It had been almost six weeks since I'd last hit someone hard enough to break their nose…
Chase Bennett stared with callously emotionless eyes as she was dragged down the hall of the facility by one of the teachers. A sound of distaste only left her as she was forced to sit in the office and wait for her mother, Rita, to relieve her of this 'hell hole' normal people referred to as the Miami Juvenile Recovery Institute. It seemed more like a prison than a supposedly normal functioning boarding school type rehabilitation center, and most of the teens placed and transferred here were not your normal bunch of miscreants.
It had been raining earlier that morning, Chase was already cross and ready to snap at any moment. Hearing one of her classmate's remarks about the way she looked had been the straw to break the camel's back as one might say. She whirled around and decked him one right in the nose. The blood began to flow and Chase began to leave, only to be caught by the back of her plaid button up by the teacher running her History class.
Whenever you get angry, a voice rang in her head, hit something as hard as you can.
Of course Chase knew, the voice never meant to hit people, but sometimes she just couldn't help herself. She just got so… angry, or at least what she believed was the feeling of angry. Other than that hard fire building up in her chest, she barely felt anything. It was like something else… someone else, was taking control of her and she had no way to stop it. She could only comply to the twisted demands and attack. Sometimes with the intent to kill, but she never let it get that far.
Not yet anyway.
"Your mother will be here shortly so we can discuss the consequences of your actions." The principal, Mr. Andres told the quiet girl sitting in the office.
Chase just stared ahead, her mother would really be coming to get her, to see her, and take her home. She had behaved these past six weeks in anticipation for this day, when finally she'd get to return home. It was too bad she had messed up once again. But her mother was making the trip here this time, so maybe it would be different.
Mother will be disappointed in me… She thought to herself, an inaudible sigh escaping her body. Again.
"Paul and I decided to put her in the program when she was 15." Rita explained to Dexter as they drove to the MJRI. "Sometimes she got it worse than I did with Paul, so I never blamed her for her aggression. I just wanted to get her some help."
Nodding, Dexter took a right off the main highway and drove the car along what felt like miles of twisting and winding roads. It seemed like a lot of trouble to go through for a child with "anger problems" but who was he to judge someone else based on their "problems"?
Dexter had never met Chase, but he knew a bit about her. She was Rita's oldest child, one she and Paul had apparently conceived quite a long time before they had Astor and Cody. When Paul had begun beating on both mother and daughter, Rita was ready to leave, not wanting to have any more children, or life with him, but that was when things had just gotten worse. Astor came along when Chase was eight, then Cody not too long after.
Chase loved her brother and sister very much, Rita told him, but she was stricken with grief and jealousy when Paul treated both her baby siblings so much better. Rita also speculated there may have even been sexual abuse, making Dexter's blood boil, but she was uncertain about whether Paul had been involved or not, and if Rita brought it up to Chase, she could simply go in to an unstoppable fit of rage.
"I'm sure things will be fine." Dexter reassured as the guard opened the gate for them after authorization. He could see Rita's face twist with worry for her daughter, or maybe for herself.
As they made their way to the main office they were instructed to leave their things in a bin. Cellphones, keys, metal objects and even hair accessories were not permitted passed their point on the premisis. Dexter noted then how much like a jail this place really was. They went through a lot to protect the kids inside, or maybe the visitors themselves? How much trouble could these kids really be? He wasn't nervous, if anything this was exciting to him.
Both entered finally, and found themselves face to face with a dark haired, light eyed, pale skin teenager about 18 years old. She had dark purple circles under her eyes showing she didn't sleep much, Dexter took in the rest of her features immediately. She was rather small but with a full bust and feminine hips. Her long chestnut colored hair was pulled up in to a messy bun with her bangs sweeping feathered across her forehead. She was dressed in a dark grey long sleeve top that clinged to her body with a short sleeve plaid button up over top and a pair of black shorts with plain shoes.
What he found himself noticing most were her dull, lifeless eyes that seemed to glimmer only once they fell upon Rita, her mother. She got up and the two embraced, Rita began crying a little. Chase's face remained the same, only now wearing a small smile as she greeted her mother silently.
Dexter stood back from the scene, remaining silent himself before the headmaster of the facility invited the three of them in to his office to talk about Chase's progress. He felt a little strange invading on these family affairs, but he was there to support Rita in this time of need.
"Chase has been making a lot of progress, in the last six weeks her only issue happened today," the headmaster began, "she's a wonderful girl and I think with the proper care and supervision she'll flourish just fine in the regular society."
"What happened today?" Rita looked to her daughter, who made no effort to say anything in reply.
"I was made aware that another student made a comment toward her, and she replied by punching him in the face."
Chase sunk back in her seat, looking ashamed for once again disappointing her mother, but she noticed Rita didn't seem angry. She placed a comforting hand on her shoulder and gave it a light squeeze. They looked at each other and her mother smiled, she was happy by how much progress her daughter had made. Everyone makes mistakes, and Rita believed Chase was moving in the right direction.
"But as I said," headmaster Andres continued, "I believe with structure she'll be just fine. I'd like to suggest perhaps signing her up for a gym membership, or some sort of karate course to help her channel all her built up anger, as we could definitely see her improving here with the gym access she was granted."
"Definitely, I'd love to put her in a class, would you like that sweetie?"
Chase shrugged, and nodded.
The headmaster smiled, "then I see no problem with discharging her today. I'll get all the paperwork so we can get Chase home."
He disappeared through the back door.
Dexter felt the uncomfortable silence hanging in the air as he shifted in his seat. Chase glanced toward him then to her mother as she spoke of all the going on in her three year absence. Time went by at a non-existent pace, when finally the headmaster returned with a large package of papers for Rita to sign.
"Chase, why don't you go get your things while your mother signs these forms?" Andres asked.
She removed herself from her seat and began heading for the door, only to stop when she heard Rita ask Dexter to go with her and help carry her things down. She continued down the long hall silently with Dexter following, either of them saying a ward even as they took the elevator up, floor after floor, eerie music playing.
Opened the door to her room with a keycard she had around her neck, she entered. It was a large and quite elegant looking room, Dexter noticed. A queen sized bed against one wall made up nicely, an empty closet, dresser, and a computer desk under the barred window, laptop packed neatly in its case sitting on top of the mahogany looking wood. Chase picked it up along with her backpack and one of her suitcases while he grabbed the remaining two.
In a way, Dexter enjoyed this silence, being used to loud and obnoxious teenagers. Chase was in a way, a lot like him when he was a teenager, and perhaps like him now. She was like him, in more ways than he had anticipated…
"Ahem.." She cleared her throat, startling him from his thoughts. Had he been staring? She leg him back out in to the hall, shit the door, and they continued back the way they had come, arriving just in time to see Rita and Mr. Andres exiting the main office together.
"Was just coming to find you." Rita put an arm around her daughter's shoulder and the three were sent off by the headmaster.
Finally. Chase thought to herself. I am finally going home…