Chapter Text
"Mr Howell, are you listening?"
I was startled out of my reverie by the gentle voice which was suddenly too close. I blinked a few times before nodding rapidly before beginning to write down the notes that I would need to remember. There was no chance that I would remember everything, it was nearly impossible. This section of Honey-Oake had thirteen patients in alone, and that was only the part of the building that they had named "D ward". I wouldn't need to remember everything anyway, I was only here for two weeks on a work placement scheme that I needed in order to pass my university course. There had been too many people in my class in need of a work placement so when they heard I was wanting to go into Mental Health Nursing they snapped that right up, sending me to Honey-Oake instead of a general hospital like everyone else.
"Alright then, Mr Howell. I shall hand you over to the lovely Louise now. You will shadow her today and get a feel for the place" The Doctor informed me before taking my hand in his in a too-firm handshake. A bubbly girl with blonde hair bounced in front of me, wearing jogging bottoms and a hoodie. She didn't really look like she were at work which made me question if this were truly who would be my mentor for the day. She smiled at me in a way that was incredibly comforting which settled all of the nerves that I hadn't even known I were feeling.
"Hello, you must be Daniel? My name is Louise" The blonde spoke quietly, something told me she didn't usually speak so quietly but there must have been a reason. I nodded and she smiled once again, guiding me out of the reception office and over to the staff room. "Right, Dan. So in D ward we have a relatively quiet lot" Louise chuckled, grabbing some notes off of the table and writing her name on them and signing her life away as my mother would call it. "We do have thirteen in here, but all but one of them are heavily sedated right now, so they won't be a problem today anyway". I smiled, at least not all of them were gonna be shouting at me today then. "We need to monitor the twelve on the main section of D ward but the thirteenth is Mr Lester, he has his own room just off of the ward.
Lester. Why did that name sound so familiar?
Louise had explained to me that they wear comfortable clothing such as pyjamas or jogging bottoms so that the patients relax more, feeling more like a friend were helping them rather than a doctor or a nurse. It also meant that it wasn't as restricting as we moved around the ward which I was incredibly grateful to hear. Louise guided me out onto the ward, as well as introducing me to another male nurse known as PJ. He was lovely and welcomed me as if I were going to fit in well here, I chuckled , as a nurse or as a patient my brain supplied. We did the main rounds of observations, which apparently were done once in the morning and once at night. We would check temperature, blood pressure and heart rate as well as irritability, pain and so on. We got one bed at the end to find a patient who's whiteboard above his bed said "Christopher Kendall" and in seconds it was clear that the young adult had a soft spot for PJ.
"Where's my beautiful boy today?" Chris slurred, whatever medication he were on clearly tiring him out a bit. Louise just chuckled, walking closer and sitting beside the boy on the bed. She took one of his hands in hers, which she told me she would never be able to do if he hadn't had his medication due to his irritability. "Chris, you know that PJ is coming to see you after he checks on Phil, okay?" Chris huffed and let his head lull onto Louise's shoulder. "Why is Phil more important?" he was almost crying now, before he perked up instantly at the sound of PJ's voice.
"Chris! I'm here buddy!" PJ said in a tone which was both calm as well as inviting. Louise informed me this was the only ward where you were able to get close and connect one-on-one with patients. It was the only one safe to do so if the patients weren't agitated. It was a day-to-day thing though, never expect that you could be the same everyday. I watched PJ and Chris interact. The way the boy was looking at the nurse was incredible. Louise merely chuckled, leaving PJ with Chris as we walked back to the desk. We took a seat behind it, watching all of the patients who seemed just so... ordinary i suppose. If you looked at them you would never even suspect they had severe mental health conditions which caused them to be sectioned and monitored by trained personnel.
A few hours had passed and I was now very used to the twelve patients in the main section of ward D, I had been shown their medications and read up on various conditions which they were dealing with. I felt quite calm, assisting the nurses with everything as if I were already part of the team. I also learned that PJ made a really good cup of tea which he informed me he 'slurped' for effect. It was now approaching midday, which was when we escorted patients to the dinner tables in the next room and they ate with weird rubbery plastic cutlery which couldn't injure them in anyway. Slowly, we got the twelve patients into the dining room where other staff and even some doctors were watching in case of choking and basically monitoring every possible hazard. "What about Phil?" I heard PJ ask Louise, she merely shook her head in response before adding "he wanted to stay on the ward.
"Is Phil safe to be on his own?" I asked, this 'Phil Lester' was a complete mystery to me. I hadn't been told anything about him besides the fact he had his own room and didn't want to be around people much. I took it upon myself to go back to the ward, my curiosity eating me as I just told Louise that I wanted to make sure everything was clean and tidy before lunch finished. She nodded and smiled, telling me to get her if I needed anything. Once I had walked back into the ward, everything was different. The entire energy was different. The yellow-white walls seemed to hold more life in them. My breath caught in my throat as I saw the figure sitting on the floor staring out of the large window. The first thing I noticed was the jet black hair and broad shoulders. I heard him gasp as he looked in the window at my reflection from behind him.
"I ... knew it" his voice was so quiet, soft and a little broken. It almost sounded familiar. He stood up, wiping vigorously at his eyes before turning around. He kept his eyes hidden as he began sobbing, running back to his private room and closing the door behind him. I blinked in confusion. My mind replaying the last few moments in my head. Why did that voice sound so familiar. I couldn't understand.. Oh.
Oh my god.
That was Phil Lester.
Phil Fucking Lester
My childhood best friend who had died when he was just sixteen years old. Except.. he was alive.
Alive. Alone. In Honey-Oake Mental Hospital.