Behind the White Walls

"Zack, are you throwing one of your tantrums again? It's super late, and you're still not back. Are you trying to give us all a heart attack on purpose?"

My sister Janet Lloyd's voice was full of blame as it crackled through the phone.

After five long years, the Lloyds finally decided I could leave the hospital.

Since it was Walter Lloyd's birthday today, he said he would give me a chance to make things right.

Then my dad, Nevin Lloyd, grabbed the phone.

"I get it, you're mad at us for locking you up, but you were always picking on Walter. We did it for your own good, you know!"

Janet chimed in, "Exactly, and look, we're letting you out, aren't we? What more do you want?"

They went on and on, lecturing me for a solid half-hour before they finally got around to asking where I was.

"Where are you right now? We'll send a car. Just stay put this time, okay? No more trouble!"

I swallowed, my voice a raspy whisper.

"The mental hospital."

Yeah, that's right.

I was there the whole time, from sunrise to sunset, without budging an inch.

There was a pause on the line, then they came back at me, louder than before.

"You're at the hospital and you can't make your own way back? Do we really need to come and fetch you? You know the way home, don't you?"

"What's with the drama? Still holding a grudge? I knew you didn't change. Maybe we shouldn't have bothered letting you out!"

However, they seemed to forget that they were the ones who told me to stay put in the first place.

"Sorry. I'm really sorry, Mr. Lloyd, Ms. Lloyd. I didn't mean to."

I blurted out an apology without thinking.

Silence.

Maybe they were taken aback by how quickly I backed down, or maybe they were just surprised I was being so formal all of a sudden.

Five years back, we were as tight-knit as a family could be. However, then came that DNA test, and bam — it turned out the kid who looked so much like his folks was not actually theirs.

"Let it go!"

The voice on the other end of the line was out of steam.

"Your sister will come get you."

…

I just sat there, shivering in the cold, stomach growling like a caged beast.

"Need a lift?"

A cab pulled up to the curb.

I shook my head. "Someone's coming for me."

Cabs came and went.

By the time the mental hospital was locking up for the night, the Lloyd family was nowhere to be seen.

My phone? Dead silent.

The entrance guard could not take it anymore. "You've been here all day! Where are they? I'm about to clock out, and it's not safe for you to be out here all alone!"

I gave a half-smile, kept my mouth shut.

What was one more day after waiting five years?

He sighed, handed me water and bread, and decided to stick around for a bit. It was too risky for me to be alone.

"Thank you!"

I munched on the bread, surprisingly content.

Best birthday in half a decade.

…

However, the Lloyd family never showed, and the entrance guard ended up taking me back.