Chapter One-Hundred and Seventy-Two

Claire pulled the mail from their box, flipping through it until she found what she was looking for. She placed the rest of the stack on the counter as she walked into the house, rushing up to John's vacant room to read his letter. She ripped it open, unfolding the paper to see John's neat handwriting in blue ink.

Dear Sweets, I'm doing better here. Joey got discharged yesterday, so now it's just me in the room. Tell Mom and Dad hi for me, and that I'm really sorry. They're still doing piss tests on me every day, and yesterday I had a little bit of a sore throat so they did a throat swab on me.

How's everyone doing there? How's Amelia? Did she finish her science project?

Holly's still trying to push me to talk… but to be honest… I don't want her to know… I don't want her to judge me like everyone else. I can hardly take it when I look at myself.

Can you see if someone can bring my guitar? I have an idea for a new song, but I need an instrument to put it all together. I hope to be home in a couple weeks, but until then… please forgive me.

I'm Sorry -J.B.

Claire lifted John's t-shirt to her nose, breathing his scent as she tried to force her tears back. "I wish you were here."

John groaned, stretching his legs out under the covers as he rolled over to stare at the blank white ceiling. "Today." He smiled, looking at his calendar to see that the day was circled in red marker. He threw the covers off, making Chance jump from the shock. He pulled on his jeans and shirt, choosing to opt for a somewhat nicer attire than he normally would. "Chancie." He whistled, slipping her harness onto her body and clipping a leash to it. "Good girl."

He rushed down the halls, stopping at only two places before he reached the main hall for his daily testing. He paused at the doorway, looking at how beautiful Claire was in her white dress with little flowers on it, her hair had gotten longer, and her cheeks had been kissed by the sun bringing out her freckles. "Sweets…" He breathed, the world narrowing to just them.

She smiled, stepping toward him and placing her hand on his cheek. "I missed you." She gently kissed his lips, pulling away for only a moment before he pulled her too him in a kiss so filled with passion and longing that it would have put Romeo and Juliet to shame.

Clarissa watched as the two reunited, seeing that John was recovering so much faster here. "That's our boy." She sighed, taking Thomas's hand as she looked up at him. "He's doing better."

He nodded, waving one of the doctors over to speak with him. "Do you think we could kidnap him for Halloween tomorrow?" He asked, knowing how Amelia had been looking forward to trick-or-treating with him. "His little sister wants to trick-or-treat with him."

The doctor chuckled, jumping as Claire and John fell to the floor as their kiss became too strong. "I think that'd be okay, maybe that'll even get him to open up a little." He took a seat across the table from the parents, folding his hands in front of him. "He won't tell Holly why he used, and despite our best efforts, he's stayed locked up like a safe." He sighed, rubbing his fingers against his palm. "If he's going to recover, he needs to talk about it. Otherwise, he'll just continue to relapse. And the next one could be even worse than this one was."

Clarissa bobbed her head, remembering the meth and how horrible that had been for him. "How can we help?" She asked, desperate to help heal her broken child.

"We can try having you sit in while he's with Holly today… but it is possible that he won't make any progress, because teens have a tendency to want to hide things from their parents more so than a stranger. But if anything, we'll stay in the same place we are now and he'll only have to stay a few more weeks until we can figure this out."

Thomas nodded, wondering if this could have anything to do with the gang defiling him the way they had. "He'll open up more if I'm not there." He squeezed Clarissa's hand. "He trusts Clarissa more than me. And he's kind of become a momma's boy since we took him in."

Clarissa smiled, taking John's hand as he came to stand beside her. "Can I sit in with you and Holly today?" She asked, letting him hug her in his strong arms.

"I'd like that." He whispered, kissing Claire's nose as she leaned on him.