TRIGGER WARNINGS:

(mentions of) suicide
(mentions of) panic attacks/anxiety
(mentions of) child neglect/child abuse
(mentions of) self harm
(mentions of) car crash
(mentions of) fire
(mentions of) alcohol consumption
(mentions of) smoking
(mentions of) bulling
bipolar

"Sophie guess what!" My doctor Elwin announces walking in.

"What?" I ask not looking away from the fly on the wall.

"You're getting a roommate!"

I whip my head around to look at him. "What?!"

"You're getting a roommate." He repeats." His name is Keefe Sencen and he has heart cancer and PTSD."

"Heart cancer?? What are they going to do? Give him a heart transplant?" I ask.

"I don't know to be honest." Elwin admits. How phone starts to ring. "Sorry Sophie give me a minute." He takes out his phone. "Hello?" A pause. "Ok I'll be right there."

"Let me guess he's here?" I ask.

"Yep." He says with a smile. "I'm going to help him move in I'll be back."

"Ok." He walks out of the room. I look around the room. Some clothes on the floor as well as some stuffed animals, a few of my books are on my bedside table. I climb out of bed and collect some of the clothes shoving them in my drawer. I grab some of the stuffed animals off the floor and throw them on my bed I'm climbing back in bed when the door opens again.

"Welcome to your room." Elwin announces walking in, walking in behind him is a boy about my age maybe a bit older with shaggy, carefully disheveled blond hair and beautiful ice blue eyes, he's pulling a suitcase behind him with one hand and holding a sketch book in the other.

He looks around the room then his eyes settle on me. I suddenly feel a bit elf conscious like I should've brushed my hair or something.

He smiles but it's more like a smirk, lopsided and kinda sneaky like he's ready to pull a prank. "Hi."

I just stare at him for a few minutes then realize he's talking to me. "Oh hi!"

"I'm Keefe." He says. "Your Sophie Foster?"

"Yeah that's me." I say.

"Well Foster looks like we're going to be roomies!" He plops down on the empty bed, the one closest to the window leaving his suitcase on the floor beside him.

"Well Keefe I need to get some paperwork finalized then I'll be back." Eliwns turns to me."Why don't you help him unpack them introduce him to your friends?"

"Ok." I say. Elwin walks out. I turn to Keefe. "Need any help unpacking?"

"No. Thank you though." He opens the suitcase and puts some clothes in the drawers then grabs a toiletry bag. "Where do I put this?"

"You can put it in the bathroom." I point to the bathroom on the other side of the room.

He walks over and puts it in the counter. He walks back and continues unpacking putting sketch books, pencil crayons and other art supplies on the bedside table. "Ok ready to go."

"Ok." I climb out of the bed grabbing my oxygen tank. "Follow me."

"Is that a oxygen tank?" Keefe asks.

"Yeah." I reply. "I have lung cancer so I have this stupid thing to breathe." I trail my hand along the cord thats attached to the tank and my nose.

"Does it ever get annoying having to lug it around all the time?"

"Oh absolutely." I say. "I hate it."

"Makes sense." We walk in silence for a bit. "Where are we going?"

"To the room." I say.

"What room?" He asks.

"It's a room with bean bag chairs, a TV, games, snacks, it's essentially we're all the teen patients hang out."

"Oh ok." He says." Whys it called 'The Room'?"

"We never thought of a better name."

"Oh. Ok." He says. "Is there anything I should know?"

"I'll explain it to you when we meet them." I say.

"Ok." He says as I open the door.

"Sophie!" My best friend Dex exclaims throwing the rubric cube on the floor.

"Hi Dex!" I grin. Dex was one of my first friends here, he's also my adoptive cousin. When I was 12 my family, mom, dad and sister were all killed in a fire I was the only one who survived. Shortly after I was adopted by my parents Grady and Edaline then I found out I had cancer.

"Who's this?" Dex asks turning to look at Keefe.

"My new roommate!" I fake a smile. Dex makes me happy of course, he's my best friend but sometimes I have to put in this like.. fake face so they don't know anythings wrong.

"Nice to meet you." Dex says with a smile making his dimples show, that's how you tell when Dex is fake smiling, if his dimples don't show it's fake, if they do then it's real.

"Nice to meet you too." Keefe says with the same smirk he had on before.

"Hey who's this?" Biana asks hobbling over on her crutches Fitz wheeling behind her.

"Hello." Fitz says wheeling his wheelchair over beside Biana.

"Sophie could you help me please?" Biana asks.

"Yes of course." I leave Keefe's side and walk over to Biana offering her my arm she takes it and leans against me.

"Thanks Soph." She smiles tugging her sweater down lower with he free arm.

"Here I'll take your crutches." I continue to keep her steady with one arm and holding her crutches with the other.

"We're here!" Marella announces walking in with Linh and Tam. She stops abruptly. "Whos this?"

"I'm Keefe." Keefe says.

"I'm Linh!" Linh smiles. "Todays a good day."

"That's amazing!" Dex says with a dimpled smile.

Tam looks at his Linh his eyes watching Keefe. Linh takes his hand.

"I'm Marella and this is Tam." Marella says putting her red, heart sunglasses up on her head.

Tam nods. "Nice to meet you."

"Nice to meet you too." Keefe says.

"So why are you here?" Marella asks.

"Heart cancer." Keefe says.

"Oh. I'm so sorry?" Marella says. "I don't really know how to respond to that."

Keefe laughs. "It's ok."

"Time to go to your rooms." One of the doctors says.

"Ok." I hand Biana her crutches back. Me, Keefe, Biana and Fitz all walk one direction and Dex, Marella, Linh and Tam walk the other way.

"Bye." Biana says opening the door to her and Fitz's room.

"Bye" I say. "This is our room."

Keefe and I walk into into our room.

"Can you explain some stuff to me?" Keefe asks sitting down on his bed.

"Yeah of course." I climb onto my bed putting my air tank down beside me. "What do you want to know?"

"Why did Marella, Linh, Dex and the other one with the shady bangs, all go to the other side of the hospital?"

"Ok this might be a bit confusing but bear with me." I say. "Our side of the hospital is for physical injury's. The other side, where Marella, Linh, Tam and Dex went is for mental stuff. Its a mental hospital."

"Mental hospital?" Keefe asks. "Can I ask why everyone's here?"

"yeah." I say. "Fitz and Biana we're in a car crash, it left Fitz paralyzed and Biana partly paralyzed with a bunch of scars on her back, arms and shoulder. I don't know all the details for the rest but Dex attempted suicide, He has a twisted leg now. Marella's mom fell of a balcony when she was little, she's never been the same, Marella started drinking and smoking so her dad sent her here. Linh flooded a store on purpose or an accident no one really knows, instead of going to jail they sent her here, she also has bipolar, so she will have good days and bad days. Today was a good day that's why she said its a good day. Tam didn't want to leave his sister so he threatened some shady stuff, they sent him here, he has anxiety, PTSD and some other stuff."

"Oh wow." Keefe says. "That's a lot.."

"yeah.." I admit. "Most of the story's aren't pretty."

"yeah.." Keefe says. "I'm going to take a shower."

"Ok." I say.

"why is it only a half door?" Keefe asks.

"So if anything happens they can help." I say. "Thankfully they have full curtains."

"No kidding." He says.

"I'm going to sleep." I tell him. "don't wake me up."

"Yes Foster." He says with a sault. He closes the half door as I turn over on my side and fall asleep.