"The more a daughter knows the details of her mother's life [...] the stronger the daughter."

— Anita Diamant

/ / e v e l y n / / 

I sit on the steps leading to the Rosewood Institute as I wait for Joe to come pick me up. I got off of work fifteen minutes ago. Joe is fifteen minutes late and he told me he wouldn't be late. I should've known he would be late. He's always late to something. Sighing, I sit my purse on the space beside me and cup my chin in my hands. I cannot wait until I'm able to get a vehicle of my own. I'm tired of relying on Joe for transportation because he's almost always late. Little by little, I'm starting to lose faith in him. 

"Evelyn?"

I glance up to see Niall and say, "Oh, hey."

"What are you still doing here?" he asks. "I thought you left a while ago."

I throw my arms up in the air and forcefully put my hands on my lap, "My ride was supposed to pick me up but he's late. I can't go anywhere until he gets here."

"Want me to give you a lift?" he asks. "I'm sure you don't live that far from here and I'm not in any rush to get back to my place. It's no trouble at all."

"Oh, no," I am quick to shake my head. "You've already helped me out today. I can just wait. I like waiting."

He smiles and settles down on the step I am on, "Fine. Then I'll wait with you." He places his hands on his lap and he looks at me, showing off his perfectly white teeth. I smile back and  try my best to make it look somewhat convincing. He stops smiling and looks down at his hands. "So, what was it like?"

"What was...what like?" I question him and then myself. Is it bad that I have no idea what he's talking about?

"Oh, you know," he murmurs, moving his hands about as if they'll speak for him. "What was it like being alone with him?"

"He didn't attack me if that's what you mean." I say and move my purse to my lap. Niall nods in response and he doesn't say anything. "I promised him I would bring a chocolate bar for him to eat tomorrow. I think he likes the idea of me bringing him candy."

Niall looks at me, "You're going to bribe Louis?"

"It's not bribing." I say. "I told him if he cooperates, he gets the candy bar."

"That's bribing, Evelyn," he shakes his head. "You could always just shock the answers out of him." I look at him with raised eyebrows. "You know, with a taser. Get one and whenever he doesn't answer a question, shock him. I bet he'll answer then."

I let out a harsh breath, "How could you be so cruel?" I throw my purse over my shoulder and stand up. "And to think I thought you were actually helpful. You're nothing but a cruel person, Niall, and Louis doesn't deserve to be shocked. No one in that building does. They just want help and it's our job to help them." I hurry down the stairs.

"Evelyn!" he calls after me. "You barely know the guy!"

I look over my shoulder and yell, "I know him well enough to know he doesn't deserve to be shocked!"

Niall's standing on the staircase and his eyes are wide. I turn my head back around and sigh in relief. Joe's car is sitting in the parking lot and I can finally get away before Niall mentions something else terrible about Louis. I honestly believe I'll be successful with Louis if I knew less about him. I already know about the man inside of his head that he can't get rid of. What else is there to know?

"Well, someone looks tired." Joe says as I get into the car. I sit my purse on the floor and shut the door. He leans over to give me a kiss on the cheek and I smile as I close my eyes. "Long day?"

I nod, "You wouldn't believe me even if I told you."

"Try me," he says and I notice he has not looked up from his cell phone since I got into the car. He was even looking at it when he gave me a quick peck on the cheek.

I drop the entire conversation about how my day was, "Who are you so busy texting?"

"Your mom," he replies.

"Very funny," I mutter.

"It actually is because I'm not joking," he says, showing me his cell phone. He pulls his cell phone back and goes back to typing his text.

I clear my throat, "Don't you find it a bit weird to be sending texts to my mother?"

He shrugs, "Not if she sent the first text message."

"Oh, so she reached out to you?"

"Yup, she said something about you not picking up your phone," he explains. "I told her you were working and she seemed surprised to hear that you have a job. I found that weird seeing as how she's your mother and all."

"I didn't tell her," I say.

"Oh, well, I did," he continues on. "She sounded pretty pissed when I told her what you're doing. She told me to drive you to the coffee shop that's around the corner from our apartment right after I picked you up." He tosses his phone to the side and starts the car engine. "And that's where we're heading now."

"Take me home," I demand. "I'm not going to sit down and have coffee and muffins with my mother. I won't do it."

"Ah, but you will," he says as we back out of the parking space. "I'm the one that's driving and I don't think you'll jump out of the car. If you do, I think I'll have something to worry about. Besides, this is your mother we're talking about. She isn't so bad." I throw him a look but he's too busy paying attention to the road to notice my facial expression.

"I still want to go home."

"And you will go home," Joe promises. "Right after you spend an hour with your mom."

"Wait," I look at him. "You're not going to stay there with me?"

"Nope," he shakes his head. "This guy has to go home and check on Blue."

"You were late," I say, changing the subject. "Why?" He only smiles. "Was it because you forgot to take Blue out for a walk? Did he pee on the floor again?" His smile fades. "Joe! What did I tell you to do?"

"To take Blue out for a walk," he tells me and I feel like hitting him. "Which I did. We were out there for an hour and a half and he just wouldn't go, Eve. I think he's more comfortable going in the house than he is outside."

I pinch the bridge of my nose, "We should trade Blue for a cat."

"No way," Joe quickly disagrees. "Dogs are the best."

"At least cats know to go to the litter box when they have to...you know." I murmur. "I'm just tired of either me or you cleaning up after the dog."

"He has a name."

"Of course he does," I mutter. "I'm just tired of either you or me cleaning up after Blue. Sound better?"

"That sounded so much better," he smiles and we turn left. "Look, I won't leave you alone with your mother for long if you don't want me to. Just call me and I'll come pick you up. We'll go out for ice cream or something."

"Ice cream?"

"Ice cream."

"Ice cream," I repeat and look out of my window. Joe makes another turn and it's much sharper this time. I nearly hit my head against the window. "What the hell?" I turn to look behind us to see that there aren't any cars behind us anymore.

Joe keeps his eyes on the road, "The light turned yellow and I don't know about you, but I don't like waiting on a red light to turn green."

"You don't say," I say and sit back against my seat. The coffee shop comes into view and I let out a long sigh. Joe slows down and pulls the car into the parking lot. "You know, if I never show up, she might leave and never call us again."

"You're going inside," he smiles and leans over to kiss me on the cheek again. I fake a smile and bend over to grab my purse that I sat on the floor. "I'll be back in an hour. It's not like you're going to spend the rest of your life with the woman. If it helps, make some small talk. Talk about anything and time will fly by much faster. And when you get home, you'll have dinner."

I take off my seat belt and get out of the car, "Please don't be late. You know she won't leave until I leave."

"I won't be late, Eve," he promises and I close the car door before he can say anything else.

I take slow steps toward the small building and my hand lands on the door handle. Slowly, I pull the door open and step inside. At first, I don't see my mother. I take a quick glance over the place and don't see her at all. How does she expect me to find her with the place packed like it is? My grip tightens on my purse. I'm determined to walk back there and call Joe to come back here and take me home.

Just as I'm about to leave, I spot her sitting at a booth in the back. She's looking down at the menu and her attention is on the menu only. I swallow hard and walk to the back. She doesn't look up at me until I sit my purse on the table and have a seat.

"Why, hello, dear."

"Mother," is the only thing I say as I move my purse from the table to the spot on the seat beside me. She closes the menu in front of her and gently sits it on the table as if it'll crumble into a million pieces.

"How are you, Evelyn? It's been a while since our last conversation," she asks, placing her hands on the table. I look down at the table because I can never look into her eyes when I speak. It's like she'll know everything if I stare at her long enough.

"Fine," I mutter.

"Joe tells me you have a job," she says.

"Yeah, I do."

"I just don't see why you're still with that boy."

"Please, don't call him that. He respects you and all he does is ask of you to do the same."

"Honey, I just think you can so much better than him. Last I heard, he wasn't helping you pay rent. I don't think he should live with you if he's not helping with the bills," she explains and shakes her head. "A man takes care of his responsibilities. Joe isn't a man at all. He's a child. A boy who's clueless. He's only with you so he can say he has a roof over his head."

She examines her fingernails and I sigh, "Joe takes care of what he has to."

"When was the last time he helped with the bills, Evelyn?" she asks and I still don't meet her gaze. "I knew it. He hasn't helped you in a while. And he had the nerve to tell me that you decided to go and get yourself a job such as this. How stupid could he possibly be? You can't work with mental people when you're mental yourself."

"I'm not mental," I hiss.

"You're bipolar," she says and smiles. "Therefore, you have a mental disease."

"It's not a disease," I murmur.

"What was that?" she asks. "Say it again. Speak up,"

I run my fingers through my hair and stop midway, "Joe isn't stupid and you don't have a right to call him names."

"Quit your job."

"Excuse me?"

"You can't work in that type of field when you're bipolar. What if you forget to take your medication?" she asks, raising an eyebrow.

"I'm taking my medicine," I say.

"You know how you are," she continues on. "You constantly forget to take your medication and you end up getting rid of the pills somehow. Then I'm the one who has to fix things. Get Joe to do it from now on because I'm done with all of this."

I shake my head, "Joe doesn't know."

She laughs, "So, you're in a relationship with the boy and he doesn't know about your mental illness? You even live under the same roof as him! Has he never seen you take your pills?" I shake my head. "You have to hide from him when he's under your own roof? A daughter of mine wouldn't do such a thing."

"Why am I here?" I ask, trying to forget what she had previously said.

"Can't a mother spend some quality time with her beloved offspring?" she asks and I sit back, crossing my arms across my chest.

"You barely want to spend time with me." I murmur. "Why do you want to see your offspring now?"

"Yes, well, I never know if you're off your pills until the last minute."

"I'm on my pills, Mother," I say. "And I don't plan on getting off of them anytime soon."

A woman appears next to the table and smiles at both of us, "What can I get for you, ladies?"

Mother picks up the menu again and flips through the pages. The woman looks at me and I shake my head. I don't want anything because I don't plan on being here for much longer. If she says one more thing that I don't agree with, I'm going to call Joe and have him come pick me up.

"I'll have coffee," Mother finally says after flipping through the entire menu.

"Decaf or regular?" the waitress asks.

"Regular," my mother replies. "The Lord knows how much I need the caffeine."

"One regular coffee coming up," the waitress smiles and walks off.

Mother turns back to me, "I know you're on your pills, Evelyn, because you're calmer. Now, tell me, how many times a day does your doctor have you taking the pills?"

"Three times," I respond.

"Have you accidentally skipped a day?" she asks.

"Mother!" I try to whisper but it comes out louder than I intended it to be.

"I am only asking. Last time you forgot to take your pills, what happened?" she asks and I do not respond. "You told me you flushed them down the toilet. Evelyn, you told me you wanted to be free. How can you be free when you can't even control your mind?"

I shake my head, "I can control my mind."

"With the pills," she corrects me. "Maybe I can make some phone calls and get some...stronger pills."

"The pills I have now are fine."

"Do you have them with you?" she asks and I nod. "Give them to me. I want to see what they look like." I grab my purse and reach in it to grab my prescription pill bottle. When I feel my hand on the bottle, I pull it out and hand it over to her. She takes the top off of the bottle and takes one of the black pills out. "Black? I thought your pills were red, Evelyn."

"New pills," I murmur.

"Since when?"

"I've been on these for about a month and a half." I say and she nods her head as she puts the pill back in the bottle. I take the bottle from her and put it back in my purse. The waitress comes with Mother's coffee and she sits it down on the table in front of my mother.

"Here you go," she smiles. "I made sure it was nice and hot for you."

"Thank you," Mother says and the waitress walks off. "Tell me more about your job."

I shrug, "There isn't much to tell." 

"There's plenty to tell. Now speak," she demands as she takes a sip of her beverage. I look down at my hands and lick my dry lips. What am I supposed to tell her? I cannot tell her about Louis. She'll freak and make me quit my job for sure. Do I tell her about Annabelle? I can't do that, either, because Annabelle's no longer my patient. "I don't have all day."

"I'm waiting to get my patient," I lie.

"Is that so?"

I nod and continue on with my lie, "All of the patients there already have counselors. Dr. Sanchez said I just have to wait for a new patient to arrive." I think of Louis and how the nurse practically attacked him just to sedate him.

"Dr. Sanchez?" my mother asks. "Is she the woman who hired you?"

I nod my head, "Yes."

"Well, she made a huge mistake by hiring you," she hisses. "What do you think she'll do once she finds out about you?"

I sigh, "It's not my fault I'm bipolar." Her eyebrows rise. "Dad was bipolar, remember? Or did you suddenly forget all about him?"

"If I would have known he was bipolar before I married him, I wouldn't have," she says, shaking her head. "His mental disease died along with him in that car accident."

"No, it didn't." I say and our eyes meet. "His mental illness lives within me."

"Oh, Evelyn," she lets out a long breath. "You know how I am when it comes down to talking about your father."

"You can't just forget about him."

"I'd like to try," she mutters and takes another sip of her coffee. I throw my purse over my shoulder and get up from the booth. She has done it and now I want to leave. "Where do you think you're going?"

I fix my skirt. I hate how Joe made me come here in what I wore to work, "I'm going home. I can't be here anymore."

"Wait for me," she demands. "I'll walk you out."

I shake my head, "No."

She opens her mouth to say something but I have already started walking off. Instead of going outside, I go to the restroom and pull out my cell phone. I dial Joe's number and put the phone up to my ear. A woman comes out of one of the stalls and we exchange smiles. I move away from the sink so she can wash her hands.

"Hello?"

"Joe," I breathe.

"Evelyn?" he seems confused. "What's wrong?"

"I'm ready," I say. "I'm ready for you to come pick me up."