I printed out all of the articles I had found, and sat on the couch to wait for my mother.
She came in full of laughter. She saw my face, and stopped.
"Anything wrong? Is your arm okay?" she tried to ask innocently.
"Like you care!"
"Of course, I care! I sent you there for your own good! You should be happy!" she screamed.
I just smiled. I loved making her feel guilty. Now for the best part.
"Mom, I'm so sorry. I've been through so much. It might be hard for you to notice, but I am happy," I said with a hint of sarcasm that I couldn't help, "Maybe we should go on a trip. Like a mini- vacation. To get to know each other again."
I even added one of my fake smiles.
She soaked it right up. Maybe she did want me to be happy?
"That would be great for us!" she exclaimed, "Any ideas on a place?"
"Maybe...Springwood? I heard it's a great neighborhood."
My mother went from a smile to a look of shock and anger so fast that she could have set a record. I tried so hard not to laugh.
"How do you know? How do you know about...that...place?"
"Doctor Campbell, of course. I know he worked at Valley Springs, but I could tell that you really didn't know I was being released. Why else would he be here?"
She gave me a dumb look like she didn't know what I was talking about.
"I knew you were lying about something. I looked some things up, and found out he works at Westin Hills. They, oddly enough, also supply their patients with Hypnocil products. Another weird thing is there were some odd killings there. Only a few school papers kept records of it. Killer was said to be-"
"No, don't say HIS name! Please, I'll tell you what I know! Just don't say his NAME!" she pleaded.
I soon realized she was really crying. This wasn't an act. The grin quickly slid off my face.
"W-We used to live in Springwood. My sisters and I-"
"You are such a liar! You actually had me going for a minute. Can you even tell the truth anymore?"
"I am telling you the truth! If you would listen!"
This was starting to get on my nerves. I had a headache from all of the yelling and screaming.
"Ok, but tell me the truth. All I want is the truth."