It was hard for Cat to stomach all of the events that had happened in the last weeks. Tiara had been unconscious for three days. If Stephanie hadn’t found her when she did, then Tiara would have already been dead. She couldn’t help but wonder how she would have felt or what she would be doing right now if Stephanie had never gone up to check on her.
She wondered if she would be filled with grief beyond what she could manage and if she’d be getting ready to take her life too . . . . Or maybe things would have been better off. Tiara would no longer be suffering, and Cat would be able to start over. She felt a pang of guilt for even thinking that Tiara might be better off dead. She quickly tried to shake that thought out of her mind. Lying in that bed, Tiara looked so peaceful. Nothing like the angry girl she’d been over the last few months. Every time she looked into Tiara’s face, she was instantly reminded of everything she wanted to forget.
At a time like this, she wished she had made an effort to make some friends instead of always being superficial with women she interacted with. For so long, she had focused so much on keeping up with her image and coming across a certain way to other women that she hadn’t made any real friends. The reality of it was, with her husband gone, she was alone and had nobody to turn to. She couldn’t even cry on her mother’s shoulder because their relationship was even more strained than hers and Tiara’s. She and her mother had barely spoken to each other in years. Of course, her mother called her as soon as she heard of Blake’s death, but it was not to offer condolences. It was to tell her “I told you so.” Cat’s mother had never approved of her relationship with Blake. She was appalled at the fact that her daughter was running around with a “street thug,” as she called him. She warned Cat about dating men like him before things got too serious between the couple; and when Cat told her about Blake’s marriage proposal, she once again tried to be the voice of reason to her daughter. She knew ultimately it wouldn’t end well. Things like that always ended the same. She asked her daughter if she was prepared to go to many funerals. But back then, Cat was so intrigued by the life that Blake lived that she would go to the moon and back for him. All she ever wanted was a strong, powerful, and rich man. In Blake, she got all three. She would not let that go.
As she sat there in the dim light of the hospital room, she wondered if she were to be given a do over, would she change anything. She looked at Tiara lying there helpless and broken. Guilt and sadness welled in Cat’s chest because she knew what her answer was.
A knock at the door jarred her from her thoughts, and she was forced to look up at the door. There was a nice-looking woman standing in the entrance. She had spectacles sitting at the tip of her nose, and she smiled down at Cat’s sad figure.
“Hello, Mrs. Rogers,” she said softly. Her voice was sweeter than honey.
“Um,” Cat’s voice was barely louder than a whisper. She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry. Who are you?”
“I beg your pardon,” the woman said. “My name is Clarice Chambers. I’ve come to you from the Elegant Juvenile Help Center. I wanted to speak to you about your daughter, Tiara Rogers.”
“What about Tiara?” Cat looked behind her and saw two burly men in suits standing there.
“I have read up on your daughter’s case, and we believe that our services will be very beneficial to her.” Clarice focused her attention on the envelope she was carrying. Pushing her glasses up, she opened the folder. “Her records show that she was a troubled child in school, and she uses drugs for recreational purposes. I also understand that her father just passed?”’
She said it like a question, but her tone of voice let Cat know that she was already aware of the answer. Cat nodded her head and put her hand to her mouth.
“Don’t cry, Mrs. Rogers. That is why we are here. We are here to help. With the services we provide, we will have her whipped back into shape in no time.”
“What services are those exactly?” Cat asked cautiously.
“At the Elegant Juvenile Help Center, we have a variety of programs that I think would be beneficial to your daughter. We are fully staffed and offer round-the-clock supervision to ensure that our patients are safe and protected at all times. Whether they need protection from themselves or others.” Clarice reached into her purse and handed Cat a pamphlet. “I am aware your daughter is in a very sensitive state right now, mentally as well as physically.”
“Yes, she is.” Cat looked over at her daughter and squeezed her hand. “She’s been through a lot in the last couple of weeks,” she said as a tear escaped her right eye.
“I understand, Mrs. Rogers.” Clarice gave a warm smile. “I can assure you when your daughter wakes up, we will work diligently to get her back in top shape. We will provide her with one-on-one counseling services, as well as group therapy. Within our facility, we also have aerobics classes, yoga, and other physical recreational activities to keep patients active and healthy while they work on improving their minds and mental abilities. At our facility, we believe it
