FATE

79. Denial

JONAH

"What the hell is that outside?!", I slam my fists on the desk.

Jeanne doesn't flinch. She glances between my fists and my face, raising an eyebrow. She drops the pen in her hand and leans back into her chair.

"Hello Jonah", she gestures to the chair next to me, "have a seat and I'll do a check up on you now"

"No", I frown, "I just asked a question. What is that statue outside?"

"What does it look like?", she places her elbow on the armrest and rest her cheek on her fist.

I take a deep breath, "why does it look like my mother?"

Jeanne purses her lips and her gaze flickers to Jacques who's standing behind me.

"Jaq", she sits up and beams, "thank you so much for bringing him. You can leave us now"

"Okay ma'am", I hear him say and moments later, I hear the door lock.

"Have a seat Jonah", she smiles, "you're pretty scary when you're towering over me like that"

I scoff and motion to take a seat. She arranges some papers on her desk slowly and I glance around the office. Right next to the door is a small hospital bed, with an open curtain around it. There's the desk in front of me and the large drawer. I wonder what's in it. There are posters on the wall and I squint my eyes to read them but Jeanne clears her throat and I turn back to stare at her.

"Okay, so how are you feeling?", she pulls her hair into a ponytail.

"I want an answer"

She sighs, "it is true that the statue outside was built in memory of your mother"

"And why is there a statue of my mother in this place?"

"Because she owned it", she leans back and crosses her legs.

"That's a fucking lie"

"Jonah, we have kids in this place", she rubs her forehead with her fingers, "I would appreciate if you filter your sentences please"

I roll my eyes.

"Your mother started this place before she died", she says, "it started as an adoption center. Then the mental health institute and hospital were built two years after her death"

"I never knew about that"

"You were a child", she says casually.

I glance around the office, "all of this was hers", I murmur.

"It still belongs to the family", she says, "your aunt just doesn't come around much"

I take a deep breath and bury my face in my hands. All I knew about my mother was that she loved baking and gardening and she was an angel. I guess I didn't know her at all. My gaze flickers to the window. She started this; she created a home for children? Like she created a home for me.

"First things first", she picks up a file and places it in front of me, "do you know who I am?"

"What?", I cock my head, "you're Jeanne. The woman in charge of this place"

"And when did we meet?"

"This morning when I woke up. Why are we doing this?"

She furrows her eyebrows and sighs deeply, "Jonah, I'm going to be honest with you", she claps her hands together, "I think you're suffering from some sort of memory loss"

I chuckle, "my memory is just fine"

"It's what is known as dissociative amnesia", she says, "you're blocking out certain experiences that are linked to your trauma"