Disclaimer: I do not own the Higher Ground characters. The Point of Hope kids and directors are my own creation.
Point of Hope Part III
By: SparksJSH
"Okay, we are going to be doing a lot of walking tomorrow so group will be short tonight. I want to welcome our visitors who are sitting in."
The Cliffhangers looked around. They really didn't mind the Point of Hope group joining in. As the day had progressed they had gotten to know the visiting teens with the exception of LeeAnn really well. Everyone seemed to get along great.
"Addison, I really can't do this." Mindy groaned. "I'm exhausted and sore and we haven't' really done anything yet. If you make me go, I don't think I'll make it."
"You'll be fine, Mindy." Addison looked at Peter. "Go ahead. My group is used to opening these sessions with gripes and the like."
Kat laughed. "You should think about adding that to group yourself, Peter."
Peter shook his head. "I know you guys too well. If I let you get started, I'd never get anything else accomplished. Okay, for our newcomers, I start a phrase and call on someone. That person finishes the phrase and calls on someone else until everyone has gone." He waited to make sure everyone understood before continuing. "I am happiest when…. Juliet."
"I don't feel like I have to please everyone. Scott."
"I am competing. Kyle."
The Point of Hope teen thought for a moment. "I remember the fun times I had with my best friend." His voice choked a little before he turned to the pretty blonde in his group. "Mindy."
"I am the perfect size. Shelby."
"I am in control. LeeAnn."
The quiet teen said nothing. Peter shot Shelby a hard look. He knew that by know all the Cliffhangers had realized how withdrawn LeeAnn was. He also knew that Shelby had called on LeeAnn just to see what would happen if she didn't respond. He wondered if he or Addison should step in. He looked to Addison for how to proceed. But before Addison could say or do anything Kyle jumped up.
"Leave her alone."
Taylor rolled his dark eyes. "Sir Kyle the Goodhearted to the rescue. Better watch it Shelby, Kyle doesn't let anyone pick on the Ice Princess."
Without wasting a second, Kyle jumped up and tackled the smaller boy. The Cliffhangers watch amazed as the two boys rolled on the ground, each trying to get the best of the other. Group sometimes got intense but it didn't usually end in a fistfight. With a look at Peter, Addison grabbed Kyle while Peter pulled Taylor up off the floor. Both men kept a tight grip on the boys who were still straining to get back to the fight. With a frowned Peter looked at Shelby, hoping to regain some semblance of control on the room.
"Shelby, choose someone else."
"Why?" Shelby frowned. Group was just starting to get interesting. So Kyle had a thing for LeeAnn. He would be as challenging to win over as Scott was. "Everyone is supposed to participate. Why is she so different?"
Peter was about to reprimand the petulant girl when the object of their conversation stood up and looked at the door, refusing to look at anyone. Across the room where they had been watching everything, Donna grabbed Hannah's arm in amazement. Had Shelby somehow gotten through to LeeAnn?
"I am happiest when I'm left alone." The words were low and without emotion, especially compared to everyone else. But that one sentence stopped everyone. The whole room stared at the troubled young girl. The words themselves were a plaintive call for help. Hannah's heart went out to the young girl once again. Without another word, LeeAnn left the lodge as silently as she had entered.
"Don." Addison's voice was a mix of concern and warning.
Donna nodded and rose. "I'll follow her. Hannah, please come with me."
As the two women left the room, Peter and Addison looked at the remaining teens. Peter shook his head. "The next couple of days are going to be hard and long. Everyone is going to have to work together. That's not going to happen if you are all going at each other's throats every other minute. Be sensitive to everyone's needs and pain. Now, I suggest you all go to your dorms."
*****
"Well, that was a fun group." Shelby retorted once the girls were back in their dorm. LeeAnn hadn't returned but they had seen her wondering aimless toward the lake, Hannah and Donna following discreetly behind.
"Well if you hadn't started in on LeeAnn…" Juliet rolled her eyes as Shelby gave her an innocent 'What did I do' look.
"Taylor and Kyle have been going at each other like that since the day LeeAnn came to Point of Hope. Taylor loves to torment her because she won't stand up for herself and I think Kyle has the hots for her. I don't know why. She's weird the way she won't talk. It's like living with a walking, breathing brick wall."
Kat joked. "Taylor and Kyle remind me of Auggie and Scott fighting over Juliet.
"Yeah, really." Daisy agreed with a smile. "Okay, I have to ask. I think we can all agree that LeeAnn definitely has problems. You obviously could give Jules some serious competition in a race to see who can be thinnest. But give us the low down on the guys. The little fight in group aside, all three of them seem normal. Especially Danny, what's his story?"
"Danny's parents raised him in this really weird cult that believed in torture and drugs. His aunt and uncle found out about some of the cult's practices and kidnapped him away from there. They had no trouble then getting custody of Danny. But the place really messed him up. They put him in Point of Hope to kind of straighten him out. Reverse brainwashing almost."
They stopped talking when the door opened. LeeAnn entered and settled down on her bed without so much as a look at the other girls. Hannah and Donna followed behind her. Hannah smiled at the girls. "Time for bed, girls. Lights out in five minutes. We have a long day ahead of us. Kat, can I see you for a moment?"
Kat nodded and followed her friend outside. Hannah checked to make sure none of the others were listening. "Kat, I need you to do me a favor."
"Sure Hannah, what is it?"
"Donna and Addison are worried that LeeAnn may try to run away. Try to keep an eye on her tonight and come get me if she tries to leave."
Kat nodded. "Is she okay? Do you want me to try to talk to her?"
Hannah sighed. She knew she could count on Kat. The beautiful teen would make a wonderful counselor one day. "I don't think it would do any good. She's a very troubled girl, Kat. She doesn't trust anyone and until she learns that she can trust Addison or at least one person, she's not going to open up. The best thing you could do beside making sure she doesn't run is make sure Shelby doesn't give her a hard time. We both now that underneath that tough exterior Shelby means well but I don't know if LeeAnn's fragile psyche can take too much of Shelby."
"Okay, Hannah. I'll take care of things. Don't worry."
Kat returned to the cabin and Donna and Hannah left. Mindy looked at the others. "Okay, now that the adults are gone we can get to the juicy stuff. There is nothing going on in the romance department at Point of Hope. Taylor is just an immature little cretin, useful for a few things but no one's idea of a good boyfriend. Danny needs a serious haircut and personality. Kyle is a major babe but way too intense. But I couldn't help but notice that there are a lot of cute guys here. Don't try to tell me there aren't some serious prospects here. So, who's dating who?"
Shelby rolled her eyes. She didn't really want to hear Juliet gush on and on about her and Scott. "I'm getting a shower. Later."
Mindy watched her leave and wrinkled her brow. "Was it something I said or does she just have a general bad attitude?"
Juliet smiled. "Scott and I are a couple. She and Scott are not a couple. She doesn't like either of those facts."
"But she couldn't take her eyes off Kyle all day long."
Daisy laughed. "That's Shelby."
Kat was watching LeeAnn. She wondered if the teen was even aware of the conversation going on around her. She wished she knew what was going on with the pretty teen.
LeeAnn was well aware of the activity around her. But the petite teen shut everything out except enough to know that everyone was still awake. She couldn't wait until they were all asleep and she could sneak out. She silently cursed herself. She thought she was getting better. In the two weeks she'd been at Point of Hope, she'd been able to safely keep her emotions locked away. She knew what the others thought of her but that didn't matter. So long as she kept her feelings so deeply buried that it was like she was in a cocoon, she could survive.
It was only when she could feel her control on her emotions slip that she had to get away. She couldn't afford to let anyone see her lose control. And right now her grasp on her emotions was tenuous at best. There was a scream of fear, frustration, and anger bubbling just under the surface, threatening to choke her. It had been building since the moment the van pulled onto the grounds of Mt. Horizon.
When she had left the lodge earlier she'd planned on going just a little ways into the woods and allowing the scream and the tears to take over. But Donna and the red headed woman form Mt. Horizon had followed her, not allowing even a moment of solitude. She'd been forced to contain herself just a little longer.
Someone sat beside her on the bed. LeeAnn tightly closed her eyes, hoping they'd go away. It had to be one of the Cliffhangers. Mindy had long since given up trying to get any response out of her. It was one of the things she liked about the way too thin girl. A hand touched her shoulder but LeeAnn pulled away.
"LeeAnn, are you okay?" Kat was worried. The girl was practically shaking as she lay there. She wondered if she should send for Hannah or Donna.
"She's not going to answer you." Mindy insisted. The thin blonde rolled her green eyes. "Trust me. Taylor can be a complete jerk but he's pretty accurate calling her Ice Princess. I told you earlier talking to LeeAnn is like talking to a brick wall, worse maybe."
LeeAnn tuned the others out. She rolled over on her side away from Kat's penetrating stare. Why couldn't they just leave her alone? Couldn't they see that right now she was vulnerable? It was all she could do not to run screaming from the cabin in spite of the reaction she knew it would stir in the kids as well as Addison and Donna. She forced her self to breathe deeply through her nose to keep even the barest whimper from sounding from her throat.
At long last the room was silent and dark. LeeAnn opened her eyes and was relieved to see that everyone was asleep. There could be no better time to get away for just a bit; just long enough to give in to the raw emotions that clawed at her throat. She eased out of bed and stealthily made her way to the door. She eased it open and stepped outside. Before she could close the door, however, a hand grabbed the frame.
"Who are you running from? Us or yourself?"