Secrets

[X...Re-Arranged...X]

Oh! I'm so excited for the next chapter!!!

[xeviane]

Gosh I really enjoyed it what a GREAT piece of work... Can't wait for the next chapter

[andrea]

Chapter 29

 

Thanks Sebby and xeviane for the reviews.

 

******

“Did you hear that?” Chester asked Rob.

 

“Hear what? I didn’t hear anything” he said looking at him, “So you’re going to do it? You’re really going to send her there?”

 

“Yeah, I have no choice. She’s getting worse. It’s only a matter of time before she hurts someone or worse herself. So later tonight me and Lily are going to check the place out” he said when he looked behind Rob and saw Sam slowly coming into the room. She leaned against the wall and it looked like she was holding something in her hand. Chester looked down and saw it was a knife that had blood on the tip, so he walked slowly up to her, “Sam?”

 

“I'm sorry. I'm so sorry” she said.

 

“What happened?” he asked her.

 

“It’s Talinda.”

 

“Give me the knife” he said and turned around seeing Rob next to him. He let him go ahead to check on Talinda. Chester slightly moved Sam back so that he could see what she did, “How is she, Rob?” he called out to him seeing that Talinda was laying on the floor out cold with Rob next to her.

 

“She's got a pulse” he said.

 

“I couldn't stop. I'm sorry.”

 

“Come here, come here” he said moving his arm to get the knife but she turned so he held onto her side, “Give me the knife” he said to her.

 

“No --”

 

“Give me the knife” he said again.

 

“I know -- I know I shouldn’t, but I -- I --”

 

“Come on.”

 

“I tried” she said as he got the knife from her.

 

“It's all right now.”

 

“She wants to destroy our family. I -- I can't protect you. I just -- Draven” she said moving her hand up to touch his face.

 

“Listen to me, listen to me. There's no need to protect. I am safe, Draven safe. Were all safe, okay?” he said to her.

 

“Chester, she's after us.”

 

“You did real good. You did real good” he said trying calm her down.

 

“It's my fault. It's all my fault. It's all my fault” she kept saying.

 

“No, no” he said as he pulled her into his arms. Once she calmed down he let go of her and walked her over to the table, seeing Talinda sitting up holding her head with Rob still sitting next to her. Sitting Sam down on one of the chairs, he kneeled down next to Talinda and handed Rob the knife he took from Sam.

“She tried to kill me. I fought her off, but it was close. Chester, she needs help. She needs to be committed.”

 

“Hey, what is she talking about?” Sam asked.

 

“It's -- you just need to just rest for a second, ok?” he said looking at her.

 

“Don't turn your back on her.”

 

“I'm not turning my back, I'm right here. You see that?” he said still looking at her and then back to Talinda.

 

“One minute I’m talking to her and I turn my back for a second, and the next she's got a knife to my back. I tried to talk her down, but then she knocks me unconscious. If you guys hadn't gotten here --”

 

“We didn’t come out here, she came to us” he said seeing her shocked face that Sam couldn‘t after all bring herself to kill Talinda, “Sam’s had plenty of chances to kill you, she didn't do it.”

 

“I know you want to believe that --” she started to say but he cut her off.

 

“What's there to believe? You're alive” he said.

 

“She's dangerous.”

 

“What is she saying?” Sam asked Chester.

 

“Uh -- Sam, seriously, I'm ok” he said looking over his shoulder to see her.

 

“Chester --”

 

“What?” he asked.

 

“She's trying to kill us”

 

“Talinda's not going to kill anyone, okay?” he said turning back to look at Talinda.

 

“Chester, Sam really needs help!” she said.

 

“I know and I’m going to do what we talked about.”

 

“You can’t wait until later. You need to commit her now!”

 

“I know that! I’m going to check out the place tonight with her mother” he said getting upset.

 

“Lily’s willing to put her daughter in a mental hospital?” she asked him.

 

“Yes. She knows Sam needs more help than I could give her.”

 

“Rob! Watch out!” Talinda shouted and Chester turned his head around quickly seeing Sam with another knife in her hand. She stopped in mid air with the knife and looked at Rob with wide eyes.

 

“Rob? Oh, god -- oh, god I’m sorry -- I’m so sorry” she said as Chester got up and she put her arm down still holding the knife in her hand.

 

“Sam? What’s wrong now? Why did you want to kill Rob?” he asked her.

 

“I thought -- I thought I saw. I thought I saw Talinda’s father he -- he wants to -- he wants to hurt me Chester. Oh, god I’m a bad person…I‘m a bad person” she said moving the knife while she held up her other arm and was about to cut it. Chester grabbed the knife and her arm with his other hand before she could do it and looked at her.

 

“Sam -- Sam your not a bad person. I’m going to help you as much as I can, okay?” he said holding in the pain from his hand since the knife he was holding was digging into his hand, “Sam, your hurting me” he said not being able to hold in the pain anymore. He saw her look down at his hand.

 

“Oh, god -- oh, god. Your bleeding! I made -- I made you cut yourself” she said letting go of the knife as he still held it. Taking his other hand off her arm he held onto the handle of the knife and moved it out of the cut. He squeezed his hand close tightly to stop the blood from coming out.

 

“Chester are you okay?” Talinda asked standing up now.

 

“Yeah, it’s just a little cut” he said looking at her.

 

“A little cut? Chester, your blood is on the carpet” she said, “Let me get something to clean it up.”

 

“It's all in the bathroom” he said not moving from where he was at as he looked at Talinda. She went over to the bathroom as he looked back at Sam. Something in her eyes didn’t look right. He looked down at his other hand and saw that he was still holding the knife. He then looked back at Sam and she quickly moved toward him. Moving fast, he put the knife on the table and quickly grabbed her shoulders not caring if his cut hand was hurting and still bleeding, “Sam it's me! You don’t want to hurt me”

 

“No! Don‘t touch me!” she said trying to get out of his hold but he wouldn't let go of her, “Get off me! Your not going to hurt me and still blame me for Sandra’s death. She's alive! You hear me? Alive! So leave me alone!” she kept saying with hate in her voice as she punched him in the chest with her right arm.

 

Knowing he couldn’t keep holding her like this and that he had to calm her down fast he said to her, “I’m sorry Sam for doing this” and pushed her down onto the floor knowing he could hold her better.

 

“Noooo! Get off me!” she cried out kicking her legs under him. She wasn’t looking at him.

 

“Sam! Calmed down! It’s me Chester, not Talinda’s father” he said, “Look at me!”

 

After he told her to look at him she turned her head, “Chester?” she said.

 

“Yes, it’s me Chester, not Talinda’s father” he said still holding her down to the floor. She started to cry realizing that she could have hurt him. He stayed on top of her until her cries got softer and softer. Thinking that she was calm, he slowly let go of her shoulders. Sam pushed him off of her and quickly got up off the floor running down the small steps, “Sam!” he called out to her getting up off the floor and followed her as she opened the front door running out fast.

[xeviane]

I feel soo sorry for Sam she's out of her mind hope she gets better

And once again I have to say that you've done a great job with this chapter. Uh and I'm so excited I wonder what's gonna happen next well hopefully I'll figure it out later or sooner

 

Keep up the good work I'm looking forward to the next update :thumbsup:

[xeviane]

*sooner or later

[geeko]

......yeh i tink she really lost it......meh i want to feel chesters cut......i want to feel bllod come out of me....nuw......

[X...Re-Arranged...X]

Poor Sam. *Sniffles*

[andrea]

Chapter 30

 

Whew! Chapter 30 and still a lot more chapters to go. And just for reaching 30 chapters on this story I'm going to post another one! I would like to thank geeko, sebby (hey!), and xeviane for the reviews and thanks for your support in keeping this story going. Without your reviews this story when have been nothing.

 

*****

As soon as Sam ran outside, Chester quickly got up and went outside. He stood in their patio not seeing Sam until he heard some crying. He looked to his right and saw her sitting on the floor.

“I always do everything wrong -- have you ever noticed that? -- Every single time” she looked up at him. He slowly walked over to her and kneeled down.

 

“I've been unfair.”

 

“No. Are you kidding? Are you kidding me? You've been so good to me, Chester” she said.

 

“When I went to that dark place, you saved me, helped me get my life back. I'm trying to do everything I can here. But I failed.”

 

“You haven't” she said smiling at him.

 

“I failed you” he repeated, trying not to get emotional.

 

“No. No, you haven't” she said pausing as he put his good hand on his forehead trying not to cry in front of her, “Oh, my god. Oh, so this is -- this is it. You're going to send me to Benjamin Rush” she said.

 

“I'm losing you. I'm trying to reach out, but --”

 

“You'll lock me up. They will lock me up at Benjamin Rush. You promised you wouldn't send me to Benjamin Rush, Chester.”

 

“Yeah, yeah, but after what you did to Talinda, I don't know what else to do. You’re going to end up getting worse and worse, until I can’t reach you anymore. I should of listen to Talinda and Rob and sent you to a hospital weeks ago.”

 

“Okay” she softly said, looking away from him.

 

“You know, the doctors can help you. The doctors can make you feel better, but I can’t.”

 

Sam turned her head looking at him, “Yes. Yes you can. You’ve done it for eight years already, Chester. You can’t give up on me again.”

 

“I’m not giving up on you. You're scared. I'm scared, too. We have to face the truth. Doctors can help you. I can't anymore. They're going to make you feel better. And when you find your way out of this darkness, then you can come home.”

 

“I don’t want doctors. I want you” she said softly but he still could hear her, “I know sometimes you get mad and sometimes we fight, but we save each other, Chester. Please, save me just one more time” she paused again as he fought the urge not to cry, “You can't send me away, Chester. I helped you, remember? I helped you through the hard time with the drugs, and you were so mean and messed up. I could have left you, but I didn’t. I didn't call the doctors. I protected you.”

 

“I know” he said softly.

 

“So you have to protect me, too, because you're my husband” she said as he saw tears run down her face.

 

“No one's going to hurt you, ok?” he said and reached his hand out to touch her face. He wiped the tears that were under her eyes. After he did that she turned her head away from him again, “Listen to me, you got to trust that I'm going to help you, Sam. You're going to get better. You will. Even if you have to go away for a little while” he said as he stood up because his knees were starting to kill him.

 

She looked back at him, “Go away forever.”

 

“There were days when I was too tired to fight, Sam. It could've been very easy. You know, I could've just let happen what was going to happen. I could have died from what I was doing to myself. Or at least it would've ended my pain. But there was something inside of me that made me keep going and made me stand up, and that's what you're going to do right now, Sam” he said.

 

“I can't” she said shaking her head.

 

“Yes, you -- you think you can't” he said kneeling down again, “But you know what? Listen, you know what? I know you better than you know yourself. Believe it or not, we're so alike. That's why I love you and hate you at the same time, because you teach me so much. When you're wrong, I see that I'm wrong. When you love, I know that I can love. I know that I can open up my heart. And I won't ever give up. And you're not going to give up right now.”

 

“You're stronger than me, Chester” she said.

 

“No. Not -- not on my best day I have ever lived. I get my courage from pride, from anger, from not giving a damn. But you -- you're different” he said as he saw her looking down at the ground, “Because you have hope. Do you understand? You go for what you want in life. That's why you need to stand up right now, Sam.”

 

“I can’t.”

 

“Yes, you --” he stopped himself from getting upset with her.

 

“It's too late. Everything's wrecked.”

 

“Nothing's wrecked. Draven’s not a wrecked. He loves his mother, he needs his mother. You're going to have to do this for our son if not for me” he said pausing, “I saw you fighting for him during the custody battle. You never gave up on trying to win him. I don't care how weak you are, if Draven were drowning right now, you would do everything you could to get him out of that water. Think about it. What's the worst thing that could happen to a child? Losing their mother. Don't do this to our son” he told her.

 

“He loves you, Chester. You take care of him” she said starting to give up but he wasn’t going to let that happen to her.

 

“He needs you. He needs you to stand up. I could pull you up, but that's a mistake that I've been doing, because I -- I've been fighting for you, but I can't fight anymore. You're going to have to survive, ok? You can survive. All you got to do is stand up. Come on” he said holding his hand out for her to take.

 

“I can’t” she said.

 

“Ok, listen, you can't quit on our son! Do you understand? Not on Draven. You can't quit on him! If you don't want to do it for me, if you don't want to do it for yourself, you're going to do it for our son! Because he needs his mother!” he said and she started to cry, “Stand up. Come on” he said standing up holding his hand out again as he saw her reach for the top of the small wall that was in the patio. He grabbed her arm, “Come on. Sam, come on. Come on. Come on” he kept saying to her as she started to stand up. She took her other hand grabbing the wall so she wouldn’t lose her balance. He put his arm, with the good hand, around her helping her up but she did it mostly herself. When she got to her feet she still held on to the small wall.

“Ok” she said.

 

“Yes?” he asked.

 

“Ok, I'm standing.”

 

“I told you, you could do it.”

 

“What do I do now? Because if I let go, I'll fall” she said looking at him.

[andrea]

Chapter 30 continued

 

“You hold on to me, ok?” he said moving her closer to him as he moved his arm up from her side to her shoulder. He turned her toward the door as she put her hand on his shoulder. They started to walk when her leg started to give out, but he pulled her closer to him so she wouldn’t fall. Once they got into the house she didn’t need as much support as she needed when they were outside, “Can you stand on your own without me holding you?” he asked her. She nodded her head and he slowly loosened his grip on her but still kept his arm around in case she fell down. She didn’t, so he moved his arms off of her. They then walked further into the house and Chester guided Sam over to the couch and had her sit down. He saw Talinda and Rob as they walked over to him.

“Talinda is your father still alive?” he asked her quietly when he walked closer to her not wanting Sam to here.

 

“No he’s dead. He died seven years later after I moved to New York. Why?” she asked.

 

“Never mind” he said.

 

“Listen, will leave so you can talk to her some more. Um, what about tonight? When you go check out the place?” she asked.

 

“Leticia’s staying with Draven at her mother’s house while Lily and I go check the place out. With Sam? I’m not sure. I don’t think you guys would want to come here and watch her after what she almost did to you both” he said.

 

“Will still do it. I can call Mike to see if he also wants to help so that there's more of us” Rob said.

 

“Thanks, that helps a lot. Maybe I can get her to sleep the whole time I’m gone” he said. Nodding there heads, they then turned around and left the house. Chester turned around and walked over to the couch and sat down next to her.

“I'm -- I'm so tired. I better go to bed” she said starting to get up.

 

“No, no, wait, wait, wait, ok?” he said pulling her back down on to the couch, “I know that I promised you that I'd help you get better, but you're never going to get better staying here with me. I thought I could help you by keeping you here --”

 

“No. No, you can. I feel safe when I'm with you, Chester.”

 

“You need treatment. I can't -- I don't have the training. I can't do it.”

 

“Ok, we'll give it time” she said.

 

“No, if we give it time, then it's just going to get worse. I can't take that chance” he said.

 

“Come on, Chester, you can't send me to Benjamin Rush. I mean, I -- it's -- I'll never survive.”

 

“Listen to me, but there is another place. It's called Rose Lawn. It's -- it's completely different. The doctors and the staff, they -- they're kind, they're caring, and from what I seen so far in the booklet it's not like -- it's not like a hospital because they have -- it's a house with rooms, they've got a beautiful garden, but before I take you there I’m going to check it out tonight, ok?”

 

“Okay…I’m scared.”

 

“I’m scared too. I know. I know” he said putting his arm around her, putting her head on his shoulder, “But you know what? You're going to get better, ok? And then you're going to come home, ok? You're going to come home and then will set a date to get married again and someday give Draven a brother or sister” he told her.

 

She lifted her head off his shoulder “Are you sure?”

 

“You know what? I know you can do this.”

 

“I’ll try” she said.

 

“Why don’t I take you upstairs to rest, okay?”

 

“Okay” she said and he got up off the couch. He held out his good hand as she took it and helped her off the couch. They then walked upstairs to their room.

[geeko]

aww......one uf my fav chpters......chaz is soo manly there......

[andrea]

Chapter 31

 

You cracked me up there geeko, thanks!

 

******

Once Chester and Sam got to their room, Chester walked her over to the bed. He had her lay down on his side of the bed. Walking into the closet, he grabbed one of the blankets that was in there and walked back out into the bedroom. He went over to the bed and handed the blanket to her. She put it over herself as he sat down on the bed.

“I want you to rest. I’ll be back before you wake up, okay?” he told her.

 

“Where you going to go?” she asked.

 

“I’m going to check out Rose Lawn” he said. He then started to get up when she put her hand on his shoulder stopping him from getting up any further.

 

“Chester?”

 

“Yes Sam?” he asked.

 

“Could you stay with me until I fall asleep?”

 

“Sure. I’ll stay.” He reached his good hand to her face and moved some hair behind her ear. After he did that, she reached over and grabbed his right wrist holding it up to look at his cut hand.

 

“I’m sorry” she said looking up at him.

 

“For what?”

 

“For making you cut yourself.”

 

“No, don’t be sorry. I was stupid enough to grab the blade” he said to her. She suddenly sat up and moved the blanket off of her getting off the bed.

 

“What are you doing?” he asked.

 

“Let me take care of your cut” she said grabbing his good hand pulling him up. She then started to walk him into the bathroom where she let go of his hand and started opening one of the cabinets pulling out cotton balls, hydrogen peroxide, and a first aid kit out as he stood in the doorway watching her. After she got all the stuff out, she turned around and walked over to him grabbing his arm, taking him over to the counter. She opened the hydrogen peroxide bottle and took out a couple cotton balls putting them over the opening of the bottle slightly turning the bottle to it side getting it wet. Taking his hand, she had him open it all the way and rest it on the counter as she cleaned around the cut. When she got to the cut, he had to grind his teeth, trying to hold back from screaming out. She stopped and opened the first aid kit taking out some gauze and wrapped it around his hand until it was thickly cover and then taped the end so it wouldn’t unravel. Once she finished she started to clean up but he stopped her.

“Let me help you clean up” he said to her.

 

“Okay” she said looking at him. She then opened up the cabinet door and put the cap back on the hydrogen peroxide putting it in the cabinet, along with the bag of cotton balls as he put the stuff that was taking out of the first aid kit back in and handed it to her as she put it back in the cabinet. After that, he put his arm around her and turned her around walking her back to the bed. He then had her lay back down as he sat down next to her again.

“Thank you” he said leaning down and kissed her forehead. When he pulled back up he saw that her eyes were already closed. He sat there until he knew that she was really asleep. After making sure that she was, he got up slowly and walked out of the room, softly closing the door behind him. He walked downstairs and went into the kitchen picking up the phone and dialed Talinda’s number.

“Hello?” Someone said into the line. He knew that it was Rob.

 

“Hey Rob! Are you guys still coming over?” he asked.

 

“Yeah. I called Mike and he said he’ll come over with Anna” Rob said, “Oh and guess what I found out from him?”

 

“What?” Chester asked.

 

“Mike told me that Anna’s pregnant”

 

“Really? When did they find out?” he asked.

 

“Mike told me that Anna went in to see her doctor because she was complaining that her lower back was bothering her. And her doctor did a blood test or some sort and found out that she's pregnant.”

 

“I’m glad for him. I know they been trying for awhile. Hey listen, I got Sam sleeping right now so she maybe out for a couple hours. I just hope it doesn’t take so along.”

 

“I’m sure it won’t. Will be over there in about five minutes.”

 

“Okay I’ll see you later” he said and then they hung up. He picked up the phone again and dialed Sam’s mother’s number.

 

“Hello?”

 

“Lily it’s me Chester. Rob, Talinda, Mike and his wife Anna are going to come to watch Sam. I should be over in a couple minutes after they get here.”

 

“Okay that’s fine. Take your time. I’ll see you soon” Lily said.

 

“Alright. I’ll see you soon” he said and hung up.

 

“Chester?” he heard someone called out a couple minutes later. He walked out of the kitchen and into the living room seeing Talinda, Rob, Mike and Anna.

“Thanks guys for coming over and congratulations on your pregnancy Anna” he said to her.

 

“Thanks and it’s really no problem watching Sam” she said smiling.

 

“If Sam does wake up and asks were I’m at just tell her that I already told her. Try not to upset her. She was calm before she went to sleep but I’m not sure what state of mind she’ll be in when she wakes up” he told them.

 

“Okay”

 

After that Chester walked out of the house and to his car, getting in, starting it and then drove off to Lily’s house. Once he got there he parked his car, got out and walked to the front door, ringing the door bell. A couple minutes later the door opened and it was Leticia.

“Mr. Bennington, come in. Lily will be out soon” she said moving out of the doorway as he walked in and then followed Leticia into the living room. He then heard a little voice call him.

“Daddy!” Draven got up off the floor setting his crayons down and ran over to him. Chester kneeled down hugging him back as he wrapped his arms around his neck. Then he let go of him, “Daddy what happen to your hand?” Draven asked him pointing to his hand.

 

“I hurt my hand” he said.

 

“You okay now?” he asked and then he looked around, “Daddy where’s mommy? You guys aren’t taking a break again?”

 

“No. Mommy's just not feeling well right now, but you know what?” he asked him.

 

“What?”

 

“She told me to tell you that she loves you very much and that she misses you” he told him, “Hey Draven why don’t you draw mommy a get well picture so she can keep it with her. You can give it to me when I come back, okay?”

 

“Okay, I can do that” he said going back to his drawing. He got a new paper out.

 

“Chester, you ready to go?” he looked up and saw that Lily was ready.

 

“Yeah. Bye buddy. I’ll be back soon” he said getting up off the floor and walked over to Lily and was shocked when she hugged him.

 

“It’s okay Chester. You probably think that I’m upset with you because of what’s happening to Sam but I’m not. I know that you tried your best to care for her” Lily said as she let go of him.

 

“Thanks Lily” he said and then they both walked out of the house going over to his car and got in and drove off to Rose Lawn.

[andrea]

Chapter 31 continued

 

An Hour Later

Inglewood, California

 

After an hour of driving, Chester pulled up to the house and had to be bussed into the place in order to park his car. Once they did, Lily and him walked up to the house and saw that the doctor who worked at the place was already waiting outside of the house, “Mr. Bennington, Ms. Cardossa, glad you could make it” he said shaking there hands “My name is Dr. Brad Kim and I run Rose Lawn. Shall we get started on the tour?”

 

“Yes.”

 

“Okay this way.” He walked towards the door opening it, “We take a gentle approach here. We feel in order to have an effect recovery, the resident has to feel safe, bond with a professional they grow to trust” he said as they walked further into the house. Lily closed the door behind her and Chester looked around seeing that they were in what looked like to be a living room. The room felt like it had this calming effect to the whole place, “All meals here are prepared by our cook. Residents have the option of having there meal in the room if they don't feel like not coming out" he said, “We also schedule activities if the resident feels like participating. We never force anyone into anything that they don’t want to do. We also have a garden if your fiancée likes to take walks” he said when a women walked into the room and stood by him.

 

“Hello Mr. Bennington. I’m Teresa Winters. Talinda Bentley was the one who told you about me. I’m one of the therapists here at Rose Lawn. If you do choose to have your fiancée placed in this wonderful facility I’m going to be her therapist. We will most likely meet once every other two weeks determined on her condition. Dr. Kim will give you weekly updates letting you know how she is doing” she said then he turned around taking a look around the room again.

 

“So, what do you think, Mr. Bennington? Is Rose Lawn a place where your fiancée might find the help she needs?” the doctor asked him as he turned back around and looked at Lily. She shook her head.

 

“Yes. Yes it will” he said.

 

“Okay, then lets get started on the paper work. Why don’t we go into my office and get started” he said as Chester and Lily walked into the doctor’s office and got started on the paper work.

Once they were done, Dr. Kim told Chester and Lily that Sam was more than welcome to come tonight which Chester knew he had to do. So after that they left and Chester drove Lily back to her house. When they got there, he parked his car and Lily got out and he followed her up to the house telling himself that he had to tell Draven what was really happening to his mother. He just hoped that Draven wouldn't get upset.

“Leticia is Draven with you right now?” he heard Lily ask her when they walked into the house.

 

“Yes, Lily” she said.

 

“I’m going to talk to him, okay?” he said to Lily and she nodded her head, “Um, after I’m done talking to him and before I take Sam to Rose Lawn she might want to say good-bye to Draven” he told her.

 

“Sure she can come here, but Draven might be asleep when you’re ready to take her” she said.

 

“That’s okay. I don’t want to get him and Sam upset” he said. Then he walked into the living room and again when he first came here Draven was happy to see him.

“Hey daddy! Look at what I drew for mommy” he said holding the picture up for Chester to see. Then he handed it to him.

 

“Hey Draven, can I talk to you about mommy?” he asked him. Draven shook his head and Chester had him sit down on the couch with him, “You remember when I told you that mommy wasn’t feeling well?” he asked and Draven shook his head, “Well mommy, she’s not sick with a cold. There something not right that’s going on in her head and to help herself she's going to a hospital. The doctors are going to take care of mommy better” he told him.

 

“Is mommy going to die?” he asked

 

“No, mommy’s not that sick. Her head is just telling her to do bad things to people and she doesn’t want to hurt the people she loves. So she's going to get help and when she’s well she can come home.”

 

“So, she's crazy?” he asked looking up at him.

 

He just sat there shocked on how to answer his sons question, he didn’t want to upset him, “Yes. Yes mommy is, but you don’t have to worry. She’s getting help now.”

 

“Okay. I hope mommy gets better” he said.

 

“Don’t worry Draven, mommy will. Is there anything you want me to tell mommy when I see her?” he asked.

 

“Yeah can you tell her that I love her and I’ll miss her” he said.

 

“Sure I can do that. Daddy’s got to go home and check on mommy, but I’ll be back tomorrow to pick you up so you can stay at home with me, okay?”

 

“Okay daddy. I see you tomorrow” he said and Draven gave him a hug and he hugged him back.

[xeviane]

omg little Draven is so cute in this part it almost moved me to tears hehe :'(

[geeko]

dra's maturing......its shocking even for me when he asked if his mommy is crazy......hehe......keep up the good wurk......

[andrea]

Chapter 32

 

Thanks xeviane and geeko!

 

******

A half an hour later after Sam fell asleep from exhaustion, she woke up to find that Chester wasn't with her. Seeing him not there, she started freaking out thinking that he left her. Pulling the blanket off of her, she got up and walked out of the room going downstairs to see if Chester was there. Once she got down the stairs, she saw that he wasn’t there, but saw three people in the living room.

“Where’s Chester?” she walked up to the railing that separated the living room from the dining room. When she said that, she saw everyone in the room jump.

 

“Where’s Chester?” she asked again.

 

“Sam, your up” she heard someone say to her left. She turned her head and saw that it was Mike, “Chester said he told you where he was at.”

 

“Oh yeah. I forgot. He told me he’s sending me to a loony bin because I’m crazy” she touched her head with her finger.

 

Mike looked down for just a second and then spoke up again, “Why don’t you sit down with us and wait for him to get back” he said. He slowly walked up closer to her not sure if she would flip out. She just stood there and let Mike touch her arm and let him lead her down the small steps and into the living room. When they got into the living room she sat down on one of the couches while Rob, Talinda, Mike and Anna all squeezed onto the other couch. Since the couch only allowed three people to sit down, Mike ended up having Anna sit on his lap. ‘Great. There all scared of me now. They probably think that I’m going to flip out on them’ Sam thought as she looked at them. She took her eyes off of them and moved her legs up closer to her body. Then she laid her head down on the armchair feeling tired again and closed her eyes.

After what seemed like a long time since she closed her eyes, Sam felt someone lightly shaking her. She opened her eyes and saw that it was Chester. Sitting up, she rubbed her eyes not fully a wake. Once she finished doing that she looked at Chester and saw the look on his face and saw that he was trying his hardest not to cry.

“Chester what’s wrong?” she let out with concern.

 

“Sam you know that I went to check out Rose Lawn?” he asked her and she just shook her head, “It’s a good place for you to be at, so I decided that it was best for you to go there tonight” he said.

 

“I knew you were…you were going to do this” she was getting a little scared about leaving Chester.

 

“I don’t really want to, but you know that I can’t help you. The doctors are professionals and they can help you better then I can.”

 

Sam just nodded her head, “Um, before I go can I...I just…I…I want to say goodbye to Draven.”

 

“Yeah. Okay… ” he nodded his head, “Okay. Come on”, he took her hand and helped her off the couch. When he did that they walked upstairs to their room. Once they got into the room, Sam walked into the closet and took out a suitcase and brought it over to the bed, opening it up, “Anything specific you want to take to Rose Lawn?” Chester asked.

 

“No. You can pack any clothes you find. I do, though, want to take a picture and some CDs if I can” she said.

 

“You can”, Chester reassured her.

 

After he said that, she walked over to her dresser looking at the pictures. Picking one up, seeing that it was a picture of her, Chester and Draven. It was the same one that used to be downstairs. The one she broke when she threw at the mini bar when she was fighting with Talinda about it, “I want to take this picture”, and she turned around to face Chester.

 

“Sure you can take that.” He walked up to her, taking the picture out of her hands and putting it in her suitcase.

 

“I…I’ll go and pick some CDs.” She walked out of the room and went down the stairs. When she got downstairs, she walked over to their CD rack in the living room and grabbed a couple that interest her, making sure she especially grabbed all the Linkin Park she bought to support Chester. After getting the music she wanted she walked back upstairs and put them in the suitcase. Chester closed it and took it off the bed. Once he did that, they walked downstairs and out of the house, walking over to his car. Chester put her luggage in the truck of his car as Sam got into the passenger side. After finishing doing that he got in and drove off to Lily’s house, so she could say good-bye to Draven.

Reaching her mother’s house, Chester parked his car and they both got out and walked up to her front door. Chester rang the door bell. Shortly after, Lily opened the door and went to hug Sam. She hugged her back.

“Oh Samantha, I’m going to miss you, but the faster you get better the faster you can come home.”

 

“I’m going to -- to try and get better” she said letting go of her mom.

 

“Come on in. Draven’s sleeping but you still can go and say goodbye to him” she walked her and Chester down her hall and to the room Draven was sleeping in. When they reached the door, she walked away giving them space.

 

“Are you sure you want to do this?” Chester looked at Sam after her mom walked away.

 

“Yeah.” She slowly opened the door and walked in, quietly over to the bed. Reaching the bed, she knelt down onto the floor and reached her hand over to touch Draven’s face lightly, “I’ll miss you buddy”, quietly not wanting to wake him, “Mommy’s not feeling well. I’m going to get help and we will soon be the family we've been waiting to be for a long time.” She brought her hands away from Draven, bringing them up to her lips kissing her hand and putting them on his forehead. Feeling him stir in his sleep, she moved her hand away and got up off the floor walking over to the door. Stopping, she turned around and looked back at Draven sleeping.

 

“Do you want to go now?” Chester asked her quietly.

 

“Um…I just want -- I want to watch him for a little bit”, she was starting to get emotional.

 

“Okay.”

 

She stayed in the doorway for a couple more minutes and then turned to Chester. She shook her head letting him know that she was ready to go, so Chester closed Draven’s door and they walked down the hall. She said one last goodbye to her mother again and then she and Chester walked out of the house and over to his car, getting in. When they did he started it and backed out and started the drive to Rose Lawn.

 

An Hour Later

Inglewood, California

 

Reaching Rose Lawn, Chester buzzed into the gate and parked his car. After shutting his car he was about to get out when Sam put her hand on his arms stopping him, “I’m scared”, she looked at him.

 

“I know you are. I am too. But your going to get better and then you can come home. Once you do, we can be a family again”, he replied looking at her.

 

“Okay. Can you tell me something?” she asked.

 

“Sure. What is it?”

 

“Is it nice inside?”

 

“Yeah. It’s nice” he said. She then slowly took off the seatbelt and opened the door getting out of the car. After Chester got out of the car he walked over to her and took her hand into his, they then both walked up to the house. Walking up the porch, Chester opened the door and Sam walked in first. Chester was right about the place being nice. Behind her she heard Chester closing the door, “Didn’t I tell you the place was nice? And you know what? Once you’ve had some time and you’ve settled in, you know, it’s not far from home so we could have Draven come. He could come and visit”, Chester pointed out to her.

 

“I’m sure he’ll be happy about that”, she smiled to herself slightly.

 

“You know, the grounds are nice, but we can go to Centinela Park, have a picnic there. I’ll have all your foods -- hamburgers, cheese pizza, what ever you want, you know” he said.

 

“And carrot sticks for you and Draven.”

 

“Well, you know, can we help it if were nature freaks, right? Um…you’re going to be all right, you know that, okay? The doctors are really good here and there going to make you feel better, and then I’ll have Draven come and visit.” Sam heard someone walking. She turned her head and saw a woman and a men coming into the room.

 

“Samantha, we’re so glad you’ll be staying here at Rose Lawn. I’m Teresa Winters and this is Dr. Kim, he’s going to be giving you a tour of the facility”, Teresa extended her hand out and Sam took it, shaking it.

 

“And your room is right off the gardens. Do you like to take walks, Samantha?”, Dr. Kim picked up right after Teresa.

 

“You can call me Sam.” The doctor nodded, “And yeah, yeah my son and I try to take walks everyday.”

 

“Then I’m sure you’ll enjoy our walkways and reflecting pool”, he pointed behind her. She slightly turned around and looked at Chester.

 

“It’s all right” he said softly. She still heard him and followed Dr. Kim into the recreation room.

[andrea]

Continuing Chapter 32

 

Once Sam walked off with Dr. Kim, Teresa and Chester stayed behind watching them walk into the next room. When they were out of site, Teresa turned around and looked at Chester.

“Now might be a good time to leave” she told him.

 

“I’d like to say goodbye” he responded back.

 

“I think it be less upsetting for Sam if you just simply slipped away.” Chester just looked at her and back to where Sam was. He looked at the door and slowly walked over to it but stopped and turned back to Teresa.

“I can’t do it” he said “I can’t do this. I can’t leave Sam here.”

 

“You really don’t have a choice.”

 

“Watch me. I’m taking Sam home.” Chester stopped talking when Sam and Dr. Kim walked out of the room, going down a hallway. He went over to the set of French doors, closing them, “I can take care of Sam myself” he said going back over to Teresa.

 

“And how has that been working out for you? You said she could have killed her ex-best friend, her ex-best friend’s boyfriend, you, and herself.”

 

“They were accidents. She believed she saw Sandra’s father” he responded.

 

“Chester, no, they weren’t accidents. Those were paranoia hallucination, and with the next one she might not be able to stop herself in time. Tell me what you want for Sam, Chester? When all of this is over, what’s your hope?” she questioned him.

 

“I just -- I want her to be herself again.”

 

“Okay, well then this is the best chance. I mean, this is a nurturing environment with caring professionals. Honestly, I can not think of a better place for a woman in Sam’s condition” she said.

 

“I promised, I just promised that I would not put her away”, he took a few steps away from Teresa.

 

“Well, than you made a mistake. The promise should have been that you would get her well, no matter what.” He turned around looking back at her.

 

“You don’t understand. I swore that this would never happen.”

 

“Don’t make this your fault, Chester. If Sam needed a new heart, would you perform the surgery? You know I’m right or else you wouldn’t be here” she stated.

 

“I don’t want her to hurt anybody or herself.”

 

“I know”, Teresa walked up closer to Chester, “You’re doing the right thing, okay. You stay focus on what’s good for Sam. Your fiancée has a medical condition that requires professional help. You love her enough to get it” she said.

 

“All right, we’ll try it, but you know I’m not just going to disappear. I’ve got to say goodbye to her”, as he finished saying that, Sam and Dr. Kim walked back into the room.

 

“Dr. Kim this is my fiancé and the father of our son”, Sam looked at Dr. Kim as they walked closer.

 

“We’ve met. I assure Mr. Bennington that will take very good care of you”, he assured her and than walked over to where Teresa was at, giving Chester and Sam some space.

 

“How do you like the doctor?” he asked her.

 

“He’s fine.”

 

“Yeah? Listen --” he started to say but Sam cut him off.

 

“Chester, could you take me back to my room? I don’t think I could be alone.” He shook his head. She turned around and he followed her down the hall towards her room. It was pretty easy finding her room since she knew where it was and also since her name was posted on the wall. Reaching the door, Chester opened it for her. When he walked in he saw that the room had a rosy pink color on the walls.

“Nice color, huh?” he asked.

 

“Yeah. Yeah, it makes me fill warm”, she turned her head looking at him and then her whole body.

 

“When you wake up in the morning, you’ve got a beautiful garden.”

 

“I know, I know…” she said walking over to the window, “I see a couple butterflies are starting to settle into hibernation.”

 

“You just love those butterflies”, he smiled.

 

She laughed, “I know. I like too watch them out of Draven’s window around March” she smiled walking back over to him, “I love the way they look so peaceful. I also love the color on there wings, all the bright colors mixed together” she finished saying as he looked down.

 

“I’m sorry. I promised that I’d --” he started to say but stopped looking up at Sam seeing that she was about to cry.

 

“Oh, yeah, promises. People break promises all the time. You know, what you goanna do?” she asked.

 

“If there's anything you know, anything you want --” he said stopping himself.

 

“You know what I want, Chester” she said.

 

“Draven needs his mother to be well”, he put his hand into his jacket pocket, pulling out a black bracelet box, “And I got something to remind you of us. I order it a couple weeks ago” he said taking it out of the box and walked up to her.

 

 

“It’s a -- It’s a birthstone bracelet. It has your, mine and Draven's birthstone on it” he said handing it to her, “But what I want is for you to put it on your wrist so that when you look at it --”

 

“I love this bracelet” she said starting to put it on.

 

“Well, you know --”

 

“Will you tell Draven that I love him when you see him tomorrow?” she asked.

 

“Let the doctors help you, you do that for me, okay?”, he then turned around and started walking toward the door.

 

“And um Chester….” Sam stopped him. Chester turned around and saw her lick her lips, “I love you” she said saying those three words that he’s been waiting for her to say for a long time.

 

“I love you too” he said getting watery eyed, “Uh, okay” he turned around and walked out of the room leaving Sam behind.

[geeko]

hey no goodbye kisses???

eheh i was expecting even just one......yeah i kinda remember the bracelet frum tlatc......uhh was that it??

[andrea]

Yes. That was the same bracelet, good remembering that :thumbsup:

[X...Re-Arranged...X]

*sniffles* I'm in tears. Lol. Loved it!

[andrea]

Chapter 33

 

Thanks geeko and sebby for the reviews.

 

******

Once Chester left the room, Sam stood in the same spot she was in. She looked at the door hoping, just hoping that Chester would turn around and change his mind about leaving her here and take her back home. She knew that wasn't going to happen. Turning around, she walked over to her bed when she heard a knock on the door. It opened and she saw that it was the therapist Teresa Winters and that she had something with her.

 

“Hi Ms. Cardossa. I have your suitcase here” she said putting it down on the bed in front of her.

 

“Thank you” she said softly.

 

“Are you hungry? I can have some food sent to your room” she asked.

 

“No I’m fine. I think I'll wait till tomorrow” Sam responded.

 

“Okay.” She turned around and walked out of the room.

 

When she left Sam looked down at her suitcase and opened it up. She pulled out the picture frame she packed and looked at it while running her fingers over the glass. She set it down on the nightstand. Looking back at her suitcase, she saw the CDs she brought with her and pulled them out, along with her music player putting the headphones on. She took out Linkin Park’s Meteora, putting it into the CD player. Getting up off the bed, she walked over to the window and looked down at the player pushing the play button and went to the track she wanted to listen to. She then moved the curtain back and looked out the window…

“Memories consume/ Like opening the wound/ I’m picking me apart again/ You all assume/ I’m safe here in my room/ [unless I try to start again]…” seep through the headphones.

 

(Flashback)

Sam was in the kitchen, with a baby monitor near by, preparing dinner. She didn’t hear the front door close, since the kitchen was on the other side of the house. A couple minutes later she felt and saw a pair of tattoo flamed arms wrap around her waist. She stopped doing what she was doing and leaned her head back. Her smiled soon turned into a frown when she saw that Chester seemed a little upset. She moved out of his arms and turned around.

“What’s wrong Chester?” she asked.

 

“I can’t do it. I can’t bring myself to do it.” He didn't look at her.

 

“Can’t do what?” she asked slightly afraid of asking the question.

 

“Sing this song that Mike wants to put on the album. I just can’t sing it. It’s too hard to do. Every time I try I start remembering my past and I just brake down and cry” he explained.

 

“Just give it time Chester. I’m sure you’ll be able to bring yourself to record it and put it on the album. But, you know, it doesn’t mean you have to go and perform it every night on tour unless you’re ready to.”

(End of Flashback)

 

“I don’t want to be the one/ The battles always choose/ ‘Cause inside I realize/ That I’m the one confused/ I don’t know what’s worth fighting for/ Or why I have to scream/ I don’t know why I instigate/ And say what I don’t mean/ I don’t know how I got this way/ I know it’s not alright/ So I’m/ Breaking the habit/ Breaking the habit/ Tonight…”

 

Was what came out of the headphones. Since Sam was listening closely to the lyrics a couple tears ran down her face. She let go of the curtain and moved her hand up towards her face, wiping them away.

 

“Clutching my cure/ I tightly lock the door/ I try to catch my breath again/ I hurt much more/ Than anytime before/ I had no options left again/ I don’t want to be the one/ The battles always choose/ ‘Cause inside I realize/ That I’m the one confused/ I don’t know what’s worth fighting for/ Or why I have to scream/ I don’t know why I instigate/ And say what I don’t mean/ I don’t know how I got this way/ I know it’s not alright/ So I’m/ Breaking the habit/ Breaking the habit/ Tonight…”

 

She wished that remembering her rape all over again didn’t happen, that she could forget about it like she did for twelve years. She wished she wasn’t seeing Robert Grace all over the place. She really wished Sandra didn’t get into her car that night and that she really should of listen to what she had to say. But know matter how she got this way she knew that Chester was right, she needs to get better and that’s what she's going to do.

 

“I’ll paint it on the walls/ ‘Cause I’m not the one at fault/ I’ll never fight again/ And this is how it ends/ I don’t know what’s worth fighting for/ Or why I have to scream/ But now I have some clarity/ To show you what I mean/ I don’t know how I got this way/ I’ll never be alright/ So I’m/ Breaking the habit/ Breaking the habit/ Tonight”

 

Once the song finished, she turn off the CD player and took the headphones off. Setting them down on the dresser, she turned around going back on her bed to finish unpacking her suitcase.

 

When Chester got back from Rose Lawn he was upset about having to break his promise to Sam. Everywhere he turned in the house there were pictures of her or her and Chester or her, Chester and Draven. He couldn’t take it anymore and removed all the pictures that had Sam in it and put them away, telling himself that he would defiantly put them back up when she came back home. After he finished putting the pictures away, Chester made his way downstairs and walked into the kitchen. He walked over to the fridge, opening it up and grabbed a beer. Closing the fridge, Chester opened the beer bottle and drank it fast. When he finished, he threw the bottle in the trash can and slowly made his way upstairs.

The next morning, when Chester woke up he got dress and made his way downstairs going into the kitchen. When he walked into the kitchen, he looked over at the phone and saw that the answering machine light was blinking. ‘Oh no, Sam’s doctor has called already.’ he thought to himself, hesitating before pushing the button.

‘Hey Chester, its Mike. I know that yesterday must have been a hard day for you and I know that we, as a band, scheduled to start recording today but we all thought that you wouldn’t fill like coming in. Anyways I’m just calling to let you know that were not going to be recording for a couple days. So will pick up in a couple days, okay? See you then, bye.’

“Thanks Mike” he said to himself after hearing the message. He looked at the time seeing that it was almost eleven o’clock. He then decided to go and get Draven since he hasn’t been home for awhile. Grabbing his car keys, he walked out to his car.

[andrea]

Continuing Chapter 33

 

When he got to Lily’s he walked up to the front door and rang the door bell. A couple seconds later Leticia open the door.

“Hi Chester. Draven woke up just a little while ago. He’s been asking for you” she said letting him in.

 

“Thanks Leticia for helping out.” He stepped into the house.

 

“It’s no problem" she replied and Chester walked into the living room. He saw him sitting on the couch watching T.V., so he walked over to the couch and sat next to him. Draven took his eyes off the T.V. and turned his head looking at him.

“Dad!” he excitedly let out.

 

“Hey buddy. You ready to leave grandmas and come home?” he asked him. Draven shook his head getting up off the couch and ran out of the room. Chester just shook his head and got up off the couch following Draven down the hall. Coming to his room, he saw him already pulling his suitcase with him.

“Ready to go now, dad” he said which made Chester laugh to himself.

 

“Okay, okay. Let’s go.” They walk to the kitchen where Lily was at. Draven said bye while Chester thanked her for taking care of Draven. After doing that they left and Chester drove back to the house. Once they got into the house Chester took Draven up to his room and helped him unpack his suitcase. When they finished they both sat down on his bed.

“What’s the place called that mom’s in?” Draven asked looking at Chester.

 

“Well it’s called Rose Lawn --” he said but stopped when Draven interrupted.

 

“It’s called Rose Lawn? That’s a funny name.”

 

“It’s a nice place, Draven. Mom likes it. I mean, the people are -- you know, she likes the people, and she's got butterflies that fly outside her window.”

 

“Just like they do outside my window?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“So how long is she going to stay in there for?” he asked.

 

“Well, until the doctors, you know, say she can come home” Chester responded.

 

“Well, is she lock up?” he asked which shocked Chester.

 

“It’s not like that Draven. You know, it’s more like a cottage than a hospital.”

 

“Like when we went to Tahoe for Christmas one year?” he asked.

 

“Yeah, yeah, a lot like that.”

 

“Okay” he said and paused a little, “Mom really needed to get away?” he looked at him.

 

“Yeah, I’m afraid she did. But there's good news. I know that mom is not here and that you miss her, but you don‘t have to stay with grandma anymore. I need you here with me, we need to take care of each other and -- you know what I mean?” he asked him and he shook his head, “I mean because mom‘s not going to be here and it‘s going to take awhile for her to come back” he told him.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Right” he said looking down at the floor.

 

“We'll be fine” Draven said scooting closer to him wrapping his arms around him as Chester put one arm around his shoulder.

 

“Yeah."

 

A Couple Hours Later

 

After Chester put Draven down for the night he went into the kitchen and picked up the phone. He dialed the number to Rose Lawn.

“This is Rose Lawn, Dr. Kim speaking. How may I help you?”

 

“Yes this is Chester Bennington. I want to know if Sam can take any more visitors?” he asked.

 

“Oh Mr. Bennington, we fill that it’s not safe for family members to be around Samantha right now. The only people allowed to see her are the workers here at Rose Lawn.”

 

“Okay then. How long do you think it’ll be till it’s safe to see her?”

 

“Until she shows a little improvement. I’m sorry for the inconvenience” he said. After that they both hung up. Chester felt like throwing something but instead picked the phone up again and dialed Dr. Winters’ number.

“Hello, Dr. Winters speaking” Teresa said.

 

“How come I wasn’t told I couldn’t see Sam?” he asked.

 

“Mr. Bennington, I’m sorry that I missed informed you about that. All new patients can’t see immediate family members until we fill it safe for them.”

 

“Okay, then I want Sam released from Rose Lawn, immediately” he stated, “Since you guys wont let me see Sam, then I’m going to put her someplace else that will.”

 

“Any decent facility is going to denied you or any family member access to Sam. In this stage in her illness, any contact with you or any one close to her will do her more harm than good.”

 

“Okay, explain that to me, please.”

 

“Well with Sam, we know that she loves you and that's a good sign that she's not dependent on you, but right now she needs to focus on her problems and figure out what she wants and needs in order to get well. Then Sam can deal with seeing you.”

 

“Thanks for the conversation” he said wanting to end it now.

 

“Mr. Bennington what does that mean?”

 

“Well, that means I just -- go ahead and let Sam go through the program, but like you said when we first met I want regular updates on her condition. That is nonnegotiable” he said.

 

“Of course. Chester, you’re doing the right thing.”

 

“I hope so” he said. When they hung up, Chester just stood by the phone for a little while. Then he walked upstairs going into his room.

 

Lyrics - Linkin Park - Breaking the Habit (Meteora)

[geeko]

im proud uf chester...i really am.i wish i can survive everything in this fucking life like he did...not only his life in this story but in reality...

[xeviane]

Yeah you're totally right, geeko. It's sad when some people have to fight their way through terrible stuff in life but somehow these bad things make people stronger and make them care of other people ... I'm proud of chester too yeah I look up to him hehe

 

btw andrea, what a great job I really didn't have the time to check out your updates the last few weeks but I can see that you've done a great piece of work. The story is beginning to be more sad than ever especially the part where chester had to leave sam I hardly kept my tears from falling hehe

[andrea]

Chapter 34

 

Thanks for the reviews geeko and xeviane for the reviews. They are very appreciated!

 

******

The Next Day

 

“Okay…I guess I’ll see you tonight?…I love you too…Bye… Bye Rob” Talinda said closing her cell phone. She set it back on her desk and looked at her computer. She started typing away again when she heard a knock on her office door, “Come in” she announced, not looking away from her computer.

“Girl, why are you still here? Your five months pregnant and your still coming to work. You’re crazy.” Talinda heard. She looked away from the computer and saw that it was Jennifer.

 

“Yes, I’m still working. I’m not going to start my maternity leave until December, which is in two months” she replied.

 

“And Rob is okay with this? I mean, you own the office and company so you could take time off right now if you wanted.”

 

“Yeah. He’s okay with me choosing to still work.”

 

“Then do you fill like taking on another case?” she asked.

 

“By myself? Is the case going to court or is it just a settlement?” Talinda asked back.

 

“I believed they want to take who there suing to court” Jennifer responded.

 

“I can’t. It’s too much stress. But only if John took the case and I did the closing, then I think I could” she explained talking about one of the second highest lawyer in her firm, since she’s the owner of the company and still a lawyer too, which makes her pretty high in her firm.

 

“Okay. I’ll ask John then” Jennifer stated and left the room closing the door behind her. Looking back at the computer screen, she started typing again when she heard her cell go off for a second time.

Picking it up, she answered it, “Yes Rob. What do you want?” she asked since he calls her a lot, and she means a lot. Every chance he gets, he’ll call her.

 

“Rob huh? You should really look more often at the number on your phone. Huh, Talinda?” ‘Chester’ she thought to herself.

 

“Hey Chester. How’s Sam?” she asked.

 

“Um you know -- she's getting better. That's what her doctor said this morning when he called to give me an update on her condition. I do have to admit were she’s staying at, Rose Lawn, it’s a nice place. Actually, I wanted to ask you a favor, apparently I can’t see Sam and her mother can’t either because it’ll make it worst for her --”

 

“Well it’s a real crucial time for her, I think, and the doctors probably just want to keep everything as emotionally clean as possible.”

 

“Yeah, that’s what Teresa said, but you know what? It doesn’t sit well with me, because I’ve broken my promise to many times to Sam that I can’t even explain why.”

 

“Well, you know, you could just write everything down in a letter and the doctors could decide when Sam’s ready to read it, which might be sooner then when they let you see her.”

 

“Yeah, yeah. You might be right, but the favor I wanted to ask was if you can see -- if you could try and get into Rose Lawn and see how Sam is?” he asked.

 

“All I can say is that I’ll try as best as I can” she said.

 

“Thank you so much Talinda. Call me if you did get in.”

 

“Okay. I will. Bye Chester” she said before they hung up.

 

After hanging up with Talinda, Chester put the phone down. As soon as he did that the door bell went off so he walked up to the door. Opening it, he saw Sam’s mother standing there.

“Oh please tell me you didn’t forget?”

 

“Forget what?”

 

“Forget about Draven's back-to-school night. I told Draven to remind you about it” Lily said.

 

“Oh no! I forgot all about it. Thank you Lily for showing up or I would have completely blown it off” he said moving out of the way to let her in.

 

“It’s okay Chester. It’s understandable. A lots been going on” she replied as he walked over to the stairs.

 

“Draven! Come down here please!” he called out and Draven came out of his room and down the stairs, “Hey buddy, guess what?” he asked when Draven reached the last step.

 

“What?”

 

“You’re going to be a tour guide because were going to see your school” he responded.

 

“I don’t want to go” he stated and started to walk away from Chester, going into the living room.

 

“Why not?” he asked, following him as he sat down on the couch.

 

“Because.”

 

“‘Because’? Because why not?” he asked and Draven didn’t say anything, “Mom?” he asked him.

 

“I haven’t told any of the kids at school.”

 

“Oh, and you don’t want anybody to know mom went into a mental hospital?” Chester asked. When Draven didn’t look at him, he went and sat down next to him, “Your mom, she had a nervous breakdown. Some people don’t know what that means. They act like it's the persons fault, they should have been stronger. They don’t realize that your mind can get sick like your body” Chester started explaining to his son.

 

“How does it happen?” Draven asked looking at him.

 

“Well, you know, it's a lot -- I mean, sometimes people’s brains are wired differently, and they called that a chemical imbalance. Other times, it could be that bad things keep happening to someone, right? And they can’t cope with it anymore so…they break. Okay? Or it could be a combination of both things. But what I want you to know is that your mom didn’t have a nervous breakdown on purpose. She has an illness in her head.”

 

“What if the kids found out?” he asked.

 

“I wish that I can guarantee that they won’t tease you, but I can’t. But you know what you need to do?” he asked him.

 

“What?”

 

“Don’t let it get to you, hold your head up high, and remember what the truth is. And that is your mom did the right thing by getting help and we love you. No one can -- and I mean this -- could ever take that away from you.”

 

“Okay” he said.

 

“Now, you come here and give me a hug right now” he said as Draven sat up on his knees and wrapped his arms around Chester and he did the same thing.

 

At Rose Lawn, Sam opened the door to her room slowly and peeked down the hall checking to see if anyone was down it. No one was. She then looked in front of her and saw a medicine cart. The door across from her room was open and she looked down the hall again. Again seeing no one. She carefully took one step out of her room looking closer at the cart where she saw some syringes on top of it.

‘Do it Samantha. She's going to be coming. You can quickly take her out with one of those.’ A voice in her head yelled at her. She looked down the hall again and then at the room in front of her. The nurse wasn’t coming out so she quickly picked up the syringe and looked at it closely seeing that it was filled with something.

 

“I’ll be back to check on you later Ms. Marshall --” she heard come from the room in front of her.

Sam turned around and walked back fast into her room. She closed the door softly leaning against it, listening closely as the nurse’s footsteps walked away. Sam walked over to her chair and sat down stuffing the syringe in between the cushion.

After she did that she rested her hands on the arm rest and started nervously tapping her fingers. She turned her head when she heard something outside her window. Getting up from her chair, she walked over to the window and pulled back the curtain a little trying to see what it was. She saw that it was a hummingbird, which made her smiled to herself. Hearing her door close, she quickly let go of the curtain and walked back quickly over to her chair sitting back down. She then put her hand in the cushion to see if the syringe was still there. Pulling her hand out back, she saw that she was holding the syringe.

[geeko]

now i wonder wat shes going to do...