Rehab
Tressa
It had been a couple of days after her overdose, and she was feeling good and doing better, but they refused to let her leave. She had a mind to walk up out of there, but security was everywhere, and she wondered why she was forced to stay there. She needed a hit, a line, a taste on her tongue, but they were not complying with her request. She knew that the last time was close to her last time living on this earth, but she had this under control. She only went hard when she was angry, and Tiffany made her angry. The sight of her made her mad, and she just wanted to go home, hit a line or two, and get back to living.
Hell, that night she was so enraged, and she hated Colby for not supporting her. Him not stepping up and carrying out their mission, she lost her mind. She drove to the party, sat in her car, and did every last grain of the coke she had on her. What she wanted to do that night took balls, and the powder gave her wings. She parked right in front and ignored the bastards who insisted she couldn’t park there and marched right inside. She was a motherfucking Green. Her father was the reason for everything, so she could park where the fuck she wanted. As soon as she laid eyes on them, she was ready, but her head spun and her limbs were wobbly. But she was determined. After barely telling them two bitches a piece of her mind, her body abandoned her, and she blanked out . . . and then woke up there.
“Good morning, Ms. Green,” the nurse said upon entering the room.
“Bitch, don’t good morning me. I want to go home. Why are they keeping me here?”
“Ms. Green, when you come close to fatality from drugs, it’s standard to keep you for a while. We just want you to get better and not end up right back here again. You made it this time, darling, but we can’t risk there being a next time.”
“But you are holding me against my will. Isn’t that illegal?”
“I imagine it is, but your father has a lot of influence, and he wants you better.”
“My father? Did you say my father?” Tressa hadn’t seen her father at all. She wanted them to get her father so he could tell them she could go home.
“Yes, Mr. Green has been here every day. He and the doctors talk, and he just wants you better before we release you, that’s all.”
“So my father is keeping me here. That’s not fair,” Tressa cried. “I’m a grown-ass woman, and I will sue this hospital.”
“Tressa, you really don’t know where you are, do you?”
“No, I thought this was the hospital in L.A., right?”
“No, dear, this is rehab. We are in the Hamptons, sugar. L.A. is on the other side of the map, and you can’t leave unless your father allows it.”
“How is that possible? I’m grown. You can’t keep me against my will.”
“Well, according to the power of attorney signed by you, in case of any emergencies or endangerment of your well-being, your father is the sole custodian over you.”
“I never signed nothing like that or I, I, I,” she stuttered, and then went silent. She had signed so many things over the years that her father gave her without reading them, so she may have. “So you are saying I gave my father the power to admit me here.”
“That is exactly what I’m saying. If you’d like, I can let your father know you’d like to see him.”
“Yes, you do that,” Tressa said as a matter-of-fact. She couldn’t wait to tell her father a piece of her mind.
The nurse left, and Tressa paced. How was she back in rehab against her very own wishes? She went to the window, and it dawned on her that she was a few stories up, and even if she wanted to, the window wasn’t made to be opened. The grounds were beautiful, and she wondered how long she had been in rehab. She always figured she was at the hospital in L.A. She didn’t have any memory of how she even had gotten there. She remembered everything, including going to Stephen’s house and him trying to convince her to not go to the premiere party. She remembered going to Colby’s to ask him to join forces with her, and when he declined, she knew she had to battle them alone. But she didn’t remember boarding a plane, and she wondered how in the hell had they whisked her to the other side of the map with no recollection. Was she in a coma, was she sedated? So many questions ran through her mind.
All she wanted was answers, and she wanted them now. She began to bang and yell out for someone to come, and after five minutes, she realized her efforts were useless. She went for the call button and began to press the button insanely.
The nurse returned to her door. “Ms. Green, please,” she said, “you need to calm down.”
“I want to see my father! Now!” Tressa demanded.
“And I told you I will relay the message. Now, you’re going to have to calm down.”
“I will not calm down. I don’t want to be here, and you can’t keep me here against my will. I will sue this hospital and your ass too, now get my father, this minute!” she yelled through the door.
“Ms. Green, if you don’t stop, we are going to have to use other measures to tame your actions.”
“Do it and this entire facility will be shut down. As soon as I get out of here, I’m going to sue this place, and you’re going to be the first one out of a job,” she continued to yell.
“I’ll take it from here,” a baritone voice interrupted.
“Mr. Green,” the nurse said letting out a sigh of relief.
“Open up for me, please.”
“Daddy!” Tressa yelled through the door when she saw her father through the tiny glass window.
The nurse unlocked and opened the door, and Mr. Green stepped in. The nurse was sure to tell him to buzz when he was ready to leave, and she locked the door from the outside.
“Daddy, Daddy,” Tressa cried and hugged him tightly.
He hugged her back tightly, and they held on to each other for a few moments.
“Daddy, I’m so glad you came for me. I’m ready to go home. Please tell me that you’re here to get me outta this place,” she pleaded, but then looked at his face. His face was serious and stern, and she felt a scolding coming on and figured he wasn’t there to take her home.
“I’m afraid that’s not going to happen today, Isa. You’re going to be here for a while. I’m not going to let you out of here until you are truly clean. You’ve given your mother and me the last scare of our lives, and you are not going to kill yourself with drugs and only God knows what,” he added.
“No, Daddy, please. You can’t make me stay in this awful place. Where am I? This is not a familiar place. Where are we?”
“Far from L.A., far from your circle of friends, and far away from the life you once knew, and, yes, I can leave you here, and I am. Your mother and I made a decision to help you and the last time we were called to the hospital, Isa, will be our last time.”
Tressa slumped down onto the bed. She put her head down. “I’m so sorry for what I did, Daddy, I am, and I know that I gave you and Mommy a scare, but—”
He cut her off. “But nothing, Isabella. You’re not fine, and you won’t ever be fine until you are clean and sober, and you are going to stay here and complete the entire plan, and stay even longer if I have my way. I’m not going to bury my daughter.”
“Since when did you start caring? You threw me out, Daddy! You cut me off! You gave my money to that bitch, Tiffany!” she cried.
Mr. Green swallowed hard and took a moment before he spoke. He walked over and sat beside her. He moved her wild strains of hair from her face and spoke to her tenderly. “You’re right. I tossed you out of my studio and took the money that I had set up for you and gave it to Tiffany. Most of my actions were out of hurt and anger, Isabella, but I don’t regret my decisions. At the time, you didn’t deserve a cent or respect or another chance, but when I got that call that you overdosed, I drove to that hospital prepared to hear that you were gone.
“When we arrived and found out you were in critical condition, but we couldn’t see you, it broke my heart, and all I was thinking is if my daughter doesn’t make it through the night, I would not have had the chance to say good-bye or tell her how much I truly love her. The next morning when your mother and I arrived at that hospital and saw that tube down your throat and the machines and your color had left your face, baby, I didn’t recognize you, Isa. My heart ached so much. It was maybe the worst pain I’d ever felt in my life. Worse than my heart attack, any breakup, or love lost.
“Your mother and I prayed and prayed and begged God for another chance, just one more chance, and a final and last chance to have our daughter back. For more time with you. Four days later, you still hadn’t responded, and your mother and I prepared ourselves to say good-bye, but we got that call that you opened your eyes, and there was physical evidence that you were going to recover. Your mother and I immediately transported you here. The next day, I had the doctor sedate you, and we flew you here. He was kind enough to make the trip with us to make sure you were okay.
“We wanted you to have another chance, so we both decided that you would only have a fighting chance here, and I know that there are some things neither of us can undo, Isa, but I’m ready to offer new terms.”
Tressa lifted her head and looked at her daddy. She could see that he was honestly making an attempt to help her and from the tears in his eyes, she knew this was his final attempt.
“New terms, Daddy? What do you mean?” she inquired. She’d hoped it was something that would motivate her to want to stay and clean up for good.
“We can move forward and start over. Not for me or your mother, but for you. Stay here willingly and get clean, Isa. Clean up and give yourself a new beginning, a new start, a new lease on your life. I know I have always denied you a spot at TiMax, but it’s time you learned the ropes. Now, I’m not saying you can have my seat, of course, because I’ll be around for a while, and there is a lot to learn, Isa, but I want to give you a position and give you some control. Underneath all of this L.A. girl image, you are smart, Isabella, and as far as your trust, the new terms concern a payment plan.”
Thrilled with everything he was saying she still needed to know what he meant. “Payment plans and a position at TiMax, what does all of that really mean, Daddy? What are you saying?”
“It means you will get your inheritance divided into monthly payments. As long as you are doing well and living drug-free and dedicating yourself to truly learning the business, you will get your money and a spot at TiMax.”
Tressa hugged her father’s neck tighter than she ever remembered hugging him before. “Do you mean it, Daddy?” she asked, and then sniffled. How could she not change? How could she not accept his offer? She was back in her father’s good graces, and she would be awarded the money she always knew she was entitled to.
“I mean it, Isa. You are the apple of my eye, Isabella, and I love you so much. I just want a daughter that I can be proud of. I know you were jealous of the relationship I built with Tiffany. It’s understandable, but you must know that I never wanted you to feel that I was replacing you, and I know you are hurt and ticked off with Kory and Tiffany, but I need you to let that go, Isa. My company is my baby, and I won’t have strife in those walls, so you’re going to have to get along with Tiffany, because in spite of your differences, she is good at what she does, and once you come aboard, you will be seeing a lot of her.”
“Daddy, do I have to play nice with her? I mean, she and Kory—” he cut her off again.
“And the first step to healing is self-reflection, Isa. Take responsibility for what you’ve done. You know you never loved Kory, and you only cared about the money, so let this thing with Tiffany and Kory go.”
Tressa looked at her father. She was determined to prove that she was better than Tiffany and that she was just as talented and just as driven. “Okay, Daddy, I hear you, and I want to clean up my act. It’s going to be so hard, Daddy. You have absolutely no idea how this feels, or what it feels like to want another hit or a drink. It’s all you think about. It’s all you crave,” she said and swiped a tear from her eye.
He put his arm around her. “I know, pumpkin. I know this will be the ultimate battle for you. But you can do it, Isa,” he said.
Tressa smiled. Her father hadn’t called her pumpkin since she was a child.
“Your mother and I have your back, and we will be here every step of the way. We are going to help you. Whatever you need.”
“Thank you, Daddy,” she said. She hugged her father tightly, and they talked for a while longer. Mr. Green told her that her mom was back at the hotel and would come by the next day. He explained to her that she knew Tressa would explode when they saw her for the first time being trapped in that place, and she didn’t have the energy to deal with her.
Tressa smiled because she knew her mother was right about her behavior, so she vowed to herself she’d change and make her parents proud. She hugged her father and made him promise they’d come the next day, and he promised her that they’d come every day until it was time for her to go home.
With that, Tressa felt confident that she was going to be fine, but two days later when that withdrawal kicked in, she knew she wasn’t strong enough, and she had doubts she’d make it.