Chapter 9

Joanne rose weakly from her bed, walking to the vanity in her shared room. It had been 3 full months after the first time she set foot on this house, yet her room was still being renovated. She brushed her dark brown hair with the pink comb she found laying in front of the mirror. Before primping a little more, she finally left the room.

John heard a faint humming from outside of the kitchen. The unfamiliar sound echoed through his head. He could tell she was in a very good mood today, which never happened before. As Joanne’s footsteps sounded closer to where he stood, he cleared his throat, trying his best not to say anything. He did not want to ruin her day this early.

“You brewed your own coffee?”, Joanne scoffed. She blinked a few times before she started to believe what her eyes saw.

John shrugged. Careful, he thought, still trying his best to keep calm. John walked past his daughter, taking a hidden box of cereal from the top of the kitchen cabinet.

“And I always thought all of you don’t eat carbs.”, Joanne said, smiling.

**

It took them a good 4 hours drive to get to their destination. John could not remember the last time he drove this far all by himself. He pays someone else to do it nowadays. During the trip there, Joanne insisted for him to stop at a few gas stations, she blamed her poor bladder for it, but the truth is, she was collecting the key chains they sold there. John was not sure what her daughter planned to do with them. She was asleep for the last 2 hours of the drive, though he could finally have his peace, he would much prefer to hear the crazy stories his daughter told him about her past life, the part of her life that he missed out on. John was so happy, the feelings he hadn’t had for a while now.

When he could finally see the massive building, he slowed a bit down. He was praying internally that something would then happen, something big enough to send them back home immediately, but not too big that it would kill everyone inside the rehab center. His grip on the steering wheel was getting firmer each second. When he finally found a parking spot, Joanne woke up from her 2 hours nap. She must had realized that the car finally came to a stop. She rubbed her eyes with her bare hands, looking so adorable. It was the first time that John saw this child-like side of his daughter.

“Are we here?”, she asked. Her drool was still visible on the side of her mouth.

John nodded.

Before they got out of the car, John could see 2 security guards running towards them from the rear-view mirror. They tapped lightly on the window, showing big grins on their friendly faces. One of them even waved a little, trying their best not to scare Joanne. John rolled down his window, trying to communicate with the guards. A part of him still hoped they were in some kind of trouble so he could drive back home right that instant.

“Mr. Thompson, I presume?”, one of the guards asked.

John nodded.

“Please step out of your vehicle, the rehabilitation center is a mile away, you and your daughter will be escorted with our facility.”, he bowed humbly before leaving the pair to talk on his walkie talkie.

John killed the engine, they then followed the guards, who only took 5 steps from their car. They waited silently for further instructions.

“I’m sorry if it’s such a hustle, our therapists think it’s best if we don’t show any outside possessions to our visitors.”, “Also, while you’re inside, please do not refer to them as ‘patients’, it is said to be triggering for them. We would like to believe that they are not sick, they just made some bad choices in their lives.”

John gave another nod. A few minutes had passed and their ride finally came. It was an 8-seater white gold car. Joanne’s eyes widened when she saw the vehicle approaching. That’s right, he never brought her to one of his golf games with his buddies back in New York. A part of his heart ached to know how little she understood about this world. So little compared to almost everyone he knew then.

**

Joanne gave her mother a massive hug, while her mother just stood there, not embracing her back. John took a good look at her. Her face was deeply wrinkled, her hair was grey, she looked too old to be in her early 40s. They took a seat on the couch they had inside the lounge.

“Mama, I brought you some keychains that I bought during our trip here!”, Joanne exclaimed.

John studied his daughter’s face, finding zero traces of anger on her countenance. It’s as if all the rage that had been built up inside her, vanished immediately after she saw her. How could someone who had lost so much be that forgiving? Kiara smiled widely in response, John could see her yellow teeth from the small parting of her mouth.

“I heard Bruno Mars just checked into the facility, aren’t you a fan of his?”, Kiara asked, while admiring the keychains she just received.

“Really? May I look around for him?”, Joanne asked excitedly.

“Sure.”, Kiara replied, stroking a few strands of her daughter’s hair.

John watched as Kiara did so, despite on the fact of being very far from a model citizen, a stranger would not know what a horrible mother she is. Now that he was left with Kiara all alone, it was time for him to finally get the answers to everything he was dying to know about.

“So…”, Kiara smirked.

Uh oh, John thought. Perhaps it was just another trap that she laid and again, just like all the other times, he fell right to it.