It hadn't even been a day yet. It was possibly twelve hours at the most. Three months were certainly trumping them. It was almost as if she had Stockholm Syndrome. Kingston was her captor and she was the needy and clinging captured. The asylum and all that inhabited it pumped through her veins. It was who she was and it was who she'd be. At least that's what she thought.
Trina walked around town with her grandmother looking around the shops. She was glad to be in the company of family for once. It was the one thing she missed the most. Family was very important to her. Suddenly things felt a little weird. "Come on Trina let's go into this store." Trina quickly lifted her head and smiled softly at her a grandmother. "Oh no, I think I need a minute or two. I wanna enjoy the fresh air. I missed it." Her grandmother understood knowing how it felt to just want some air. She walked into the store, not looking back at Trina as she sat down on a near by bench.
Family. She thought about the word as bounced around her brain like an energetic toddler at gymboree. Yes, her mother and her father were her family. So was her grandmother. But what about the people at Kingston? They were her family too. They helped her move forward in life. More importantly, they knew who she was, who the real Trina.
"Kat, come here."
Trina looked up to see her grandmother hang out of the door of the store she walked into previously. She motioned for Trina to come over to her and she did as she was beckoned for although she wasn't feeling a hundred percent. Her long, thin leg carried her over and into the clothing store and before she could even take a breath, her grandmother shoved a bunch of clothing in her hands, telling her to try things on.
She sighed and walked into the dressing room, immediately trying on the articles. The fast I get this done, the quicker I can go home. The dress draped over her body in a way that she thought was perfect. Trina smiled at her reflection, adoring how pretty she thought she looked. She stepped out and showed her grandmother who made a face. "Hmm," she hummed as she pulled on the fabric, "you know, if you weren't so skinny this would actually look pretty on you. I'm not saying you need to be fat, but you need some curves or something. You look like a little androgynous boy. Try something else on."
There is began. That dress wasn't the only outfit she had something to say about. Everything Trina tried on wasn't good enough. Vile and harsh words spewed out of her old mouth like it was nothing. It was like she had no knowledge of the mental illness that she was now nurturing and mollycoddling. Trina's self-esteem was demolished so easily, it made her sick. It wasn't even worth fixing at this point. And now, she was scared. She forgot how cruel the would could be and how horrible people were. Trina needed to get out. She needed to go back.
"Let's go get food and go home." Grandma ushered her out of the store and down to a local Thai store. It was her favorite. In the meantime, Trina couldn't think of anything else but those nasty words that her own grandmother spoke to her. If she was that horrible, how would other people be? The feeling wasn't something she could let go of. She was now scared to continue living in the real world. She needed the comfort of Kingston...or something greater perhaps.
"What do you want?"
Trina's eyes scanned over the menu looking for something interesting if not helpful. Chicken Satay w. Peanut Sauce. "That!" she yelped much more enthusiastically than she realized. "Sorry gram. I'll take the Chicken Satay with the peanut sauce." Grandma didn't know about Trina's peanut allergy. It wouldn't take long for that to take hold of her immune system and kick it's ass. Soon she'd be okay again.
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She was never so excited to eat in her life. Trina knew she had fifteen minutes for it to hit her bloodstream. Fifteen minutes before the effects took hold. Quickly she ate every drop of the sauce and waited at the kitchen table across from her grandmother. Soon enough, the hives began and she could feel her throat close up. By the expression on her grandmother's face, she would tell that the symptoms of her allergy were apparent. Trina started to feel dizzy and breathing was almost impossible. The next thing she knew was that everything was black and her head hurt horribly.
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"You were aware of your peanut allergy right?"
Trina nodded at the doctors question. "Very aware sir." He jotted down some notes and looked back at her. "Then why?" She shrugged. "The world isn't a place for me doc. It really isn't."
"I see."
With that, he took note of her previous mental records and the current situation. "I'm going to refer you to a place in town. You'll be staying there for a little bit, until you get better you know? It's call Kingston Row. It's very nice."