Chapter 162 - Clarity

Lance. 

"So, Manuel is tight with the guards. Literally all of them." 

I nod. 

This seems like a heist. Okay, maybe it is a heist. I plan on breaking him out of the hospital illegally. I am so pumped because I feel like things are turning around. Jack is with Patrick, explaining things to him. Eren is with me right now. Talking about the plan. So far, it seems like Manuel is going to do everything. "He will let us out, when the time is right.''

I nod, "Is this happening tonight?'' 

He shakes his head "Your name is on the guest list, so you can visit him whenever you want to. Manuel will just assist in getting you guys out." He explains. 

I close my eyes for a second, taking a deep breath. I don't want to get my hopes up right now because there is still the chance that this won't work but I will have a little hope "When are we doing this?'' I ask him. 

He smiles "Tomorrow, we want it to be done in a way where it doesn't trace back to him. He needs this job." 

I nod. I don't want to put anyone in trouble "I get that.''

He smiles "So he is going to be the distraction.'' He tells me. 

I nod. I hear a knock on the door, which gets me up on my feet and to it. I see Patrick when I open the door. His eyes are red. It seems like he has been crying. I don't even blame him, Jack must have told him everything. Jack is behind him, there is a smile on his face. 

"Hey—" he jumps on me immediately cutting me off. His arms wrap around me and I let him hold me. This is his way of thanking me. Even though he doesn't even need to. I will do anything for my friends and he is a good one. The things he had to go through never defined him. I just met him a couple of months back and he has been a good friend to me. He makes my brother happy. I will do anything for him. 

"Thank you so much,'' he cries in my arms, I welcome him wholeheartedly. 

After a couple of seconds of embracing, he pulls away from me slightly "You have no idea what this means to me. It feels like a weight has been lifted off my chest.''

I nod "You don't have to worry about them anymore. Your mother will never bother you again.''

I can't completely assure him that he won't have to worry about the woman but the truth is out. There is no need to think about this again. He doesn't have to run away, he doesn't have to hide from them any longer. 

"Thank you, Lance. You are God sent,'' he hugs me again and I welcome him. Giving him the freedom to express his gratitude in any way that pleases him. 

This is his chance to be happy.

He deserves it. 

*************

They all leave with plans of Eren and Jack coming back tomorrow afternoon. I go into my room and grab his diary. I still haven't finished it. I don't know how I feel about everything that I have read so far. His mother seemed to have issues. Yeah, in his words, it seems like his father caused everything. That part is believable. He treated her the same way he is treating Ford. Like she was a disease that needed to be treated. 

I don't know anymore. 

His granduncle switched sides. I was so sure that he was going to help us. I thought about it when he called. He seemed completely on Ford's side. All he cared about was getting him out of the hospital and the minute he visits John, sides are switched. He suddenly believes the man. It makes no sense that he would just switch so fast but it also feels like there is a reason. Something must have happened. 

There has to be an explanation and I feel like I won't get the answer from his book. 

I go to my bed and open to the page I stopped. I told him I would finish it, so I need to finish it and no matter what I read, I am still getting him out tomorrow. 

BRAD'S DIARY (Journal)

Mom has been waking me up every night. She is always happy, which makes me happy. Ever since I swapped the meds, she has been smiling a lot. Dad has no clue, he is barely around anyways, which makes it easier. 

We always end up going for ice cream. She says we are having our own adventures. I like that we have a secret between us. At first, she will always come and wake me up but now, I am always ready before she even comes. 

I snuck into her room last night to talk to her. She told me that I should pack a bag tonight. That we were going to have a sleepover adventure. 

I can't wait. 

I pause on the reading. From what I can gather, she has been taking her ten-year-old son at night to get ice cream. He seemed really excited for their adventures, I can sense and attachment to her. 

I turn the pages to the next entry. 

BRAD'S DIARY (JOURNAL)

Hey.

So, mom is gone.

It has been six months since I wrote anything. 

I feel like I can't breathe. Everything is suffocating. I woke up from the nightmare I thought I had and they told me she died in the car accident. All I remember from that night was dad leaving for another one of his business trips. I remember being all over her. Happy that we would soon have her trip. We were both so excited. We were supposed to go to the park, and then a hotel. She wanted some time away from the house and she wanted to be with me. 

I remember helping her pack her bag. I remember watching her go to the bathroom and grab the bottle of pills. The same one's dad used to put in her drink. 

I told her not to take it. 

She said dad was making her. She said she didn't have any choice but to take it. I wish I were big enough to stop her but I couldn't. There was nothing I could do. I couldn't stop it. I had succeeded all this while in making sure she didn't take it and now, there was no point. 

I tried to get us out of the trip. I knew what would come from the meds, she would be sleepy and tired, but she wouldn't listen to me. There was nothing I could do. Nothing to stop the accident. 

I don't remember most of the car ride but when I close my eyes, I still see the truck. I still see her turn towards it. 

I close the book because I can't take any more of it. There is nothing explanatory about this. This is an insight into how he feels but it doesn't tell us the truth. It doesn't show that John killed her. He wasn't even around. John mentioned a bit of the accident last time and his story is different. Ford was a kid. He might have been confused about a lot of things. 

"Fuck, how do I know what is right?'' I shout to myself. 

If I continue reading, I wouldn't have the answers that I need. 

There seems to be a lot of confusion in his messages. If his mother took the pills on her own, then there is the probability that John wasn't actually trying to hurt her. What if she needed it? What if Brad had been replacing the meds when his mother actually needed the pills? 

I run my hands through my hair from the frustration, turning the pages, there are only a few left. There is nothing else that I can get from it. There is no proof that John is a bad person. 

I grab my phone from the counter table and dial his number. He answers on the first ring "Lance, what a surprise,'' he mutters. I hate the excitement in his voice. 

"I need to ask you a question,'' I breathe into the phone. John will always be the enemy. As long as he continues to hurt Ford. 

"Go ahead.''

I take a deep breath "Mr Maxim mentioned that Ford's mother was sick. Just like he is. How true is that?'' 

He sighs. I guess he is not so excited anymore. "I tried to keep her health a secret. I didn't want people to know.'' 

"That doesn't answer my question,'' I blurt out. 

"Ava had a lot of problems. She was bipolar like him, her lows were the worst. she was also diagnosed with schizophrenia. She would see things that were never there. There was no cure to it. The only thing we could do were the meds. They were the only things that could help. I tried to hide it from Brad. I didn't want him to have to bear the burden. She agreed to keep it a secret, as long as she could remain home. Taking her meds was the most difficult part of her disorders. She would never take them consistently, we had a lot of fights. Talks on how to make things better. After a while, we settled on me giving them to her." 

"For a while, they made her down, she would spend days in bed but they started working. She was herself again."

My heart beats in my chest. I am afraid of his next words. The fear that he will say what I already knew. 

"Until the accident. I thought she was getting better. I thought I could leave her with him alone again. I guess I was wrong."

Fucking hell.