"Discover Yourself" - Act 9
Disclaimer: The characters of Peter, Sophie, Shelby, Juliette, Scott, Auggie, Daisy, Ezra, and Kat do not belong to me.
"Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength." - Tao te Ching
"I can't believe you ratted us out." Liz glared at Lynn across the dorm room.
"Grow up, Liz. Sophie asked me to find you guys. Would you rather I had her look for you?" Lynn was disgusted at Mike and Liz's disrespect for everyone else. "Besides, it's not like you two were hiding. You were doing it right there on your bed, in plain view of anyone who walked in here."
"Whatever. I have to see Sophie first thing in the morning, I'll probably be read the riot act." Liz trounced into the bathroom without a backward glance.
"Well, that was enjoyable," Lynn mumbled as she sorted through her suitcase. *Where is that hair clip?* she wondered silently. *Maybe I dropped it.* Lynn bent down and searched the floor on her hands and knees. She finally spotted her hair clip and scooted over to the foot of Ali's bed to retrieve it. As she tried to grab her hair clip under Ali's bed, her hand brushed a bag. Lynn pulled the bag out and was amazed to discover all kinds of food wrapped up in the bag. Suddenly, Lynn remembered Ali getting her car keys early that morning. In all the excitement with John missing, Lynn had forgotten to ask Ali where she had gone. *Should I ask Ali about this, or should I tell Sophie and Peter?* Lynn hurriedly put the bag back, just as Ali came inside. "Feeling better?" Lynn asked Ali, who had complained of feeling ill earlier in the day.
"Yeah, I think the fresh air helped." Ali smiled at Lynn, then quickly headed into the bathroom to avoid more questions. She hadn't eaten much all day and didn't want Lynn or Liz to hear her stomach growling.
*I don't know how to handle this,* Lynn thought as she watched Ali scurry to the bathroom. *I'll have to tell Peter or Sophie in the morning.*
"She caught them in the act?!" Peter was in shock, it just didn't occur to him that someone would do that, and in a dorm no less.
"Lynn was none too happy about it, believe me." Sophie frowned, dreading what was to come. So, tomorrow we meet with them together and issue the ultimatum?"
"Sounds good to me, the sooner the better." Peter's mind was reeling with all that had happened the past 24 hours. "How is Shelby doing," Peter asked in a softer voice, not wanting Shelby to hear them.
Sophie's brow furrowed as she remembered how Shelby barely left her side the entire day. "She was very quiet today, which is unlike her, but maybe it's because she didn't know anyone. Plus, I think John scared her when he kept calling her 'Sara'."
"Why did he do that?" Peter was confused.
"I have no idea." Sophie shook her head. "But I still need to break the news to her about getting a physical tomorrow. I hope she doesn't fight us on this." Sophie looked pensive for a moment. "How is John, by the way?"
"Oh, he'll be okay. His leg is fractured in a couple of different places, and he was pretty drugged up on pain meds when Troy and I left. His family is coming tomorrow, I agreed to meet them at the hospital for a bit. I figured it's the least I can do since John won't be able to return for the rest of the program."
"Yeah, it's too bad. I think he could have benefitted from some of the exercises we have planned. He seems to have some insecurities, and some definite issues with failure." Sophie went over to Peter and put her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. "But it's nice of you to go back to the hospital tomorrow. My hero." She smiled as he turned around to face her.
"Aw, shucks ma'am, taint nuthin'." He grinned as he leaned down and kissed her, softly at first, then harder and more fervently.
"NOOOO!!!"
Peter pulled away from Sophie in surprise. It took them both a second to register who had screamed before they were running to Shelby's room.
Shelby sat up in bed after awakening herself with her scream. It had been another terrible nightmare, but this time Glenn and Walt were both in the dream. She jumped when Peter and Sophie burst into her room.
"Shelby! Are you alright?" Sophie asked, coming toward her.
Shelby moved away from Sophie and out of the bed, standing on the opposite side of the bed from where Sophie and Peter were. "I'm fine," she snapped.
"We heard you scream, kiddo." Peter examined Shelby, her face was flushed, and dried tears were smeared on her face. Her eyes appeared to be glazed over, as if she were in a daze. "Shel? Shelby?" Peter watched as she seemed to drift back to reality.
"What? What do you want?" Shelby turned to glare at Peter, taking him by surprise.
"Shelby, take it easy. We just wanted to see if you were okay." Sophie tried to talk in a soothing voice, as she slowly moved closer to Shelby.
"I told you, I'm fine. Will you leave me alone now? This isn't couseling hour!" Shelby crossed her arms and turned her glare on Sophie.
"Shelby, that is no way to talk to us, I don't care if you did just wake up from a nightmare." Peter tried to be firm without setting Shelby off.
Shelby suddenly plopped down on the bed. "I apologize. Now, can I go back to sleep?" she said in flat voice, her eyes trained on the bed.
"Yes. We'll talk tomorrow." Sophie looked down at Shelby, who had already pulled the covers up and was on her side, facing away from Sophie and Peter. Sophie moved away from the bed and towards Peter.
"Goodnight, Shelby." Hearing no reply, they both turned out her light and left the room.
"Peter, she's in so much pain!" Sophie was near tears in their bedroom.
Peter was perplexed by what he'd just seen. "Soph, something is up, that's for certain. We'll just keep a close eye on her, and hope that she opens up to us." Peter paused. "Why don't you and Shelby come to the hospital with me tomorrow when I go to meet John's family? She can have her physical then."
Sophie nodded, glad that Peter would be around for the physical. "Sounds good to me."
The next morning after breakfast, Mike and Liz walked together to Peter's office.
"Uh-oh, called to the head counselor's office! I guess I was naughty." Liz smirked as Mike looked at her oddly.
"You think this is funny? I'd rather not have my ass chewed," he said angrily.
"Hey, what happened to that laid-back guy I used to know?" Liz teased, trying to lighten the mood. Mike looked over at her and smiled.
"Yeah, you're right. Who gives a shit, right?" *I almost flew the coop already, so what does it matter if they kick us out? The only good thing here is Liz anyhow, so if she goes, no reason for me to stay.*
Sophie met them both in the hallway. "Come in, and take a seat." Mike and Liz sat down by each other on the couch. Sophie and Peter stood up opposite them, each scowling.
Peter spoke first. "You two may not see anything wrong with what you did," he paused as he looked sternly at them, "but the problem is that you put everyone else in a bad situation by your actions."
"We're going to make this simple." Sophie looked first at Liz, who dropped her eyes towards the floor, then at Mike, who cooly gazed at her, then glanced away. "Since we can't really hand out punishment, we're giving you two an ultimatum. Either keep your hands off each other, or you both will be sent home."
Mike leaned back against the couch and nodded, pleased with the ultimatum. *Sounds good to me. Surely we can find a way to sneak around.*
Liz, on the other hand, was not keen on the idea of leaving the program early and going home. "Okay, we'll keep off each other," she said quietly.
"Alright, now go on to assigned chores." Peter watched the two walk out of the office, then turned to Sophie. "Do you really think that will work?"
"We'll just hope Lynn and Troy keep a discreet eye on them. Now, we just have to ask Lynn and Troy, who should be along any minute." Sophie paused, as if remembering something. "Peter, should we call and check on Shelby?" Sophie asked worriedly.
"She was going to get a shower when we left. She'll be fine until we get back to take her with us to the hospital." Peter looked up to see Troy and Lynn coming. "Hey, guys, come on in."
"What did we do wrong?" Troy joked with a smile.
"Nothing at all. Actually, we have a favor to ask of you both." Peter and Sophie explained the situation with Mike and Liz, and Troy and Lynn both agreed to help keep tabs on their whereabouts.
As they were leaving, Lynn stopped and turned to Sophie. "Could I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," Sophie replied, curious.
"Actually, Peter, I was wondering if you had a free moment to spare as well?" Troy asked. Peter nodded and walked outside with Troy, giving Sophie and Lynn the office to use.
Sophie sat down and smiled at Lynn, who sat down across from Sophie. "So, Lynn, what's up? I know we still need to do your one-on-one, I'm sorry it's gotten postponed."
Lynn shook her head. "Oh, no, that's okay. It's not a big deal. No, what I wanted to discuss with you involves Ali." Lynn filled Sophie in on Ali grabbing her car keys and the bag of food under her bed. "I think she has a definite problem, but I didn't want to confront her with it. I thought the best thing would be to tell you about it, since you're trained to handle this kind of thing," Lynn finished, looking slightly nervous.
Sophie smiled and patted her hand. "Thanks, Lynn, I appreciate it. I promise I'll take care of it. I doubt I need to say this, but please don't mention this to anyone else in the program."
Lynn nodded. "Sure, I understand. I just hope you, or someone, can help her. She seems like a nice person, just a little lost."
After Lynn left, Sophie sat deep in thought until Peter came back. "What's up with Troy?"
Peter smiled. "I forgot to tell you last night, Troy asked me at the hospital yesterday about being a counselor. It seems our lifestyle appeals to him."
Sophie looked puzzled. "But what about his daughter? Isn't she only two years old?"
Peter nodded. "She would come to live with him here. We haven't worked all the details out. In fact, he's not even certain he wants to do it. But he's asked to go to the hospital with us today, mainly to observe me with John and his family."
Sophie nodded her approval. "Speaking of which, we need to get going to the hospital. Let's get Troy and then Shelby."
Peter and Sophie decided to wait until they were at the hospital to tell Shelby about her physical. On the way there, Sophie decided to sit in back with Shelby while Troy rode in front with Peter.
Once at the hospital, Peter told Troy he'd meet him in John's room in a few minutes. Taking the hint, Troy headed upstairs as Peter and Sophie stayed in the car with Shelby.
"What's going on?" Shelby asked suspiciously, looking from Sophie to Peter.
"Shelby, you know that it's a requirement for every Horizon student to have a physical upon returning to campus." Sophie waited for a reaction, but did not expect what happened next.
Shelby frantically tried to open the car door, but Peter had the child-lock on. "Let me out!" Shelby yelled as she banged on the window.
"Shelby, calm down!" Peter tried to grab her arms from the front seat but only succeeded in getting hit by her flying fists. Quickly, Peter undid the child-lock and jumped out of the car, catching Shelby as she flew out of the backseat and tried to run away.
"Let go of me!" Shelby's screams were loud, causing people to turn and stare, as she struggled against Peter's strong hold.
"Shelby, please calm down. You're only making this more difficult on yourself. Please, cooperate." Peter kept ahold of Shelby as she stopped flailing and went limp in his arms, her expression emotionless.
Peter grabbed one of her hands tightly, while Sophie grabbed the other hand, and led her into the hospital.
Troy exited the elevator and ran into - Shelby? *This can't be her,* he thought, doing a double-take. The girl looked back at him, almost frightened, before running off. *How odd.*
Troy stopped at the nurses' station to see if John could have visitors, and was told to go on into his room. Upon approaching his room, Troy heard voices coming from inside the room.
"How could you be so stupid to be hiking by yourself?" a gruff voice demanded.
"I thought I could handle it. I was just going for a run." John sounded so meek compared to his usual self.
"The important thing is that you're going to be okay," a timid feminine voice said.
"Did I ask for your opinion? If I want to know what you think, which I don't, I'll ask you," the gruff voice said angrily.
Troy didn't want to appear to be eavesdropping, so he stuck his head in the door and said enthusiastically, "Hi, John!"
John looked at Troy in surprise, then smiled. "Hey, Troy, how's it going? Is Peter with you?"
Troy smiled back at John, who seemed to be feeling better than the previous day. "Peter said he'll be here in a few minutes." Troy surveyed the room, noticing an older couple staring at him.
"Uh, Troy, meet my parents, Ted and Linda Schultz. Mom, Dad, this is Troy, he's in the summer program with me at Horizon, and he helped rescue me."
Troy shook hands with Ted and Linda, noting that Ted seemed to be the one in control of the situation. Linda smiled at Troy but then looked down, appearing very timid. Just then, the girl that Troy had run into earlier walked into the room.
"And this," John smiled at the girl, "is my sister, Sara." Sara turned and recognized Troy from earlier, giving him a nervous smile.
Troy looked closer at the girl. She bore a strong resemblance to Shelby, almost to an uncanny degree, but she appeared to be at least a year younger than Shelby. Finally, Troy spoke. "Sara, it's nice to meet you. I apologize for staring, you just look very much like someone else I know." This appeared to make Sara even more nervous, as she glanced apprehensively over at her father.
"Well, you know what they say. Everybody looks like somebody," Ted said in his gruff demeanor.
Troy smiled, not sure how to respond, and wondered what was keeping Peter.
Peter and Sophie were able to successfully maneuver Shelby to the doctor's office for a physical. Shelby didn't try to fight her way free again, and stayed silent with her head down for the walk to the doctor's office.
Peter stayed until it was time for Shelby to go into the exam room, then left to go up to John's room. Sophie went in with Shelby, who remained silent.
The nurse took Shelby's blood pressure, which was higher than normal, then told her to change into a gown. Sophie noticed a bruise on Shelby's arm when her blood pressure was taken and wondered if Peter had accidentally been too rough when he tried to restrain Shelby.
Sophie turned away while Shelby disrobed and put on the gown, spreading a sheet over the lower half of her body and covering her arms. "What's wrong, are you cold?" Sophie asked Shelby, who didn't reply. This worried Sophie even more, she was expecting a smart-alec comeback from Shelby.
"Shelby, is there anything you want to tell me?" Sophie wanted desperately to get Shelby to open up, but Shelby only looked up at Sophie dully, her face void of emotion. The doctor walked in then, and began the physical. Sophie moved off to the side so she wouldn't be in the way.
The doctor removed the sheet to reveal Shelby's arms, causing Sophie to gasp. There were bruises all over her arms and wrists. "Shelby, how did you get those bruises?" the doctor asked. Shelby remained silent, looking straight ahead at the wall. Sophie blinked back tears, not sure what to think, her heart breaking for Shelby.
As the physical progressed, the doctor found nothing else wrong with Shelby. Hesitating, the doctor looked over to Sophie, who nodded. "Okay, Shelby," she said gently, "I need to do a pelvic exam now. Have you had one of those before?" Shelby looked at the doctor for the first time, slowly nodding her head as her eyes filled with tears. "Okay, then you know what to do. Sophie, why don't you come over here and hold her hand?" The doctor moved to prep for the exam, and called a nurse in to assist.
Sophie moved over to Shelby, who was blinking back tears. "Is it alright if I hold your hand, honey?" Sophie asked softly. Shelby nodded her consent while looking the other way. Sophie slipped her hand into Shelby's and was surprised when Shelby's grip tightened on Sophie's hand, as if she were holding on for dear life.
"Okay," the doctor motioned to the nurse to position the light, "I'll try to be as gentle as possible." As she started to examine Shelby, the doctor grimaced. "Shelby, how did you get these bruises on your thighs?"
Sophie, startled, looked at Shelby, who had her head turned away from everyone, her eyes shut. Sophie nodded for the doctor to go ahead with the exam. The doctor and nurse finished, then told Shelby to get dressed.
Sophie went out to meet with the doctor as Shelby changed back into her clothes. One look at the doctor's face confirmed Sophie's worst fear.
"Did you know she's been raped?" the doctor asked Sophie, who shook her head no, again blinking back tears.
Sophie cleared her throat. "How, uh, recently did this happen?" she asked.
"Maybe a week at most. The bruises have been there for at least a few days, but I can still see evidence of trauma, so I know it hasn't been that long." She looked at Sophie intently. "I'll let you deal with it, Sophie. Just be sure to get her the help she needs, and it should be reported to the authorities."
Sophie nodded as the doctor walked away. *This can't be happening,* she thought. She braced herself as she walked back into the exam room.
Next time:
- Troy makes his decision about being a counselor.
- Will Shelby open up to Sophie and Peter?
- The group prepares for a quest.
Disclaimer: The characters of Peter, Sophie, Shelby, Juliette, Scott, Auggie, Daisy, Ezra, and Kat do not belong to me.
"Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength." - Tao te Ching
"I can't believe you ratted us out." Liz glared at Lynn across the dorm room.
"Grow up, Liz. Sophie asked me to find you guys. Would you rather I had her look for you?" Lynn was disgusted at Mike and Liz's disrespect for everyone else. "Besides, it's not like you two were hiding. You were doing it right there on your bed, in plain view of anyone who walked in here."
"Whatever. I have to see Sophie first thing in the morning, I'll probably be read the riot act." Liz trounced into the bathroom without a backward glance.
"Well, that was enjoyable," Lynn mumbled as she sorted through her suitcase. *Where is that hair clip?* she wondered silently. *Maybe I dropped it.* Lynn bent down and searched the floor on her hands and knees. She finally spotted her hair clip and scooted over to the foot of Ali's bed to retrieve it. As she tried to grab her hair clip under Ali's bed, her hand brushed a bag. Lynn pulled the bag out and was amazed to discover all kinds of food wrapped up in the bag. Suddenly, Lynn remembered Ali getting her car keys early that morning. In all the excitement with John missing, Lynn had forgotten to ask Ali where she had gone. *Should I ask Ali about this, or should I tell Sophie and Peter?* Lynn hurriedly put the bag back, just as Ali came inside. "Feeling better?" Lynn asked Ali, who had complained of feeling ill earlier in the day.
"Yeah, I think the fresh air helped." Ali smiled at Lynn, then quickly headed into the bathroom to avoid more questions. She hadn't eaten much all day and didn't want Lynn or Liz to hear her stomach growling.
*I don't know how to handle this,* Lynn thought as she watched Ali scurry to the bathroom. *I'll have to tell Peter or Sophie in the morning.*
"She caught them in the act?!" Peter was in shock, it just didn't occur to him that someone would do that, and in a dorm no less.
"Lynn was none too happy about it, believe me." Sophie frowned, dreading what was to come. So, tomorrow we meet with them together and issue the ultimatum?"
"Sounds good to me, the sooner the better." Peter's mind was reeling with all that had happened the past 24 hours. "How is Shelby doing," Peter asked in a softer voice, not wanting Shelby to hear them.
Sophie's brow furrowed as she remembered how Shelby barely left her side the entire day. "She was very quiet today, which is unlike her, but maybe it's because she didn't know anyone. Plus, I think John scared her when he kept calling her 'Sara'."
"Why did he do that?" Peter was confused.
"I have no idea." Sophie shook her head. "But I still need to break the news to her about getting a physical tomorrow. I hope she doesn't fight us on this." Sophie looked pensive for a moment. "How is John, by the way?"
"Oh, he'll be okay. His leg is fractured in a couple of different places, and he was pretty drugged up on pain meds when Troy and I left. His family is coming tomorrow, I agreed to meet them at the hospital for a bit. I figured it's the least I can do since John won't be able to return for the rest of the program."
"Yeah, it's too bad. I think he could have benefitted from some of the exercises we have planned. He seems to have some insecurities, and some definite issues with failure." Sophie went over to Peter and put her arms around his waist, hugging him from behind. "But it's nice of you to go back to the hospital tomorrow. My hero." She smiled as he turned around to face her.
"Aw, shucks ma'am, taint nuthin'." He grinned as he leaned down and kissed her, softly at first, then harder and more fervently.
"NOOOO!!!"
Peter pulled away from Sophie in surprise. It took them both a second to register who had screamed before they were running to Shelby's room.
Shelby sat up in bed after awakening herself with her scream. It had been another terrible nightmare, but this time Glenn and Walt were both in the dream. She jumped when Peter and Sophie burst into her room.
"Shelby! Are you alright?" Sophie asked, coming toward her.
Shelby moved away from Sophie and out of the bed, standing on the opposite side of the bed from where Sophie and Peter were. "I'm fine," she snapped.
"We heard you scream, kiddo." Peter examined Shelby, her face was flushed, and dried tears were smeared on her face. Her eyes appeared to be glazed over, as if she were in a daze. "Shel? Shelby?" Peter watched as she seemed to drift back to reality.
"What? What do you want?" Shelby turned to glare at Peter, taking him by surprise.
"Shelby, take it easy. We just wanted to see if you were okay." Sophie tried to talk in a soothing voice, as she slowly moved closer to Shelby.
"I told you, I'm fine. Will you leave me alone now? This isn't couseling hour!" Shelby crossed her arms and turned her glare on Sophie.
"Shelby, that is no way to talk to us, I don't care if you did just wake up from a nightmare." Peter tried to be firm without setting Shelby off.
Shelby suddenly plopped down on the bed. "I apologize. Now, can I go back to sleep?" she said in flat voice, her eyes trained on the bed.
"Yes. We'll talk tomorrow." Sophie looked down at Shelby, who had already pulled the covers up and was on her side, facing away from Sophie and Peter. Sophie moved away from the bed and towards Peter.
"Goodnight, Shelby." Hearing no reply, they both turned out her light and left the room.
"Peter, she's in so much pain!" Sophie was near tears in their bedroom.
Peter was perplexed by what he'd just seen. "Soph, something is up, that's for certain. We'll just keep a close eye on her, and hope that she opens up to us." Peter paused. "Why don't you and Shelby come to the hospital with me tomorrow when I go to meet John's family? She can have her physical then."
Sophie nodded, glad that Peter would be around for the physical. "Sounds good to me."
The next morning after breakfast, Mike and Liz walked together to Peter's office.
"Uh-oh, called to the head counselor's office! I guess I was naughty." Liz smirked as Mike looked at her oddly.
"You think this is funny? I'd rather not have my ass chewed," he said angrily.
"Hey, what happened to that laid-back guy I used to know?" Liz teased, trying to lighten the mood. Mike looked over at her and smiled.
"Yeah, you're right. Who gives a shit, right?" *I almost flew the coop already, so what does it matter if they kick us out? The only good thing here is Liz anyhow, so if she goes, no reason for me to stay.*
Sophie met them both in the hallway. "Come in, and take a seat." Mike and Liz sat down by each other on the couch. Sophie and Peter stood up opposite them, each scowling.
Peter spoke first. "You two may not see anything wrong with what you did," he paused as he looked sternly at them, "but the problem is that you put everyone else in a bad situation by your actions."
"We're going to make this simple." Sophie looked first at Liz, who dropped her eyes towards the floor, then at Mike, who cooly gazed at her, then glanced away. "Since we can't really hand out punishment, we're giving you two an ultimatum. Either keep your hands off each other, or you both will be sent home."
Mike leaned back against the couch and nodded, pleased with the ultimatum. *Sounds good to me. Surely we can find a way to sneak around.*
Liz, on the other hand, was not keen on the idea of leaving the program early and going home. "Okay, we'll keep off each other," she said quietly.
"Alright, now go on to assigned chores." Peter watched the two walk out of the office, then turned to Sophie. "Do you really think that will work?"
"We'll just hope Lynn and Troy keep a discreet eye on them. Now, we just have to ask Lynn and Troy, who should be along any minute." Sophie paused, as if remembering something. "Peter, should we call and check on Shelby?" Sophie asked worriedly.
"She was going to get a shower when we left. She'll be fine until we get back to take her with us to the hospital." Peter looked up to see Troy and Lynn coming. "Hey, guys, come on in."
"What did we do wrong?" Troy joked with a smile.
"Nothing at all. Actually, we have a favor to ask of you both." Peter and Sophie explained the situation with Mike and Liz, and Troy and Lynn both agreed to help keep tabs on their whereabouts.
As they were leaving, Lynn stopped and turned to Sophie. "Could I talk to you for a moment?"
"Sure," Sophie replied, curious.
"Actually, Peter, I was wondering if you had a free moment to spare as well?" Troy asked. Peter nodded and walked outside with Troy, giving Sophie and Lynn the office to use.
Sophie sat down and smiled at Lynn, who sat down across from Sophie. "So, Lynn, what's up? I know we still need to do your one-on-one, I'm sorry it's gotten postponed."
Lynn shook her head. "Oh, no, that's okay. It's not a big deal. No, what I wanted to discuss with you involves Ali." Lynn filled Sophie in on Ali grabbing her car keys and the bag of food under her bed. "I think she has a definite problem, but I didn't want to confront her with it. I thought the best thing would be to tell you about it, since you're trained to handle this kind of thing," Lynn finished, looking slightly nervous.
Sophie smiled and patted her hand. "Thanks, Lynn, I appreciate it. I promise I'll take care of it. I doubt I need to say this, but please don't mention this to anyone else in the program."
Lynn nodded. "Sure, I understand. I just hope you, or someone, can help her. She seems like a nice person, just a little lost."
After Lynn left, Sophie sat deep in thought until Peter came back. "What's up with Troy?"
Peter smiled. "I forgot to tell you last night, Troy asked me at the hospital yesterday about being a counselor. It seems our lifestyle appeals to him."
Sophie looked puzzled. "But what about his daughter? Isn't she only two years old?"
Peter nodded. "She would come to live with him here. We haven't worked all the details out. In fact, he's not even certain he wants to do it. But he's asked to go to the hospital with us today, mainly to observe me with John and his family."
Sophie nodded her approval. "Speaking of which, we need to get going to the hospital. Let's get Troy and then Shelby."
Peter and Sophie decided to wait until they were at the hospital to tell Shelby about her physical. On the way there, Sophie decided to sit in back with Shelby while Troy rode in front with Peter.
Once at the hospital, Peter told Troy he'd meet him in John's room in a few minutes. Taking the hint, Troy headed upstairs as Peter and Sophie stayed in the car with Shelby.
"What's going on?" Shelby asked suspiciously, looking from Sophie to Peter.
"Shelby, you know that it's a requirement for every Horizon student to have a physical upon returning to campus." Sophie waited for a reaction, but did not expect what happened next.
Shelby frantically tried to open the car door, but Peter had the child-lock on. "Let me out!" Shelby yelled as she banged on the window.
"Shelby, calm down!" Peter tried to grab her arms from the front seat but only succeeded in getting hit by her flying fists. Quickly, Peter undid the child-lock and jumped out of the car, catching Shelby as she flew out of the backseat and tried to run away.
"Let go of me!" Shelby's screams were loud, causing people to turn and stare, as she struggled against Peter's strong hold.
"Shelby, please calm down. You're only making this more difficult on yourself. Please, cooperate." Peter kept ahold of Shelby as she stopped flailing and went limp in his arms, her expression emotionless.
Peter grabbed one of her hands tightly, while Sophie grabbed the other hand, and led her into the hospital.
Troy exited the elevator and ran into - Shelby? *This can't be her,* he thought, doing a double-take. The girl looked back at him, almost frightened, before running off. *How odd.*
Troy stopped at the nurses' station to see if John could have visitors, and was told to go on into his room. Upon approaching his room, Troy heard voices coming from inside the room.
"How could you be so stupid to be hiking by yourself?" a gruff voice demanded.
"I thought I could handle it. I was just going for a run." John sounded so meek compared to his usual self.
"The important thing is that you're going to be okay," a timid feminine voice said.
"Did I ask for your opinion? If I want to know what you think, which I don't, I'll ask you," the gruff voice said angrily.
Troy didn't want to appear to be eavesdropping, so he stuck his head in the door and said enthusiastically, "Hi, John!"
John looked at Troy in surprise, then smiled. "Hey, Troy, how's it going? Is Peter with you?"
Troy smiled back at John, who seemed to be feeling better than the previous day. "Peter said he'll be here in a few minutes." Troy surveyed the room, noticing an older couple staring at him.
"Uh, Troy, meet my parents, Ted and Linda Schultz. Mom, Dad, this is Troy, he's in the summer program with me at Horizon, and he helped rescue me."
Troy shook hands with Ted and Linda, noting that Ted seemed to be the one in control of the situation. Linda smiled at Troy but then looked down, appearing very timid. Just then, the girl that Troy had run into earlier walked into the room.
"And this," John smiled at the girl, "is my sister, Sara." Sara turned and recognized Troy from earlier, giving him a nervous smile.
Troy looked closer at the girl. She bore a strong resemblance to Shelby, almost to an uncanny degree, but she appeared to be at least a year younger than Shelby. Finally, Troy spoke. "Sara, it's nice to meet you. I apologize for staring, you just look very much like someone else I know." This appeared to make Sara even more nervous, as she glanced apprehensively over at her father.
"Well, you know what they say. Everybody looks like somebody," Ted said in his gruff demeanor.
Troy smiled, not sure how to respond, and wondered what was keeping Peter.
Peter and Sophie were able to successfully maneuver Shelby to the doctor's office for a physical. Shelby didn't try to fight her way free again, and stayed silent with her head down for the walk to the doctor's office.
Peter stayed until it was time for Shelby to go into the exam room, then left to go up to John's room. Sophie went in with Shelby, who remained silent.
The nurse took Shelby's blood pressure, which was higher than normal, then told her to change into a gown. Sophie noticed a bruise on Shelby's arm when her blood pressure was taken and wondered if Peter had accidentally been too rough when he tried to restrain Shelby.
Sophie turned away while Shelby disrobed and put on the gown, spreading a sheet over the lower half of her body and covering her arms. "What's wrong, are you cold?" Sophie asked Shelby, who didn't reply. This worried Sophie even more, she was expecting a smart-alec comeback from Shelby.
"Shelby, is there anything you want to tell me?" Sophie wanted desperately to get Shelby to open up, but Shelby only looked up at Sophie dully, her face void of emotion. The doctor walked in then, and began the physical. Sophie moved off to the side so she wouldn't be in the way.
The doctor removed the sheet to reveal Shelby's arms, causing Sophie to gasp. There were bruises all over her arms and wrists. "Shelby, how did you get those bruises?" the doctor asked. Shelby remained silent, looking straight ahead at the wall. Sophie blinked back tears, not sure what to think, her heart breaking for Shelby.
As the physical progressed, the doctor found nothing else wrong with Shelby. Hesitating, the doctor looked over to Sophie, who nodded. "Okay, Shelby," she said gently, "I need to do a pelvic exam now. Have you had one of those before?" Shelby looked at the doctor for the first time, slowly nodding her head as her eyes filled with tears. "Okay, then you know what to do. Sophie, why don't you come over here and hold her hand?" The doctor moved to prep for the exam, and called a nurse in to assist.
Sophie moved over to Shelby, who was blinking back tears. "Is it alright if I hold your hand, honey?" Sophie asked softly. Shelby nodded her consent while looking the other way. Sophie slipped her hand into Shelby's and was surprised when Shelby's grip tightened on Sophie's hand, as if she were holding on for dear life.
"Okay," the doctor motioned to the nurse to position the light, "I'll try to be as gentle as possible." As she started to examine Shelby, the doctor grimaced. "Shelby, how did you get these bruises on your thighs?"
Sophie, startled, looked at Shelby, who had her head turned away from everyone, her eyes shut. Sophie nodded for the doctor to go ahead with the exam. The doctor and nurse finished, then told Shelby to get dressed.
Sophie went out to meet with the doctor as Shelby changed back into her clothes. One look at the doctor's face confirmed Sophie's worst fear.
"Did you know she's been raped?" the doctor asked Sophie, who shook her head no, again blinking back tears.
Sophie cleared her throat. "How, uh, recently did this happen?" she asked.
"Maybe a week at most. The bruises have been there for at least a few days, but I can still see evidence of trauma, so I know it hasn't been that long." She looked at Sophie intently. "I'll let you deal with it, Sophie. Just be sure to get her the help she needs, and it should be reported to the authorities."
Sophie nodded as the doctor walked away. *This can't be happening,* she thought. She braced herself as she walked back into the exam room.
Next time:
- Troy makes his decision about being a counselor.
- Will Shelby open up to Sophie and Peter?
- The group prepares for a quest.