HIGHER GROUND: REFLECTIONS CONTINUED
CHAPTER TEN: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
The morning sun reflected off the glass of Peter's office. Shielding
her eyes, Morgan squinted and peeked inside the window. No sign of Peter.
"Come on, let's get this over with!" Morgan huffed as she leaned the
chair against the wall.
Scott stepped in the hall and took a seat opposite of Morgan.
"What's the deal?" Morgan whispered, "I thought I was the only one in
trouble."
"Don't know. Peter just told me to stop by before breakfast."
"I'm sorry if I got you in trouble."
Their conversation was cut short as Peter's office door slowly
opened.
Peter leaned out and motioned for Scott to come in, "I'll be with you
in a minute, Morgan."
"No rush," Morgan replied casually.
Scott walked into Peter's office and sat in a chair facing Peter's
desk. Peter leaned against his desk. "I hate it when he tries to tower
over me," Scott thought.
"So, what is this about?"
Peter informed Scott of the situation, "I called you in to talk about
last night."
"It was no biggie. I was going to the bathroom and saw you having
trouble with Morgan. I thought that I could help."
Peter slammed his fist into his desk, "Cut the bull, Scott! First, I
have never seen you act so tenderly to someone you just met. I also saw you
two at the woodshed."
Realizing Peter knew more than Scott thought, he simply said, "Oh."
"What was that about? I see you sneak out first. I just knew that
Shelby wasn't far behind, but to my surprise it's Morgan. What's going
on?"
"Nothing." Scott states flatly.
"Scott, you should know better than to lie to me. I thought we had
gotten past that."
Scott sits up straight in the chair and points to Peter's desk, "How
closely did you look at Morgan's school records?"
Peter asks confused, "What? What does that have to do with anything?"
"I've known Morgan since, like, birth. Our fathers went to college
together. We went to school together."
Peter leans over his desk and picks up the file. He flips to the first
page.
"You went to the same school. I don't know how I over looked that."
"I told her not to say anything because I thought that you would put
her in another group." Scott confuses.
"I probably would have, but I still have a feeling there's more to
this besides being classmates."
Scott reaches into his back pocket and pulls out the homecoming dance
picture. He tosses it on Peter's desk. Peter picks up the picture and
stares in disbelief.
"This is unexpected. So you two dated?"
"It's more than that."
"Was there a sexual relationship?"
Scott's face reddens, "No. Neither of us was ready. I mean there was
contact."
"Normal High School petting?"
"We made out, Peter. End of story. Yeah, by the time we were seriously
talking about sex, the Elaine situation started. We went steady for over
five years.
"Five years? How could you know say anything about this?"
"We were always best friends, it was a real Dawson and Joey, soul
mate thing."
"How did it end?"
Scott stands and leans against the wall, "I started using because of
Elaine. Then I started feeling guilty for cheating on Morgan. I was a mess.
She hung in there for a while, but one night she told me that I was
scaring her and gave me an ultimatum. Drugs or her. I didn't say anything
so she made the decision for me. Later, she ended up telling my dad about
my habit."
"Were you two using together?"
Scott runs his hand through his hair, "No! That's why I was so
surprised to see her. She never drank while we were dating."
"Has she told you why she started?"
Scott looks out the office window at Morgan, "She said she wasn't
ready to talk about it."
Peter plays along with Scott's ignorance of the situation, "Do you
think it has something to do with the break-up? Did she know about
Elaine?"
"I don't know. I came here about two weeks after we broke up. I
really don't know how she handled it. I don't think she would throw
everything away over me. She broke up with me afterall. As for Elaine, no
she didn't know. And I don't want her to know from anyone but me. Cool?"
Peter leads Scott to the door, "All right. As for breaking curfew,
your restricted to your dorm starting after lunch."
"Fine. That's fair." Scott says reaching for the door handle.
"By the way, what exactly did you hear last night?"
Scott turns back toward him, "Between you and Morgan? I really
couldn't hear anything. I just saw her screaming at you and then hitting
you."
"Okay, go to breakfast. I'll check up on you later."
Scott exits Peter's office with Peter right behind. Peter motions
for Morgan to come in. Morgan goes over to the office's window overlooking
the campus. She watches Scott as he heads for the kitchen.
"A lot happened last night. I understand now how Scott is
involved." Peter walks over to the window and hands Morgan the homecoming
picture, "But the fact is, you broke curfew and violated other rules."
"Where did you get this? Did Scott have this?"
Peter nods and Morgan hands the picture back with a sad smile on her
face.
"Peter, although it's no excuse, I was troubled. I couldn't get what
happened to me out of my head. You have to believe that I would never try
to hurt anyone. That wasn't me last night. I might be a total pain in
the ass sometimes, but I'm not violent. Please don't send me home." Morgan
leaves the view by the window and sits in the chair.
"You broke one of our most important rules. The only way that I can
justify not sending you home is if you start talking. Do you want to talk
about what happened?"
Morgan takes a deep breath, "I need a drink."
"Drinking will not change what happened."
"It used to help me forget."
"And what happened when you sobered up?"
"It would start all over."
Morgan searches the room for a way out. A way out of Horizon or
just a way out of admitting what happened, "Anything I say stays in this
room, right?" she asks defeated.
"Of course."
Peter watches as her shoulders start to quiver. She looks to the
floor. Peter kneels beside her at takes her chin in his hand. The tears
are flowing down her checks. Morgan starts wiping the tears away.
Peter takes both her hands, "Don't. Feel it, Morgan. It's okay to
feel the hurt. To feel the pain."
"I was raped." Morgan tries to pull her hands but Peter's grasp is
strong. He pulls her up out of the chair and she cries into his chest.
He holds her tight and lets her cry, "I know it hurts."
CHAPTER ELEVEN: RECONCILIATION
Shelby chews her lip and watches the door leading from Peter's office,
"Where is he?"
The Cliffhangers look up from the picnic table. Ezra looks up from his
books, "Probably, in trouble for breaking curfew."
Auggie kicks him from under the table. Ezra grabs his bruised
leg, "What!"
Daisy smugly states, "Speaking of trouble. Where's the newbie?"
Ezra and Auggie exchange glances. Auggie treatening Ezra with a stern
look. Shelby notices the exchange.
"What's going on? What do you know?"
Juliette lays down her pencil, "Morgan told me she was suppose to meet
with Peter this morning. She's been there a while."
Scott walks past the picnic table lost in his thoughts. Shelby stares
Ezra down, "You know that I could do some major damage to that scrawny
body. Now talk!"
Scott plops down on his bunk. Seconds later, Shelby bursts through
the door. Scott sits up surprised. As the door to the dorm closes, Scott
spots the other Cliffhangers outside.
"What's going on, Shel? You're not suppose to be in here!"
Shelby sits on the opposite bed tapping her foot, "Since when are you
worried about the rules?"
Scott gets up from the bunk, "Spill it, Shel!"
Shelby grabs the pillow off the bunk and hits Scott with it, "Don't
play innocent! I heard about the picture! So who is she, Scott?"
"We went to school together." Scott makes a mental note to kill Ezra
later.
"Bull! It's more than that! Ezra said it was a formal picture! Did you
guys date?"
"Shelby, this isn't the time or the place for this conversation! I'm
already on restriction."
"Yeah, for your late night chat with Morgan! Normally, I wouldn't
doubt your feelings for me, but you have been acting so weird since she got
here. So tell me...about her."
"We started dating in junior high. She broke up with me about two
weeks before I came here."
"She's been your girlfriend since seventh grade? I can't believe
this! You have never even mentioned her name? Do you still love her?"
"I never stopped loving her."
Shelby is crushed, "So, was I just convenient while you were here?"
"I love you, Shelby. But until Morgan walked through that door this
morning, I had no idea that I was in love with her."
"A long time ago, I promised myself that I would never become one of
these girls who are so needy, I'm not giving up on you so easily! We've
been through too much together!"
"Morgan and I have a long past together. She was with me through the
tough times!"
"And I wasn't?"
"Did you honestly think that I never had girlfriends? There's just too
much to talk about right now!"
Shelby, needing to make Scott feel as bad as she did, asked, "So what
was her take on Elaine?"
In a moment of honesty, Scott replied, "Morgan doesn't know. And she
doesn't need to know right now."
Shelby takes a moment to let the fact register, "She doesn't know that
her boyfriend was having sex with his stepmother."
"You of all people should know that that was not sex!"
"I don't think that I should be the only one to know." Shelby turns
to the door.
Scott bolts up and grabs her by the arm, "Please, don't!"
"Let go of me!"
Scott releases his grip. Shelby turns and crashes through the door.
He watches her go. After she is gone, he turns and kicks his bunk.
Later that afternoon, Scott looks out his dorm window and sees Morgan
sitting at a picnic table on the grounds. Her books are laid out on the
table and she is writing in a notebook. She lays her pencil down and starts
rubbing her wrist. She unwraps the bandage and for the first time really
looks at what she did. Scott leaves his dorm and meets her outside.
"Haven't seen much of you today," he says straddling the bench.
"I've been in Peter's office most of the day."
Scott notices her red eyes, "Have you been crying?" He suddenly
becomes worried. Surely Shelby wouldn't go that far, "Did Shelby say
anything to you?"
"Shelby? No. Why?"
"No reason. Why are you out here all alone?"
"Well, the girls pretty much avoid me like the plague."
Scott lowers his head to be closer to her face, "You can infect me."
Morgan laughs, "So corny! It nice to see the old Scott again."
"Yeah, I missed the old Scott too. But seriously, we need to talk
about something. I want to tell you before someone else does."
"Can it wait? I don't think I can have another heart to heart today.
Four hours with Peter pretty much wore me out."
"What took so long, anyway?"
"We were talking. I'll tell you about it someday." She runs her
fingers across the stitches on her wrist, "Gonna leave a scar."
Scott reaches out and takes her arm. He delicately looks at the
wound, "Does it itch?"
"Yeah, a little. Why?"
"You know what that means don't you?"
"Enlighten me."
Scott throws her a shy smile, "That it's healing."
Morgan senses what his point is, "But the scar will always be there.
It won't go away. It won't ever disappear. The scar is permanent."
"Yeah, they'll be a little scaring, but deep inside, where it counts,
that will heal." Scott brushes a loose hair from her face and then leans
over. He gently kisses her on the lips. "I've missed you."
He bumps her with his shoulder and smiles. Morgan shyly lays her head
on his shoulder.
Shelby turns from the window of the girls dorm with tears in her eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED WITH STICKS AND STONES
NOTE TO SCOTT AND SHELBY FANS: DO NOT STOP READING BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT
I AM TRYING TO BREAK THEM UP. REMEMBER ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER.
I AM A SCOTT AND SHELBY FAN MYSELF. PLEASE CONTINUE TO READ, I THINK YOU
WILL LIKE HOW IT ENDS UP.
CHAPTER TEN: NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH
The morning sun reflected off the glass of Peter's office. Shielding
her eyes, Morgan squinted and peeked inside the window. No sign of Peter.
"Come on, let's get this over with!" Morgan huffed as she leaned the
chair against the wall.
Scott stepped in the hall and took a seat opposite of Morgan.
"What's the deal?" Morgan whispered, "I thought I was the only one in
trouble."
"Don't know. Peter just told me to stop by before breakfast."
"I'm sorry if I got you in trouble."
Their conversation was cut short as Peter's office door slowly
opened.
Peter leaned out and motioned for Scott to come in, "I'll be with you
in a minute, Morgan."
"No rush," Morgan replied casually.
Scott walked into Peter's office and sat in a chair facing Peter's
desk. Peter leaned against his desk. "I hate it when he tries to tower
over me," Scott thought.
"So, what is this about?"
Peter informed Scott of the situation, "I called you in to talk about
last night."
"It was no biggie. I was going to the bathroom and saw you having
trouble with Morgan. I thought that I could help."
Peter slammed his fist into his desk, "Cut the bull, Scott! First, I
have never seen you act so tenderly to someone you just met. I also saw you
two at the woodshed."
Realizing Peter knew more than Scott thought, he simply said, "Oh."
"What was that about? I see you sneak out first. I just knew that
Shelby wasn't far behind, but to my surprise it's Morgan. What's going
on?"
"Nothing." Scott states flatly.
"Scott, you should know better than to lie to me. I thought we had
gotten past that."
Scott sits up straight in the chair and points to Peter's desk, "How
closely did you look at Morgan's school records?"
Peter asks confused, "What? What does that have to do with anything?"
"I've known Morgan since, like, birth. Our fathers went to college
together. We went to school together."
Peter leans over his desk and picks up the file. He flips to the first
page.
"You went to the same school. I don't know how I over looked that."
"I told her not to say anything because I thought that you would put
her in another group." Scott confuses.
"I probably would have, but I still have a feeling there's more to
this besides being classmates."
Scott reaches into his back pocket and pulls out the homecoming dance
picture. He tosses it on Peter's desk. Peter picks up the picture and
stares in disbelief.
"This is unexpected. So you two dated?"
"It's more than that."
"Was there a sexual relationship?"
Scott's face reddens, "No. Neither of us was ready. I mean there was
contact."
"Normal High School petting?"
"We made out, Peter. End of story. Yeah, by the time we were seriously
talking about sex, the Elaine situation started. We went steady for over
five years.
"Five years? How could you know say anything about this?"
"We were always best friends, it was a real Dawson and Joey, soul
mate thing."
"How did it end?"
Scott stands and leans against the wall, "I started using because of
Elaine. Then I started feeling guilty for cheating on Morgan. I was a mess.
She hung in there for a while, but one night she told me that I was
scaring her and gave me an ultimatum. Drugs or her. I didn't say anything
so she made the decision for me. Later, she ended up telling my dad about
my habit."
"Were you two using together?"
Scott runs his hand through his hair, "No! That's why I was so
surprised to see her. She never drank while we were dating."
"Has she told you why she started?"
Scott looks out the office window at Morgan, "She said she wasn't
ready to talk about it."
Peter plays along with Scott's ignorance of the situation, "Do you
think it has something to do with the break-up? Did she know about
Elaine?"
"I don't know. I came here about two weeks after we broke up. I
really don't know how she handled it. I don't think she would throw
everything away over me. She broke up with me afterall. As for Elaine, no
she didn't know. And I don't want her to know from anyone but me. Cool?"
Peter leads Scott to the door, "All right. As for breaking curfew,
your restricted to your dorm starting after lunch."
"Fine. That's fair." Scott says reaching for the door handle.
"By the way, what exactly did you hear last night?"
Scott turns back toward him, "Between you and Morgan? I really
couldn't hear anything. I just saw her screaming at you and then hitting
you."
"Okay, go to breakfast. I'll check up on you later."
Scott exits Peter's office with Peter right behind. Peter motions
for Morgan to come in. Morgan goes over to the office's window overlooking
the campus. She watches Scott as he heads for the kitchen.
"A lot happened last night. I understand now how Scott is
involved." Peter walks over to the window and hands Morgan the homecoming
picture, "But the fact is, you broke curfew and violated other rules."
"Where did you get this? Did Scott have this?"
Peter nods and Morgan hands the picture back with a sad smile on her
face.
"Peter, although it's no excuse, I was troubled. I couldn't get what
happened to me out of my head. You have to believe that I would never try
to hurt anyone. That wasn't me last night. I might be a total pain in
the ass sometimes, but I'm not violent. Please don't send me home." Morgan
leaves the view by the window and sits in the chair.
"You broke one of our most important rules. The only way that I can
justify not sending you home is if you start talking. Do you want to talk
about what happened?"
Morgan takes a deep breath, "I need a drink."
"Drinking will not change what happened."
"It used to help me forget."
"And what happened when you sobered up?"
"It would start all over."
Morgan searches the room for a way out. A way out of Horizon or
just a way out of admitting what happened, "Anything I say stays in this
room, right?" she asks defeated.
"Of course."
Peter watches as her shoulders start to quiver. She looks to the
floor. Peter kneels beside her at takes her chin in his hand. The tears
are flowing down her checks. Morgan starts wiping the tears away.
Peter takes both her hands, "Don't. Feel it, Morgan. It's okay to
feel the hurt. To feel the pain."
"I was raped." Morgan tries to pull her hands but Peter's grasp is
strong. He pulls her up out of the chair and she cries into his chest.
He holds her tight and lets her cry, "I know it hurts."
CHAPTER ELEVEN: RECONCILIATION
Shelby chews her lip and watches the door leading from Peter's office,
"Where is he?"
The Cliffhangers look up from the picnic table. Ezra looks up from his
books, "Probably, in trouble for breaking curfew."
Auggie kicks him from under the table. Ezra grabs his bruised
leg, "What!"
Daisy smugly states, "Speaking of trouble. Where's the newbie?"
Ezra and Auggie exchange glances. Auggie treatening Ezra with a stern
look. Shelby notices the exchange.
"What's going on? What do you know?"
Juliette lays down her pencil, "Morgan told me she was suppose to meet
with Peter this morning. She's been there a while."
Scott walks past the picnic table lost in his thoughts. Shelby stares
Ezra down, "You know that I could do some major damage to that scrawny
body. Now talk!"
Scott plops down on his bunk. Seconds later, Shelby bursts through
the door. Scott sits up surprised. As the door to the dorm closes, Scott
spots the other Cliffhangers outside.
"What's going on, Shel? You're not suppose to be in here!"
Shelby sits on the opposite bed tapping her foot, "Since when are you
worried about the rules?"
Scott gets up from the bunk, "Spill it, Shel!"
Shelby grabs the pillow off the bunk and hits Scott with it, "Don't
play innocent! I heard about the picture! So who is she, Scott?"
"We went to school together." Scott makes a mental note to kill Ezra
later.
"Bull! It's more than that! Ezra said it was a formal picture! Did you
guys date?"
"Shelby, this isn't the time or the place for this conversation! I'm
already on restriction."
"Yeah, for your late night chat with Morgan! Normally, I wouldn't
doubt your feelings for me, but you have been acting so weird since she got
here. So tell me...about her."
"We started dating in junior high. She broke up with me about two
weeks before I came here."
"She's been your girlfriend since seventh grade? I can't believe
this! You have never even mentioned her name? Do you still love her?"
"I never stopped loving her."
Shelby is crushed, "So, was I just convenient while you were here?"
"I love you, Shelby. But until Morgan walked through that door this
morning, I had no idea that I was in love with her."
"A long time ago, I promised myself that I would never become one of
these girls who are so needy, I'm not giving up on you so easily! We've
been through too much together!"
"Morgan and I have a long past together. She was with me through the
tough times!"
"And I wasn't?"
"Did you honestly think that I never had girlfriends? There's just too
much to talk about right now!"
Shelby, needing to make Scott feel as bad as she did, asked, "So what
was her take on Elaine?"
In a moment of honesty, Scott replied, "Morgan doesn't know. And she
doesn't need to know right now."
Shelby takes a moment to let the fact register, "She doesn't know that
her boyfriend was having sex with his stepmother."
"You of all people should know that that was not sex!"
"I don't think that I should be the only one to know." Shelby turns
to the door.
Scott bolts up and grabs her by the arm, "Please, don't!"
"Let go of me!"
Scott releases his grip. Shelby turns and crashes through the door.
He watches her go. After she is gone, he turns and kicks his bunk.
Later that afternoon, Scott looks out his dorm window and sees Morgan
sitting at a picnic table on the grounds. Her books are laid out on the
table and she is writing in a notebook. She lays her pencil down and starts
rubbing her wrist. She unwraps the bandage and for the first time really
looks at what she did. Scott leaves his dorm and meets her outside.
"Haven't seen much of you today," he says straddling the bench.
"I've been in Peter's office most of the day."
Scott notices her red eyes, "Have you been crying?" He suddenly
becomes worried. Surely Shelby wouldn't go that far, "Did Shelby say
anything to you?"
"Shelby? No. Why?"
"No reason. Why are you out here all alone?"
"Well, the girls pretty much avoid me like the plague."
Scott lowers his head to be closer to her face, "You can infect me."
Morgan laughs, "So corny! It nice to see the old Scott again."
"Yeah, I missed the old Scott too. But seriously, we need to talk
about something. I want to tell you before someone else does."
"Can it wait? I don't think I can have another heart to heart today.
Four hours with Peter pretty much wore me out."
"What took so long, anyway?"
"We were talking. I'll tell you about it someday." She runs her
fingers across the stitches on her wrist, "Gonna leave a scar."
Scott reaches out and takes her arm. He delicately looks at the
wound, "Does it itch?"
"Yeah, a little. Why?"
"You know what that means don't you?"
"Enlighten me."
Scott throws her a shy smile, "That it's healing."
Morgan senses what his point is, "But the scar will always be there.
It won't go away. It won't ever disappear. The scar is permanent."
"Yeah, they'll be a little scaring, but deep inside, where it counts,
that will heal." Scott brushes a loose hair from her face and then leans
over. He gently kisses her on the lips. "I've missed you."
He bumps her with his shoulder and smiles. Morgan shyly lays her head
on his shoulder.
Shelby turns from the window of the girls dorm with tears in her eyes.
TO BE CONTINUED WITH STICKS AND STONES
NOTE TO SCOTT AND SHELBY FANS: DO NOT STOP READING BECAUSE YOU THINK THAT
I AM TRYING TO BREAK THEM UP. REMEMBER ABSENCE MAKES THE HEART GROW FONDER.
I AM A SCOTT AND SHELBY FAN MYSELF. PLEASE CONTINUE TO READ, I THINK YOU
WILL LIKE HOW IT ENDS UP.