Tyler came out of the school gates to meet his mom sitting in the car waiting for him the next day.

“Where’s Jake? Isn’t he coming along?” he asked her as she began starting the car as soon as he entered.

“No Tyler, he and Mimi will take the bus. I have to take you somewhere.”

“Take me where?” He asked, wondering if it had anything to do with what had happened yesterday.

“Don’t worry, you’ll see,” she said as she drove off.

It was a pretty far place, as Stella had been driving for hours. Soon, she drove into a large compound and stopped the car in front of one of the buildings. It was an old building, but it looked quite strange, quaint but picturesque, it was already night but he still could see all this clearly with his excellent vision. His father stood there in front of the building with a young man. Tyler didn’t know who he was and he wondered what his dad was doing here, standing with that man.

He stepped out of the car and walked slowly towards the two men. The strange man had a warm smile on his face.

“Hello Tyler, and welcome to the Loony bin rehabilitation center. My name is Charlie. Your parents have told us so much about you, and we will be happy to have you here. With our help, we promise that you will have a smooth recovery,” the young man said.

“Really dad, rehab? That’s the best you could think of for me? Am I doing drugs or alcohol now?” Tyler said, turning to his father with an angry voice. Carl stood there; his face unchanged. He had clearly made up his mind.

“Tyler Dalton, I know you are angry but please, just trust us. This is not a place for alcoholics or drug addicts. Your dad came here himself to have a look at our facilities before bringing you here and he knows you’ll be in good hands. This is a special rehabilitation center for people like you, you will meet many of your kind here and we assure you that you will not have a problem fitting in.”

Tyler turned to where his mom was. She didn’t come out of the car, she just sat there at the driver’s seat, staring at a blank space. He was highly disappointed. He knew that this was his dad’s idea but he never thought that his mom would be in on it too.

“You think I’m crazy? You’re the ones who are crazy if you think that I’m going to stay in this freak house!” Tyler yelled at his dad and the other man, while trying hard to stop the little drops of tears that were forcefully trying to come out of his eyes. He continued expressing his agony and disappointment through words that he knew would hurt them the same way they had hurt him.

“I thought I was the monster, but I was wrong, you’re the monster dad, you’ve always been acting like one ever since you found out that I wasn’t the normal kid you always wanted. You should have taken me back to the orphanage if you didn’t like me. I was happier there than I ever was with you and mom!

“And guess what? I don’t need you or mom anymore!” He turned to look at his mom who still sat in the car, her head bent. He knew she was hearing him, and he wanted her to hear everything he said.

Carl still stood there, not giving him any expression and waiting for him to end his drama before he would follow Charlie into the building. Tyler was not going to follow him and Stella home today, he had told his wife before and he meant it. Tyler continued speaking in a loud voice.

“I don’t need you. If you don’t want me anymore, then fine, I’ll go away, but I am not going to stay here. I know I am not crazy, I’m different and I’m special, that’s all I am. And I know that I will find the people who will love me for who I am, because it’s clearly not you and mom. It never was and it never will be!”

After Tyler had finished speaking, he turned around and headed towards the gates of the compound, planning to leave. He had no idea where he was going to but he wanted it to be as far away as possible from everyone, especially his dad.

“Tyler, where are you going?” His mom yelled while coming out from the car, unable to control her emotions anymore as tears where now rushing down her face. She had never seen Tyler react like this before, he had always been a sweet kid. She knew she shouldn’t have brought him here.

Tyler didn’t answer. He kept on going as he felt he had been pushed too far, how could they do this to him? He didn’t even know who they were anymore. He had almost reached the gates before he felt a small dart hit his neck, causing him a slight pain and he didn’t know when he turned around and fell to the ground while trying to hold on to his conscious state, he watched as everywhere around him began to spin multiple times. As he lay on the floor, he saw Charlie holding a tranquilizer gun, speaking to his father, his voice echoing in Tyler’s ears.

“Don’t worry Mr. Dalton, we have the situation under control, Tyler is perfectly fine, he just needs to relax. You can go home now.”

The last thing he heard before he closed his eyes was his mother’s voice running towards him, screaming his name.