Restless Soul

14

   Encased for so long in the confines of her sell, what should've been a magic carpet ride back to safety felt like a senseless glid over thunderous clouds. Each and every sound felt a thousand decibels higher and she placed her hand on her ears as her eyes shot open. Befuddled by her new surroundings, Amanda sat up straight against the bedpost.

Her eyes wandered around the room that to her was familiar.

A shout drew her out of her daze followed by a muffled thump that scattered her confusion.

Suddenly she remembered it all.

The asylum, Dr. Fletcher... her father.

Her eyes widened while releasing tears she hadn't noticed gathered at her lids.

It hadn't been a dream.

   Feeling the fluff of her favorite comforter beneath her palms, she had all the proof she could ever ask for. He'd come to set her free. How could she have ever doubted her would? She could blame it on the shock, the entrapment, but more so from being forcefully fed a narrative. One that had her painted out to be the perpetrator, and the cage she found herself in being the punishment for her transgressions.

"I didn't work this hard to watch it all come crashing down because of her crazy antics!"

"I dare you to call her crazy again! Fucking try me, Sheryl!"

Amanda's head snapped towards the door.

It wasn't often she heard her parents raise their voices at each other, if ever. In recent times, it seemed she was getting to know more about them than she had throughout her entire life.

She threw her legs over the bed and made a move to stand. She must've gotten up too fast because her knees caved and next her face was against the floor.

Struggling to push herself up, her muscles trembled from the effort.

As if the spasm in her biceps served as an alarm signaling her destress, Matt entered the room and froze with a takeout bag in his hands as his eyes moved from the empty bed to her on the ground.

"You probably shouldn't try getting up," he said, his voice for once containing a shimmer of emotion.

Amanda kept her head down as she heard him drop the bags on the bed before walking over to her.

Pulling her against his chest, he got her back on the bed in one swift motion.

Still woozy from the fall, Amanda tucked her feet beneath the covers, all while watching as he took a step back.

They were used to awkward silences by now, only the lack of conversation between them was overshadowed by their parents' quarrels going on down the hall.

"You don't get to make that choice! I won't allow you to handle this as your family would!" Mayor Fullwood barked, followed by a mocking laugh from their mother.

"Amanda is your daughter just as much as she is mine."

"Yet you completely ignored that when you locked her up in that place without coming to me first!"

"You always want to be the good guy! I didn't want to put you in a position to need to make that decision! I did you a favor!"

"You just didn't want me to find out at all."

"I would've told you!"

"Oh yeah, and when would you have done that? When they were done turning her brain into mooch? Would that be when you would've told me?!"