Well it’s very large.

And ranch-like.

Not that I’m an expert on ranches. But it doesn’t look completely diverse from the ones I’ve seen on television, so I’m guessing it’s your standard ranch.

And the people here?

Well there are three other people here beside myself, who chose to come here for ‘rehabilitation.’

There’s a middle aged guy named Jim, who hit the bottle hard after his wife left him. There’s Angela, who I understand has some anxiety problem, and there’s Timothy the gambler.

                I know… what a positive group of people to be around at my time of need.

“Ashley dinner is ready.” I toss up whether to ignore Darcy’s cries, before opting to sluggishly walk out of my bedroom.

I’ve been here for two weeks already.

Have I changed?

I dyed my hair… apart from that nothing was different. I still hated my brother for what he did.

For leaving me alone.

I walked into the dining room, where everyone else was already seated, eating and quietly chatting amongst themselves.

                Everything was so civil. I just wanted someone to scream, or to throw something. No one here was fixed. Their demons were still very much alive in their heads. Their lives were in tatters.

And yet here they sat, quietly, politely munching on their potato salad.

I held back a frustrated sigh, and took the nearest seat, and began to quietly and politely butter a piece of bread. And then I stopped.

                I could feel someone’s eyes on me.

And looking up cautiously, I found those eyes at the other end of the table. Between the ranch’s owner Darcy, and Angela.

                A blonde girl staring intently at me. Not bothering to cover up the fact that she had been staring once my eyes met hers. Not hiding the look of interest on her face.

Not hiding the frown that graced her lips. The frown that confirmed no matter how quiet or polite we were all being, things weren’t happy, they weren’t perfect.

                And for the first time since I had arrived, I felt an odd sense of comfort.