"Don't do this, Honey. This isn't you." He panicked. "We can work this out; Abbey, sweet-heart. Please. It's not worth it."

"Stop trying to control me!" She yelled in a sweat. Her big green eyes swelled with tears. "You’re always doing this, and I'm sick of it." The room shook with a bang. It all went hazy.

Abbey rubbed her head as it lay on the concrete floor. The throbbing pain that hammered in her skull had woken her from her nightmare. She hated that vision; it didn’t even seem real anymore. After she’d written that suicide note for him, she soon began believing it, until one day she could actually envision, in perfect detail, Danny shooting himself in the mouth. But much to her dismay, there’d been witnesses.

Truly, Abbey knew she was at no fault. He’d been coming home late from work each day, clothes a mess, and he never seemed interested in anything to do with her. He’d just sit himself in front of the television for hours on end. He didn’t appreciate her, or notice when she changed her appearance. Nothing; she was completely invisible. She just couldn’t understand why he hated her so much. That’s when she suspected adultery. Sure, she hadn’t necessarily /seen/ the woman he’d been having an affair with, but it was just obvious…right?

Without Danny’s steady income, she wasn’t able to pay for the apartment anymore, and was forced to move out. She was found on the streets, unconscious, a few months after. Apparently she’d taken the harmful combination of narcotics with anti-depressants. The police took her to the hospital to get her up and moving again before throwing her into a temporary cell overnight. That’s when the nightmares started.

So vividly Abbey could remember that trial over her. ‘Murder,’ they’d said. ‘She murdered her husband.’ Killed Danny? They were delusional. What did she do wrong? Her husband cheats on her, kills himself, and she is at fault? The legal system was certainly corrupt. She was sure of it. And then, her lawyer had ended the examination almost immediately. ‘Insanity,’ he had pleaded. ‘Your Honor, this woman is insane. Her mind is unhealthy and unfit for regular society. She needs medical attention.’ That impertinent traitor! How dare he accuse Abbey of insanity! Why, she was perfectly sane. Danny had been a rotten husband, and he finally paid for his faults. Why Abbey had to suffer for his obvious imperfections was beyond her.

But that was the past. It had happened only two years ago and she was still trying to forget it. Her mind and body were almost always drugged on medication. Pills to help relieve stress, anti-depressants, medical opium - things to keep her mind clean and focused. They didn't help. Every night she had the same vision...she just wished it'd go away.

Her clothes were still intact from last night when she collapsed on the floor; the normal dismal clothes they gave the patients to wear. A gray baggy shirt, name inscribed in italicized cursive near her shoulder, and gray scrubs.

Abbey stood, wearily at first, stumbling but then regaining her balance. She'd fallen unconscious again, but this time nobody came to wake her. She grimaced, scrutinizing the concrete floor where she'd so painfully collapsed.

She staggered to her bed, weak and frustrated. Another lonely night spent unconscious on the cold, hard floor. Her skull ached and throbbed. She wished she had her narcotics with her, but the hospital had confiscated those, along with everything else she had on her. They said no outside medication was allowed.

Her short brown hair fell to her shoulders, straight and thin, just like her mothers once was. Mid-morning rays reflected off of fair skin, shifting slightly as she turned. Abbey hated how pale she was, but it was nothing she had control over. It was this damned hospital, she wasn't allowed outside. The only remnant of the outside world that remained was one, small, thickly-rimmed window that mocked her from the corner of the room. It was bolted shut.

Abbey had a slim figure - the average height and weight for a 28 year old woman. She was once quite beautiful, but now she was truly a car wreck. Her features were nearly outlined in red. Incessant nights spent crying, attempted suicides, and occasional blushing was enough to do that to a person.

The relentless wailing and yelling was almost unbearable. Normal sounds coming from the third floor of the Asylum; and what a damned place it was, too. "Oh would you shut up..." Abbey groaned, pulling her head to her lap and clasping her hands tightly over her ears, another failed attempt to drain out the noise. The screams alone were enough to drive her mad, really.

She had nothing better to do than to wait in her room for the nurse to come by, signaling group therapy. She did hate that time of day. Abbey never felt quite secure in a room full of the mentally insane, and she hated how she was classified as one of them. The woman didn’t belong there, she was perfectly fine. Why didn’t they ever believe her? She wasn’t paranoid, schizophrenic, or psychotic, as was labeled on her door. Blasted hospital; she’d teach them soon. Maybe Danny would even come to visit again...

Legs curled in, body crouching into her lap to rock back and forth in the comfort of her bed. Sweet serenity would never come; she wished she could shut up the other patients. What a bunch of babies. A knock interrupted her momentary peace, and she twisted her neck irritably towards the door. “Abbey?” The sugar-coated voice called, door opening wide to reveal the all-too-white hallway. “It’s time for your session.”

Abbey stiffened, straightening out of her position and rising to her feet. She walked guardedly toward the door, making sure to avoid the nurse as she did, but it didn’t even matter. The woman grabbed Abbey’s arm, escorting her out of the room gingerly and shutting the door behind her. Abbey pulled away. “Sorry, I forgot…” The nurse cooed, leading the way down the hall. She must’ve been new.

It wasn’t a long walk, but Abbey kept her eyes to the ground ahead of her, feeling the stares she imagined to receive as she did. Eyes from the walls, cameras in the corners. She knew they were there. She could feel them. “Here we are,” the nurse stopped her notion, leading her through two rather large, metallic double doors to reveal a huge, gray room. A wide circle of chairs filled the center of the room; walls choked in ‘Healthy Tip’ posters. Abbey cringed, being led now by the female counselor to a chair.

The nurse gave a farewell nod, and left, leaving Abbey with a few guards, a doctor, and the counselor, whose name was apparently Janis. How she despised nametags. “Abbey, is it?” She just nodded, taking a seat. “Well, it looks like you’re first. We’ll just wait for the others before we begin.” Abbey just nodded once more, slouching in her chair a bit. This was bound to be a waste of time.

Fin.