Chapter 2

"I've never trusted adults but when you admitted you were wrong and asked for my forgiveness, I trusted you from that moment on. I'm sorry that I didn't make it easier but I wanted you to know at least that much."

Letter from November 7.

"So, what do you think, Soph?" Peter asked the tall blond woman sitting across from him. In her hands was Rachel's file, most of it forms filled out by her grandmother and school records from two different places. She answered without looking up.

"What do I think about what?"

He pushed her a little. "What do you think about her becoming a Cliffhanger?"

She looked up with a grimace on her face. "Oh, Peter, no. With David being so new and Kat gone, we're floundering. I don't think Rachel would fit in at all. Ezra is the closest to her age but that's still a two year gap and he has some major issues lingering from his summer break at home. They all do. You need to find a group that's either more stable than mine or one with kids that are all freshmen or something."

Peter got up and started to pace in frustration. "Believe me, Soph, I've turned it every way I can. The groups that you're talking about all have males as the lead counselor and something about Rachel tells me that I can't do that to her. And the other female counselors don't have the experience that you do – don't care like you do. And if Rachel needs anything right now, she needs someone who genuinely cares."

Sophie smiled wryly. "Yes, but she'll also be thrown in with Scott, Shelby and Daisy, all strong, dominant personalities in group. Juliette will baby her, David will mock her… oh, yes, we'll have a lovely time."

Peter sat on his chair and spun it over to rest beside Sophie. "What if I promise you a weekend off, dinner at someplace other than Rusty's and a full-body massage?"

"I'd say 'thank you very much but I have next weekend off anyhow and plans to sleep'." She retorted. But Peter knew she was weakening. Her head went back between the file folders.

"Peter," she began slowly. "Do you suspect…?" Her voice drifted off. No matter how many times the subject was discussed in group or one-on-one, it still created knots in her stomach to say it out loud.

Peter immediately became serious. "Yeah I do. Research on selective mutism points to sexual abuse as one of the leading causes. And her panic attack when I mentioned the word 'doctor' points that way as well. And it's in her eyes – just like Shelby when she got here. Maybe more so because I don't think she's tried to dull the pain with drugs or any other dangerous activity."

Before Sophie could comment, Amelia, one of the senior students who was trusted in the office burst through Peter's door. "Peter, the infirmary just called. Your new admit is freaking out and they need you."

Dammit, he swore to himself. He had forgotten to tell the doctor that he didn't want Rachel examined. He gestured for Sophie to come with him and they sprinted across campus to the infirmary. When they entered they could see Dr. Sparks trying to speak to Rachel, who was huddled in a corner, tears streaming down her face, holding the little hammer doctors used to test reflexes out like a weapon. Dr Sparks looked up in relief when he saw Peter and Sophie.

"Oh good, Amelia found you. We tried to start the examination but as soon as we asked her to remove her clothes and put on a gown, she went crazy. I didn't want to touch her even with Serena here. She's definitely behaving outside my comfort zone." Despite the touch of coldness in his words, Peter knew the doctor loved teenagers as much as he did and the worry was apparent in his eyes.

"I'm sorry," Peter told him quietly. "I meant to tell you that Rachel and I had negotiated no doctor examination."

Dr. Sparks looked at him incredulously. "Peter, how could you do such a thing? It's mandatory. What if she has some sort of infection that can be passed along? What if she's on drugs? That wouldn't surprise me based on this reaction."

Peter knew that he had made a mistake. "You're right, I wasn't thinking. Give Sophie and I a chance to see if we can get her to calm down and then we'll talk about different ways we can get the information we need." Dr Sparks nodded and left the room.

Sophie was already trying to carefully make her way to Rachel but Peter grabbed her arm and forced her to stop. He could tell from her breathing and the look in her eyes that Rachel was out of control, that simple communication would not reach her. Everything was a threat; everyone was out to get her. He simply sat down on the floor about 10 metres away from Rachel and waited. Sophie, after looking at him in astonishment, sat down as well, prepared to follow Peter's lead. Rachel, after a few moments of warily watching them, relaxed the muscles in her legs and sat down on the floor with a groan.

"Feels better than squatting, doesn't it," Peter sympathized with her quietly. "Our knees weren't meant to stay like that for very long."

Rachel jabbed the hammer towards him in response, to remind Peter that she wasn't going to be sucked in by his kindness. Peter didn't mind – he would stay as long as he needed to.

"You know, Rachel," he began, conversationally. "I was once scared like you, in a place that I was sent to against my will. I used to be a drug addict. Getting high was more important to me than anything else, including eating and sleeping."

Peter continued to talk in a soft, lazy voice about anything and everything that wasn't Horizon. He wasn't sure Rachel was following him but his demeanor was having the desired effect: she was slowly relaxing and the out-of-control, wild look in her eyes was fading. As Peter talked, he shuffled a bit towards her every 10 minutes or so. It took two hours but finally Peter reached her. Sophie expected him to reach out to her, the way he did to so many of his kids who longed for father figures in their lives but Peter nodded to her. Sophie, learning from Peter, first allowed her hand only to stroke Rachel's arm, protected by a shirt, and eventually engulfed her in a hug and pulled her to her feet.

Peter's voice became more serious. "I was wrong, Rachel, and I'm sorry. I was wrong to tell you that you wouldn't have to have a physical and I was wrong to leave you here alone with someone that you didn't know after letting you believe it. We're going to let it go for today… you'll sleep here with a senior student watching you but before you join us, it'll have to be done. Sophie will come back tomorrow morning and stay with you while Dr. Sparks looks you over. I know it will be horrible but it'll be done before you know it and we'll move on. Ok?"

Rachel was too tired to fight anymore. She allowed Sophie to lead her into another room with beds and she was asleep before Peter had even found anyone to stay with her.

"A brand new day!" Peter crowed to Sophie as they met on the their way to the administrative building. Sophie, not a morning person until breakfast had been digested, merely growled at him. Peter never left her alone though. He kept up a running commentary until finally Sophie cracked.

"Ok Mountain Man, tell me what has you in such a good mood this morning? And by the way, they are calling for a thunderstorm this afternoon."

"Can't I just be happy? Do I have to have a reason?" At Sophie's glare, he relented. "Ok, I'm just excited that we're on our way to building a fantastic library with actual computers and paying senior students to work there. This school is getting closer and closer to becoming the dream I had 10 years ago."

Sophie was suspicious. "Where did you get the money for the library? And I thought we had decided that computers were dangerous?"

"Rachel's grandmother made a generous donation and made promises of more through her network. And there's my dad's money. And one of our graduates last year had a father who works for Random House or Harper Collins or one of those book publishing companies that donates seconds. As for the computers, I don't want our students to be like kids who grew up never eating candy. They'll go out of control at the first opportunity. We'll install firewalls and monitor websites visited etc. but encourage kids to document their growth, send emails home and maybe even write a decent research paper."

Sophie sighed. "So many new initiatives, Peter. Designating a head of each dorm room, hiring a staff to prepare meals every other day and now a library? I think we're spoiling these kids."

Peter squeezed her hand. "Listen, changes had to be made so our kids would meet the academic standards of the country and not be shell-shocked when they go to college. Don't worry, there are still plenty of dishes and dusting to go around. Now, my dear, you need to go and supervise a medical."

"Oh, goodie," Sophie retorted with a grimace. "Give me a journal and a student handbook so I can take her the Cliffhanger dorm afterward. I suppose you'll want Shelby to show her around?"

Peter nodded. "As head of the dorm, it's her job. It'll be interesting to see how a little taste of leadership will change Shelby and Scott."

"Ok, I'm off. Make sure my group doesn't forget they're doing dishes after breakfast."

Rachel had opened her eyes, terrified. Far from being disoriented, she knew immediately where she was. There was an older girl sitting in an easy chair reading a book and Rachel stayed still to avoid being noticed.

How did this happen? she wondered to herself for the millionth time. Things had changed so fast. One minute she was an only child, living a largely solitary life with two rich and successful parents and now she was at a summer camp. I know it was horrible but I want to go back. How will I ever get the education I need here to get into Harvard or Yale? She realized that she had thought differently yesterday but her brain was supposed to be her savior. It was going to be her ticket out of darkness and despair to hope, to a brand-new life filled with people who had low, kind voices and a house of mauve and yellow. She hadn't seen much of Mt Horizon but she knew it was going to be more concerned with her emotions and her character than her brains.

Interrupting her thoughts was the arrival of Sophie and Rachel knew from the sudden cramping in her stomach that she would have to have the dreaded physical.