CHASE
13

With my foot on the gas and my eyes on the road, I drove. Drove to the secluded area that once used to be Chases home. Staring silently at my surrounding, I observed the loneliness of the this place, the closer I got the more faded the real world got. The road was empty, not a soul breathing down this place. I wondered if people even came by here anymore. Why I was making it my destination? Not sure, but maybe if I saw it for myself, asked questions around, I could figure out something that I wouldn't figure out with Chase alone.

'It wasn't me!' My mind drifted off to the word Chase repeatedly repeated in his sleep, it wasn't him. What wasn't him? Why did he keep saying that like he was being accused of something that he didn't do. I didn't know but I had to replace out, and I was going to do just that.

The large welcome sign of the orphanage came into view and my stomach sunk, I wasn't sure why I felt so disoriented the more closer I got to this place. Truth is, the place gave me the heebie jeebies. Parking the car, I opened the door and stepped out. The rocky floor felt rough beneath my shoes. The air, foul. I scanned my surrounding. It was a medium sized looking building, one part of it looked partially new, like they were renewing it. There were kids running around the yard, as I got closer, their voices got louder, some seemed happy, some, not so much. An elderly lady stood by the pond, watching the kids carefully, her white hair blew in her face as the wind greeted her. Her light blue eyes seemed distant, even though a gentle smile was plastered on her face.

'Our oldest member here is Mrs Lavisham, she was here with the old kids, every other staff would be new. You might want to speak to her.' The young lady spoke to me with a small smile. I had told her that I wanted to talk about Chase and when she looked up his records, at first she seemed shocked and weird but then she informed me that she had never met him.

'Do you know where I can replace her?' I felt strange in this place, it felt almost suffocating to be here. 'She'll be in the yard with the kids, that's where she always is.' My mind drifted off to the woman that I first saw when I stepped out of the car, so that's the woman that knew Chase. I had a strange feeling in my gut and I couldn't quite pinpoint why I felt this way but if wanted answers, I had to get moving.

After thanking the woman and politely declining a cup of tea from her, I headed back into the front yard, looking around, Mrs Lavisham wasn't by the pond anymore, instead, she was bent down, laughing with a child that looked to be around six. I headed down the stairs and made my way over to her, when her eyes caught mine she told something to the little girl and the girl nodded and walked off.

'Hello, I'm Bella. Is this Mrs Lavisham?' I tried to be as patient as I could be when all I wanted to do is throw my questions at her. A small smile filtered her broken features and she gave me a nod. 'Yes I am dear.' I smiled back, hoping that she wouldn't be too difficult to get answers out of.

'What brings you here today?'

'I wanted to talk about a child that used to stay here. His name is; Chase Ashworth.' And with that, her facial expression dropped. A frown covered her face and she stood in silence. Clearly uncomfortable by my mentioning of him, she shook her head then eyed me like I was an alien.

'What did you say your name was?' I could see the wheels in her head turning, I just didn't know what they were turning for. She looked pretty much afraid if anything. 'Bella.' I finally spoke out, trying to figure out what she was thinking.

'How do you know Chase?' It seemed as though, I was the one getting questioned. I didn't mind though, if answering her questions made her comfortable enough to answer mine then I would do it.

'He's a patient that I visit at Whitley Psyche Hospital.' She eyed me carefully, almost as if she was thinking about dismissing me or continuing the conversation. Rubbing her hand over her forehead she turned and looked at the pond, her eyes filled with what seemed like reminiscing a memory.

'That's where he always sat by.' She said, walking over to the pond where I first saw her standing at. I wondered if she spent her time near there because it was where Chase used to always be. 'He would sit by this and watch the fishes in the water swim.' We stood by the pond now, I looked down at the fishes that swam around, it made my heart melt thinking about a young Chase being intrigued by swimming fishes.

'He was a strange boy, but I loved him for it.' I could see the pure adoration in her voice as she spoke of him. It was the first time I'd met someone that was so fond of him, it made me feel warm around her.

'What was his relationship with the other kids in here?' She looked up at me, thinking deep into the past. Her wrinkled smile faded and was replaced by a sad expression. 'He didn't really have a relationship with anyone here.' She looked down at the fishes that swam freely in the pond, her gaze holding a sadness that I couldn't quite understand. Did she know about how the kids treated him here? Did she know they were bullying him? If so, why didn't she stop them?

'He always spent his time alone. Even when he was only a toddler. He came back when he was sixteen, he hadn't changed, except, he was more.. hurt. Alone.' Tears had formed in her eyes, pushing them back, she slipped on a small smile and looked at me.

'Would you like a cup of tea or coffee Bella?' I knew that this wasn't easy, clearly she had a lot of love for him and I didn't want to waste time by drinking tea. I wanted answers, I wanted to know more about him and this woman seemed to know a lot.

'No thank you, I don't mean to upset you with my questions but did you ever notice the kids here bullying Chase?' She lowered her gaze to the pond once again, her silence giving me the answer that she wouldn't word out. She didn't know. A woman like her would've stopped it.

'I didn't unfortunately, I found out when it was too late. Chase wasn't one to speak out, he kept himself to himself. But I should've known better, I should've known he was being mistreated.' She blamed herself for not knowing what went on between the kids. It wasn't her fault but surely they played a part in all of this. They should've kept a closer eye on what went on within these walls.

'How is he, is he holding up alright?' It was my turn to answer and quite frankly, I didn't know how to respond to her question, I didn't even know if he was ok. Like she said, Chase kept himself to himself.

'He's doing fine, getting the treatment he needs, I'm sure he'll be ok in no time.' I had to make it sound like he was fine. There was no need to add onto the guilt this lady felt. Surely she blamed herself for a lot of things that went on with Chase, there was no reason to make her feel worse. She nodded, smiling at my response, seeming somewhat relieved.

'You know, a young girl was adopted from here the same day Chase was adopted, her name was Sofia.' She eyed me carefully, as if analysing my reaction to what she had just told me. Chase had spoke about Sofia, she seemed really important to him. 'The family that adopted Chase, adopted her too. Apparently she was the only person he talked to and spent time with.' I stayed silent, urging her to continue.

'She was really young when she was adopted, Chase was eight years older than her. She was one and Chase was nine when they were both taken in by a family. I had checked in with the family often to see their progress and each time they said that Chase and Sofia were closer than ever. That they got along really well. I was surprised to hear this because he never spent time with the other kids. I was truly happy for him. When I found out that they were feeding me what I wanted to hear and was hiding what really was happening to those poor kids, it broke my heart.'

'I'm sure you know by now what Chase done to his adopted parents. I believe in my heart, what they did to him was so much worse.' I was so happy to hear that someone agreed with me. That this woman understood what I was feeling. So I wasn't crazy, so not only I thought like this. What he did to them was awful, but he was only young, it was his way of getting away, away from the abuse, the torture.

'What happened to Sofia after that? I know that Chase ended up back here after a year of being in a mental hospital but he never told me about Sofia, he himself, doesn't know where she went or what happened.' She froze at my answer. Suddenly her demeanour changed and I could see the conflict in her eyes. Clearing her throat she turned her head to look at the kids running around. 'I'm not sure, probably was taken to another orphanage and given to another family.'

I felt strange after that, strange that she seemed different when it came to talking about Sofia. She talked freely about Chase but Sofia? She seemed hesitant, like she was trying to hide something. That made me even more curious. What really went down between Sofia and Chase? What actually happened to her? What if.. just what if.. Chase killed her too? But why would it be public? Why had she been erased? I couldn't wrap my head around it and something told me, Sofia had a very important role in all of this.

With my eyes back on the road and my foot on the gas, I drove away from the secluded area that once upon of time used to be Chases Home. My mind on overdrive, my questions unanswered. I wondered how close I was to the truth. During that gap where Chase was at an legal age to live on his own, where was he? What was he doing? Where is Sofia? Is she even breathing? Her file had been removed at the orphanage and her existence vanished. She was a ghost. Could this mean that they were all hiding something? Something really terrible? I had to replace out, who was Sofia and where was she now? I had to know.