Chapter Two: Interstate Love Song
Somewhere On I-90WA
It had been almost two weeks since her parents decided to uproot all of their lives and move to California as a last ditch effort to save their marriage. The tension in the car was palpable as everyone remained silent most of the time. Occasionally Ben or Vivien would attempt to make small talk, pretending that things were okay between them. Then Ben would take it too far and try to hold Vivien's hand or pat her leg; Vivien would visibly tense up until he removed his hands.
'Yeah, things are great between you two. Totally back to normal" Violet thought darkly to herself.
She was not amused at her parents' decision to run away from their problems. She knew that yes, she was their child and therefore not the decision maker; however she wished they would have at least asked her how she felt about the move rather than insisting that she was going to love it. The only saving grace of the entire ordeal was they were stopping in Seattle to pick up Briar-Rose and have her come to Los Angeles to live with them.
She actually was excited about that aspect of this stupid situation. She and Briar-Rose had talked twice a day, everyday since she found out about the move. She took comfort in having someone to vent to that wouldn't make her feel like she was being selfish and childish. After talking to her cousin, she wasn't dreading starting school as much. Since Briar-Rose had missed so much school due to her condition, it meant that she had to repeat a grade, meaning that they would be in the same grade. She took solace in the fact that she wouldn't be in the eighth level of hell known as high school alone; it would be 'them against the world' like it used to be before Molly stole Briar-Rose away.
"Okay, you're going to want to merge into the right lane now, Ben. That's our exit coming up." Vivien instructed, looking up from the printed directions in her hands.
"Alright, how many miles until we get there?" Ben inquired as he pulled onto the desired exit. His tone made it evident that he was getting into "psychiatric professional" mode.
"Well according to the directions, we only have thirty miles to go." Vivien answered offhandedly before turning her head to face Violet. She smiled at her daughter as she asked, "Are you getting excited, Vi? We've hardly gotten to talk to Briar-Rose the last couple of weeks. You said, she sounds better?"
Violet couldn't help but smile back as she gave a small nod, they were so close now. "Yeah, she seems way better, whatever treatment they have her on is obviously working." Violet explained happily. She truly hoped that Briar-Rose was getting better.
Ben could sense her hope because he chose to interject with a pompous attitude. "Vi, we've discussed this already. She is mentally ill. The likelihood of your cousin being fully rehabilitated is very low. I just don't want you to get your hopes up for something that may never happen, honey."
Violet was gobsmacked at how her father could talk about his own niece that way. What would he say if he knew all of if he knew all of the unbalanced things inside her head? She gave him a scowl before turning to look out the window with her arms crossed. As she looked out of the corner of her eye, she could see her mother was equally as pissed and had followed suit. Ben puffed out a sigh of frustration but stopped talking. The rest of the drive was silent as they sat there stewing on the negative emotions radiating off of each other.
After driving through acres and acres of pine trees, a large, black wrought iron fence loomed into view. Beyond that, there was prodigious cream colored building that was the embodiment of creepy. It was grungy and had become overgrown with ivy in various spots. In large black script, it read: MORDE ASYLUM est. 1887. They stopped at the gate and hit the intercom button. After a few minutes, a voice rang out through the speakers.
"I apologize for the delay. How may I help you?"
"Yes, this is Dr. Ben Harmon, I am the guardian of Briar-Rose Harmon. I am here to take her home." He spoke with an impressive air of confidence. The voice responded, "Oh yes, of course! Let me just buzz you in, Dr. Harmon."
The lock mechanism on the gate made a mechanical whirring noise as it creaked open. They slowly drove in and parked in the closest space near the door. They all exited the car with near perfect synchronization. Ben grabbed his brown leather document briefcase and slung it over his shoulder. Vivien took Hayley for a little walk before scooping the dog up in her arms, ready to go in. Violet looked at the building in awe.
Slowly, they all trudged up the stairs and through the double doors. The waiting area was massive. They were approaching the receptionist's desk as a door to their left swung open, revealing a pretty petite blond woman wearing a doctor's jacket and an identification badge. They stopped walking as the blond made her way over to them, extending her hand. She wore a professional smile but her brown eyes were a kaleidoscope of mixed emotions.
"Oh, you must be Dr. Harmon! My goodness, the resemblance is striking. Oh! And this must be Vivien and of course Violet! It's so nice to meet you all and to be able to put faces to your names. Briar-Rose talks about you all constantly. I am Dr. Lane, I have been treating Briar-Rose for the past seven weeks." Dr. Lane couldn't hide her bubbly personality as she shook each of their hands warmly.
Ben tensed up at the touch of an attractive woman but quickly replaced his discomfort with his caring 'psychiatrist' expression. "It's nice to meet you Dr. Lane. Tell me, how is she doing?"
She flashed a radiant smile as she explained, "Oh she has made so much progress! Words cannot express how proud of her I am. There's been a few episodes and meltdowns here and there but those are becoming few and far between."
Before Ben could respond, Violet piped up. "Can we go see her? Or at least can I?"
Dr. Lane's smiled as she peered at Violet's pleading eyes. She looked from Ben to Vivien who both had expectant expressions. "As long as your parents are alright with it, you can go sign in and get a visitor's badge. One of the receptionists can escort you to the community room."
Her voice held a much more austere tone as she turned back to address Ben and Vivien. "We do have a great deal to discuss, so perhaps it would be best to do so in private."
Ben was about to speak, when Vivien chimed in with a nod. "I agree. And I just really think they could use some one on one time together." She peered over her shoulder and gave her daughter a small nod.
Violet bolted over to the desk as fast as her feet could carry her. She scribbled down her name and the date before holding out her hand, impatiently waiting for a visitor's badge. The matronly receptionist chuckled merrily at her exuberance. "Come along, dear. The community room is this way." Violet heeded the instructions and followed closely behind her until they disappeared from view.
Once out of earshot, Dr. Lane spoke again. "Please, if you would follow me to my office, I will be better suited to discuss Briar-Rose's case with you both." She motioned for them to follow her as she vanished behind the door she had emerged from. They followed down a long corridor before finally stopping at a rickety antique door.
Dr. Lane unlocked the door and motioned for them to enter and take a seat. She made her way over to the other side large oak desk and took at seat. Sitting in front of her was Briar-Rose's case file. She opened it up, skimmed through it before stopping on a particular page and turning toward Ben and Vivien. Her mouth was in a grim line as she began to recapitulate the case file before them.
"As you can see, Briar-Rose was transferred here by ambulance from the emergency department. The doctor assessing her at the emergency room determined that there was evidence of physical abuse though he can't be sure if it was self inflicted or from an outside source. The doctor suspected sexual abuse but she vehemently refused an exam. She had taken a switch blade and a screwdriver to her left ear and down her neck, insisting that she was trying to drown, a one, "Mr. Cromwell" out of her head. She arrived here in the midst of a severe psychotic episode. When the results of the urine and blood tests returned, it revealed that she didn't have any medication in her system. We discovered that her mother, Molly had been refusing to allow her to take her medications. Molly is still insistent that Briar-Rose is just trying to get attention and that she needs to 'suck it up and learn be normal.'."
She paused to gauge their reactions. She was attempting to determine if they were previously aware of the treatment that Briar-Rose was experiencing at home or if this was new information to them. If she had the slightest indication that they knew beforehand, she would not release Briar-Rose into their care.
Dr. Harmon had his jaw clenched, nostril flared and his pupils were nearly nonexistent. The anger that was radiating from him was obviously a genuine reaction of learning this information. She then shifted her gaze over to Mrs. Harmon. Her eyes welled up with tears as she raised up a hand to cover her agape mouth. Dr. Lane felt that their reactions made it quite evident that this was the first they were hearing of any of this information.
Community Room at Morde Asylum
I was sitting with my back resting against the arm of sofa with my knees tucked up against my chest in the community room. It was our "enrichment activities" period. Those of us who were compliant, were given two hours to enjoy activities that would give us a sense of normalcy. I was currently engaged in a game of King's Corners with a boy from group therapy named, Neil. He had gotten here right after me, suffering from "Cotard's Syndrome. Since his treatment regimen, his condition had significantly improved. We weren't exactly close but we enjoyed making small talk and playing cards.
"So, I got a call from my parents today. They're gonna come up on Wednesday. Two days left and I get to go back home! When are you getting out of here, Briar-Rose? Your move" Neil explained with a grin. He discarded and motioned for me to take my turn. He ran his fingers through his coarse red hair, pushing it out of his blue eyes.
I quickly took my turn before going on a giddy tangent. "That's great, Neil! Well I spoke to my cousin Violet this morning, she said they should be here some time today! So I'm hoping that they'll be here soon. It's your turn."
My eyes widened as he won the game with his final turn. I could never figure out how he always seemed to win, but I still enjoyed playing nevertheless. I was playing with the hem on the bottoms of the blue scrub pants provided to me as a victorious smile lit up Neil's face.
"Oh that's great! I mean, I'll miss you the next couple of days but I know you've been really excited about them coming. Hey look, I win! Good game though, you're getting better. Wanna play again?" He asked as he gathered up the cards and began shuffling them.
I smiled and went to respond when one of the receptionists walked in. "Briar-Rose? You have a visitor."
She called out, making my heart race with excitement. I hadn't had a single visitor the entire time I had been here. I then remembered Neil as I looked nervously from him to the receptionist and back. He had caught on to my inner battle and laughed. "Don't worry about me, you've been waiting for them for weeks. Go on!" He urged me.
I gave me a thankful smile as I shot off the couch like a bullet. Quickly announcing my presence in the room known. "Yes, I'm right here!"
At the sound of my voice, I saw Violet jump out from behind the receptionist, pushing past her has she stampeded toward me and pulling me into a spine snapping hug. I quickly returned the hug, feeling a lump form in my throat as I fought back tears of happiness. The receptionist left the room with a small laugh while shaking her head. After a few more moments, we pulled away. I felt relieved to see that her hazel eyes were also brimming with tears. She gave a small chuckle as she hastily wiped her eyes.
"Sorry, I just missed you."
I simply nodded my head in understanding, enjoying this feeling of surrealism. As she took a step back, I noticed that in the time we had been apart, she a grown a couple inches. She had always been an inch or so taller than me, not that that was a great feat as I just barely brushed the five foot mark; but our height difference was much more noticeable now.
"I missed you too, Vi. How are things with the parental units?" I bit back an amused smile as she snarled in frustration.
"They're ridiculous. It's awkward as shit in the car Bry, so fair warning! You better be prepared to start tiptoeing on eggshells now. Mainly around dad though, he's just trying to push things back to normal too quickly and mom's just not ready for it; making me and you their honorary buffers."
She rolled her eyes, but a happy smile returned to her face. She grabbed my hand, pulling me over to one of the vacant sofas; she flopped down with a laugh as she dragged me down with her. My giggles died down as I brought my knees back up to my chest and rested my chin there. I just sat there for awhile, simply enjoying her company, noting how calm and at peace I felt around her. We were just free to be ourselves. A small contented smile rested on my face.
"Something wrong, Bry?" Violet inquired with her brows lightly furrowing with concern. After being called back to reality, I raised my head up off my knees and looked up at her.
"What? Oh no, not at all! I am just happy." I said giving her a smile that she matched with a brighter one.
"Oh alright. Just making sure. So I know this is going to come out insensitive and make me sound like an ass but I have to know. What's it like staying in a place like this?" She asked cautiously, her eyes burning with curiosity.
I couldn't help but laugh. "It's really not as bad as you might think. It's definitely not as bad as the movies make it out to be. We're not prisoners nor are we criminally insane. If you're compliant with the treatment, you actually have a great deal of freedom. I won't lie, I have had a few episodes while I've been here. When that happens, you are confined to your room, and an orderly or a nurse is with you at all times. When it gets really bad, they administer chemical sedation. And while that sounds like a friggin' sweet band name, it's actually just a professional way of saying that they stab you in the thigh with a syringe and inject you with a high dose sedative." I explained nonchalantly.
Her eyes widened briefly before scrunching closed as she erupted with laughter. "You're ridiculous, you know that? Only you could make something like that, sound funny." She declared between bouts of laughter. I just gave her a lopsided grin and shrugged.
We sat there together, talking, laughing and just enjoying each others company after months of being a part. She, the brooding pessimist was wearing an uncharacteristically hopeful smile as she revealed her excitement over living together again, attending high school together and actually being in the same grade. I beamed, nodding my head and occasionally responding where appropriate, it was blatantly obvious that she hadn't had someone to talk to in quite awhile. It didn't bother me at all, I have always been happy to listen to whatever she had to say.
She was just telling me about new discovery of Morrissey and how the lyrics felt that they were written exclusively for her. I laughed and went to respond when Dr. Lane walked in, my uncle Ben and aunt Vivien trailing behind.
"Briar-Rose, come here please." Dr. Lane called out to me with a compassionate tone. She must have noticed my apprehension as I got up because she added, "Violet can come too."
At this, Violet jumped to her feet and linked arms with me in a protective manner. She obviously had same bad feeling the I did. Something was off. I faced Ben and noticed he looked pissed; his jaw was clenched and his mouth set in a grim line. Vivien was a little better at hiding her feelings; she flashed us a warm smile but you could see a very different emotion swirling in her eyes. Violet and I exchanged confused glances as we approached them.
I gazed up at them timidly. "Is something wrong? Have I done something?"
Violet looked as though she were waiting for the opportunity to attack if she saw fit. I might have grinned if I weren't so anxious. They all tried to soften their expressions and relax their body language. It wasn't all that convincing but it did make Violet simmer down somewhat.
Dr. Lane spoke first. "You haven't done anything wrong, Briar-Rose. In fact, I was just telling your aunt and uncle how much progress you've made."
Then uncle Ben chimed in next. "Yeah, we're proud of you, short stack! It looks like we're going to be able to manage this better now." He gave me an affectionate wink and a small smile.
Finally aunt Vivien spoke up. "Hey Bry, it's so good to see you again, you look great. We sure have missed you." She looked down at me, smiling and stretched out her arms. I quickly unhooked arms with Violet as I closed the distance between Vivien and myself. I pulled away and went back to Violet.
"This is nice to all nice but it still doesn't fully answer my question. What's wrong?" I eyed all of them expectantly. Dr. Lane motioned for them to explain, with a look of disgust plastered on her soft features.
Ben swallowed loudly and spat his next words. "Your mother's here."
"Oh, God" my inner monologue droned. Their attitudes suddenly made sense. It's incredible how three simple words can knot your stomach and fill your entire being with dread. Violet and I had discussed my mother in great length over last to weeks and I had learned a lot about the kind of person she is. I always knew but I didn't want to except it; so I tried to remain loyal to her. And honestly, I didn't want to see her any time soon, let alone right now. Before I could respond, Violet jumped to my defense.
She snarled before going on a furious tirade. "This is such bull shit! It's that dumb cow's fault that this happened to Bry in the first place. What the hell is she trying to systematically destroy now? I cannot bel-"
I cut her off by putting a hand on her arm. She looked at me curiously, I shook my head and mouthed 'thanks'. She just nodded as she resisted the urge to harangue them further. It was easy to see that they were in full agreement with Violet. I shifted awkwardly but forced myself to speak up. "Well what does she want?"
"She wants to come say good bye. She is outside waiting. So, whenever you're ready, you can gather your things from your room." Dr. Lane responded briskly, making her displeasure of the situation evident.
I nodded absentmindedly and looked at the ground. Violet bounced on the balls of her feet as she tried to figure out what she should do. I smiled meekly before murmuring, "Okay, I'll go get my stuff."
"I'm coming with you" Violet demanded. I nodded softly as we made our way to my room, grabbing my small tote bag before heading back. Upon returning, I saw all of the teens from group standing by Dr. Lane.
I approached them curiously. They all beamed at me before handing me a card. I opened the envelope to find a generic card filled with messages of encouragement and their cell phone numbers. I couldn't help the grin that broke out over my features. I looked up at them, flattered. "Wow, thank you guys, sincerely."
They broke out in a chorus of "Of Course" and "We'll miss you Briar-Rose" and "Don't forget to keep in touch!" They made their way up to me one by one before giving me a hug and returning to their rooms because the enrichment period was coming to a close. I thanked all of them individually as I returned their hugs.
The community room now empty, I looked to my aunt and uncle. I heaved a sigh before saying, "I'm ready."
Dr. Lane walked us all the way to entrance. She stopped me as we were about to leave. "I am so proud of everything you have accomplished here, Briar-Rose. After the discussion I had with your uncle, I have no doubts that you will continue to improve. It has been a pleasure treating you. If you ever need someone to talk to, don't hesitate to call." She whispered as she handed me her card. I thanked her and gave her an appreciative nod.
Violet once again glued her hand to mine and squeezed it in quick succession, letting me know she was angry. I squeezed back in an attempt to ease her tension. The moment we exited the building, my mother came running up to us, flapping her arms in excitement.
She crashed into me, flinging her arms around me and covering my cheeks with kisses. I felt my whole body stiffen. Violet glowered at my mother who kept repeating "I missed my baby girl so much" as if it were some sort of mantra, that if she said it enough it would be true. Seeing no end in sight if I just stood there, I brought my arm up and rigidly patted her on the back. She finally pulled away and looked at all of us.
I looked at my family and couldn't help but find it odd.. If you didn't know, you would swear that Violet and I had the opposite parents. She had the same dark blonde, light brown locks, the same hazel eyes and shared many features with my mom. I on the other hand, possessed the thick dark brown mane though mine was darker, the ice blue eyes and full lips of my uncle. If I hadn't been born nearly a year before, one would be convinced that we had been switched at birth.
She blathered on trying to make herself appear like the perfect mother and explaining how hard it's been for her. Violet had my hand in a vice grip when my mother tried to explain how I was an inconvenient burden because of my illness. This caused Vivien to snap.
"You are a real piece of work, Molly. How can you even call yourself a mother?"
My mother looked horrified at Vivien's words. She pulled her hand to her chest and tried to defend herself and how hard she had it.
"You know what? I have heard enough and so have the girls. Come on girls we're going to the car." She beckoned us over as she dismissed my mother. Upon reaching her, she gave my shoulders a gentle squeeze and stepped in front of Violet, acting as a protective shield.
As she was ushering us to the car, she turned her head and said, "Just because you gave birth, doesn't make you a mother. It's the nurturing and unconditional love that makes you a mother. At this point, you're nothing more than a glorified egg donor."
"Holy shit" Violet and I exclaimed in unison as we slipped into the car.
We had to wait a good half hour before Ben finally climbed into the drivers seat. He wore a grimace as he turned the ignition and pulled out of parking lot. We all sat in silence, the negative energy radiating off of each person in the car.
It's only a sixteen hour drive.
Author's Note: So here's chapter two, finally finished!Enjoy! I would like to thank everyone who added this story to their favorites and alert lists.
slaneville0615: Thank you! Sorry for the delay between chapters. I hope you enjoy this chapter!
VampWolf92: Thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy it.
AwesomeFangirlOtaku01: Well I hope that's a good thing haha! Hopefully, it continues to pique your interest.
SamanthaJane13: I am glad that you appreciated that! I have a lot in store for this story, so I hope you enjoy the direction it goes in.