Now that Hyacinth and Nelly had gone back home, it was just Audrey and Patricia, by now most of the students had already gone home. Audrey found no reason to stay back and she began packing her bags, ready to leave the dormitory.
Audrey who's attention was solely on packing, wasn't quick to realize that Patricia wasn't packing, "Pat, aren't you going home?" Audrey asked Patricia who was browsing the internet on her phone. Patricia wasn't quick to answer the question because she was looking for possible excuses to reply Audrey with.
"Ohh, no, I'm not going home this summer break, my family traveled, and there's no one at home, I'll just stay here like some of the other students" Patricia said, she knew it wasn't making too much sense, but she hoped Audrey would buy it. Audrey knew she was lying, but she didn't want to probe into another person's business as she wouldn't like the same.
"Alright then, I leave tomorrow" Audrey announced before she continued,"are you going to be fine?" She asked,"yes, I'm going to be fine, at least I'm not the only one on campus" Patricia said as she scoffed. Audrey simply nodded her head and flashed her a smile, she knew something was amiss, but it wasn't her business.
The same ritual happened the following day before she took a cab back to her house, the girls embraced each other dearly, they soon pulled from the hug and Audrey boarded the cab. Pat silently watched as the cab drove out of the gates, she turned to go back to the dormitory where she planned to take a long nap.
The truth was far from what met the eyes, Patricia was a victim of trauma, at a young age she watched as her parents fought and broke things in the house, one night, what seemed to be a normal fight soon escalated and Patricia's mother grabbed her car keys to drive out. That was the last Patricia ever saw of her mother as Mrs Joneson died in a car crash.
As if that was not enough to hurt a child, instead of pampering her with love and care, Mr Joneson married another wife. Her maternal grandparents couldn't bring themselves to think about how his new wife was going to maltreat their beloved grandchild, so they gained custody of the child, they put her through school and they still cloth and feed her, not out of obligation but of love.
Sometimes they wonder how chirpy Patricia could be, how she could blaber continuously without getting tired when most children her age were going through depression. Only if they knew how she sometimes cried herself to sleep, or how no one was there when she had nightmares while growing up, no one really knew how scarred she was, her bubbly attitude was just a facade, it wasnt true, she just got used to it so her grand parents wouldn't worry.
Regardless of the pain her so called father had caused her, she still worried about him, she knew he had two children with his new wife and they seemed happy. It was times like this she wondered if she had a problem, she was really happy she crossed paths with the girls because they listened to her and they loved her, Her familial problems was the main reason she stayed back in the dormitories. The most crazy part was she was willing to build her connection with her father, while most of her mates grew up with parental attention, she didn't, only she knew how much she hurt.
Audrey was welcomed home with open arms of her mother. It was a weekend, so Georgia didn't go to work, she was surprised to hear the sound of a car coming to a halt right in front of her apartment. She looked through the window and she squealed in excitement because she was overwhelmed with happiness, her daughter was finally back.
"Audrey!!", she heard her mother call out her name as she was helping the cab driver to bring out her suitcase from the car, she turned around to see her mother," mom!!", she squealed as both mother and daughter embraced each other in a tight hug. "Ohh,I missed you darling" cough cough,"I missed you too mom" Audrey said as she gave her mother a puzzled look.
"Mom, I told you to go to the hospital", Audrey said as she felt bad for her mother who was coughing, " why go to the hospital when we can save the money, come on lets go in" Georgia said, Audrey turned around to pay the driver, she grabbed the other suitcase as her mother had taken the first one inside the house.
"I had no idea you were coming, I would have cooked for you" Gorgia said feeling bad as she had no time to prepare for her daughter's arrival, "if I had told you then it wouldn't be a surprise" Audrey said flashing her mother a wide smile. "Alright, go freshen up while I prepare something to eat" Georgia said,"okay mom, call me if you need my help" Audrey added as she took both suit cases to her room.
Georgia looked at her daughter with awe she had changed so much in such a small period of time, her r baby girl was growing fast. Audrey entered her room to find it properly arranged and dust free, she knew her mother had missed her, maybe cleaning her room gave her the closure she needed.
Audrey freshened up and went out the room, she got to their small dining table to see her favorite dish, plantain and potatoes porridge, it was unusual, but it was sweet. The food which was supposed to be an experiment became Audrey's best dish, she just loved the sweetness from the potatoes and the plantain, together, it was just mindblowing.
As usual , her mother made the dish very delicious, she had almost forgotten what it tasted like till her mother reminded her of the beautiful taste. Throughout lunch, Georgia looked at her daughter with love, she sometimes coughed while they were having lunch and Audrey made a mental note to visit the hospital with her mother.
After they had lunch, Audrey told her mother everything there was to know about her college life. She also told her she would be taking on a job so she wouldn't have to disturb her mother when it came to her expenses, Georgia reluctantly agreed to her daughter's suggestion.
A few days later, Audrey dragged her mother to the hospital to find a solution for her mother's cough. She was diagnosed with normal cough and she was advised to not stress herself, she was given a few medications and she was advised to rest. Audrey made sure to take care of her mother and as expected, the cough reduced immensely.