Vincent:
"Please, Vincent! Stop!"
"Shut up and take it!"
"Oh, God! Please!!"
"God can't help you. No one can help you!"
"I'll do anything, just please don't do this again!"
"You have to learn your lesson, Emily!"
"I hate you, Vincent! I HATE YOU!"
***
"Holy shit!" I awakened with a terrible twitch, sweat erupting out of my head as I came out of yet another terrible nightmare involving Emily. They were more frequent than my first couple of months in this God forsaken institution, which only served to prove that my treatments were not helping me.
The days here were all the same. I often woke up to a nurse shoving a cup of pills and water in my face, then I was taken to the cafeteria for breakfast.
After that, I had one hour of individual therapy with my psychiatrist, followed by an hour of extracurricular activities, then two hours of group therapy. The repetition was driving me mad.
I preferred to stay in my room and watch TV, that way I could drown out the screams and maniacal laughter of the other patients. I couldn't stand to listen to them any longer than I had to. It was the most depressing thing anyone could ever endure.
But the worst part of being here was knowing that I had a beautiful baby girl out there, a daughter who would never feel the warm embrace of her father.
The thought haunted my every waking moment.
I wondered if that's why my nightmares were getting much more violent. There was underlying resentment inside of me towards Emily.
Even though I still loved her, I couldn't help but be angry with her. She was the reason I was stuck in this hell hole. If she would have only learned to love me back, we could have been so happy.
I turned on the television, flipping through the channels until I found an episode of The Golden Girls playing. My parents watched this show almost every night before they went to bed. It was the only time I ever heard them laughing together. That's why it was so dear to me.
I watched it until my door opened.
Earl the orderly walked in, followed by the day shift nurse, a horrid woman by the name of Beverly. She was meaner than a hornet, and she was about as pleasant to look at as a clear bag of dog turds.
"Good morning, Vincent!" She sang, opening my curtains and letting the light blare in my face.
I shielded my eyes. "What's so good about it?"
"You're alive, aren't you? There are lots of folks who can't say the same thing."
"Well, no shit. The dead don't speak."
"I see you're in one of your unpleasant moods."
"Only because you're here, Beverly."
She smiled and took my pills and water off of the tray in Earl's hands. "Nevermind the wise cracks, Vincent. It's time for your medicine."
"You know damn well I don't need those pills."
Her voice became three octaves higher, and she tilted her head and spoke to me like I was a three year old. "Oh, now we aren't we going to be a difficult patient this morning, are we?"
"Piss off, would you! You're bugging me."
Earl set down the tray and stood by my bedside, his arms folding in front of his chest. "Just take the pills, Graves. Do you really want to make Dr. Greer come in here and shove them down your throat?"
He had a point.
Every time I refused to take my medicine, the good doctor came in here and held my jaw open while his bitch nurse shoved the pills into my mouth.
"Fine," I stuck my tongue out and allowed Beverly to give me the medication. After making sure I wasn't hiding the pills under my tongue, she took my vitals and patted me on the head like a dog.
"There now, that wasn't so bad, was it?"
I ignored her remark.
"May I ask you something, Beverly?"
"Of course."
"Did it hurt your sister when the twister dropped that house on her?"
Earl cracked a smile, but quickly covered his mouth with his hand before the nurse saw it. He was in hot water with Dr. Greer already for sneaking me a glass of water when I was dying of thirst. The last thing he needed was to get busted laughing at the expense of the doctor's favorite nurse.
Beverly's face wrinkled when she scowled down at me. "You miserable rapist. You'll rot here."
I waved my hand at her. "Be gone before someone drops a house on you, too, you wicked witch."
She turned on her heel and stormed out of the room, leaving Earl to stand there with a grin on his tired face. "You'd better be careful, Graves. She's liable to tell Greer about the nasty things you say."
"I'm not worried about that asshole."
He unfolded his arms and said, "You haven't seen his bad side yet, and I pray you never do."
His words sent chills down my spine.
He meant them.
He changed the subject. "It's breakfast time. I had better get you to the cafeteria before they come looking for you."
"Can't I skip it?"
"You know better than that."
"What are they serving?"
"It's pancake day."
My mouth watered at the thought of tasting warm maple syrup. I climbed out of bed and allowed Earl to take me to the cafeteria, where I stood in line until I was served three large pancakes.
That was one small benefit of this place. The food was actually halfway decent, much better than anything that passed my lips in the county jail.
I found myself a lonely table in the back of the cafeteria, shaking my head as I watched the other patients playing with and throwing their food.
How could the judge have agreed to put someone like me in a place like this?
These people were out of their minds, while I was an intelligent man who made a couple of mistakes.
I didn't deserve to be here with these fruit loops!
"Pardon me," There was a tap on my shoulder. I turned around to see one of the other patients, a man named Caleb, standing there. "Would you mind if I sat here? I need to talk to you."
I shrugged my shoulders. "Be my guest."
He sat in the chair directly next to me and leaned in to whisper in my ear. "You and me are gonna bust out of here tonight. I have a really good plan."
I decided to humor him. "Oh, really?"
"Yeah." His eyes shifted back and forth from me to the orderlies watching us. "My friend is going to break in to my room tonight and bring me a key."
"What's your friend's name?"
"Fred Flintstone."
"Ahh," I shoveled a huge bite of pancake into my mouth to stifle the oncoming smile. I knew it was a bit sadistic of me, but these little moments with the other patients were the only thing that kept me entertained while I was stuck here. "Well, be sure to tell Fred to bring Wilma and Pebbles, okay."
Caleb's head tilted. "Why?"
"Because they can distract the orderlies."
"Good thinking, Vincent!"
He scurried off to the other side of the cafeteria, no doubt whispering his plan to someone else.
I finished my breakfast and leaned my head on my hand, staring down at the table as I fantasized about getting out of here to see my daughter. Even if I had to spend thirty years in this place, I still had every intention of meeting her after my time was up.
I had so many questions that needed answering.
What did she look like?
Did she have my eyes?
What was her name?
Little did I know that I would have those answers and much more in less than ten years.....
*****
AN: Hello, everyone! I hope you enjoyed the first chapter of the Family Ties rewrite!
Like my last rewrite, there will be lots of new twists to keep the story fresh! There will be changes that will help you to see some of the characters in a whole new light.
We will get a look at how Emily initially coped with having Vincent's baby, and how that shaped her relationship with James.
As always, I want to thank all of you for your amazing support of my stories! If you have any questions, please feel free to ask!
❤️ Readingtheinsanity89