NovelEnglishChapter 0179
Hannah
The sleek gray facade of the youth center stood stark against the bright blue sky, its barred windows almost
looking like big, empty eyes staring at nothing. Ishuddered as | looked up at it.
“Is this really what our local youth center looks like?” | murmured, glancing over at Sophia, the head counselor
from my eating disorder awareness group-and my partner in the campaign. “I had no idea.” Sophia grimaced as
she looked up at the cold, uninviting building, and gavea terse nod.” Unfortunately, yes. I've been trying to
direct parents away from sending their kids here for years... It’s not a friendly place.”
| pressed my lips into a thin line and began striding up the stone steps. | would have to mention this to Noah,
this place needed an upgrade. Greenery, murals, anything to make it look more like a place for rehabilitation for
minors and less like a prison.
Honestly, the fact that | hadn't ever noticed this place before now madesick to my stomach. Too long | had
spent ignoring my pack, instead focusing on my own ego and turmoil. Even if | was going to return to my rightful
pack soon, | couldn't leave Nightcrest with places like this still scattered around.
Although, I hadn't talked to Noah in several days now and | was afraid to ever since our last little tryst. Maybe I'd
try to go through Scott instead, have him relay the message for me,
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But Noah was notorious for ignoring Scott, and | knew that despite everything, he'd be more likely to listen to me
directly.
Still, the thought madeshudder.
Sophia and | stepped into the building flanked by camera crew members and campaign staff, and were greeted
by a tall nurse in pink scrubs.
“Welcome, Luna Hannah,” the nurse said with a polite dip of her head. “Welcto Nightcrest Youth Center.
Right this way.”
We followed the nurse through the labyrinthine hallways to the eating disorder ward, and soon, we were pushing
through a set of heavy metal doors into the communal space. A nurse behind a nurse's station eyed us over her
glasses, but said nothing as we entered.
“This here is our eating disorder ward's communal room,” the nurse in pink explained, gesturing to the
surrounding chairs, plastic-covered sofas, and folding tables. There was a small television in the corner with a
few teenagers sitting around it, and patients were scattered at tables playing various board games and doing
other activities.
One thing stood out to me: the complete and utter lack of color. It was like someone threw up gray and beige all
over the damn place. And even though there was a communal kitchen off to the side, there was absolutely
nothing appetizing about it.
“This is it?” | asked, turning to face the nurse in pink. The cameras zoomed toward us, Emily directing them to
get the perfect shots for the documentary.
The nurse in pink blanched slightly. “Yes,” she said. “This is it.”
Chapter 0179
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+25 BONUS
| frowned as | looked around at the drab interior. For a so-called ‘youth ward, it looked like something out of a
horror movie.
“Hm. What's funding like?” | asked.
The nurse blanched again. “Sparse,” she admitted with a wry chuckle. “We try to do what we can for the kids,
but unfortunately...” She gestured at the board gtable, where all of the games appeared so worn you could
barely even read the text on the cards.
“I'll speak to my husband and see what we can do.” | turned then to take in the patients themselves-all
Follow on Novᴇl-Onlinᴇ.cᴏmteenagers, mostly female. A few especially young ones, which really broke my heart. Sof them were deathly
skinny, swere morbidly obese, but many looked completely ‘normal*.
| exchanged a glance with Sophia and felt her pain. We both knew how common it was for people with eating
disorders to look just like everyone else. That was what made them so deadly.
“Luna Hannah?” The soft sound of a girl's voice causedto turn, and there was a slight young girl sitting at a
nearby table, wringing her hands nervously. She had various pieces of construction paper in front of her and at
least a dozen paper cranes spread out on the table.
“Did you make these?” | asked softly, crouching down to her level.
The girl nodded excitedly and handed one to me. “They keep my hands busy,” she said. “It helps when | get
anxious. *
“Hmm...” | paused, turning the tiny paper crane this way and that in my hands. “Do you think you could teach
me? | could use something like this to keep my hands busy, too.”
The girl beamed widely.
| spent the afternoon with the kids-making paper cranes, playing board games, having tea, just chatting. The
kids seemed lonely, and | genuinely felt for them; they needed the care that this place provided, of course, but
they missed their friends, their families, their classmates
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