She groaned more than once taking her shower and several more times before she was dressed, but by the time she walked out of her room, her sore muscles were trivial. Addison strode to the east wing, coming to a stop in front of Joanna’s door, and she was about to rap on its surface when she noticed the door was ajar. Placing a finger on the wood, she pushed it all the way open.

On the short walk from her room to Joanna’s, Addison’s annoyance had grown exponentially, but as soon as she set eyes on the woman, Addison’s anger dissolved. Joanna’s complexion had turned sallow, and the amount of weight she had lost was evident by the shadows appearing under her cheekbones.

Curled up like a baby under a mass of disheveled sheets and blankets, Joanna stared back at Addison through eyes void of life. “What do you want?” she croaked.

“I…I wanted to see how you were doing,” Addison said, taking a hesitant step into the room.

“I’m fine, now leave me be.”

“Pardon for me saying this, but you don’t look fine.”

“Not your problem,” Joanna said as she rolled over and turned her back on Addison. “Now, go away.”

“Evelyn says you’re not eating,” Addison said, taking another step closer to the bed.

“Evelyn talks too much.”

Addison smiled just a tad. “Maybe so, but you still need to eat.”

“I’m not hungry.”

“He wouldn’t want this. You know?”

Joanna whipped around, staring daggers at the woman across the way. “What did you say?” she shouted as she sat up. “He wouldn’t want this? He as in my father? He as in the man you didn’t even know!”

“Joanna—”

“Don’t you ever talk like you knew anything about him. Don’t you ever!” Joanna yelled, pounding her fists on the bed.

Addison paused to gather her thoughts. “I may not have known him, but if his daughter is any indication of the person he was, he wouldn’t want this,” she said, sitting on the edge of the bed. “He raised a fighter. She didn’t give up when he got sick. She didn’t cry poverty when the bills became too much. She stood tall and did what she had to do to give herself and her father a life. So, you tell me, would someone who raised a daughter such as yourself really want her to waste her life hiding up here starving herself?”

Joanna stared down at her hands. “I’m not starving. I’m just not that hungry.”

Addison sighed, mindlessly looking around the room as she tried to think of something to say. “I have an idea,” she said, focusing on Joanna. “How about we start with a change of scenery?”

“What?”

“Come downstairs for dinner tonight. Like…like you used to.”