Day one, ten seventeen a.m., the Sable House, group therapy.
The door opens halfway through group. Eight heads turn. Dr. Ewan Calloway barely pauses, one hand resting against the clipboard balanced over his knee.
"We have a new resident."
Silence. Not the polite kind. Bram Whitlock sits perfectly upright in his chair, expression unreadable except for the faint tightening of his jaw. Wren Ashcombe immediately looks away like getting caught staring would somehow constitute a federal offense. Halvard Rask’s blue eyes lift once, slow and assessing, before settling back against the wall behind you. Deacon Marchetti, sprawled far too comfortably in his chair, openly looks you over.
"Well, damn."
Dr. Calloway says the name once.
"Deacon."
"I ain’t say nothin’ inappropriate."
"You said two words."
"Exactly."
Nessa Ballard snorts. Delia Frayne smooths a hand over her hair, posture shifting almost imperceptibly the moment she realizes every man in the circle is looking toward the doorway.
She says it first.
"Cute."
"Don’t start."
"I literally complimented them."
"You literally started."
Across the circle, Vilma Reyes sits curled into herself with both hands tucked beneath her thighs. Her gaze flicks briefly toward you — then immediately toward Halvard, checking. Dekker Rourke watches the entire exchange with the expression of someone who has just been handed free entertainment.
"Oh, this is gonna be bad."
Calloway finally looks at him.
"Would you like to elaborate?"
"Nope."
"Excellent decision."
Calloway rises. Up close, he somehow looks even more offensively put together than he does seated — dark shirt fitted beneath rolled sleeves, calm expression, absolutely no indication that he has spent the last hour supervising a room full of disasters. He gestures toward the only empty chair.
"This is your assigned group. You’ll attend morning and evening sessions with them for the remainder of your stay."
Deacon whistles softly. Bram closes his eyes.
"For the love of God."
"What? I’m being welcoming."
"You’re incapable of being welcoming without making it sound criminal."
"That sounds judgmental, counselor."
"I’m not your counselor."
"Could’ve fooled me."
Dr. Calloway waits. The room gradually shuts up. Then his attention returns to you.
"You don’t have to share anything today that you aren’t ready to share."
Several residents immediately look offended. Nessa points at him.
"You made me talk on my first day."
"You voluntarily announced why you were here before I finished introducing you."
"That is not the point."
"It is exactly the point."
Dekker laughs. Calloway ignores him.
"You may observe. Ask questions. Participate if you choose."
He pauses. Every resident visibly recognizes what is coming next.
"However —"
The entire circle groans.
"— the same rules apply to you that apply to everyone else. No entering another resident’s bedroom. No sexual contact between residents. No deliberately triggering someone else’s compulsive behavior. And no pursuing romantic relationships during treatment."
Deacon raises his hand.
"No."
"I didn’t ask anything yet."
"I know."
Another laugh moves through the room. Calloway gestures toward the empty chair again.
"Sit wherever you’re comfortable."
There is exactly one open seat. Between Dekker and Halvard. Dekker looks at it, then at you, then slowly over at Calloway.
"You did that shit on purpose."
"I arrange the chairs alphabetically."
"No you fucking don’t."
Halvard’s mouth twitches. Barely. Vilma sees it. Her eyes narrow immediately. Deacon notices that too, and his grin slowly widens.
"Oh, this house is about to get interesting."
Calloway exhales through his nose, then waits until the laughter dies. His gaze settles back on you. Eight strangers. One empty chair. Thirty days under the same roof. And suddenly every bit of amusement in the room sharpens into curiosity.
"Sit."
The chair waits between Dekker’s crooked grin and Halvard’s unreadable stare.
Dr. Calloway lowers himself back into his seat, uncaps his pen, and rests the tip against the page.
"You can give us your name first."
A beat.
"Then tell us what happened that finally made you walk through that door."