Finding Her Joy

Visitors

*A/N- Hello world. I'm so damn tired. Please tell me how you're doing today. I'd love to know. Happy reading! Enjoy!

(MIA POV)
When I woke up the next morning, Charlotte was gone again. I didn't panic this time, though, because I could hear music playing softly downstairs. I also smelled food.

I crept down the stairs as slow and quiet as I possibly could. Sneaking to the archway into the kitchen and hiding from view, but still able to see what was going on.

There was Charlotte. She was stood cooking some eggs and dancing to the music that was playing. Every so often singing along to the words she knew. I knew she loved music, but I didn't know she was such a good singer. Her dancing was mesmerizing with the way she moved her hips. Most of her movements were slight. I noticed every one of them.

I decided to try and scare her as payback for leaving me alone in the bed, yet again. I tiptoed behind her, not saying anything. I moved my hands where I could grab her waist, and leaned in where I could whisper in her ear.

"Boo." I said softly, poking her sides and then wrapping my arms around her. She screamed, and I couldn't help but laugh. "That one wasn't as good as the ones from last night." I said, kissing her cheek.

"Amelia Roberts! You scared me half to death. I could've burned myself or hurt you." She said, only slightly upset. She was smiling but was trying to be stern with me.

"Sweetheart, you couldn't hurt me even if you tried." I said with a chuckle. "So what are you making?"

She rolled her eyes and told me about the eggs, toast, and leftover fruit she had decided to prepare for breakfast. "I thought we could eat on the sofa and have a Derry Girls marathon."

"That sounds perfect." I said, kissing her softly. "Also, thank you for making everything. I had planned on just ordering in something, but this looks and smells so much better."

"I felt bad letting it all go to waste, so I figured I would try and make something with it." She was grinning ear to ear, proud of herself for trying to save me money. I'd have paid every last cent. I had to keep our perfect weekend bubble.

I went to say something back to her but was interrupted. My phone started to ring, so I went back upstairs to answer it. My screen said it was my mother's care facility. "What now?" I growled, answering the phone and trying to prepare myself for bad news.

"Ms. Roberts, I hope you're having a lovely day today. Nothing is wrong, but we did have a little incident earlier." The voice on the other side was shaky. I knew something was off. I needed to go see my mum.

"Sweetheart, I'm so sorry. I know I promised we were spending the whole weekend together uninterrupted, but I need to step out for a couple of hours." I had gone into my office to take a phone call from my mothers care facility and come back downstairs after to let Charlotte know I had to leave.

"What? No, you can't leave." Charlotte says, climbing off the sofa. She was upset, clearly. "I only get to see you for one more day after this, and then you're gone for who knows how long." She had a hold of the bottom of my shirt and was pulling me towards her.

"I know, but it's really important. I wouldn't leave if it wasn't."

She frowned, "What could possibly be more important than spending time with me?"

I held her face and said, "I just have to step out to see my mum. I'll be back in a couple of hours. I promise." Kissing her nose, I turned to leave.

"Wait. Is she okay?" She asked, spinning me back around. "I could come with you if you want." Her golden retriever energy was adorable, but I still couldn't bring her with me.

"Everything is fine, Sweetheart. Just some things I need to take care of on my own."

"Oh, okay. Well, I could go home and then come back when you're done." She said. I could tell she was feeling unsure about being left alone in my house.

I gave her a quick smile while grabbing my purse and said, "I don't want you to leave, and don't feel like you have to. Please, just stay. You can have a snoop around the house if you want. I will be back as soon as I can, just please don't go."

"You're giving me permission to snoop? Through everything?" A mischievous grin came across her face.

"Charlotte? Do I want to know what you're thinking?" She shook her head and laughed. "That's not concerning at all, but I've got to go. Be back soon."

"Wait!" She yelled and ran over to me.

"Charlotte, I really need to go. What is it?" I said laughing.

"You forgot something."

I checked my hands, and I had definitely grabbed every I needed: phone, keys, wallet. I looked back at her, confused. "What on earth could I be missing?"

She shook her head and grabbed my waist to pull me in close. I couldn't help but gasp at how forceful she was. I went to speak again, but she just rolled her eyes and kissed me. I dropped my things down next to us and wrapped my arms around her. I could feel her smiling into the kiss, and I couldn't help but do the same.

We broke apart and rested our heads against each other. "You forgot a goodbye kiss. I swear you're so dense sometimes." She said, laughing and handing me my things. "Tell your mum I said hello, and I'll just wait around here for you."

Amelia, you really need to get better at reading cues like this.

I walked out and got in my car, heading over to see my mum. The drive was boring but went by quickly. The whole reason I was going to see her was because the staff had called, saying she was upset and asking for me. I'd planned on seeing her before I left town Monday morning, but if she was upset, I didn't want to keep her waiting.

"What did you screw up now?" I asked the manager as I walked into the building.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Roberts. We're so happy to see you. You didn't have to come down. She's sedated now and feeling much better." He said nervously. I enjoyed how scared he was of me, but was irritated by his last statement.

"Sedated? You said she was 'a little' upset. If you had to drug her, then obviously it wasn't little, now was it?" I glared, and my voice was low and slow. I could see the sweat beads forming on his forehead, and he was starting to wring his hands. "What happened to make her so upset, and why the hell weren't you honest on the phone?" I growled.

His face went white. He was hiding something. "S-someone may have come very early this morning to see her..."

"Who. Was. It." No one else knew she was here besides Roger since he had previously been paying the bill. During the two weeks after I'd been fired, I changed who was paying for her care. I didn't want Roger having anything else to hold over me, and I didn't care how much it cost me. Being a partner, I was now rich enough to do all the things I needed in order to care for her. "Did you let Roger in here? I specifically told you to never let him -"

"It wasn't him!" He spoke loudly and then covered his mouth and pulled me into his office.

"What do you mean it wasn't him? Who else could it have been? Wait, why did you let them in in the first place?" I took a step towards him, and he anxiously moved back.

"Normally, we wouldn't as we like to protect the privacy of our patients... however, this was a special circumstance." He could see my anger rising by the second. "He said he was her husband... he had all the paperwork to prove it, and his ID matched and -"

"That's enough. You have 10 minutes to get me all the security footage from when he was here, and all the information he gave you."

"Yes, ma'am." I walked out of the office and straight to my mothers room. I needed to know what he said to her.