Disclaimer: I don't own Higher Ground or its characters. The Point of Hope characters are my own creation.
Author's note: I forgot to mention with Part one that this story takes place before Hannah leaves and while Scott and Juliette are still dating. I'm a new veiwer to Higher Ground so those are the only shows I've seen so far.
Point of Hope Part II
SparksJSH
Three hours later, Mindy was awake and rummaging through her bag on her bed. She shook her head. "I will never complain about my room again. Can you imagine having to share all the time?" As usual LeeAnn didn't reply. Mindy rolled her eyes. She had thought it had been bad when she had been the only girl in the house besides Donna but LeeAnn's arrival hadn't improved things.
"You get used to it after awhile." Kat assured her as the Cliffhanger girls entered the dorm. They had all agreed that morning classes had dragged on for too long. They were all curious to get to know their weekend visitors.
Mindy blushed. "Sorry, I didn't mean anything by that. It's just at Point of Hope we all have our own bedrooms. I guess I kind of take that for granted."
"Point of Hope? What's that?" Daisy asked.
"Addison's name for his house. I don't know where he got it from. I'm Mindy."
"Kat."
"Daisy."
"Juliette."
"Shelby." Shelby looked at LeeAnn waiting for the girl to introduce herself. But the girl continued to stare up at the ceiling. Finally Mindy answered for her.
"That's LeeAnn. She doesn't talk much." Seeing the girls exchange glances, Mindy shrugged and parroted Kat's earlier remark. "You get used to it after a while."
Shelby laughed. "That would so not go over well here. Hannah and Peter are very into us sharing."
"So is Addison. She's only been with us for a couple of weeks. He just hasn't worn her down yet. So tell me, are these 'quests' totally gross?"
Juliette nodded. "Mud from head to toe. Not to mention the blisters and the bugs."
Shelby couldn't get over the fact that LeeAnn still hadn't said anything. She sat on the bed next to the girl. "So, what's your story? Drugs? What?"
LeeAnn still said nothing. Shelby gave her a look of disgust. "Hello, I'm talking to you, Freak."
Kat frowned. "Lay off, Shelby."
Without a word, LeeAnn rose and left the dorm. The five girls watched her leave. Mindy shrugged. "She's weird. What can I say? So, tell me about this place."
****************
Hannah stepped out of the office and saw a lone figure sitting on the pier skipping rocks. The tall red head bit her lip as she recognized the girl as one of Addison's. Peter had taken the Michaels to his house so the could rest. Addison had been reluctant to leave his group at first but both Peter and Hannah had assured him that they would be fine. Just before he left he had asked Hannah to keep a special eye on LeeAnn.
"She's a runner." He had warned her. "She hasn't tried since she's been with me but she has a history of running away."
Hannah joined the girl on the pier and sat beside her. "Hi, LeeAnn. Did you get all rested up?" Receiving no reply, Hannah reached out and touched the younger girl's shoulder. Immediately the girl tensed up and knocked Hannah's hand away.
"DON'T TOUCH ME!"
Hannah held up her hands in a non-threatening way. "Okay, I'm sorry. I didn't know. Are you okay?"
Once again there was silence. Hannah was reminded of Isaac; the boy who had OD'd earlier that year. At first he wouldn't say much either. He had surrounded himself instead with an impenetrable wall of anger. LeeAnn had a wall around her as well but despite her reaction to Hannah touching her shoulder, it didn't appear to be anger that separated the girl from the others. Hannah sensed fear was what drove this young girl.
A van pulled in and a glance backward told her that Peter had returned with the Michaels. She was glad. She didn't want to do anything that would set LeeAnn back or upset her further. She returned her attention back to LeeAnn. "How about we go to lunch? Peter is going to work all of you really hard this afternoon."
The girls passed by on the way to the cafeteria. They were all giggling about something. Hannah was glad to see that Mindy had made friends with the others. About halfway to the cafeteria, they met up with the boys. Hannah noticed that the tall boy in Addison's group stop Mindy and was apparently questioning the girl. Mindy vaguely pointed toward the pier and Kyle left the others and walked over to where Hannah and LeeAnn were.
He smiled at Hannah. "Nice to see you again, mam. Come on, LeeAnn; let's go to lunch. I don't know about you but I'm starved. Must be all this fresh air that's making me hungry. What about you?"
Though she said nothing, LeeAnn rose and joined Kyle. Hannah was surprised. Kyle kept a comfortable distance from the girl and maintained a one-way conversation with her the entire way to the cafeteria. He didn't seem at all bothered by the fact that she didn't reply.
"Ready to bang your head against the pier in frustration?" Donna Michaels smiled down at her.
Hannah stood. "I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like LeeAnn."
Donna sighed. "And I hope you never do again. That little girl has so much pain inside and we can't do anything to reach it. Addison is at his wits end trying to help her. I think that's one of the reasons he's brought us all up here."
"What happened to her?"
Donna sighed. "We honestly don't know everything. About three months ago a deputy sheriff found her walking down the road in a daze. She'd been beaten and had obviously been wandering on her own for several days."
"Poor child. No wonder she didn't want me to touch her." Hannah remarked.
"The deputy got her to the hospital but she wouldn't talk to anyone. Wouldn't tell anyone who she was or what had happened. Finally they ran her fingerprints just hoping to find a match."
"Did they?"
Donna nodded. "They matched with a little four year old girl who had been kidnapped from a city park twelve years earlier. LeeAnn's parents were thrilled to find her. It didn't matter that she wouldn't talk or that they had no idea where she'd been; their baby was home."
Hannah sighed. "Let me guess. The happy-ever-after wasn't so happy."
"Luke and Angela Wimberton tired hard. They just knew if they were patient enough and loved her enough that everything would be all right. But LeeAnn didn't get better. She stayed locked away in her self imposed exile. She also began running away. She'd usually only be gone for a few hours or a day before she was found. The last time though she was missing for two days. Luke and Angela had to admit that they needed help.
Hannah's heart went out to the fragile young girl. No wonder she was so withdrawn. "Thank you for telling me. Maybe Addison is right and this weekend will improve things."
*********
Meanwhile Peter and Addison had noticed the exchange between Kyle and LeeAnn. Addison and Donna had already filled him in on all the kids and why they were with Addison. "What's the deal between Kyle and LeeAnn?"
Addison shrugged. "I don't know. Kyle took a protective interest in her right away. I think she reminds him of Sam."
"And she trusts him?" Peter was surprised after what Addison had told him.
Addison frowned. "I think tolerates is more the word you are looking for. I don't think LeeAnn trusts anyone. That's the main problem. If I could get her to trust just one person I think I could help her."
*********
Shelby watched as Kyle and LeeAnn headed through the line. Without a doubt, next to Scott, Kyle was the cutest boy she'd seen since coming to Mt. Horizon. She looked at Taylor who had sat opposite her.
"What does he see in her?"
Taylor grinned. "Besides the fact that she's a major hottie? I think he feels sorry for her. But they ain't a couple. The Ice Princess won't let anyone close enough to become part of a couple. But why waste your time with a gooder like Kyle when you could have me?"
Shelby rolled her eyes. She looked in disgust at the way he was wolfing down his food. "Yeah, real attractive."
"Just making room for more."
Auggie laughed. "Yo meat, we don't get seconds around here."
"I will." Glancing around, Taylor saw that the adults were talking in the line and not paying them any attention. "Coast is clear, Mindy."
Without wasting a minute Mindy switched trays with Taylor. Now it appeared that she had almost finished her meal while he was just starting his. Juliette's eyes widened. She thought she had tried everything but this was something she'd never dreamed of doing.
Kat frowned. "You aren't going to eat?"
Mindy shrugged. "It's the last meal I'll get to skip out on the rest of the weekend. Addison and Donna will be watching us like hawks once we are on the trail."
The Cliffhangers exchanged a look. It appeared both groups had a lot they could teach the other.
TBC