𝐴𝑝𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑛𝑡𝑖𝑐𝑒 𝐷𝑟 𝐺𝑜𝑟𝑑𝑜𝑛 ~ SAW 2004

☠︎︎ 𝐶ℎ𝑎𝑝𝑡𝑒𝑟 𝐹𝑖𝑣𝑒 ☠︎︎

Alison waited, her foot tapping against the pavement in repetition as she leaned against the car door, behind her sat her daughter. Diana sat in the back seat of the car as she stared out towards the hospital. Her excitement buzzes for when she sees her father. All she wanted was to be scooped up into his protective arms. She's never been away from him for this long. Of course, she was used to him being at the hospital, but not ever for injuries. He was a careful man, often thought before he acted.

Her father stumbled through the glass double doors, a cane in his right hand as he made eye contact with his wife. He shares a quick wave towards his family as he hurried down the steps outfront.
He looked the exact same as he did when Diana first saw him in the hospital, but instead with a prosthetic foot and a-a stick?
Her father looked unprofessional, and his hair was messy with grease. She could just tell he fancied a hot shower.

"Hey, sweetheart!"

"Hi Daddy!" Diana calls out. He watches as her father struggles to climb into his seat, her mother at his side. When he was in, she took his cane and put it in the back seat next to Diana.

"Daddy, what's this stick you have?" She asks out of curiosity. He stutters for a moment before Alison replies.
"That's Daddy's cane, sweetie. He needs it to help him walk."
Alison got into the driver seat as her manicured hands gripped the steering wheel, releasing a sigh. Lawrence knew that her and Diana went through trauma too, Alison liked being beautiful, and from head to toe, she was. Her appearance is something in her control. If she wants her hair done, she can control whether or not she books an appointment. That was how Alison survived, her beauty being what kept her sane.

She started up her car as she left the hospital car park, making a bee line for home and safety. Lawrence missed home, though home will never be 'home' again. That house will never be home again. Alison fetched his cane as she helped him out the car. Despite her no longer loving her husband, she was still helpful towards him. The last thing they needed was a fight. Yet when the family of three entered the house, everything just felt out of place.

Nothing in that home was warm anymore. The living room just reminded them of both aggressive fighting where one would storm from the house. Their bedroom was worse, the memories of make-up sex as they tried to find any ounce of love for each other. They never did. One of them would sleep on the couch afterwards out of pure awkwardness. Their love has become a stranger to the family, even Diana knew.

Diana wasn't a stupid girl, infact for her age, she was incredibly smart. Her teachers always complimented her smarts, and she was always rewarded. Last year, her school hosted a spelling-bee. She won first place. When her school had a reading competition, she won first place. Art competition? First place.
She was the ideal little girl every parent imagines of, polite and smart.

"Daddy, can you make cookies with me?" His daughter randomly blurted out. Her sudden craving for such a random activity almost made Lawrence laugh.

"I'd love to, sweetie. But that's very random of you to come out with. Do we even have the ingredients?" He replied. Alison sighed.

"I told her that when you were better, you'd do some baking with her since she was missing you. Honey, Daddy still needs to rest."

"No, no. It's okay, Ali. I'd love to bake with you, sweetheart. Tell you what, go into my office and get me my laptop, I'll find us a recipe to follow." He smiled down as her eyes lit up. She quickly ran up the stairs in giggles.