"Discover Yourself" - Act 7
Disclaimer: The characters of Peter and Sophie, and any Cliffhangers mentioned, do not belong to me. I have added some of my own characters into the mix.
"Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength." - Tao te Ching
Mike and Shelby had been walking for a while in silence. Feeling his stomach growling, Mike surmised that they'd be back at Horizon around dinnertime. He glanced over at Shelby, who just kept her eyes straight ahead on the road.
"So, why are you coming back to Horizon early? Didn't you go home not too long ago?" Mike asked, curious about Shelby's background.
Shelby rolled her eyes. Why do people have to ask questions, she wondered. *For once*, she thought, *I would just like to be able to do something without everyone wanting to know why.* "Look, we were doing fine with no talk. Can we keep it that way?" she said curtly.
"Yeah, fine, whatever. I didn't mean to intrude, sorry." Mike turned silent, thinking about Horizon and hoping that no one had noticed his absence. That will make it easier to leave again, he thought.
"Hey, can you do me a favor, though?" Mike asked after a bit.
Shelby looked at him suspiciously. "Depends on the favor."
Mike hesitated before continuing. "Well, I kind of didn't mention to anyone that I decided to leave. When we get back, could you not say anything to Peter or Sophie about us meeting here? We can split up when we get closer to campus."
Shelby couldn't help but smile, to see this older guy afraid of the 'wrath of Peter' was amusing to her. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
"Peter, she looked scared to death. There is no way I could've even broached the subject of an eating disorder without her bolting for the door." Sophie was pacing back and forth in Peter's office, thinking back to her one-on-one session with Ali earlier that afternoon. "I think the best thing to do is to just wait it out. I need to gain more of her trust." Sophie stopped her pacing, turning to give Peter a quizzical look. "You're being unusually quiet. What's up?"
Peter sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Soph. I am listening, and I agree with you. Go with your instincts." He paused, dreading what he had to tell her. "Soph, I just got off the phone with Juliette's mother."
Sophie cut him off. "I thought you were going to wait to talk to her until I could be in on the conversation!" She glared at Peter, clearly not pleased.
Peter was getting exasperated. "I didn't have a choice. She called me, there wasn't time to find you. Besides, you were with Ali, I didn't want to interrupt that." He stopped, looking down, trying to collect his thoughts.
"Well? Peter, don't keep me in suspense! How did it go?" Sophie was once again pacing.
"Not good, Soph, not good. I don't think she's going to change her mind about sending Juliette to a boarding school in Europe." He looked up at Sophie, hoping she would take the news well. He was wrong.
"Peter, no! You can't just give up on Juliette! How can you do that? How can her mother do this to her?" Sophie kept getting louder and louder, near tears.
Peter stood up and moved over to Sophie, pulling her into a hug as she started to cry. "Honey, you know I'm not giving up. But I've been doing this for a long time, and I can tell that this woman is adamant about Jules not returning." He stopped and lifted her chin to look in her eyes. "She'll be okay, Soph. She's gotten a lot stronger. And this school sounds good, I've heard of it before. I've agreed to call the therapist there and discuss Juliette's case with him. It'll be an adjustment, but it will also be a great learning experience for her," he said, trying to sound convincing for his own benefit as much as for Sophie's.
Sophie pulled away from Peter's embrace and plopped down onto the sofa. "You're probably right," she said with a sniffle, "but we didn't even get to say good-bye. And what about the other Cliffhangers, how is this going to affect them? Especially Auggie." Thinking of the entire group brought tears back to her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she'd miss them all over the summer.
Peter sat down beside her, putting his arm around her. "Aug's strong, he's shown us that. He'll be okay. And we can call Juliette and say good-bye. I think she'll need for us to be strong and support her through this. I'm going to make certain our computer system is working fine so we can email her. Okay?"
Sophie sighed, blinking rapidly. "It's just... it's just... I'm losing one of my kids. First Kat, and now Juliette." She started sobbing, unable to talk more. Peter consoled her as best he could, rocking her like a little kid.
Liz sat outside the dorms, engrossed in one of the latest romance novels, when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over her shoulder to see Mike rushing toward the men's dorm, his bags in his hands. *This could be interesting*, she thought. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she followed Mike into the men's dorm. When she didn't hear him talking to anyone, she figured the other guys were gone, and quietly made her way into the bunk area.
"Geez, you scared me to death!" Mike hadn't heard Liz come in. "What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" he asked roughly.
Liz was a pretty good judge of character. She sensed that Mike was harmless, even if he was a little gruff sometimes. "I saw you come in. Why were you carrying your bags?"
Mike was caught off-guard. "I, I uh..." He studied her for a moment, and decided to come clean - sort of. "I was going to leave, but I changed my mind."
"Oh." There was an awkward silence, while Liz tried to think of something to say. "So why did you want to leave?" she finally asked.
"I just didn't think I could hack it. That Peter guy, he was all over me in our one-on-one." *Slight exaggeration, but oh well*, he thought. "I don't need to deal with that crap. I can get that from my old man. If I like to party, that's my business."
To Mike's surprise, Liz giggled. "I can't believe you offered the information to Peter that you use. Don't you know this place is totally against that kind of thing? What kind of reaction did you expect from him?" Seeing Mike's confused expression, Liz grinned. "Yeah, I know a thing or two about having fun, but I'm sure not going to tell Sophie about that when we have our one-on-one!" She giggled again.
Mike smiled, relieved to have found an understanding soul. "Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me." He grinned back at her. "So, you didn't sneak anything in, did you?"
Liz's smile faded. "Nah, they even took my cigarettes. Something about nicotine being mind-altering. Please, give me a break!" She studied Mike, who seemed unsure of what to do. "Aren't you going to unpack now?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess I should." *What's one more night at this place?* he thought.
"Are you going to go to dinner?" Liz asked, stepping closer to Mike and looking into his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess we should. Don't we still have a few minutes?" He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, trying not to notice Liz getting even closer to him.
Liz looked down at her watch, then looked back up at Mike, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Yeah, we still have a few minutes," she said with a sly smile, as she gently pulled his head down to hers. Their lips met, as she pressed her body into his.
Startled, Mike pulled his head back, looking at her in surprise. "Hey," he said, smiling. "Where did that come from?"
"What, you didn't like it?" She smiled seductively at him. "Too bad, I was just getting warmed up." She moved over to his bed and sat down, pulling him along with her.
"What if someone walks in?" he asked as she started undoing the buttons on her blouse.
"Don't worry so much. I thought you were a laid-back kind of guy," she teased, climbing on top of him and pushing him down onto the bed.
*Oh, what the hell?* Mike thought, but then a warning bell went off in his head. "Hey, I don't have any, uh, you know..."
"What, protection?" Liz asked, amused by his bashfulness. "Well, don't worry. I'm on the pill."
"I'm surprised they let you keep taking it here, didn't they find it when they searched your bags?" Mike was breathing a little heavier and having a hard time thinking clearly, with Liz straddling him, pulling off her blouse.
"I told them I needed to take it for medical reasons. Partially true," she smiled, as she laid down on top of him and kissed him again, this time more fervently. Mike reached up to remove Liz's bra as they continued to kiss.
"HEY! What the...!?!" John exclaimed. Mike quickly sat bolt upright, causing Liz to fall off of him and the bed. She landed on the hard floor with a thud and glared up at Mike, whose face was a deep crimson.
"What the hell are you doing in here? Mike, she's not supposed to be in here!" John could feel his anger level rising and knew he had to get control of it. "Whatever, I'm leaving. You two can go back to your business." With that, he turned and practically ran out the door.
Liz got up off the floor, rubbing her backside. "Thanks a lot for dropping me like that!" she said with a frown.
Mike tried hard not to chuckle. "Hey, I'm sorry. He surprised me!" He watched as she grabbed her blouse and began to put it back on. "So, what now? Just because he came in, we're not going to continue?"
Liz kept buttoning her blouse without looking up. "Maybe another time. We're late for dinner. If we stay here, pretty soon everyone will barge in here looking for us." For some reason she couldn't quite figure out, it really bothered Liz that John had seen her like that. She just hoped he didn't go blabbing to everyone else about what he'd seen.
"Hey, that's cool. Whatever." Mike shook his head as he stood up and went into the bathroom. *Chicks, I'll never figure them out. But, I might as well stay here for a bit.* Mike smiled to himself in the mirror. Things were starting to look up a bit.
Troy looked out over the dining room as he finished serving the dinner that he and Lynn had made together. He smiled, thinking about Lynn. She had actually loosened up while they prepared dinner, talking to him about her childhood and her job. He was very attracted to her, and felt slightly guilty about it, but knew that his wife wouldn't want him to be alone for the rest of his life. Still, the idea of dating someone was fairly new to him, he wanted to take this slow.
Troy was surprised by how much he was enjoying himself here at Horizon. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled this much. He missed his little girl, but this was really something he needed to do, for his own well-being.
Being a teacher had taught Troy a few things about the power of observation. Troy had always had a knack for being real with people, and therefore being able to see through someone's facade to who they really were inside. Looking over at the door, he watched as John strode into the dining room, a scowl on his face. *Something is eating at him.* Troy observed John grab some food and sit down by himself.
At the other end of the room, Troy looked over at Peter and Sophie, deeply engrossed in conversation. Troy could tell their love for each other was strong, and that they were very dedicated to their jobs. He had noticed earlier, when they first entered the dining room, that Peter appeared worried about something, and Sophie's eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been crying. Troy wondered what could have made Sophie so upset.
He glanced over at another table, where Lynn and Ali were sitting. Lynn was trying to engage Ali in conversation, but Ali seemed to remain pretty quiet, just looking down most of the time and picking at her food. Troy noticed with interest that Sophie was occasionally looking over at Ali and Lynn, and that Ali seemed uncomfortably aware of Sophie's glimpses at them.
Liz came in the door then, a bit out of breath, her hair a bit unkempt. Troy smiled at her as she took her food, but Liz uncharacteristically just muttered, "Hi," before sitting down by Ali and Lynn.
Peter approached Troy and suggested he have a seat and eat dinner. "Well, I was waiting on Mike," Troy explained.
Peter realized that Mike wasn't there. He hadn't given much thought to Mike's earlier outburst after dealing with Juliette's mother, and then consoling Sophie. "Have you seen him since our last group meeting?" he asked Troy with concern.
"No, I... ah, speak of the devil," he smiled and nodded toward the door. There was Mike, strolling in slowly.
"Mike, how are you?" Peter asked, unsure how to broach the subject of his outburst. To his surprise, Mike smiled at him.
"I'm good, man. Hey, I wanted to apologize for overreacting earlier. Are we cool?" He held out his hand to Peter.
Speechless for once, Peter simply nodded and shook Mike's hand. "Good," Mike said as he smiled, grabbed some food, and sat down by himself.
Shelby sat on the front steps of Peter and Sophie's house, hugging her knees to her chest, crying. She was trying to determine what she should tell Peter and Sophie about why she came back. She said a quick prayer, asking that they let her stay. Just as she finished praying, she saw the headlights from their car coming up the drive. She stood up, nervously wiping away the tears on her face.
Sophie got out of the car, still thinking about Juliette. As she waited for Peter, she noticed someone standing on the front porch. "Peter, who...?" She started walking toward the figure, and then realized who it was.
"Shelby!" Sophie ran up to her, looking at her face as she pulled her into a hug. Shelby, in her usual fashion, just stood there, but Sophie took it as a good sign that Shelby let herself be hugged. Sometimes, Shelby didn't want anyone to touch her. Sophie was glad this wasn't one of those times, but she noticed that Shelby looked like she'd been crying.
"What in the world..." she started to ask, before Peter scooted her aside to hug Shelby himself. Again, Shelby just stood there, looking down so she didn't have to meet Sophie's eyes.
"Why don't we go inside?" Peter suggested. Sophie nodded, and the three went into the house.
Before Peter or Sophie could even ask a question, Shelby cleared her throat. "Um, I know you guys are probably wondering why I'm here." She looked up at both of them solemnly. "My mom, she actually sent me back. You can call her if you want, to make sure I'm not lying."
Peter spoke up. "Shelby, we believe you. I'll give her a call in the morning to tell her you made it here safely." Peter hesitated before continuing. "Shel, why did she send you back?" he asked gently.
Shelby looked down at her hands, which were clasped together tightly. "I know I owe you guys an explanation, showing up on your doorstep late at night and all, but could we wait until tomorrow to go through everything?" She looked pleadingly up at Peter and Sophie, who exchanged a quick look.
Sophie moved over to where Shelby was sitting and put an arm around her. "Sure, Shelby. You can sleep here tonight, then we'll figure out the rest tomorrow. Okay?"
Shelby nodded, too tired and numb to talk. She let Sophie lead her into their guest bedroom. Shelby practically collapsed onto the bed.
"I'll leave you alone to get ready for bed, okay?" Sophie looked down at Shelby worriedly, as Shelby barely nodded a reply. "Goodnight," Sophie said as she walked out of the room, getting no reply.
Shelby sat up with some effort, took off her shoes, and turned out the light before falling back into bed. She couldn't believe how exhausted she was. Once again, she let the tears fall, thinking back to the past few days.
*Flashback*
"Why do you always want me to be miserable? Why can't you just be happy for me for once?" Shelby's mom was screaming at her. "You always have to spoil everything!"
Shelby was trying to be strong, trying not to cry. "I didn't, Mom. It was him, not me! It wasn't me." She looked dejectedly at her mother, knowing she wouldn't believe Shelby.
"Fine, why don't you just go back to Horizon? Is that what will make you happy?" Shelby looked at her mother, not knowing if she was serious or not. "Huh? Is that what you want? Answer me!"
Shelby had had enough. "Fine! Yes, okay? I'd rather be there than here, I hate it here!" she yelled at her mother.
Her mother lowered her voice, looking like she might hit Shelby as she moved closer to her. "You ungrateful kid. Get out! NOW! Run back to Peter and Sophie. I think you love them more than you love your own mother." Her mom backed away and was crying now. "Just go. I don't want to see your face anymore."
Shelby was stunned, she couldn't believe the things her mom was saying. She quickly went into her room and packed her bags. She grabbed some money that she'd saved and headed out the door, not looking back.
*End of Flashback*
Shelby kept crying as she stared up at the ceiling. She thought back to what her mom had said about Peter and Sophie. *Is it true?* she wondered. *Could I love them more than I love my own mother?* She had oftentimes wished that Peter and Sophie were her parents, like a lot of the kids at Horizon, but she thought she kept those feelings well-hidden from everyone. Now, she felt guilty for ever feeling that way, even though she hated her mother. *I don't know what to do,* she thought groggily as she drifted off to sleep.
Peter held Sophie close as he spooned her in bed. "Peter, what do you think could have happened for her to come back this soon?" Sophie was very worried about Shelby, but she was also glad to have her back.
"Soph, we'll find out in the morning. It's been an exhausting day for both of us, we need some sleep." Peter didn't want to let on how worried he was, too, about Shelby. It was very unlike Shelby to be so numb, instead of her usual sarcastic self.
Sophie sighed, snuggling into Peter. She closed her eyes, feeling safe in his arms, trying to forget about everyone else and all her worries.
Next time:
- What happened to make Shelby come back?
- Will John spill the beans about Mike and Liz?
- Troy comes to a realization that could change his life forever.
- One of the six young adults ends up in the hospital!
Disclaimer: The characters of Peter and Sophie, and any Cliffhangers mentioned, do not belong to me. I have added some of my own characters into the mix.
"Knowing others is wisdom; Knowing the self is enlightenment; Mastering others requires force; Mastering the self needs strength." - Tao te Ching
Mike and Shelby had been walking for a while in silence. Feeling his stomach growling, Mike surmised that they'd be back at Horizon around dinnertime. He glanced over at Shelby, who just kept her eyes straight ahead on the road.
"So, why are you coming back to Horizon early? Didn't you go home not too long ago?" Mike asked, curious about Shelby's background.
Shelby rolled her eyes. Why do people have to ask questions, she wondered. *For once*, she thought, *I would just like to be able to do something without everyone wanting to know why.* "Look, we were doing fine with no talk. Can we keep it that way?" she said curtly.
"Yeah, fine, whatever. I didn't mean to intrude, sorry." Mike turned silent, thinking about Horizon and hoping that no one had noticed his absence. That will make it easier to leave again, he thought.
"Hey, can you do me a favor, though?" Mike asked after a bit.
Shelby looked at him suspiciously. "Depends on the favor."
Mike hesitated before continuing. "Well, I kind of didn't mention to anyone that I decided to leave. When we get back, could you not say anything to Peter or Sophie about us meeting here? We can split up when we get closer to campus."
Shelby couldn't help but smile, to see this older guy afraid of the 'wrath of Peter' was amusing to her. "Yeah, sure. Whatever."
"Peter, she looked scared to death. There is no way I could've even broached the subject of an eating disorder without her bolting for the door." Sophie was pacing back and forth in Peter's office, thinking back to her one-on-one session with Ali earlier that afternoon. "I think the best thing to do is to just wait it out. I need to gain more of her trust." Sophie stopped her pacing, turning to give Peter a quizzical look. "You're being unusually quiet. What's up?"
Peter sighed, rubbing his eyes. "I'm sorry, Soph. I am listening, and I agree with you. Go with your instincts." He paused, dreading what he had to tell her. "Soph, I just got off the phone with Juliette's mother."
Sophie cut him off. "I thought you were going to wait to talk to her until I could be in on the conversation!" She glared at Peter, clearly not pleased.
Peter was getting exasperated. "I didn't have a choice. She called me, there wasn't time to find you. Besides, you were with Ali, I didn't want to interrupt that." He stopped, looking down, trying to collect his thoughts.
"Well? Peter, don't keep me in suspense! How did it go?" Sophie was once again pacing.
"Not good, Soph, not good. I don't think she's going to change her mind about sending Juliette to a boarding school in Europe." He looked up at Sophie, hoping she would take the news well. He was wrong.
"Peter, no! You can't just give up on Juliette! How can you do that? How can her mother do this to her?" Sophie kept getting louder and louder, near tears.
Peter stood up and moved over to Sophie, pulling her into a hug as she started to cry. "Honey, you know I'm not giving up. But I've been doing this for a long time, and I can tell that this woman is adamant about Jules not returning." He stopped and lifted her chin to look in her eyes. "She'll be okay, Soph. She's gotten a lot stronger. And this school sounds good, I've heard of it before. I've agreed to call the therapist there and discuss Juliette's case with him. It'll be an adjustment, but it will also be a great learning experience for her," he said, trying to sound convincing for his own benefit as much as for Sophie's.
Sophie pulled away from Peter's embrace and plopped down onto the sofa. "You're probably right," she said with a sniffle, "but we didn't even get to say good-bye. And what about the other Cliffhangers, how is this going to affect them? Especially Auggie." Thinking of the entire group brought tears back to her eyes. She hadn't realized how much she'd miss them all over the summer.
Peter sat down beside her, putting his arm around her. "Aug's strong, he's shown us that. He'll be okay. And we can call Juliette and say good-bye. I think she'll need for us to be strong and support her through this. I'm going to make certain our computer system is working fine so we can email her. Okay?"
Sophie sighed, blinking rapidly. "It's just... it's just... I'm losing one of my kids. First Kat, and now Juliette." She started sobbing, unable to talk more. Peter consoled her as best he could, rocking her like a little kid.
Liz sat outside the dorms, engrossed in one of the latest romance novels, when she saw movement out of the corner of her eye. She glanced over her shoulder to see Mike rushing toward the men's dorm, his bags in his hands. *This could be interesting*, she thought. Her curiosity getting the best of her, she followed Mike into the men's dorm. When she didn't hear him talking to anyone, she figured the other guys were gone, and quietly made her way into the bunk area.
"Geez, you scared me to death!" Mike hadn't heard Liz come in. "What the hell are you doing here, anyway?" he asked roughly.
Liz was a pretty good judge of character. She sensed that Mike was harmless, even if he was a little gruff sometimes. "I saw you come in. Why were you carrying your bags?"
Mike was caught off-guard. "I, I uh..." He studied her for a moment, and decided to come clean - sort of. "I was going to leave, but I changed my mind."
"Oh." There was an awkward silence, while Liz tried to think of something to say. "So why did you want to leave?" she finally asked.
"I just didn't think I could hack it. That Peter guy, he was all over me in our one-on-one." *Slight exaggeration, but oh well*, he thought. "I don't need to deal with that crap. I can get that from my old man. If I like to party, that's my business."
To Mike's surprise, Liz giggled. "I can't believe you offered the information to Peter that you use. Don't you know this place is totally against that kind of thing? What kind of reaction did you expect from him?" Seeing Mike's confused expression, Liz grinned. "Yeah, I know a thing or two about having fun, but I'm sure not going to tell Sophie about that when we have our one-on-one!" She giggled again.
Mike smiled, relieved to have found an understanding soul. "Yeah, that was pretty dumb of me." He grinned back at her. "So, you didn't sneak anything in, did you?"
Liz's smile faded. "Nah, they even took my cigarettes. Something about nicotine being mind-altering. Please, give me a break!" She studied Mike, who seemed unsure of what to do. "Aren't you going to unpack now?"
"Uh, yeah, I guess I should." *What's one more night at this place?* he thought.
"Are you going to go to dinner?" Liz asked, stepping closer to Mike and looking into his eyes.
"Yeah, I guess we should. Don't we still have a few minutes?" He was shifting his weight from one foot to the other, trying not to notice Liz getting even closer to him.
Liz looked down at her watch, then looked back up at Mike, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Yeah, we still have a few minutes," she said with a sly smile, as she gently pulled his head down to hers. Their lips met, as she pressed her body into his.
Startled, Mike pulled his head back, looking at her in surprise. "Hey," he said, smiling. "Where did that come from?"
"What, you didn't like it?" She smiled seductively at him. "Too bad, I was just getting warmed up." She moved over to his bed and sat down, pulling him along with her.
"What if someone walks in?" he asked as she started undoing the buttons on her blouse.
"Don't worry so much. I thought you were a laid-back kind of guy," she teased, climbing on top of him and pushing him down onto the bed.
*Oh, what the hell?* Mike thought, but then a warning bell went off in his head. "Hey, I don't have any, uh, you know..."
"What, protection?" Liz asked, amused by his bashfulness. "Well, don't worry. I'm on the pill."
"I'm surprised they let you keep taking it here, didn't they find it when they searched your bags?" Mike was breathing a little heavier and having a hard time thinking clearly, with Liz straddling him, pulling off her blouse.
"I told them I needed to take it for medical reasons. Partially true," she smiled, as she laid down on top of him and kissed him again, this time more fervently. Mike reached up to remove Liz's bra as they continued to kiss.
"HEY! What the...!?!" John exclaimed. Mike quickly sat bolt upright, causing Liz to fall off of him and the bed. She landed on the hard floor with a thud and glared up at Mike, whose face was a deep crimson.
"What the hell are you doing in here? Mike, she's not supposed to be in here!" John could feel his anger level rising and knew he had to get control of it. "Whatever, I'm leaving. You two can go back to your business." With that, he turned and practically ran out the door.
Liz got up off the floor, rubbing her backside. "Thanks a lot for dropping me like that!" she said with a frown.
Mike tried hard not to chuckle. "Hey, I'm sorry. He surprised me!" He watched as she grabbed her blouse and began to put it back on. "So, what now? Just because he came in, we're not going to continue?"
Liz kept buttoning her blouse without looking up. "Maybe another time. We're late for dinner. If we stay here, pretty soon everyone will barge in here looking for us." For some reason she couldn't quite figure out, it really bothered Liz that John had seen her like that. She just hoped he didn't go blabbing to everyone else about what he'd seen.
"Hey, that's cool. Whatever." Mike shook his head as he stood up and went into the bathroom. *Chicks, I'll never figure them out. But, I might as well stay here for a bit.* Mike smiled to himself in the mirror. Things were starting to look up a bit.
Troy looked out over the dining room as he finished serving the dinner that he and Lynn had made together. He smiled, thinking about Lynn. She had actually loosened up while they prepared dinner, talking to him about her childhood and her job. He was very attracted to her, and felt slightly guilty about it, but knew that his wife wouldn't want him to be alone for the rest of his life. Still, the idea of dating someone was fairly new to him, he wanted to take this slow.
Troy was surprised by how much he was enjoying himself here at Horizon. He couldn't remember the last time he had smiled this much. He missed his little girl, but this was really something he needed to do, for his own well-being.
Being a teacher had taught Troy a few things about the power of observation. Troy had always had a knack for being real with people, and therefore being able to see through someone's facade to who they really were inside. Looking over at the door, he watched as John strode into the dining room, a scowl on his face. *Something is eating at him.* Troy observed John grab some food and sit down by himself.
At the other end of the room, Troy looked over at Peter and Sophie, deeply engrossed in conversation. Troy could tell their love for each other was strong, and that they were very dedicated to their jobs. He had noticed earlier, when they first entered the dining room, that Peter appeared worried about something, and Sophie's eyes were red and puffy, as if she'd been crying. Troy wondered what could have made Sophie so upset.
He glanced over at another table, where Lynn and Ali were sitting. Lynn was trying to engage Ali in conversation, but Ali seemed to remain pretty quiet, just looking down most of the time and picking at her food. Troy noticed with interest that Sophie was occasionally looking over at Ali and Lynn, and that Ali seemed uncomfortably aware of Sophie's glimpses at them.
Liz came in the door then, a bit out of breath, her hair a bit unkempt. Troy smiled at her as she took her food, but Liz uncharacteristically just muttered, "Hi," before sitting down by Ali and Lynn.
Peter approached Troy and suggested he have a seat and eat dinner. "Well, I was waiting on Mike," Troy explained.
Peter realized that Mike wasn't there. He hadn't given much thought to Mike's earlier outburst after dealing with Juliette's mother, and then consoling Sophie. "Have you seen him since our last group meeting?" he asked Troy with concern.
"No, I... ah, speak of the devil," he smiled and nodded toward the door. There was Mike, strolling in slowly.
"Mike, how are you?" Peter asked, unsure how to broach the subject of his outburst. To his surprise, Mike smiled at him.
"I'm good, man. Hey, I wanted to apologize for overreacting earlier. Are we cool?" He held out his hand to Peter.
Speechless for once, Peter simply nodded and shook Mike's hand. "Good," Mike said as he smiled, grabbed some food, and sat down by himself.
Shelby sat on the front steps of Peter and Sophie's house, hugging her knees to her chest, crying. She was trying to determine what she should tell Peter and Sophie about why she came back. She said a quick prayer, asking that they let her stay. Just as she finished praying, she saw the headlights from their car coming up the drive. She stood up, nervously wiping away the tears on her face.
Sophie got out of the car, still thinking about Juliette. As she waited for Peter, she noticed someone standing on the front porch. "Peter, who...?" She started walking toward the figure, and then realized who it was.
"Shelby!" Sophie ran up to her, looking at her face as she pulled her into a hug. Shelby, in her usual fashion, just stood there, but Sophie took it as a good sign that Shelby let herself be hugged. Sometimes, Shelby didn't want anyone to touch her. Sophie was glad this wasn't one of those times, but she noticed that Shelby looked like she'd been crying.
"What in the world..." she started to ask, before Peter scooted her aside to hug Shelby himself. Again, Shelby just stood there, looking down so she didn't have to meet Sophie's eyes.
"Why don't we go inside?" Peter suggested. Sophie nodded, and the three went into the house.
Before Peter or Sophie could even ask a question, Shelby cleared her throat. "Um, I know you guys are probably wondering why I'm here." She looked up at both of them solemnly. "My mom, she actually sent me back. You can call her if you want, to make sure I'm not lying."
Peter spoke up. "Shelby, we believe you. I'll give her a call in the morning to tell her you made it here safely." Peter hesitated before continuing. "Shel, why did she send you back?" he asked gently.
Shelby looked down at her hands, which were clasped together tightly. "I know I owe you guys an explanation, showing up on your doorstep late at night and all, but could we wait until tomorrow to go through everything?" She looked pleadingly up at Peter and Sophie, who exchanged a quick look.
Sophie moved over to where Shelby was sitting and put an arm around her. "Sure, Shelby. You can sleep here tonight, then we'll figure out the rest tomorrow. Okay?"
Shelby nodded, too tired and numb to talk. She let Sophie lead her into their guest bedroom. Shelby practically collapsed onto the bed.
"I'll leave you alone to get ready for bed, okay?" Sophie looked down at Shelby worriedly, as Shelby barely nodded a reply. "Goodnight," Sophie said as she walked out of the room, getting no reply.
Shelby sat up with some effort, took off her shoes, and turned out the light before falling back into bed. She couldn't believe how exhausted she was. Once again, she let the tears fall, thinking back to the past few days.
*Flashback*
"Why do you always want me to be miserable? Why can't you just be happy for me for once?" Shelby's mom was screaming at her. "You always have to spoil everything!"
Shelby was trying to be strong, trying not to cry. "I didn't, Mom. It was him, not me! It wasn't me." She looked dejectedly at her mother, knowing she wouldn't believe Shelby.
"Fine, why don't you just go back to Horizon? Is that what will make you happy?" Shelby looked at her mother, not knowing if she was serious or not. "Huh? Is that what you want? Answer me!"
Shelby had had enough. "Fine! Yes, okay? I'd rather be there than here, I hate it here!" she yelled at her mother.
Her mother lowered her voice, looking like she might hit Shelby as she moved closer to her. "You ungrateful kid. Get out! NOW! Run back to Peter and Sophie. I think you love them more than you love your own mother." Her mom backed away and was crying now. "Just go. I don't want to see your face anymore."
Shelby was stunned, she couldn't believe the things her mom was saying. She quickly went into her room and packed her bags. She grabbed some money that she'd saved and headed out the door, not looking back.
*End of Flashback*
Shelby kept crying as she stared up at the ceiling. She thought back to what her mom had said about Peter and Sophie. *Is it true?* she wondered. *Could I love them more than I love my own mother?* She had oftentimes wished that Peter and Sophie were her parents, like a lot of the kids at Horizon, but she thought she kept those feelings well-hidden from everyone. Now, she felt guilty for ever feeling that way, even though she hated her mother. *I don't know what to do,* she thought groggily as she drifted off to sleep.
Peter held Sophie close as he spooned her in bed. "Peter, what do you think could have happened for her to come back this soon?" Sophie was very worried about Shelby, but she was also glad to have her back.
"Soph, we'll find out in the morning. It's been an exhausting day for both of us, we need some sleep." Peter didn't want to let on how worried he was, too, about Shelby. It was very unlike Shelby to be so numb, instead of her usual sarcastic self.
Sophie sighed, snuggling into Peter. She closed her eyes, feeling safe in his arms, trying to forget about everyone else and all her worries.
Next time:
- What happened to make Shelby come back?
- Will John spill the beans about Mike and Liz?
- Troy comes to a realization that could change his life forever.
- One of the six young adults ends up in the hospital!