I Fell in Love with Hope - Lancali

“I understand why you do what you do,” I say. He wants control, and
when it slips away, he uses violence to get it back. The pattern is
common. A rule that men have turned the other cheek to for
centuries. Because none of them can get their heads around the fact
that, “Control doesn’t exist, sir. Only uncertainty does.” It dawns on
me that he doesn’t realize how serious I’m being. That none of this is
mockery, and all of it is truth. “And unless you leave right now, I’m
not certain you’ll leave this room without an escort.”
I hold up the nurse call button connected to the wall. It blinks red.
Neo’s dad looks out of the corner of his eye. The blinds are barely
drawn, but even through the thin lines, you can see Eric at his
station, noting a chart and checking his pager.
Neo’s father lets me go. He rubs his hand over his face, much like he
did when he entered. He straightens his jacket, looking down at Neo,
who’s staring at the ground, squeezing his wrist so hard his hand
could fall dead from the joint.
“It was my mistake letting your doctors keep you here this long,” he
says. “I should’ve handled your tantrums myself.” He leaves with a
threat of his own, the kind that drives a final prick of fear through
Neo’s chest. “I’ll be back with your mother.”
The moment the door shuts, we all exhale audibly, like a tense
muscle finally released from flexion.
“Are you okay?” Hikari wraps her arms around me.
Neo shudders in his chair, his hand curled into a fist against his
mouth. He pushes the bile back down his throat, a white, petrified
sea hiding the pupils in his eyes.
The only reason his father didn’t drag Neo out of here by his hair is
because he needs his mom. She’s the one who signed everything
when Neo was admitted for his anorexia, and his doctors will only
recommend he can go home when his weight is over a certain point,
and he’s eating regularly.