Chapter 28 – Freak
We gave her half an hour to cool down and then decided we needed to go find her. We walked out her room and down to the main living room area hoping she would be there but she wasn't.
"Are you looking for Mandy?" A carer named Matt asked
"Yes, she was upset earlier have you seen her?"
"Seen her? She came down here and I could tell she was upset and annoyed and then one of the residents Rachel came down and she punched her"
"She what!?" for no reason?"
"I couldn't see any reason"
"So is she in the soft room?"
"Yes she was really out of control I haven't seen her like that in a long time, I will let you know when she is out"
"Thank you" I said feeling worried we sat down to wait for her
A while later the carer came in to tell us she had being let out the room. He said she was panicking and upset as she can't stand the soft room and said she had gone outside as soon as she had got let out.
In the clinic they are allowed out the back whenever they want. There is a garden there but it's fenced off so they can't actually escape, Mandy likes to go there to think and calm down, I got up thanked Matt and then we went in the garden.
We saw her sat on the grass; it was a nice dry day. She had her knees to her chest and was holding her legs; I walked to her and sat next to her as the others followed. She didn't look at me as I sat down, she had red eyes from crying and her knuckles were bruised from punching Rachel.
"Mandy?"
She didn't look at me she just stared into space but I kept talking
"So...you saw the burns then?"
She started picking pieces of the grass and twirling them around her fingers
"Yes...I looked at them last night after you left" she said looking at the grass
"Well you aren't a freak Mandy"
"How do you know you haven't seen them?"
"I know because you are beautiful inside and out, you are amazing and burns don't change that"
"Yes they do, I know you don't but everyone else judges people on appearance they don't care about your personality"
"Well if they do you don't need people like that in your life, you need people that love you despite your flaws"
She raised her eyebrows at me not knowing what to say her dad started to talk
"He's right you know, you still my beautiful daughter"
"You have to say that you're my dad"
"Yes but Leo and I don't have to say it do we?" Angus said "But it is true, there is more to you than skin you know"
"I know that but..."
"But what?" Angus asked
"People will say things, laugh, and stare that kind of thing"
"They wouldn't dare" her dad said "Or I would be having words with them"
"Now what is this I heard about you fighting?"
"She had it coming to her she was doing my head in"
Angus snorted. We all turned to look at him.
"Sorry I just remembered the time she threw Josie over a bush to start a fight with her"
"She did not!" I said laughing
"She did! She had only being home five minutes and all" her dad said
"That was a good time" Mandy smiled