Part 2
Sydney sat down on her bed in the dorm and picked up a picture. "I miss you already, Ryan," she whispered. The tears started to fall down her face. God, how am I going to make it without you? How am I going to get through this without my rock?
"Are you all right?"
Sydney jumped slightly because she had not heard Juliette come in. She wiped her tears away and said, "I'm fine."
"Wow. He's a hottie. Is he your boyfriend?" Juliette asked looking at the picture in Sydney's hand.
"Yeah, he's my boyfriend," Sydney said.
"How long have you two been together?" Juliette asked.
"A little over two years," Sydney said.
"That's a long time. I'm actually dating Auggie." Juliette said.
"That's nice," Sydney said putting the frame back up on her nightstand. She changed the subject to something a little less upsetting. "This place is kind of cramped," she commented.
"Well, they're limited in space. But at least it's only us Cliffhanger girls. Although that can be a problem when people don't get along." Juliette said.
"This whole thing is so strange to me," Sydney said. "I don't know if I'll be able to deal with being here. I'm not very athletic."
"Neither was I. I got better, though." Juliette said. She looked at the clock. "It's time for dinner. We should get down to the dining hall."
"Is the food any good here?" Sydney asked following Juliette out.
"It's not that bad," Juliette said.
"So, Juliette, can you tell me how Scott has been? I was so shocked when my mother told me that he got into drugs and got sent away. I never thought he would do stuff like that, but I guess it's understandable considering that his stepmother seduced him. Is he doing okay?" Sydney asked.
"He's gotten so much better since being at Horizon. This place has helped him a lot. It helps us all." Juliette told her.
"Are you guys all friendly?" Sydney asked.
"Well, we have our problems," Juliette said. "Not everyone can be friends but we deal with it as best we can. Peter and Sophie do not stand for any fighting."
"It sounds like they're pretty strict here," Sydney said. "Do they let you make phone calls?"
"Not really. Most of the time it's only if you call your parents. I don't think they would allow you to call your boyfriend all the time." Juliette said.
"Don't tell anyone, but I snuck my cell phone in," Sydney said. "I just couldn't bear the thought of not talking to Ryan."
"Your secret is safe with me," Juliette said. "Here we are at the good old dining hall." She made a face.
"I thought you said the food was good," Sydney said picking up a tray.
"I just don't like to eat that much," Juliette said.
Sydney just nodded and then proceeded to go down the line and get some food. When she was done, she looked around for a table to sit at. She saw Shelby and Daisy sitting at one table and wondered if she should sit with them. She was about to turn around and ask Juliette when she heard Scott call her name. She saw him at the beginning of the food line.
"Let's eat together. Just the two of us so we can catch up." Scott said when Sydney reached him.
"Okay, I'll go find a table," Sydney said.
Sydney just looked around the dining room as she waited for Scott to join her. She still could not believe that all the kids there had so many problems. Even more, she could not believe that Scott was a student at Horizon. She shuddered as she thought about why he was there. She wished she could go and rip his stepmother to shreds.
"I saw you talking to Juliette while you were on line," Scott said sitting down at the table.
"We walked from our room to here. She seems really nice." Sydney said.
"She is," Scott said starting to eat. He saw that Sydney was just pushing her food around with her fork. "Aren't you going to eat?" he asked her.
"I don't have an appetite. I think I'm just nervous about being here." Sydney said.
"Yeah, a lot of kids are like that the first day," Scott said. "I'll eat whatever you don't want."
"You always have had a huge appetite," Sydney said taking a sip of her water.
"So what did my father tell your mother about me?" Scott asked.
"I think he told her basically everything," Sydney said. "Scott, was it horrible living with that woman?"
"Yeah, it was. I mean, at first I did it to get back at my dad. But then I didn't want to anymore and she still kept coming back to my room. It's not like she raped me or anything. She never forced herself on me or hurt me physically." Scott said staring down at his plate.
"That is rape, Scott. If you said 'no', then it was rape." Sydney said.
"It just seems gross to put it that way," Scott said.
"I'm so sorry. I wish you didn't have to go through that." Sydney said tears coming to her eyes.
"I'm dealing with it here. I'm starting to heal so that's good." Scott said.
"What about Dad? How did he take it?" Sydney asked.
"He's being a jerk about it. He believes me now, but he still doesn't understand." Scott said. "Enough about me, though. I want to know stuff about you."
"What do you want to know?" Sydney asked.
"How was it living in LA?" Scott asked.
"I loved it. I made a lot of good friends." Sydney said.
"Any boy friends?" Scott teased.
Sydney blushed. "Actually, I've been going out with this guy for over two years," she told him.
"Does he treat you well?" Scott asked.
"He's the best. He has always been there for me and he's the only one who really loves me." Sydney said.
"I'm with Shelby," Scott said. "We've only been together for a couple of months, but she was the one who got me to open up about Elaine and she helped me through it all. I can't wait for you to get to know her."
"I'm glad you had someone," Sydney said reaching over and squeezing his hand.
"So, you said that your mother got married," Scott said. "How was your stepfather?"
Sydney's face clouded over. "He was really mean," she said. "He's this rich, powerful man that always has to be in control. He totally warped my mother."
"And that's why you think she doesn't love you anymore? Because of him?" Scott asked.
"She changed," was all Sydney said.
"Hey, you two. How is it going?" Sophie asked walking over to the table.
"We're just catching up," Scott said.
"Are you doing okay so far, Sydney?" Sophie asked.
"I guess," Sydney said.
"You're not hungry?" Sophie asked her. When Sydney nodded her head, Sophie said, "Don't worry. You'll adjust and you won't feel so nervous. In time you'll make friends and get used to being here."
Sydney tried to smile to reassure Sophie and Scott that she believed that, but she just could not. All she kept thinking was that she did not belong there.
***
Sydney was lying down on her back on her bed when Shelby approached her. "Hi, Sydney," she said standing over her.
Sydney sat up. "Hi," she said pulling her knees to her chest.
"I just wanted you to know that if you need anything, you can just ask me," Shelby said.
"Scott told me you two are dating," Sydney said. "He said he's happy with you."
"I wouldn't call our relationship completely 'happy.' We've had our problems and we still do." Shelby said honestly.
Sydney looked at the clock. "Do they have people patrolling outside?" she asked looking back at Shelby.
"Are you planning on running away?" Shelby asked.
"No, nothing like that. I snuck my cell phone in and I wanted to go out and call my boyfriend." Sydney said.
"They don't have people patrolling out there, but if you get caught, you'll get in trouble. You can just go into the bathroom if you want privacy. None of us will tell on you." Shelby said.
"Yeah, we'll keep our mouths shut," Daisy said.
"Thanks," Sydney said taking her phone out from a box that was under her bed.
Once Sydney was in the bathroom, she dialed Ryan's number. "Oh, please don't be out," she said as they phone kept ringing.
"Hello?"
"Ryan, it's me," she said smiling as she heard his voice.
"Finally! I've been going crazy with worry." Ryan said.
"I can't really use the phone at this place so it's a good thing I brought my cell phone," Sydney said. "Ryan, my mother was telling the truth. My brother is here."
"Are you serious? How is he?" Ryan asked.
"He seems to be okay considering what happened to him. He said being at this place has helped him heal." Sydney said.
"Maybe it can help you, too," Ryan said.
"What? You're saying that you think I should be here?" Sydney asked tears coming to her eyes.
"Baby, don't take that the wrong way. Of course I want you here with me, but you're not. And since you're there, you could try and deal with your problems. You can talk to people about them." Ryan said.
"You know I can't do that," Sydney said. "You know what would happen if the truth came out."
"I don't care about that anymore. All I care about is keeping you from being hurt." Ryan said.
"Please, Ryan, let's change the subject. I don't want to talk about bad things right now." Sydney said.
"What do you want to talk about?" Ryan asked.
Sydney sighed. "I don't know. All I know is that I miss you so much. Ryan, I don't think I'll make it without you." she said.
"I miss you, too, but you have to be strong. Be strong for me." Ryan said.
"I'll try," Sydney said. "Now tell me how Paul's pool party was. I want to hear all the details."
Sydney smiled as Ryan started to tell her a funny story about the party. She closed her eyes and tried to pretend that she wasn't at this strange school with all these new people. She leaned back against the bathroom wall, eyes closed, a smile on her face