I lost a part of myself overseas.." My answer was obscure and drew a few gazes in my direction but I didn't feel like I was ready to share as much about myself as the others were.
So instead I turned my head towards the next person in the hopes that they would continue the circle.


ooc: Ah I was hoping the moment of my character falling would come in about that time.. But that's alright, we'll role with this.

The most interesting answer I’d heard so far made my jaw set a little stiffer. The next person was silent for a few moments, probably regaining their thoughts after what that girl had just said. Faintly, I tried not to smile. It wasn’t a mean smile, not at all. Just…playfully amused. What an inquisitive thing to say about a moment of trauma. I painted my expression neutral as I heard the next person begin to speak, the group and myself giving them full attention.

“My name is Ken, I was involved in a hate-crime last spring. They tried to burn me alive…because I’m outwardly gay.” This was just a kid speaking! I felt my eyes widen into two large, dark orbs as I looked in the direction of his voice. He sounded no more than seventeen, and with that faint crack in his voice as he spoke, he sounded even younger.
The next person was a woman, who was named Bonnie. She was a victim of an abusive relationship two months ago, and just found out she’s pregnant with ‘that bastards’ child.

After all the introductions, I felt it was very difficult to stand. My hands were shaking slightly but I balled them up into fists so that none of these poor people would see.
“This facility has a number of accommodations.” I started, after clearing my throat and setting my feet steadily on the floor shoulder width apart. “Addiction treatment, a women’s center, criminal mediation and the people in this room. You are all part of a program, with a minimum of eight weeks here.” I started with the cookie-cutter welcome of the Fredericks Center, going on about the living areas, how the men and the women are separated by the dining hall. Blah blah blah. “There are few rules for Trauma Patients here. No drugs or alcohol whilst you are in treatment. Men and women cannot be in each other’s rooms past midnight, and the curfew is ten o’clock pm, unless special permission is given otherwise. Oh, and family and friends are allowed to visit on Sundays until curfew.”

When I was done, there was a very sad, very stale silence in the room. I knew each of them were wishing they were in a hole, or under a rock somewhere, dealing with their grief on their own instead of coming to this place and listening to some square.
I sighed lightly, crossing my arms over my chest and turning off the tape recorder, setting it down on my chair and picking up my walking stick.
“Ten minute break?” I said, a little less upbeat than before. A few murmurs acknowledged me, and with that, I made my way out of the room, retractable stick balled up in my palm as I nearly broke into a run to get into the lounge, which was conveniently right down the hall.

The lounge was my favourite place in the treatment center, well, it became my favourite place when I was sixteen and found out you were allowed to smoke here. Already exhausted, I fell back into one of the old, cracked leather recliners that was situated in front of a crappy old tv. Which I could never watch. When times were rough, I debated on kicking in that old tv. I still did…

Out of my pocket I fished out a packet of cigarettes and a lighter, raising one to my lips and listening for the click of the lighter sounding. After a second I pulled the flame away, shoving it into my pocket and feeling the nicotine already as I exhaled.
“You are probably the worst councilor on the planet.” I murmured to myself, leaning forward and putting my elbows on my knees again, letting my head dip down between them as I smoked, feeling like crap and wishing I knew what to say to actually help these people. That one girl’s answer stuck in my head as I sat in the lounge…lost a part of herself…what could that mean?

Going around the rest of the circle after my answer was a somewhat withdrawn process. There was a notable pause after my turn but I tried to think that it was because the next person had not been ready to introduce himself as opposed to the pause being directly related to my obscure words.
I didn't want to think that the members of the group were trying to make sense of what I had said. Naturally I could have just been upright and answered the question directly but at the same time.. I suppose I just had mixed feelings about the whole thing.

The introductions finished and Adam now had an overview of the people he was going to be working with. A rape victim, an abused homosexual, a suicide witness and a suicide attempt to name a few. Then to top the whole list was a girl who wouldn't even reveal what exactly her problem was.
In a somewhat quieter tone he began to introduce the facility as a whole along with all of the rules that we were going to need to follow. The usual stuff. I didn't find anything outstanding on that list.
Then he dismissed us for a ten minute break.

I leaned back in my chair for a moment, watching as he stood and made for the door, only to make a split decision one second later. I pulled myself out of my seat, walked over to my bag to pull out a carton of cigs, and headed out into the hallway. I wasn't sure where the man had gone but I assumed he had headed to the lobby.
It was the most logical place for someone to go as far as I knew.
When I approached the room I spotted him sat with his head in his hands, murmuring quietly to himself. I didn't catch his words but then again I wasn't really coming to eavesdrop on him.

"Got a light?" I asked him quietly as I sat next to him, pulling a cigarette of my own out of one of the many pockets of my cargo pants. Although I knew it was bad for me there wasn't much else I could do to relieve stress. Unlike most people who went out to do something whenever they got stressed..well..I couldn't really do the same as them now could I? Sure I could force myself out on a jog but I never came back from those feeling much better than I did when I left. Usually a jog just left me with a very sore leg, if you could call what I had left much of a leg.

The question I asked the man, whose name I vaguely remembered to be Adam, was actually quite stupid. Of course he had a light. Yet it was the only thing I could bring myself to say in his presence. Yes perhaps I was acting like a schoolgirl again but I wasn't exactly the kind of girl who got into very many conversations with people much more attractive than me.
In fact the last time I went out of my way to approach someone attractive was months ago and I had been immediately turned away.
I hoped this time would be different, if only because I needed a smoke.

I heard someone enter the lounge, but didn’t move much. Sometimes it tended to creep people out when I could hear things so well. Notable changes in their tone of voice, the way they shifted their weight from one foot to another, small sighs and hardly audible noises passed between lips. It was a female, I could tell from the light step...however there was something slightly off about it, something I couldn’t put my finger on.

She sat in the smaller, scratchy recliner next to mine and I straightened up, leaning back in the cracked leather and feeling a small smile twisting a corner of my lips as I recognized the voice. It was her. Maggie…no. Molly. My smile turned into more of a crooked grin as I realized how cute of a name that was, matched up to her slightly nervous voice.
I blinked after a second, raising an eyebrow at myself. She’s a patient here, Adam. She’s not supposed to be cute, she’s not supposed to be anything other than a patient.

Still the small smirk didn’t leave my lips as I fished the Zippo out of my pocket and handed it in her direction, crossing my ankles and leaning back into the recliner, inhaling.
“Your answer in group was very…interesting.” I said after I heard the lighter click, exhaling. I loved smoking, ever since my rebellious years as a teenager when all I could really do was smoke and swear at whoever came near me. Now it was more of a calm feeling that washed over me. Which I needed, especially these days. The negative effects of smoking didn’t faze me whatsoever. It felt good. So I did it.

Curiosity was getting the best of me, and I felt my hands start to twitch lightly. Desperately now, I was wondering what this girl looked like. Not that it really mattered, but…curiosity was definitely one of my flaws. I took a long drag of my cigarette and my hands ceased their shaking.
Again, I leaned forward slightly, looking in her direction with my head tilted slightly to the side. “What happened to you, Molly?” I wondered aloud, before I could filter my thoughts. Quickly I felt my brows knit together in frustration, eyes squeezing shut. That wasn’t a question I was supposed to ask, that was a question for the group session. Shit, I was already screwing this up.

“I hope you aren’t all that mysterious.” I said, trying to save myself from this crashing and burning conversation, which was feeling more and more like me simply blathering to a girl who just wanted to come out here for a smoke. Gracefully, I stood, stretching my arms above my head and putting the cigarette out in the ash tray on the coffee table. I knew all too well the exact placement of everything in this room. I think they never changed this place around because they were afraid of me falling over the new upholstery or something.
I sighed lightly, turning back to Molly after a few moments of straightening out my thoughts. “Care to walk a poor blind guy back to class?” I raised an eyebrow, that tell-tale crooked grin painting my lips again before I could stop myself. Oh god, I was actually flirting with this girl. The realization of that only made me more amused, my grin growing to show my white teeth. This poor girl probably thought I was crazy. Oh well, at least I could laugh at myself.

I reached across and took the Zippo lighter he offered me. With a quick flick of the flint wheel the warmth of the flame brushed against the skin of my face and I inhaled slowly to get the tip of my cigarette lit.
Immediately I felt the cool sensation of relief roll over my body as a sigh passed my lips. It felt good to smoke again. Unlike a lot of my fellow soldiers I was a pretty light smoker. Usually a pack could last me three or four weeks depending on how stressed I was. The first month back home was a mess with about a pack for two days but I cut back once I got through physical therapy.

There was a short silence before the inevitable happened. Adam turned the focus of our little meeting towards the answer I gave during the group session earlier. I could have seen this coming from a mile away yet for some reason I felt very at ease around him now that we were alone. There was just something about his demeanor that was..calming and welcoming. Like I knew he wasn't going to judge me and he'd actually listen to what I had to say.

However at the same time I could not bring myself to tell him. I furrowed my brow in frustration as well as embarrassment at my own shortcoming.
"How about you ask me that again in a day or two? Maybe then I'll tell you the full story." I said quietly to answer the question he seemed to regret having asked. Very quickly I finished the rest of my cigarette until I was left with just a quarter of an inch of white left on the tip. It was then that I threw the butt into an ash tray nearby.

He stood up in front of me and I looked up at him curiously, wondering whether 10 minutes had really passed so quickly. His words came as he turned his head in my direction. His eyes settled more or less on where I was sat and I found myself somewhat swept away by the beauty of his eyes while at the same time feeling unsettled by the fact that he couldn't actually see me through them. It was unsettling because he did not seem like the kind of boy..man..who deserved to be blind. No-one deserved to be blind of course. But just looking at him now I could see he deserved so much more than what he had.
"There's a reason they call me mysterious Molly." I replied to his statement with a smile and a tone that was somewhere between playful and serious.

Slowly I pulled myself up from my seat and looked up at Adam, finding that he was much taller than me despite the fact that I was relatively tall for a girl. In a way Adam was the kind of guy that most girls would drool over at the very first glimpse of his tall handsome appearance. Yet I wondered whether he actually knew just how alluring he truly was.
I reached out without thinking to take his hand at the wrist, bringing it up to my shoulder.
"Only if you don't mind being walked by a cripple." I answered his question with a half-smile. My answer was my way of.. flirting? I assumed what he was doing was some kind of flirting..anyway, it was my way of returning his flirt while at the same time partially answering the question he had asked a while ago.
With that I began to walk back towards the conference room with him at my side.

With her answer, it was like a beacon of white light burst through my mind. Cripple wasn’t the word we were supposed to use in mediation, but it clicked instantly. The little thing that was off about her walking, the way she said she had lost herself. My face lost it its amusement as I felt my eyes turn from curious to openly understanding. She placed my arm around her, and as she moved so close to me I could feel how tall she was. The muscles in her shoulders, the faint scent of her shampoo causing me to stumble lightly as we started walking.

You see…I always had trouble with girls. I tried to be charming and kind, sexy but not too manly, however…it was extremely difficult. Especially growing up. At that moment I distinctly remembered Wendy Guttormsen asking me to one of those dorky middle school dances, and feeling so excited that a girl actually liked the gangly blind kid. However, at that same dance I realized it was out of pity. Most of the girls I got in high school simply felt bad for me. For some reason as I matured, they stopped feeling so bad, but that’s a different mystery all together.

As we walked down the hall, I started getting distracted by Molly. The way her shoulders moved when she walked, the feeling of her hair brushing against my thumb. She was a very interesting girl, I’d give her that.
“By the way, smoking is bad for you.” I whispered down to her as we got to the door, leaning forward to open it and sending her a wink over my shoulder…although I would never know if she saw it. “Ladies first.” I said quietly, letting her step before me. As I walked back into the room, I could hear a bit of chatter going on between the patients. Which was good. I remembered for the first month here when I was just a little kid, I wasn’t old enough to go through the group sessions, so they set me up with a one-on-one therapy session. I wouldn’t even talk to the guy for a good couple of weeks.

“Alright, no one tell the secretary I’m letting you have breaks.” I smiled at the group playfully, trying to get their moods up slightly. Which was probably a lost cause for most of them. “I’ve found most of the rules here pretty easy to bend...” I said as I made my way back to my chair, taking my seat and holding the tape recorder again, letting everyone find their place again as I continued.

“Now, I think it’s a great idea to tell you all a little bit about myself.” I said, leaning forward as per usual, trying to get them all engaged in the conversation. As the patients began to simmer down, I was momentarily distracted by the thought of Molly’s perfume before I blinked, shaking my head and feeling my thick curls bob back and forth slightly.

“I lost my sight when I was nine.” I said, and that shut everyone up rather effectively. After a deep, calming breath I continued. “I still remember what colours look like, things like that…it’s just been a strange growth process. I don’t think I’ll ever imagine my mother and father any older than their thirties.” I said with a small smile, which made a few of the patients chuckle. “I’ve been coming to the Fredericks Center since before I knew how to kiss a girl,” I let my eyes wander to where I knew Molly was sitting, an amused half-smile still painting my features. “And it’s helped me a lot. The people here have helped me deal with life, and taught me how to survive through it even when you have lost something.” My face became solemn as I felt my gaze shift toward the ground, as I ran a hand through my thick curls. “If I hadn’t gone through treatment, I would have been a totally different person.”

The silence in the room could have been cut with a butter knife. I cleared my throat, lifting my chin up slightly and making my tone a bit more welcoming. “I want all of you to be comfortable with me. I’m going to be learning a lot about each of you in the next few weeks, and I feel as if it would be a hell of a lot less uncomfortable if you saw me as a regular guy, instead of some kind of boring shrink.” I leaned back in the stiff, plastic chair.

“Well, I would like to end our first session with some thoughts from all of you.” I smiled, trying to look around the circle at everyone but I knew it was probably a little off. “I would like each of you to tell the group something that relaxes you. An object, a place, food, music, anything.”

To my left, Anita, the miscarriage woman…she began to speak, hesitating slightly. “Laundry detergent.” I felt my eyebrow raise, and an encouraging smile paint my features. “Whenever I was mad, or upset, I would always go down to the basement and do laundry.” I heard her laugh faintly, and clapped my hands together softly.

“Good! That’s good, Anita.” I waited for the next patient to go, making a mental note of each thing as they went around the circle, that tell-tale prickle of curiosity running down my spine as I wondered what Molly would say.

When I mentioned the fact that I was a 'cripple' as best I could find to put it there seemed to be a moment of realization for the man who stood next to me. It came in the form of a split second pause between his hand coming to my shoulder and us beginning to walk back to the room but I noticed it all the same.
He said nothing though and I was glad of that. The last thing I wanted to do was go into any more detail about what happened to me. Not yet. I didn't feel like I was ready.
The silence was broken when we reached the door of the conference room and he broke away to open it for me, leaning in to whisper to me quietly.

His words made me blink and I almost retorted with something along the lines of 'so is the military' but I caught myself before the words passed my lips. I was glad too because we would have been within earshot of the others.
"Hypocrite.." I murmured in a completely playful tone as I passed him on my way back towards the rest of the group. I knew he could find his way around the room perfectly so I didn't wait for him. I guess I also didn't want him sensing the smile that had found its way to my lips. His presence had thrown me completely off guard. Normally I wouldn't have been so forward and smiley around someone I hardly knew.

Getting back to my seat we continued with our session which went pretty quietly. When Adam started to tell us about what happened to him I found myself leaning forward in my chair, my gaze focused solely on him. Although his story was sad there was something else about it that drew me towards him even more; the fact that he understood and knew what it felt like to lose something.
In his case it was his sight which he had once had.
In my case it was my leg which I too, had once had.
I caught myself thinking about him and told myself to stop. Chances were he was only being nice to me because it was his job in a way as the leader of our group. There was no other reason, right?

"The piano." I answered quickly when it came my turn to give my object or rather the music that calmed me most. It was the truth as well. At least this was something that I could share without people looking at me funny.
"When I was in the hospital, the radio in my room was fixed on a station that played nothing but piano pieces. It calmed me more than anything." I gave my brief explanation just the way the others had and turned my head towards the next person just as I had before, my signal that I was done speaking for now.

I caught myself glancing towards Adam once I was done speaking. I wasn't sure why. Perhaps..perhaps it was because I wanted to gauge his reaction to the object I used. For the first time in what felt like months I actually cared what someone thought about me. It was a very strange sensation to say the very least.
As well as being one that made me question exactly what it was that was drawing me towards the man who was sat more or less across from me in the circle. Why was it that I felt like he was different from the others? I couldn't find the answer so I forced myself to think of other things, momentarily glad that Adam would not have been able to see my brief stare at him followed by a flush across my cheeks.

Molly’s answer was kind of unexpected, but perfect. I sighed faintly, a beaming smile making my eyes twinkle for a few seconds before I breathed out, giving Ken my attention, then Bonnie. For some reason I couldn’t explain, my stomach was flip-flopping in the kind of way it did when I was a kid, the night before Christmas. I was excited. And somehow…sad. I didn’t want this group session to end so quickly, however it was soon drawing to a close.

Ken told the group how he loved a fresh, new pair of socks. And Bonnie said how she was totally relaxed by any movie that involved Leonardo Dicaprio, which made some of the others chuckle, including me. When the session was done, I stood, brushing off my pants and clearing my throat as everyone began to put their chairs back where they had originally been set, instead of the circle I had requested.

“Thank you all for your cooperation. This was a great start! Same time tomorrow? If anyone has any questions for me I’ll be hanging around the facility for a little while.” I switched off the tape recorder and shoved it into my old leather bag, swinging it over one shoulder as I held my jacket under one of my arms, retracted walking stick in the other hand. My ears perked up as I remembered something, and my face broke into a grin. “Oh! And tomorrow’s lesson will be held in room 4B. It’s near the women’s living quarters, to the left.” I said, unable to part from my smile. I was kind of…proud of myself. Glad I had made it through day one alive, without anyone breaking down…yet. They all broke down eventually, that I knew. I was just glad I was getting to know these people before that happened.

After everyone had packed up, I made my way to the door, where I leaned against the wall and listened to everyone chattering, leaving one by one as they told each other their room numbers and schedules. A couple of them said goodbye to me, in which I responded with a smile and a simple ‘bye’.

I could hear Molly walking, smiling innocently at myself as I caught onto the sound of her walk in a second. It was so unique, and I desperately wondered when she would tell me more about herself. Why was I so caught up with this girl? Perhaps it was because she was…different. Her mystery, the way I could tell when she smiled in her voice. Oh, what a beautiful smile she probably had. What colour were her eyes? Hair? I grinned sadly at myself, a bitter flash entering my eyes as I immediately stopped my train of thought. Stop that, Adam. Every time I caught myself day dreaming like that I would stop it…I didn’t deserve to be happy these days. I wasn’t happy, and I was not about to drag a sweet thing like Molly down with me.

When everyone had left, I turned the light switch down and shut the door, locking it with the Fredericks Center key I had in my pocket. Coffee sounded like a good idea, and for the second time today I began my familiar walk to the lounge. No one was there, just a dead silence hanging in the room as I walked to the small kitchen, filling the coffee machine with grounds, and with a few cups of water and pressing the button. My mood was beginning to sour as I realized just how unhappy I was, and all that smiling in the group session had just left my cheeks sore and my chest feeling empty.

When the coffee was ready, I reached up into the cupboard, fingers fumbling blindly for a moment until they found a mug. I filled it up with rich black coffee, and went to go sit in my old, familiar leather chair, getting another cigarette out and absentmindedly thinking of Molly as I tossed my bag and jacket onto the ground, fishing my lighter out of my pocket.

I could not help but notice the smile that came to Adam's lips when he heard the answer I gave the whole of the group about what object calmed me most. It was as if the object relieved him somehow. I wondered, briefly, whether maybe he thought I was going to give another ambiguous answer like the one I had given earlier and the fact that I didn't was a relief to him.
I wasn't quite sure how to take his reaction but one thing I knew for sure was the fact that his smile made the room light up. Never before had I ever set eyes upon a smile that was so radiant and contagious.

I tore my gaze away from his gorgeous self and turned my attention towards the rest of the group who were still sharing what calmed them most. Some of the answers were pretty normal sounding with one or two exceptions that, while being silly in nature, made complete sense in the context of what they were going through. The mention of Leonardo Dicaprio movies made me chuckle quietly while nodding my head in agreement, a gesture that she noticed and smiled at me for.
Yet every time I tried to look around the room my eyes always settled on the man across from me.

I could not understand why I was so drawn to him or why I felt like he would even consider me anything other than a member of his therapy group. Sure we looked to be more or less the same age and whatnot but he didn't know that. He didn't even know what I looked like and if he had any idea of the way he looked..there's no way he would put himself down to my level. Not a chance.
That realization made the smile fade from my lips and when he dismissed us I pulled myself out of my chair slowly.

I was one of the last people to leave the room and as I passed him I paused for a moment as I came to stand next to him. There was a slight hesitation, where I questioned what I was going to say, before I turned my head in his direction.
"Thanks for the great session. We..We should hang out sometime, alright?" I said the words before I could stop myself but in the end I found that I was quite proud of my ability to be forward. Now I wasn't sure if that was a good thing but I knew that if I didn't give it a try then I was definitely not going to get anywhere.
I made it a rhetorical kind of 'you don't have a say in the matter' question by continuing on my way into the hallway.

As much as I wanted to stay and learn more about the man who now filled my every thought, I also wanted to get to my room to settle down and unpack all of my things. I hadn't brought all that much but still I wanted this place to feel as much like home as I could possibly make it. So I headed off towards the woman's section of the facility where all of the female housing was. However very soon I found myself to be lost in the numbers and many hallways that lined the building.
It got to the point where I could have sworn I made my way around in a big circle only to end up back where I had started.

With a frustrated sigh I headed back to the only place I knew the location of for certain. The lobby and the lounge where Adam and I had conversed for the short little break he had given us. When I approached the lounge I pushed the door open silently hoping that he was there. Much to my surprise he actually was. He was busy making something in the kitchen. I took a step or two into the room before I decided to announce my presence.
"Adam?" I said quietly more to let him know I was there, not that he need me speaking to let him know someone was in the room, as I moved towards one of the many tables that filled the room.
"I'm afraid I got lost trying to find my room.." I trailed off with a tone of embarrassment as I looked across at the man who I had come to admire quite deeply.

The coffee felt good, and the feeling of the cigarette mixed nicely along with it. The caffeine made my heart race, and the nicotine calmed me. The two highs were on separate sides of the scale, yet both appreciated. The only thing I needed now was a whiskey sour and a bottle of vodka and I’d have a lovely afternoon.
Part of me wanted to stop drinking, not that I had a problem or anything, it just made me feel even more sorry for myself than I already did. What had Molly said again? Just now I was realizing that she might have made an attempt at befriending me…..which was actually quite an amazing leap of success in a trauma patient.

Suddenly, I heard a voice as I was taking a drag, and I almost swallowed the smoke, exhaling as a smile perked me up and I turned in the direction of the voice. It was Molly, of course. I had heard someone walking toward the lounge, however, deep in my thoughts of self-hatred, I hadn’t realized just how unique the sound of that walk was.
Her voice made me feel better, better than the coffee and cigarette had. Better than a whiskey sour, or any other drink could probably make me feel right now.
“Well, I’m kind of an expert on this place.” I said as I stood, much too aloof. I winced slightly at my words as I realized how pathetic that sounded but shrugged off the feeling, ashing my smoke in the tray on the coffee table and walking toward her, scooping my bag and jacket up in one fluid motion.

“You’re not in the men’s quarters, are you? Cause that might break my heart.” I said, teeth clicking together at that horrible joke. What the hell was wrong with me? I couldn’t keep my tongue in my mouth to save my life. After rubbing the corner of my mouth awkwardly for a moment, I grinned, amused that I could be such an idiot sometimes.

“Come on.” I reached out to her, going for her hand but taking her elbow by accident. Casually, I went with it, pretending I hadn’t made a mistake and linking my arm with hers, other arm holding my jacket as I swung my bag over one shoulder, shoving my retracted white stick into the depths of my bag. Silently I prayed a ‘thank you’ to whatever god had made Molly unable to find her room, glad that we could talk outside of our group session. Maybe I’d get her to think of me as an actual person instead of her shrink. “Which room are you?” I cut my thoughts short as I began leading us to the women’s quarters.

When I walked into the lounge I noticed something about the way Adam was stood. Although his back was facing me and there was no way of me seeing his expression from where I was stood, I noticed that his shoulders were slightly slumped. In fact his figure as a whole looked as if he was very sad about something. Very much different from the bubbly person I had met only a few hours ago when he first walked into the group session room.
As much as I wanted to ask whether he was alright, I didn't feel like it was my place nor was it my business. So I just kept my mouth shut and hoped that he wasn't too lost in his thoughts to notice my arrival.

Much to my relief not only did he take notice of my presence but immediately his body perked up again and a smile came to his lips that would have made any sane girl melt. I coughed quietly to avoid doing just that as he turned to face me and spoke with a cigarette held between his soft lips that were still bent into a heartwarming smile.. No! Molly, focus.
He answered me by telling me he was an expert at this facility and I couldn't help but let out what was the most feminine giggle to ever pass my lips. I almost clapped a hand over my mouth but I found that would have been much more embarrassing.
"I'd sure hope so!" I responded with a grin.

With the grace of a dancer he walked towards me, scooped up his things with one motion, and delivered a joke that made me laugh quietly while at the same time flushing at the thought of him yet again flirting with me. At least that's what it sounded like. I couldn't tell whether he spoke like this to everyone or if he was just making an exception for me. It was much too early in our friendship, if you could call it that, to know for sure. Hell it was much too early in my stay at this facility as a whole for me to even think of him as a friend yet.
"Last time I checked, I'm still a woman." I retorted while trying to stifle another giggle.

I didn't have much of a warning as he took a few more steps in my direction, pausing only to link his arm through mine smoothly, before he brought me along with him towards the door I had entered only moments before.
"Oh! Uhm.. It says on my form that I'm in room 37 wherever that is." I answered his question in a bit of a flustered voice, somewhat taken aback by the sudden closeness between us along with the warm feeling of his arm against mine. I could feel every movement through the muscles of his forearm and bicep. Adam wasn't super bulky and I thought that was perfect.
I'd spent more than enough time with guys that looked like tanks in and of themselves during my time in the army.

As we walked together though the hallways I could not help but turn my head to watch him as often as I could without running into anything or anyone who happened to be walking in the opposite direction as us. Perhaps not the best idea in the world seeing as he was trusting me to keep him from knocking into anyone while I was trusting him to take me to the right place. I would have hated to be the reason for him to end up with a bump on his head from running into a wall or anything like that.
A quiet sigh passed my lips as I tried to force my thoughts elsewhere. Anywhere other than the handsome man who was walking alongside me with his arm linked through mine.

The silence seemed to go on but I was perfectly fine with that. I was perfectly fine with just enjoying his company. Was that weird? It sounded weird even as a fleeting thought in my head. So to please both my own conscience, which was telling me I was a weirdo, and the silence I decided to speak.
"I'm sorry if I interrupted you or anything like that." I blurted out in an apologetic voice.

Ooc: I don't mean to interrupt but so far this has really been a pleasure to read ^_^ At first I wondered how well a guy would pull off a girl an so forth but to my surprise Adam has a definite male voice and molly has (what I believe since I'll never truly know <) quite the female train of thought.

Now do continue < I would be delighted to catch up on this in a few days <

After a while of walking, I could feel her body tense and wondered what was going through her mind. Was it strange walking with a blind person? Was she uncomfortable being close to me? As she quickly filled the silence, I felt my shoulders ease, and I raised an eyebrow at myself, grinning at how I could act like such a little boy sometimes.
“Oh yes! I was just about to unlock the secret behind why Twinkies last so long, and you completely barged in. How rude, missy.” I looked down in her direction, wiggling my eyebrows as a playful grin made my features slightly crooked.

In reality, my stomach was slightly uneasy at the thought of her catching me in such a bad mood. Usually I was the one who crept up on people, not the other way around. A small sigh passed my lips as my features fell back to normal, and I straightened my depthless gaze forward. I was off my game, I was in some kind of funk that I just couldn’t get out of these days. It was strange, when I was a teenager, probably fourteen or something, I’d gotten over the fact that I was blind. My sight was never coming back. I was either going to wallow in self pity for the rest of my life, or learn to deal with it. These days, it was a different story. I’d never been in love, my parents felt sorry for me to no end, my roommate felt as if he had to baby me…

I was starting to get mad. So after a breath, I let it go, concentrating on Molly. My cheeks turned faintly red as I realized her body language had changed.
“You’re staring at me.” I smiled, one eyebrow raising down at her as I quietly teased her. Of course it was innocent. Everything about our weird little blooming friendship was innocent. Most people looked at me, I knew they did. But with girls, there was usually pity behind it. However, right now with Molly…I didn’t get that feeling. However, there was obviously nothing past her gaze. How could there be? I was her councilor, she was a patient, plus…as a little bonus to my pathetic existence, I was blind.

“Here is your hall,” I said as we turned a corner, and I continued on until we were right in front of her door. I leaned against the door frame slightly, crossing my arms over my chest and hugging my jacket to myself as I tilted my head to the side faintly. “You’re a very interesting person, Molly.” I said, a little more serious than I had been before. I liked to be honest with people, even strangers. That way, I felt as if they would be more honest with me.

The apology I used to fill the silence that had been growing between us was quickly turned into another chance for Adam to display his playful nature. He joked about discovering the secret behind Twinkies and I could not help but laugh at the thought. As I tried to quiet myself down, as I noticed my laughing was echoing through the long hallways, I realized that it had been years since the last time someone made me laugh as much as he could.
Most of the time I wasn't able to find it in me to do anything more than smile but when I was around him..things were different.

"Ah, it's a shame I interrupted you then! I've always wondered what it is that makes those things good even after decades of sitting around." I responded to his joke before happily turning my gaze towards the hallways we were walking through. The facility was a whole was very well designed and decorated. Instead of looking like a mental hospital or anything, which would have been a very easy thing to achieve, the staff did everything they could make the place look welcoming. There were paintings, pieces of furniture like chairs and small tables, and cases that looked to be filled with books of all kinds. Instead of being one bland color there were a multitude of different colors that lined the walls and then there was the gorgeous guy beside me..

Again I found myself staring straight up at Adam. My gaze had been drawn right back to him despite trying to look elsewhere. Only this time he caught me and teased me about it quietly. His words made my cheeks flush to a bright shade of pink and I quickly tore my gaze away from him, moving it down to the ground in front of us.
I uttered a quiet apology but I wasn't sure if he even heard it through the embarrassment I was trying to recover from.

We reached my hall and soon enough we were stood in front of my room. Unlike many of the other rooms in the facility this one was designed to be a single for those who preferred to live alone as opposed to with a roommate. I had made that choice very early on when my parents first mentioned the fact that there was a place I could go to get help. At first the idea infuriated me but after a while I realized how much I really did need the help.
As I fished through my bag for the envelope I had been sent with the key to my room I heard his voice beside me.

"My parents wouldn't have signed me up for this if I weren't an interesting person, Adam. And you're not so boring yourself you know." I replied to his comment with a small smile. It was nice to know that he was going to be forward with what he thought about me. That was much better than when guys, or girls for that matter, spoke without really specifying what they meant. Of course by thinking this I was being a hypocrite but there was a strong difference between revealing ones past and revealing what one thinks of another.
"Are you headed off or..would you come inside?" I asked this question as I pulled the small key from the envelope I had been given and unlocked the door of my new home.

As she offered me to come in, my smile turned awkward, into a kind of grimace. “I’d rather not, these rooms just remind me of spending so much time here.” I said, shrugging one of my shoulders lightly as I started to turn away, stepping toward the hall again. I was glad that I had walked her to her room, although hopefully she would forget where it was again and I’d have to show her. I rubbed the back of my neck for a moment, hesitating for a split second as I actually considered it, but I dashed the thought in a second. Rooms were personal, and she had to settle down.

“By the way, you have a lovely laugh.” I said as I turned away, grinning as I walked back down the hall in graceful long strides. It took me a while to perfect walking, however, I would rather look confident in my stride, than appear as some awkward, tall blind guy. I remember seeing blind people when I was a kid…back when I had my sight. I always felt uncomfortable around blind people because I felt as if they were just going to walk into something, or break, or fall at any moment. I made a vow to never ever look like that. If I fell, if I stumbled, it was much easier to laugh at myself and shake it off than go through living life as a fragile disabled dude. I craved equality, not pity.

As I walked down the hall, I heard a small, frustrated sigh. It was Bonnie. She was having trouble unlocking her door, and I wondered how long she had been struggling with it.
“Bonnie?” I raised an eyebrow, stopping as I heard her annoyed sighs become more distinct, making sure it was actually her.
She let out a very girlish scream, and I felt the corner of my lips turn up slightly, trying not to smirk. “Oh, it’s you. Jesus, you’re like a ghost.” I could hear her adjusting her top, then stopping quickly as she realized I couldn’t see what she looked like.

“Having trouble?” I tilted my head to the side, chewing on the inside of my cheek as my eyebrows knitted together faintly.
I heard her scoff lightly, and I knew she was rolling her eyes. “Yes. This door is, like, ugh.” She sounded like an adult, probably twenty-five or so, however her dialogue made me chuckle under my breath.

“What room are you, Bonnie?” I asked, walking toward the door and feeling the number 11.
She stopped wiggling the lock, and she was dead silent. Until she nearly growled, “I’m room nine.” And stomped off across the hall. I followed her, trying not to smile.
“It’s okay, my first day here my mother had to sleep in the same bed with me because I didn’t want to be alone.” I told her as she got the correct door open in one try. “I was ten.” I added quickly, so she wouldn’t think I was some kind of weirdo.

Her girlish giggle made me slightly uncomfortable, as it had that…flirty edge to it. “That’s adorable.” She said, and I bit down harder on the inside of my cheek as I stepped away, trying to continue my walk.
“Alright, well, see you tomorrow.” I said quickly, as I found myself back in the lobby a moment later, raising an eyebrow at myself. So, you can flirt with Molly until your head falls off, but you can’t even smile at another girl? I thought to myself as I began my walk to my apartment, which was three blocks away. Oh boy, you’re in trouble, Adam.