Chapter 4
John awoke with Mandie still in his arms. His leg joint and shoulders were still aching terribly. But the thing that ached the most was his heart. Especially now that he saw his niece's eyes. Although they were closed, a tear was peeking out of her right eye. John cuddled her closer to his chest. The day was cold and dark. Raindrops attacked the great mansion. "Daddy..." Mandie murmured , half awake. John sighed. That tore his heart. He wanted to give his niece a reassuring kiss, but he didn't know how she would react. Mandie opened her eyes and found herself in the arms of her uncle. She instinctively jumped back. John flinched. "What, where am I?! What's going on!?" She yelled. "Good morning Amanda. I'm sorry to give you such a scare. We're in my home, in Franklin. You already have your own room, but I didn't want to leave you lonely last night, so I just watched over you while you fell asleep last night. You're in my room." John explained. "Oh, um thanks." She said, embarrassed. "You know, you don't have to call me uncle if you don't want to." he told her, still sensing that she didn't trust him. "Ok, thanks. Do you mind showing me to my room?" Mandie said, still having lots of questions on her mind. Questions like, "Did I die? Why does my uncle live in such a fancy and rich place? How did my uncle become rich when my father was so poor? How come he never came to visit until daddy died?" John blinked. "Sure, of course, Amanda." he said, leading her to her room.
