Chapter Text
Wednesday February 24th, 2026
‘Pittsburgh Rehabilitation and Restoration Facility’
That name, in bright, white letters, stared Frank Langdon in the face. He was on a written agreement that stated he could not return to work at the PTMC until the rehab center cleared him.
“Great.” He huffed out under his breath.
On his head, a black and yellow hat, hiding his eyes with a shadow. He wore a grey shirt with a black sweatshirt, and black sweatpants.
He knew he needed the help. He just didn’t want it. But who does?
He lifted up his phone to turn it on silent, sighed and walked towards the doors, begrudgingly opening them. He stopped inside, letting the doors close behind him, while looking around trying to find the room he needed to be in.
His circle group started at 8 a.m. sharp, it was 7:55. He wanted to be more punctual.
He finally spotted it, room 22b, down the hall and to the right. He stopped once more in front of the large, burly door, and sighed again. He opened it up and it made a long *creeeaaaaak* sound.
Inside, about 5 members sat in a circle, the lead counselor sitting directly across from the door.
“Hello! Come take a seat, please!” She beckoned to him. She seemed nice to Langdon. An African woman with tender eyes that lit up the room.
‘How does she sit and deal with addicts all day and still have a glimmer of hope in her eyes?’ He wondered.
He walked in and sat down in a seat parallel to the door, so he had to turn his head to see when anyone walked in.
“Um, do you need to know my name?” Langdon leaned forward and asked quietly.
“We’ll go over all of that in a minute, hon.” She smiled back at him.
He nodded his head and leaned back in his chair.
His hands were in his lap, and he fidgeted ever so slightly.
Another *creeeaaaaak* sounded. Langdon looked over to see who had just walked in, and his heart dropped ten stories.
Cassie McKay.
Langdon’s eyes widened. He didn’t expect to see anyone he knew here…let alone anyone from the PTMC. He darted his head back to the middle of the circle, ignoring her.
She walked in, bag hung on her shoulder, to-go coffee cup in her hand. She wore a black undershirt and her army green jacket, as well as black pants.
She walked towards the center of the circle, her sneakers slightly squeaking on the waxy floor. She met eyes with the lead counselor of the group, and smiled sweetly at her.
Cassie took a sip of her coffee and looked around at the people in attendance. She took a double take when she saw Langdon, and coughed as she choked on her coffee in surprise.
“Oh dear, are you okay?” The counselor asked worriedly.
Cassie cleared her throat. “Mmmh. Yes, I’m good.” She said, jaw open a bit in disbelief that this was her luck. She also did not think she was going to run into anybody she knew.
Langdon continued looking away, not acknowledging her presence.
Cassie continued walking in, brushing the coffee off of her with her hand, being careful not to spill the coffee in her other.
She sat down in a chair facing away from the door, and a few seats to the left of Langdon.
He just stared forward. Moritified.
Once the last person walked in, the counselor began.
“Alright, I think that’s everyone! Hi, all. I am Miss Linda Atkins, but you can just call me Linda. I’ve worked in this facility for 22 years now, and I love every second of it. To start us off with a little icebreaker, let’s go around and say our names, and…hm…favorite food!” She smiled so large Langdon thought she was faking it. But no, every ounce of joy in that woman was real.
The person on the right of Linda began.
“Hi. I’m Charlie, and um…I like…pizza?” He said weakly.
“Hi, Charlie!” Linda recalled. She looked at everyone else in the group and nudged them with her eyes to recall the same.
“Hi, Charlie.” Everyone recited. Charlie lifted his hand in a small, awkward wave.
As the circle continued, Langdon couldn’t get his mind off of Cassie being there. How on earth was he supposed to focus when somebody he knows is here?? It’s literally his first day. He felt so frustrated.
“Ahem…” The person beside Langdon murmured, elbowing him a bit.
He came back to the present and realized it was his turn.
“Oh, uh, hello everyone, I’m Frank, but everyone calls me Langdon, it’s my, um, last name. Yeah.”
“Hi, Langdon.” Everyone parroted, with a few scattered ‘Hi, Frank’s
“Langdon, dear, what’s your favorite food?” Linda beckoned.
“Oh right, I really like sushi, my uh, daughter got me into it.” He smiled a bit to himself. Linda also smiled, happy to see her clients talking about themselves.
After his turn, Langdon spaced out again. Until the circle came to Cassie.
“Hello, everyone, I’m Cassie, and my favorite food is…gosh…they’re all good! Uhm, but I really like pizza. Basic, I know, but I have an eleven year old son, so, we don’t eat much else.” She giggled a bit.
Linda’s eyes lit up. “Oh my goodness, you two both have kids! How adorable.” She pointed to Langdon and Cassie. They awkwardly looked up at each other and nodded, making very uneasy eye contact. They laughed uneasily and both looked down.
After the icebreaker ended, Linda began telling a bit about herself, and what to expect of this first meeting.
Langdon gathered a few chunks of information, but couldn’t really focus. He was just…off.
Well, 45 minutes came and went, and before Langdon knew it, they were leaving.
He got up to head to the door, but Cassie stopped him.
“Hey, Langdon!” She called out.
He gritted his teeth slightly as he turned around.
“Hey…” He said slowly, walking over to her. “Well, this is awkward.” He continued.
“Yeah, well, at least we’re meeting again in these circumstances and not, I guess, elsewhere? I don’t know.” She swayed a bit
“Yeah, well, um, I’m gonna, head out.” He said pointing to the door. He started turning to leave but again was halted by Cassie.
“Hey, do you wanna grab breakfast? Or a drink? Or something?” She said.
He laughed a bit to himself. “Kind of gutsy to ask to meet for drinks at a rehab meeting. Also, it’s 9 a.m.” He looked down, still chuckling.
“Well, I don’t, I was just…breakfast. How does breakfast sound?” She backtracked.
“I’m messing with you, Cass. Breakfast sounds great.” He softened up.
They walked out towards the door, and behind them, Linda observed.
——
“No, I was so confused!” Langdon laughed out loud, sitting across Cassie at a booth inside of an IHOP, coincidentally the same one night-shift goes to after work sometimes. A plate of bacon and eggs sat in front of him, and a smaller plate of pancakes was beside it. He took a bite of bacon and continued talking.
“I was like—why on earth am I seeing someone from the ED here?? I was frustrated!” He laughed. “Can’t escape you guys.” He smiled and looked down at his plate as he continued chewing.
Cassie laughed with him, picking up a piece of pancake with her fork and shoving it in her mouth.
“No, I felt the same way! In the car, the whole way there, I hoped and prayed I wouldn’t see anyone I knew. I didn’t even consider that you might be starting rehab today.” She smiled.
“Yeah.” His laughter died down a bit. “Hey, um. It might be too personal, but, why are you back in rehab? I thought you got out.” He questioned, the tone turning more serious.
“I did. But that was two years ago. Ever since the Pittfest shooting I haven’t really been the same. And…I..” She said looking down, nudging her salad with her fork. Langdon looked at her, earnestness in his eyes.
“I fell back into the cycle of alcohol and opioids. Stupid. I know. Destructive.” She sighed that last part and she set down her fork and picked up her water.
“No, no, not stupid at all. Pittfest screwed us all up, okay? You’re getting help. Nothing stupid about it.” He reassured her. She smiled softly and set back down her water.
“Thank you, Frank.” She muttered.
He smiled back at her, not saying anything else.
The waitress walked by, and Langdon flagged her down.
“Hey, we’re ready for the check.” He smiled. “I’ll cover the whole thing.” He said to her. He tried to be quiet about it, but Cassie heard. Widening her eyes. The waitress smiled and nodded, walking away to grab the check.
“Hey! Absolutely not! I’ll cover it. Seriously.” Cassie said sternly.
“Now what kind of a guy makes someone else pay?” He replied smugly.
Cassie scoffed and a smile grew on her face as she leaned back in disbelief.
Really, she was shocked. Her ex, Chad, rarely made gestures when they were married. She often covered the check. But this was…refreshing. She smiled again to herself.
The waitress walked back over and set down the check. “I’ll be back in a minute to collect it back.” She said grinning.
“Okay, how big of a tip should we leave?” He said, pen in hand, looking up at Cassie.
“I can cover the tip. At least let me do that.” She pleaded softly. She really wanted to. Like, actually.
Langdon knew when to let her take charge, so he agreed. “Okay. Fine with me.” He surrendered.
“Is twenty good?” Cassie asked, sorting through her wallet.
“I dunno. They burnt my bacon a little.” He giggled.
“Oh wow. That warrants no tip.” She joked back at him, setting her wallet down and reaching for her water in laughter.
“Oh look at us, perfect for each other.” He chuckled back, scooching his hand towards his own water. He accidentally reached for the wrong one, though, Cassie’s. The two’s hands met for a moment, and they both stopped laughing and looked at each other. They quickly jolted back, snapping their hands to their chests.
They both chuckled awkwardly, not wanting to acknowledge the uncomfortability.
Once Langdon got his card back, Cassie set down the twenty on the table.
“Ready to head out?” He said.
“Only if you are.” She replied.
They chuckled again and got up to leave. They reached the door and Langdon, of course, opened it for her.
“Wow, you really are a gentleman. Harrison should take notes.” She laughed.
“Yeah, bring him over to my place sometime, I’ll give him some good pointers.” He kidded.
“Yeah, right. More like you’ll watch youtube videos or play whatever video games guys play.” She smiled as she walked down the sidewalk with Langdon.
They reached Cassie’s car and she reached for her keys. She sighed out of her laughing and looked at Langdon.
“You know, this was really, really nice, Frank.” She said looking up at him. “Thank you.”
“Anytime, Cassie.” He smiled back at her and began to walk to his own car. Cassie called after him.
Friday February 26th, 2026
A few days rolled by, Langdon didn’t have much to do, and spent the days laying in bed and eating ice cream. He knew he needed to do something to get out of bed, but he didn’t know what. The next meeting wasn’t for another week, so he was at a loss.
Until he got a text. A single message popped up on his phone screen, lighting it up in his hand.
TO BE CONTINUED!