Ten days. I had been ‘home’ for ten days. And, despite the time, I still felt less at home now than I had felt almost immediately with Joshua.I sighed and got up, realizing I had been lying there longer than I thought. Sleeping-in was not allowed here. Everything was regimented. What I ate, how I ate, how I dressed, where I went in the house. I didn’t understand how I was happy here before, and I certainly didn’t understand why Brian had wanted me back so badly. It was as if I didn’t exist. I was virtually left alone. Brian never had a conversation with me, he simply instructed me as to what he wanted. The staff rarely addressed me, aside from Mrs. Smith and she kept her distance when others were around. Brian’s father came to the house the day after I arrived back, and I was essentially interrogated about where I had been and what I had been doing. There was certainly no welcome home being offered. I kept looking to Brian to say something, to tell his father to leave me alone, but he remained silent.
