Life goes on
"To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure. But the person who risks nothing cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love. Only a person who risks is free." --The Dilemma
Life Goes On Teaser (Morning)
"I just don't think is the best time for me to go, Peter." Daisy said. She was sitting across from him in his office.
Peter stood up walking around and sitting on the edge of his desk. "I know that you don't want to go home with Shelby still missing," He said, "But Daisy, it's been weeks.' He said looking down. "We have no leads as to her whereabouts. And as of right now, even though we haven't given up, I think that unless Shelby wants to be found, she won't be."
"So in other words you don't think you'll find her." Daisy said her voice conveying how she felt.
"Daisy, I know this has been hard on you. It's been hard on everyone." Peter said thinking of the other cliffhangers. "But… maybe going home for a few days would be a good idea. I know you and your dad are trying to work things out and with everything that's been going on around here with Shelby it might be good to get away for a few days."
Daisy looked up at Peter surprised. "Are you encouraging me to run from my problems?" She asked with a slight smirk on her face.
Peter looked down at her. He never wanted to encourage any of his students to back away from their problem, but sometimes they did need a break. "No I'm suggesting a break. Besides it's not running," He said walking back around his desk. "You'll be working on building your relationship with your dad. It's more of a shift in problems."
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Well since you put it that way." She said.
"You'll go?"
"Yes." Daisy said with a sigh as she stood. "I haven't seen him since he visited. Maybe something has changed."
Peter nodded. "I think the two of you have a shot at working this out as long as you're both willing to try."
Daisy nodded and turned to head out the door. She stopped, her hand on the doorknob. "Peter," She asked softly, "What if she comes back and I'm not here?"
"You didn't make her run Dais."
"I didn't stop her." Daisy said turning around.
"Does that make me guilty too?" Peter asked. "I didn't stop her either."
Daisy looked at him. "You didn't break her confidence. Scott and I betrayed her. We told you what was going on."
"Daisy if you hadn't there's a good chance that Shelby would have been much worse off."
"Worse off? She ran, she's not even here to get help." Daisy said angrily. "What if she's still having flashbacks, what if she hurts herself? Her father killed himself and she ran. She's freaking out and no one is there to help her."
"I know this is hard Daisy." Peter said. "Trust me, I feel the same way, but… the only thing we can do now is hope that she'll come back. Or that she'll try to find the help that she needs."
'But what if she doesn't Peter? What if she's out there selling herself again? If she comes back... when she comes back, she might not be Shelby any more." Daisy said.
"Daisy," Peter said, wondering what he could say to calm her about this situation. "Daisy, right now we're doing everything we can. And when Shelby comes back we'll do everything we can then."
Daisy gave a slight nod. She knew Peter was trying to be honest while still offering hope, but Daisy wasn't sure this situation had any hope left to it. "I guess I'll go and begin preparing to go home."
Peter nodded. "Your father will be here in the morning, just like he said."
Daisy again nodded and then turned and left. Peter flopped back into his chair and sighed. What was he supposed to do?
"Hey sweet thing, you want to give me what I paid for or what?"
Shelby turned at the sound of the man's voice. "Give me a second Jake." She said aggravated. "I have other customers you know."
The man frowned at her and then a lopsided grin appeared on his face. "But of course I'm your favorite, right?"
Shelby reached out and patted Jake on the hand. "In your dreams." She said coyly before pushing herself away from the bar counter and heading into the kitchen. The other men sitting behind the bar all gave catcalls. Ever since the new girl had come to the bar, things had livened up.
"You shouldn't be giving my girl a hard time." Bobby, a tall brown haired twenty two year old said, as he sat down on a bench next to the thirty-year-old Jake.
"You and Patty dating?" Jake asked.
Bobby looked at Jake for a moment. "We're staying together." He said pointedly.
"She any good?" Jake asked, eyeing the young man.
"Jake, your crude." Bobby said, causing the man to grin, almost as though he were proud of his crudeness. "One day, someone is going to come in here and take that grin off your face." He said standing up as Patty walked back into the room.
Shelby leaned over and handed Jake his drink and food. "Here's what you ordered." She said, and then she turned to Bobby. "Hey honey." She said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Patty, are you coming home anytime soon. You've been here for almost twelve hours."
Shelby smiled at Bobby. It had taken her awhile to get used to the name Patty, but she knew better then to use her own name and Patty wouldn't be using it anytime soon. "I'm unfortunately working a double. But I'll be home in about three hours when it ends."
Just then an older, bigger man walked in from the kitchen. "Hey Bobby." The man said.
"Mr. Granger." Bobby said in greeting. "You mind given my girl a few minutes for a break? She's been here for hours."
Mr. Granger looked at Bobby and then Patty. "You can have a break, Sandy will be here in a few minutes, so go ahead."
Shelby smiled at Mr. Granger, "Thanks." She said and Bobby grabbed her hand walking her around the bar and then the two headed outside to get some fresh air.
Once outside, Shelby immediately lit up a cigarette. "You should quit smoking those, there bad for you." Bobby said, stepping behind her and starting to give her a back massage.
"Oh, that feels good." She says as he rubbed her shoulders. She closed her eyes and inhaled from her cigarette. "And I'll quite smoking as soon as you do."
Bobby laughed. "Should have known you'd point out my hypocrisy."
"Someone has to keep you in line."
"I'm just glad it's you." He said leaning over and kissing her shoulder slightly.
Shelby tried hard not to stiffen, but she still hated having people touch her. "Sorry." Bobby said, realizing what he was doing. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"No." Shelby said turning around to face him. "It's not you. I'm fine. I'm just not ready yet." She said.
Bobby nodded and then gave her a slight smile. "Patty, I might have only known you for a few weeks, but… I think I love you."
Act One (Morning still, but slightly later)
Daisy walked towards her father's car carrying two large duffel bags. Ezra followed her carrying a smaller bag.
"You know Daisy, I don't really think you need all this stuff for four days." Ezra said.
"Your right." Daisy said looking at Ezra. "But some of the stuff I don't need anymore so I am taking it home."
Ezra nodded. "Makes sense."
"Here let me help you with that." Mr. Liponowsky said as Daisy tried to lift one of the bags into the trunk. Daisy and Ezra gladly let him finish putting the luggage into the trunk.
"Well, guess that's everything." Daisy said looking at Ezra.
"You ready for this?" Ezra asked Daisy. She hadn't been home since she had come to Horizon. At least not to stay, she'd gone home for the funeral though.
"I hope so." Daisy answers. "I wish that Shelby was here. It would make this easier. What am I going to do if she comes back and I'm not here?" She asked.
"Daisy if Shelby shows up, I will personally call you." Ezra answered. "Don't worry about it."
"I can't help but worry about it." Daisy answered just as the other cliffhangers walked up, followed by Peter and Sophie.
"Have fun on your weekend, have a nice thanksgiving and know if you need anything to call." Sophie instructed as she hugged Daisy.
Daisy smiled in spite of herself. "Will do." Daisy said.
Peter stepped up and hugged her as well. "If we hear anything, you'll be one of the first to know."
"Thanks." She said and then watched as the two adults stepped away to talk to her father and allow her and the other cliffhangers to say goodbye for the weekend. She looked down the line of them who all looked relatively unhappy. "It's only a weekend guys." She said trying to make a joke.
"Yea." Auggie said. "But first time home can be… rough."
Daisy nodded. "I used to live with the man, I think I can handle a weekend, especially if he isn't drinking."
Ezra noticed her mention of the word if. "Well," He said interrupting, "I'll see you on Monday. Good luck." He said and gave her a quick hug.
"You better be back on Monday Daisy, I don't want to be left as the only girl." Juliette said giving Daisy a hug as well.
"See ya on Monday." David said giving her a quick hand squeeze before stepping back with the others.
"Don't do anything to get yourself in trouble." Auggie said stepping up in front of her. "No offense or anything Dais, but it's really easy to get a hold of stuff on the outside and after everything that has happened lately… I wouldn't blame you, but just think about stuff before you do it."
Daisy nodded. "Thanks Aug." She said and gave him a hug. "I'll see you Monday." Auggie nodded and stepped over with the others.
Scott walked up to her then. "So you're really leaving?" He asked.
"Yea, but just for the weekend." She said quickly.
"What if Shelby comes back?"
"They'll call me."
"But she might need you here."
"And you're the one to give advice on being here for her, I'm sure." She said sarcastically.
"Hey you're the one leaving this time not me." Scott argued back.
"I don't want to leave, but… life goes on Scott. Face it, it's been almost a month, Shelby may not come back."
"She'll come back." Scott said determinedly. "She will."
'Fine Scott, but I still have to go, I'll see you on Monday." She said tiredly and started to turn to head to the car.
"I still can't believe your actually going." Scott said to her retreating form.
"Like I said Scott," She said turning around to face him, "I don't really want to go with her gone."
"But your still going." He said and then turned and walked past the others.
"He didn't mean it Daisy." Ezra said stepping up next to her. "He doesn't blame you, he's just worried about Shelby."
"He doesn't have to blame me, I blame myself."
Shelby rolled over in bed her arm sliding across the man lying next to her. Shelby opened her eyes and waited as they adjusted to what she was seeing. "Bobby?" She asked.
"Hey." He said sleepily opening his eyes and looking at her.
"Why are you in my bed?" She asked.
Bobby smiled amused. "We didn't do anything." He said. "You had a bad dream and insisted that I stay."
"Oh." She said looking down at the ground. "I didn't realize."
"Don't worry about it." He looked at her for a moment and then said, "It's not the first one you've had."
Shelby looked at him. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Figured if you wanted me to know you would have told me." He said, as he sat up in the bed. "I should probably get ready for work. I'll stop by the bar on my way home."
"Bobby?" Shelby asked watching the good - looking young man pull off his dirty t - shirt as he headed for the shower.
"Yea." He asked turning around.
"Did you really mean what you said yesterday?" She asked. The two hadn't talked about it since the day before. She had immediately told him she had to get back to work and then had insisted that she was too tired to talk about it afterwards and had went to bed. "Do you really think you love me?"
Bobby lips suddenly formed a soft smile and he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Patty, you are a beautiful women. I have never stayed with a woman for more then a week, if I wasn't already sleeping with her. You, though, are different. You seem to deserve more then that. And you make me feel like I deserve better then what I've had before." He looked deep into her eyes. "I know that we don't tell each other everything," Shelby looked down knowing he was talking about the nightmare, "But I have never felt as close to anyone as I feel to you."
Shelby nodded on the verge of tears. She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Bobby, always remember that you do deserve more. Everyone deserves to have someone that loves them and that makes them happy, even if the only person that does that is themselves."
Bobby looked at her and smiled. "I will always remember." He said and kissed her back. "I need to go take a shower now." He said and stood and headed away.
Shelby took a deep calming breath, if he only knew who she really was, he wouldn't think that. Shelby suddenly realized that she needed to get out and to get out fast.
"So most of the students are still here for thanksgiving, are we doing anything special?" Peter and Sophie turned from where they had been hunched over some paper work to see Kat and Hank standing in the doorway of the lodge.
"Hey Kat." Peter said standing and walking over to give her a hug. She hadn't been back since the beginning of the year. "You look great, how have you been?"
"Good." She said hugging him back and then hugging Sophie. "Especially now that the quarter is over."
"You still going to help out here during break?" Peter asked.
"That's what I came to talk about," Kat said looking at Peter, "That and to find out how Shelby is doing."
Peter looked at Sophie for a long moment. "She's still missing Kat." Sophie said softly laying a hand on Kats arm.
"Oh." Kat said a little surprised. "Any word on where she might be?"
Peter shook his head. "We keep trying, but so far no leads. She just doesn't want to be found."
"Well, if anyone can find her, Roger can." Kat said hoping she expressed more confidence then she felt. She couldn't help but remember what had happened with Jack, when she'd been his counselor. If Shelby was still exhibiting the kind of behavior she had been when she was here, then anything was possible.
"You ok?" Peter asked, seeing the distant look on Kats face.
"Just a bit of Déjà vu. After everything with Jack, I can't help but really worry about Shelby." She answered.
"Shelby's different Kat. Her hallucinations were caused by traumatic events not by a mental problem like with Jack. Shelby has a good chance of getting past hers and being able to have a normal life." Sophie said.
Kat nodded still worried. "So the usual plans for thanksgiving weekend are still on right?" She asked changing the topic.
"Yep. And this year we have you on our side, that is if you want to play." Peter said with a small grin.
"Oh, I want to play." Kat said a smile spreading across her face.
"Play what?" Hank asked.
Kat looked at Hank a wide smile on her face. "You'll just have to wait and see, but let's just say Horizon has a thanksgiving tradition that is a little bit different then most places."
Peter and Sophie laughed at her description. "Are you going to go see the other cliffhangers?" Sophie asked.
"Yea." Kat said. "It must be so hard on them now that Shelby is gone."
"Daisy is gone for the weekend as well." Peter said.
"How's Jules handling it? She's the only girl running around in that group right now." Kat asked.
"She seems ok, but she's probably a bit depressed, which was why I thought if you were going to visit, you could try to cheer her up a bit." Sophie said.
"Sure thing Sophie." Kat said. "Oh, well, I'll see you guys later." She and Hank then turned and headed for the door. "The festivities start Sunday morning right?" Kat asked.
"Ten o'clock sharp." Peter said.
"See you then." Kat said and Hank said goodbye as well as the two headed out.
"Hey Juliette." Kat says walking into the girl's dorm and finding Juliette lying on her bed reading a magazine.
"Kat!" Juliette squealed jumping up and going over and hugging the girl. "It's good to see you. How is college going?"
"It's going great." Kat said. "I did really well my first quarter, but it is certainly different then being here." She said a bit wistfully. "You know maybe later in the year you could come visit me. Peter and Sophie have said your doing well and that you've been off campus a few times so maybe they'd let you."
"Really?" Juliette squealed. "That would be great."
Kat smiled. "It would be great." She said glad that Juliette might now have something to look forward to. "So how are things with you and Auggie?" Kat asked sitting down on one of the beds. Juliette sat down as well.
"Great. He's so sweet to me. I can't imagine finding a better guy." She said.
Kat smiled. "That's great. You two help each other so much."
"Yea." Juliette said and smiled. "He's been good for me."
"So how are Auggie and everyone else doing?" Kat asked.
"Scott's moody because Shelby is gone." Juliette said once again sad. "And Daisy is upset as well. David and Ezra are still fighting over Daisy so anything that effects her, effects them and Auggie and I are doing well together, but things with Shelby have brought the whole group down."
Kat nodded. "That happens sometimes Jules. That's part of why Horizon puts you in groups so that you realize that everyone can be effected by one person's decision."
Juliette nodded. "I'm really beginning to see that."
Act two (afternoon)
The taxi pulled up in front of the fancy mansion and Daisy and her father climbed out of the car. They had taken a plane from Horizon so it hadn't taken long to get to their home. The trip had been relatively pleasant with little conversation because neither was really sure what to say to the other.
"I made reservations for dinner at the Dante." Mr. Liponowsky said as he helped Daisy unload her luggage from the cab. Daisy just nodded. It felt weird to be home again. It was her first trip that her mom wasn't going to be here. Daisy wasn't sure it had ever really hit her that her mom was gone. It was easy to be at Horizon and still think of her mom at home, but now she was home and her mom wouldn't be here…ever.
Daisy quickly headed for the house, afraid that if she didn't she wasn't going to go inside at all. Her father followed and unlocked the door allowing her to enter. Daisy looked around, everything seemed to be the same as it used to be. The white carpet of the living room still looked new and the baby grand piano that sat in the room was clean and dusted, but Daisy knew that the last person to use it had been her mother. Daisy tore her eyes away from the piano. "I should take my things upstairs." She said.
"Yea. You can get settled before dinner." He said and again Daisy just nodded. She carried her bags upstairs and pushed open her door looking around her huge bedroom. Her queen size bed had black bedding and her windows were covered with blankets to block out the light making the room dark. Her floor was spotless and a quick glance around told her things hadn't been moved around. It seemed to be exactly the way she had left it. Daisy set her bags down on the floor and walked over pulling the blankets from all the windows in the room. Light flooded in. Something she used to hate, but having lived at Horizon in the mountains for a year had made her appreciate the light. She tossed the blankets into a pile in the corner of her room and headed into the hall to the linen closet to find some other color bedding to put on her bed. But walking down the hall she noticed something that made her stop. The hallway walls had pictures. They hadn't always had pictures, Daisy was sure she would have remembered them. But here they were, pictures of her and the family, especially pictures of her mom and dad were up on the walls. Daisy's breath suddenly caught in her throat and tears pooled in her eyes.
"Daisy!" Her father calls up the stairs. "We need to head to dinner if we're going to make the reservation."
"Be right there." Daisy said after swallowing hard a few times. She headed quickly down the stairs, hoping dinner would go ok and being grateful that she didn't have to spend more time in the house.
Scott and Auggie stood by the wood shed. They had been chopping wood for an hour.
"I can't beleive she just left." Scott said and then brought the ax down splitting a piece of wood. "Shelby's supposed to be her best friend and she just up and leaves."
Auggie gathered the wood. "Yo meat she was just doing what she had to do. We all are man."
"None of us want Shelby to be gone." Ezra said as he and David walked up and joined the group. "But she is and even when she's not here, well life goes on Scott." Ezra said.
Scott turned to face them. "That's all I seem to be hearing from anybody. 'Shelby's gone Scott.' 'Life goes on Scott.' Everyone keeps acting like I should forget about her. Shelby's out there somewhere probably having a nervous breakdown and no one cares. What are you guys going to tell her when she comes back? It won't be that you didn't give up on her." With that Scott turned and began to walk away.
"What if she doesn't come back Scott?"
Scott turned and glared menacingly at David. "She'll come back." He said his voice a low hiss.
"What if she doesn't?" David said stepping up to Scott. "It's been a month Scott. She's been gone a month. You said so yourself that she was freaking out before she left. What makes you think she's still alive? Why do you think they quit searching for her night and day Scott? They have no new leads. She's gone Scott, face it."
Scott grabbed David by his shirt and the two were thrown to the ground. "You don't know what the hell your talking about. You don't know Shelby. She'll come back."
"For you?" David asked.
"Yea." Scott said pushing David away and sitting up on him so that David was still trapped below him. "She did before."
David took a deep breath knowing his next line would cost him. "How do you know she's not going back to one of her 'other' guys?"
Scott swung and it would have connected with David had Roger not grabbed the boys arm.
"You take that back." Scott screamed at David lunging for him. "She's not like that. She wouldn't do that." But even as the words escaped his mouth, his brain whirled with what ifs. His new thoughts causing the intended violence to be forgotten for the moment.
Roger realizing Scott had calmed down, released his grip. " All right you two, you need to talk this out." He said even though he was certain he knew exactly what was causing Scott's violent behavior. The same thing that always caused his violent behavior as of late: Shelby. Or really her dissappearance. "David, you ok?" Roger asked as Auggie helped him to his feet.
"Yea." David answered. "Guess this means Scott and I get to visit Peter again?"
"Yea." Roger said as the three headed off across campus. "I would think the two of you would get sick of visiting him so often."
"What can I say?" David asked. "We like the guy."
Act three (Early evening think 5 p.m.)
Bobby walked around the bar scanning the room looking for Patty. "Hey Stan." He said to one of the men sitting at the counter. "You seen Patty, she was supposed to be working till five, but I can't seem to find her anywhere."
"Couldn't tell ya Bob." Stan answered. "I was too busy trying to be old Chuck here at pool."
Bobby nodded and started to head to the back of the bar to look for her again when he saw Mr. Granger. "Hey, Mr. Granger, have you seen Patty, I was supposed to pick her up, but I don't see her."
Mr. Granger walked over and pulled an envelope from behind the counter. "Patty was in earlier, said she wasn't feeling well and since we had two other people here she left early, but she asked me to give you this when you came by." He said and handed him an envelope.
'Thanks." Bobby said and took the envelope, wondering why Patty wouldn't have just told him whatever was in this letter when he got home. He opened it and took out the note, when he did a key fell out as well. Bobby immediately recognized it as his apartment key and his stomach turned as he realized what the letter must say. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath forcing himself to read the letter anyhow.
Dear Bobby,
I wish I could tell you this in person, but I know you wouldn't let me go if I did. I can't tell you where I'm going or why, but know that what happens will be ok. Remember what I said, you deserve more. I realized in telling you that, that I needed to take my own advice. I know that you thought you loved me, but you didn't and one day you'll realize it. Bobby, I am not who you thought I was. My name isn't even Patty, but what I told you about you deserving more was true. I hope you have a good life you deserve one.
Shelby
Bobby looked at the signature. Shelby. All of this time he had thought she was somebody else. She had lied to him. I can't believe I thought I loved her. "Mr. Granger, give me a scotch on the rocks." He said. He didn't want to think about this now.
"So Scott and David are on kitchens?" Ezra asked Juliette and Auggie as the three ate dinner.
"Yea." Juliette said. "Those two have been at it ever since Shelby left."
"That's because David keeps pushing him."
"If Meat would learn to control his temper this wouldn't be a problem."
"If Shelby would come back, it wouldn't be a problem." Juliette said.
Auggie turned to her. "You really think that?" Ezra asked before Auggie could.
"Yea." Juliette said. "Scott loves her." She said emphasizing the 'L' word. "The two have been through so much together. Being apart from her is destroying him and the group."
"So what happens when you go to college?" Kat asked walking into the convesation. She had decided to stop by for dinner to see how the other cliffhangers were fairing. The three looked up at her. "Horizon is a nice place, but you can't stay here forever. There's a real world out there Jules and you won't always be able to depend on everyone."
Juliette looked down at her plate. It was true that they would one day leave this place. Some sooner then others. What was she going to do without them?
"You have to learn to rely on yourself." Kat said almost as though she read Juliette's mind. "Scott and Shelby are in love." She said emphasizing the 'are'. "But they both need to change some before they leave here or else it won't last."
"We all need to change some before we leave." Auggie said. "We're not ready for the real world yet."
"We've been in the harsh world though." Ezra said. 'I guess it's just getting used to the adult world that we need to do and the world away from Horizon."
"It's not as hard as you would think." Kat said. "While you can't stay here forever, you can always visit." She said with a smile. "And call and write. And if there love is as strong as it seems to be, they'll make it. They have a lot to work through once Shelby comes back, but if they are both willing to try they'll be able to." The others nodded. They didn't want to see Scott and Shelby break up, the two were unbearable when they were apart.
Scott washed a dish and handed it to David. "I didn't really mean what I said earlier." David said quietly.
Scott looks over to him wondering why the usually annoying and brash David was all of a sudden seemingly apologizing.
"Look, I know I come off as a jerk."
"Your right you do. But you don't just come off as one, you are one." Scott said to him. "You've been here for almost nine months and you still act the same."
"Didn't we get along when we were on that buddy back thing?" David asked.
Scott glares at him, but then smiles as he thinks about the fish incident. "Yea... Your not a complete jerk."
"Thanks." David said sarcastically as he dries a dish and then puts it away. "Scott, I am sorry about Shelby and what I said earlier." A pause. "But the others are right... Life goes on Scott. You've been in this funk ever since she left. Shelby wouldn't want you to be like this." He pauses again. "There is such a thing as caring too much."
Scott leans over the sink propping up on his elbows and rubbing his hands over his face. "I know."
"I do." He stands back up suddenly. "I don't know what I'll do if she's gone." David suddenly realized that Scott's biggest fear wasn't Shelby's not returning, but her reason for not returning. "I should have noticed sooner. I'm supposed to be in love with her and Juliette and Daisy noticed something was wrong with her before I did."
"Don't kick yourself about this man. It's just that you have so much to deal with. Add Shelby into the mix and it gets hectic, because she's dealing with her stuff too."
"So I should deal with my stuff and just forget about Shelby?" He snapped.
"No." David answered. "I think you should take time to deal with yourself, so that when Shelby and you get together, it will be better then ever."
Scott gave a slight nod and then smiled. "When did you become such a caring person David?"
"Oh I don't know." David said jumping back into his usual self. "I guess I just channelled Sophie or something."
Scott laughed and went back to washing dishes. He paused after cleaning a couple dishes and then turned to David. "Other then the stuff with your dad, I don't know why your here, but if you ever want to talk... to someone other then Daisy... I'll listen."
David dried the dish that he was holding. "You guys pretty much hear it all in group." He places the dish in the stack with the others. "But thanks for the offer. It's nice to know I could talk to someone other then a counselor."
"Yea, well, your not so bad."
"Now if you could only help me convince Daisy of that."
"Sorry Davvvy, I have enough girl problems." Scott said with a laugh.
"Daisy, I'm sorry to end our dinner early, I just have to go to the office real and take care of a problem." Mr. Liponowsky said.
"It's not a problem." Daisy said as her father pulled up outside their house. "I'm sure I'll find something to keep myself occupied, besides I'm still tired from the trip." She said.
He nodded, a look of guilt passing across his features. "I'm sorry about this Daisy. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Daisy climbed out of the car. "It's fine dad." She said, but her tone showed that it wasn't. "I'll see you when you get home." She said and quickly closed the door and hurried into the house before he could say anything else.
Upon entering Daisy went to the couch and sat down considering if she wanted to watch TV or do something else. After sitting on the couch for several minutes, she decided she needed to do something, anything, but just sit. What had she used to do when she was here? She had spent most of her time with her friends or away from home… or, she thought as her eyes landed on the piano, singing and playing. Stood and headed over to the piano sitting down and looking at the piano. Her mom had taught her how to play; probably part of the reason she never admitted she could. She had heard Scott play and was impressed with his ability. He played with a different style, but he was still very good. Daisy stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles. After a moment she placed her hands on the keys and slowly played a scale. It had been a long time since she had played.
After playing for some time she remembered something that her mother used to play, Daisy stood, lifting the bench top to look for some sheet music, upon opening it though, she discovered something else. Daisy's draw dropped, and then her mouth formed a tight thin line as she shook her head knowing she should have known better. She picked the bottle up holding it in her hand and inspecting it closely. She shouldn't have believed him.
It was at that moment the front door opened and her father stepped in.
"You're drinking again?" Daisy shouted at him, more of an accusation then a question.
" Daisy you don't understand…" Her father started to say.
"Don't understand what? Don't understand that you can't get through a day without a drink? Don't understand that everything you keep saying is true, is lies? You promised me. You told me you had changed and that you did love me and you don't." She shouted at him, her voice breaking with emotion.
"I have." He said trying to explain himself as he stepped into the room. "I do. I… I don't drink… I haven't had a drink in a long time. I'm telling the truth."
"I don't believe you!" Daisy shouted at him. "You can't keep a promise and you can't not drink. Everything you said was a lie." Daisy said and with that she threw the bottle that was in her hand across the room towards her father.
Mr. Liponowsky hit the floor very reflexively and glass shattered above and over him. "Daisy!" He shouted.
"You are a liar!" She shouted at him.
He picked himself up off the floor groaning at the abuse he'd just bestowed upon his body. "Look, you're too upset to talk about this rationally." He said to her. "I'll give you some time to calm down." He said.
"Calm down! Calm down?" She shouted. "You're a liar. An alcoholic liar. And I never… never want to see you again."
Mr. Liponowsky looked down at his daughter knowing any bridge of a relationship that they had had was for now gone. "Fine." He said his voice crisp. He then turned and headed out the door.
Shelby walked down the aisle of the bus finding a window seat near the back. She was once again running away from everything. Bobby hadn't really been much to her, but she'd apparently meant something to him. She knew her leaving hurt him. Didn't doubt for a moment that he was sitting in the bar drinking.
She sat down in the seat, pulling her bag onto her lap and staring out the window. Things had certainly changed. A few months back there had been the morp and Scott telling her he loved her. Then there had been the summer, which had been good for the entire cliffhanger group. Well everyone, but Kat who had had the psychopath in her group. Now it seemed that Shelby was the resident psycho of Horizon. She shook her head at the thought. No one could have known any of this was going to happen. Who would have thought that on her eighteenth birthday she'd tell her mom everything about her life on the streets before Horizon? Who would have thought that her mom would accept it and then her sister would reveal that her mom had considered letting Walt come home?
Tears formed in Shelby's eyes as she thought of Jess. She wondered if Jess was worried about her. Shelby had run so many times. Had disappeared for months without contact, Jess was probably used to it by now. Her mom on the other hand probably didn't care that Shelby was gone, she was probably glad. She never really believed anything Shelby had said; it had taken Jess to make her mom realize her mistake.
A tear spilled over Shelby's cheek. Did her mom even realize the mistakes she had made? Did her mom know about her father? That he like Walt had abused her and that he was now gone, ripping himself from the world by causing his own death because he was too weak to deal with the guilt and the repercussions of it all.
More tears fell as Shelby thought of the man and of the last few weeks. Why was her life so hard? Why had one person managed to take so much from her? How had she let it happen? It wasn't fair and it hurt so much.
Shelby stood and hurried towards the door of the bus that had yet to begin traveling. How was she supposed to leave when she had no place to go, no one to go to? She stopped before getting to the front. How could she stay, when she had nothing to stay for? Shelby stopped and sat down in the first available seat. She had nothing…no one.
Daisy stared at the door, tears still falling down her face. He had left… he had actually left. Why could he just not drink? Why did he have to lie and be an alcoholic? Daisy looked at the glass from the bottle that was spread across the floor. Why did she have to get so mad? Why was she so afraid that she was going to become him?
"Maybe because I already am like him." She said to herself. Looking around, Daisy moved quickly through the house tearing it apart looking for any more alcohol that may still be hidden. After several minutes of searching she came upon a bottle of scotch. "If I'm going to be like him, why delay the inevitable." She said to herself and with that she opened the bottle and took a long sip.
Mr. Liponowsky drives down the road a bottle lying unopened in the seat next to him. His hands shook, he was so angry. He hit the gas speeding up a little wanting to get away from his problems and his enraged daughter for just a little while.
Shelby sat on the bus silently. She had managed to move to a window seat, where few people could see her. She couldn't ever remember feeling as lonely as she did now. At least not in a long time. Tears slid down her face as she thought of everything she'd been through in the last few months and of everything she had lost.
Daisy stumbled through the living room, the open bottle in her hand. She took a long drink making a face as the liquid burned on the way down. She couldn't imagine how her father drank this stuff, but then again considering the oblivion from her problems that she was experiencing right now, it didn't really matter to her why her father drank it.
The black car belonging to Daisy's dad speeds down the road. The driver, Mr. Liponowsky makes a sidelong glance to the bottle in the seat next to him. Is it worth it? A flash of his daughter and the pain and anger he had seen on her face when he'd arrived home went through his mind… was it worth it?
Shelby continues to cry as the bus passes a sign saying, "Thanks for visiting Colorado."
Thoughts of his daughter once again flash through Mr. Liponowsky's brain as he contemplates getting the bottle from the seat that his eyes are gazing at. Is it worth it? The answer to the contemplated question never is answered. A horn blowing and metal scraping against metal is heard. Then glass shatters and Mr. Liponowsky, having been thrown from his car, lands in the middle of the darkened highway.
"To go forward in the face of overwhelming odds is to risk failure. But the person who risks nothing cannot learn, feel, change, grow or love. Only a person who risks is free." --The Dilemma
Life Goes On Teaser (Morning)
"I just don't think is the best time for me to go, Peter." Daisy said. She was sitting across from him in his office.
Peter stood up walking around and sitting on the edge of his desk. "I know that you don't want to go home with Shelby still missing," He said, "But Daisy, it's been weeks.' He said looking down. "We have no leads as to her whereabouts. And as of right now, even though we haven't given up, I think that unless Shelby wants to be found, she won't be."
"So in other words you don't think you'll find her." Daisy said her voice conveying how she felt.
"Daisy, I know this has been hard on you. It's been hard on everyone." Peter said thinking of the other cliffhangers. "But… maybe going home for a few days would be a good idea. I know you and your dad are trying to work things out and with everything that's been going on around here with Shelby it might be good to get away for a few days."
Daisy looked up at Peter surprised. "Are you encouraging me to run from my problems?" She asked with a slight smirk on her face.
Peter looked down at her. He never wanted to encourage any of his students to back away from their problem, but sometimes they did need a break. "No I'm suggesting a break. Besides it's not running," He said walking back around his desk. "You'll be working on building your relationship with your dad. It's more of a shift in problems."
Daisy rolled her eyes. "Well since you put it that way." She said.
"You'll go?"
"Yes." Daisy said with a sigh as she stood. "I haven't seen him since he visited. Maybe something has changed."
Peter nodded. "I think the two of you have a shot at working this out as long as you're both willing to try."
Daisy nodded and turned to head out the door. She stopped, her hand on the doorknob. "Peter," She asked softly, "What if she comes back and I'm not here?"
"You didn't make her run Dais."
"I didn't stop her." Daisy said turning around.
"Does that make me guilty too?" Peter asked. "I didn't stop her either."
Daisy looked at him. "You didn't break her confidence. Scott and I betrayed her. We told you what was going on."
"Daisy if you hadn't there's a good chance that Shelby would have been much worse off."
"Worse off? She ran, she's not even here to get help." Daisy said angrily. "What if she's still having flashbacks, what if she hurts herself? Her father killed himself and she ran. She's freaking out and no one is there to help her."
"I know this is hard Daisy." Peter said. "Trust me, I feel the same way, but… the only thing we can do now is hope that she'll come back. Or that she'll try to find the help that she needs."
'But what if she doesn't Peter? What if she's out there selling herself again? If she comes back... when she comes back, she might not be Shelby any more." Daisy said.
"Daisy," Peter said, wondering what he could say to calm her about this situation. "Daisy, right now we're doing everything we can. And when Shelby comes back we'll do everything we can then."
Daisy gave a slight nod. She knew Peter was trying to be honest while still offering hope, but Daisy wasn't sure this situation had any hope left to it. "I guess I'll go and begin preparing to go home."
Peter nodded. "Your father will be here in the morning, just like he said."
Daisy again nodded and then turned and left. Peter flopped back into his chair and sighed. What was he supposed to do?
"Hey sweet thing, you want to give me what I paid for or what?"
Shelby turned at the sound of the man's voice. "Give me a second Jake." She said aggravated. "I have other customers you know."
The man frowned at her and then a lopsided grin appeared on his face. "But of course I'm your favorite, right?"
Shelby reached out and patted Jake on the hand. "In your dreams." She said coyly before pushing herself away from the bar counter and heading into the kitchen. The other men sitting behind the bar all gave catcalls. Ever since the new girl had come to the bar, things had livened up.
"You shouldn't be giving my girl a hard time." Bobby, a tall brown haired twenty two year old said, as he sat down on a bench next to the thirty-year-old Jake.
"You and Patty dating?" Jake asked.
Bobby looked at Jake for a moment. "We're staying together." He said pointedly.
"She any good?" Jake asked, eyeing the young man.
"Jake, your crude." Bobby said, causing the man to grin, almost as though he were proud of his crudeness. "One day, someone is going to come in here and take that grin off your face." He said standing up as Patty walked back into the room.
Shelby leaned over and handed Jake his drink and food. "Here's what you ordered." She said, and then she turned to Bobby. "Hey honey." She said and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.
"Patty, are you coming home anytime soon. You've been here for almost twelve hours."
Shelby smiled at Bobby. It had taken her awhile to get used to the name Patty, but she knew better then to use her own name and Patty wouldn't be using it anytime soon. "I'm unfortunately working a double. But I'll be home in about three hours when it ends."
Just then an older, bigger man walked in from the kitchen. "Hey Bobby." The man said.
"Mr. Granger." Bobby said in greeting. "You mind given my girl a few minutes for a break? She's been here for hours."
Mr. Granger looked at Bobby and then Patty. "You can have a break, Sandy will be here in a few minutes, so go ahead."
Shelby smiled at Mr. Granger, "Thanks." She said and Bobby grabbed her hand walking her around the bar and then the two headed outside to get some fresh air.
Once outside, Shelby immediately lit up a cigarette. "You should quit smoking those, there bad for you." Bobby said, stepping behind her and starting to give her a back massage.
"Oh, that feels good." She says as he rubbed her shoulders. She closed her eyes and inhaled from her cigarette. "And I'll quite smoking as soon as you do."
Bobby laughed. "Should have known you'd point out my hypocrisy."
"Someone has to keep you in line."
"I'm just glad it's you." He said leaning over and kissing her shoulder slightly.
Shelby tried hard not to stiffen, but she still hated having people touch her. "Sorry." Bobby said, realizing what he was doing. "I didn't mean to make you uncomfortable."
"No." Shelby said turning around to face him. "It's not you. I'm fine. I'm just not ready yet." She said.
Bobby nodded and then gave her a slight smile. "Patty, I might have only known you for a few weeks, but… I think I love you."
Act One (Morning still, but slightly later)
Daisy walked towards her father's car carrying two large duffel bags. Ezra followed her carrying a smaller bag.
"You know Daisy, I don't really think you need all this stuff for four days." Ezra said.
"Your right." Daisy said looking at Ezra. "But some of the stuff I don't need anymore so I am taking it home."
Ezra nodded. "Makes sense."
"Here let me help you with that." Mr. Liponowsky said as Daisy tried to lift one of the bags into the trunk. Daisy and Ezra gladly let him finish putting the luggage into the trunk.
"Well, guess that's everything." Daisy said looking at Ezra.
"You ready for this?" Ezra asked Daisy. She hadn't been home since she had come to Horizon. At least not to stay, she'd gone home for the funeral though.
"I hope so." Daisy answers. "I wish that Shelby was here. It would make this easier. What am I going to do if she comes back and I'm not here?" She asked.
"Daisy if Shelby shows up, I will personally call you." Ezra answered. "Don't worry about it."
"I can't help but worry about it." Daisy answered just as the other cliffhangers walked up, followed by Peter and Sophie.
"Have fun on your weekend, have a nice thanksgiving and know if you need anything to call." Sophie instructed as she hugged Daisy.
Daisy smiled in spite of herself. "Will do." Daisy said.
Peter stepped up and hugged her as well. "If we hear anything, you'll be one of the first to know."
"Thanks." She said and then watched as the two adults stepped away to talk to her father and allow her and the other cliffhangers to say goodbye for the weekend. She looked down the line of them who all looked relatively unhappy. "It's only a weekend guys." She said trying to make a joke.
"Yea." Auggie said. "But first time home can be… rough."
Daisy nodded. "I used to live with the man, I think I can handle a weekend, especially if he isn't drinking."
Ezra noticed her mention of the word if. "Well," He said interrupting, "I'll see you on Monday. Good luck." He said and gave her a quick hug.
"You better be back on Monday Daisy, I don't want to be left as the only girl." Juliette said giving Daisy a hug as well.
"See ya on Monday." David said giving her a quick hand squeeze before stepping back with the others.
"Don't do anything to get yourself in trouble." Auggie said stepping up in front of her. "No offense or anything Dais, but it's really easy to get a hold of stuff on the outside and after everything that has happened lately… I wouldn't blame you, but just think about stuff before you do it."
Daisy nodded. "Thanks Aug." She said and gave him a hug. "I'll see you Monday." Auggie nodded and stepped over with the others.
Scott walked up to her then. "So you're really leaving?" He asked.
"Yea, but just for the weekend." She said quickly.
"What if Shelby comes back?"
"They'll call me."
"But she might need you here."
"And you're the one to give advice on being here for her, I'm sure." She said sarcastically.
"Hey you're the one leaving this time not me." Scott argued back.
"I don't want to leave, but… life goes on Scott. Face it, it's been almost a month, Shelby may not come back."
"She'll come back." Scott said determinedly. "She will."
'Fine Scott, but I still have to go, I'll see you on Monday." She said tiredly and started to turn to head to the car.
"I still can't believe your actually going." Scott said to her retreating form.
"Like I said Scott," She said turning around to face him, "I don't really want to go with her gone."
"But your still going." He said and then turned and walked past the others.
"He didn't mean it Daisy." Ezra said stepping up next to her. "He doesn't blame you, he's just worried about Shelby."
"He doesn't have to blame me, I blame myself."
Shelby rolled over in bed her arm sliding across the man lying next to her. Shelby opened her eyes and waited as they adjusted to what she was seeing. "Bobby?" She asked.
"Hey." He said sleepily opening his eyes and looking at her.
"Why are you in my bed?" She asked.
Bobby smiled amused. "We didn't do anything." He said. "You had a bad dream and insisted that I stay."
"Oh." She said looking down at the ground. "I didn't realize."
"Don't worry about it." He looked at her for a moment and then said, "It's not the first one you've had."
Shelby looked at him. "Why didn't you say anything?"
"Figured if you wanted me to know you would have told me." He said, as he sat up in the bed. "I should probably get ready for work. I'll stop by the bar on my way home."
"Bobby?" Shelby asked watching the good - looking young man pull off his dirty t - shirt as he headed for the shower.
"Yea." He asked turning around.
"Did you really mean what you said yesterday?" She asked. The two hadn't talked about it since the day before. She had immediately told him she had to get back to work and then had insisted that she was too tired to talk about it afterwards and had went to bed. "Do you really think you love me?"
Bobby lips suddenly formed a soft smile and he walked over and sat down on the edge of the bed. "Patty, you are a beautiful women. I have never stayed with a woman for more then a week, if I wasn't already sleeping with her. You, though, are different. You seem to deserve more then that. And you make me feel like I deserve better then what I've had before." He looked deep into her eyes. "I know that we don't tell each other everything," Shelby looked down knowing he was talking about the nightmare, "But I have never felt as close to anyone as I feel to you."
Shelby nodded on the verge of tears. She leaned over and gave him a soft kiss on the lips. "Bobby, always remember that you do deserve more. Everyone deserves to have someone that loves them and that makes them happy, even if the only person that does that is themselves."
Bobby looked at her and smiled. "I will always remember." He said and kissed her back. "I need to go take a shower now." He said and stood and headed away.
Shelby took a deep calming breath, if he only knew who she really was, he wouldn't think that. Shelby suddenly realized that she needed to get out and to get out fast.
"So most of the students are still here for thanksgiving, are we doing anything special?" Peter and Sophie turned from where they had been hunched over some paper work to see Kat and Hank standing in the doorway of the lodge.
"Hey Kat." Peter said standing and walking over to give her a hug. She hadn't been back since the beginning of the year. "You look great, how have you been?"
"Good." She said hugging him back and then hugging Sophie. "Especially now that the quarter is over."
"You still going to help out here during break?" Peter asked.
"That's what I came to talk about," Kat said looking at Peter, "That and to find out how Shelby is doing."
Peter looked at Sophie for a long moment. "She's still missing Kat." Sophie said softly laying a hand on Kats arm.
"Oh." Kat said a little surprised. "Any word on where she might be?"
Peter shook his head. "We keep trying, but so far no leads. She just doesn't want to be found."
"Well, if anyone can find her, Roger can." Kat said hoping she expressed more confidence then she felt. She couldn't help but remember what had happened with Jack, when she'd been his counselor. If Shelby was still exhibiting the kind of behavior she had been when she was here, then anything was possible.
"You ok?" Peter asked, seeing the distant look on Kats face.
"Just a bit of Déjà vu. After everything with Jack, I can't help but really worry about Shelby." She answered.
"Shelby's different Kat. Her hallucinations were caused by traumatic events not by a mental problem like with Jack. Shelby has a good chance of getting past hers and being able to have a normal life." Sophie said.
Kat nodded still worried. "So the usual plans for thanksgiving weekend are still on right?" She asked changing the topic.
"Yep. And this year we have you on our side, that is if you want to play." Peter said with a small grin.
"Oh, I want to play." Kat said a smile spreading across her face.
"Play what?" Hank asked.
Kat looked at Hank a wide smile on her face. "You'll just have to wait and see, but let's just say Horizon has a thanksgiving tradition that is a little bit different then most places."
Peter and Sophie laughed at her description. "Are you going to go see the other cliffhangers?" Sophie asked.
"Yea." Kat said. "It must be so hard on them now that Shelby is gone."
"Daisy is gone for the weekend as well." Peter said.
"How's Jules handling it? She's the only girl running around in that group right now." Kat asked.
"She seems ok, but she's probably a bit depressed, which was why I thought if you were going to visit, you could try to cheer her up a bit." Sophie said.
"Sure thing Sophie." Kat said. "Oh, well, I'll see you guys later." She and Hank then turned and headed for the door. "The festivities start Sunday morning right?" Kat asked.
"Ten o'clock sharp." Peter said.
"See you then." Kat said and Hank said goodbye as well as the two headed out.
"Hey Juliette." Kat says walking into the girl's dorm and finding Juliette lying on her bed reading a magazine.
"Kat!" Juliette squealed jumping up and going over and hugging the girl. "It's good to see you. How is college going?"
"It's going great." Kat said. "I did really well my first quarter, but it is certainly different then being here." She said a bit wistfully. "You know maybe later in the year you could come visit me. Peter and Sophie have said your doing well and that you've been off campus a few times so maybe they'd let you."
"Really?" Juliette squealed. "That would be great."
Kat smiled. "It would be great." She said glad that Juliette might now have something to look forward to. "So how are things with you and Auggie?" Kat asked sitting down on one of the beds. Juliette sat down as well.
"Great. He's so sweet to me. I can't imagine finding a better guy." She said.
Kat smiled. "That's great. You two help each other so much."
"Yea." Juliette said and smiled. "He's been good for me."
"So how are Auggie and everyone else doing?" Kat asked.
"Scott's moody because Shelby is gone." Juliette said once again sad. "And Daisy is upset as well. David and Ezra are still fighting over Daisy so anything that effects her, effects them and Auggie and I are doing well together, but things with Shelby have brought the whole group down."
Kat nodded. "That happens sometimes Jules. That's part of why Horizon puts you in groups so that you realize that everyone can be effected by one person's decision."
Juliette nodded. "I'm really beginning to see that."
Act two (afternoon)
The taxi pulled up in front of the fancy mansion and Daisy and her father climbed out of the car. They had taken a plane from Horizon so it hadn't taken long to get to their home. The trip had been relatively pleasant with little conversation because neither was really sure what to say to the other.
"I made reservations for dinner at the Dante." Mr. Liponowsky said as he helped Daisy unload her luggage from the cab. Daisy just nodded. It felt weird to be home again. It was her first trip that her mom wasn't going to be here. Daisy wasn't sure it had ever really hit her that her mom was gone. It was easy to be at Horizon and still think of her mom at home, but now she was home and her mom wouldn't be here…ever.
Daisy quickly headed for the house, afraid that if she didn't she wasn't going to go inside at all. Her father followed and unlocked the door allowing her to enter. Daisy looked around, everything seemed to be the same as it used to be. The white carpet of the living room still looked new and the baby grand piano that sat in the room was clean and dusted, but Daisy knew that the last person to use it had been her mother. Daisy tore her eyes away from the piano. "I should take my things upstairs." She said.
"Yea. You can get settled before dinner." He said and again Daisy just nodded. She carried her bags upstairs and pushed open her door looking around her huge bedroom. Her queen size bed had black bedding and her windows were covered with blankets to block out the light making the room dark. Her floor was spotless and a quick glance around told her things hadn't been moved around. It seemed to be exactly the way she had left it. Daisy set her bags down on the floor and walked over pulling the blankets from all the windows in the room. Light flooded in. Something she used to hate, but having lived at Horizon in the mountains for a year had made her appreciate the light. She tossed the blankets into a pile in the corner of her room and headed into the hall to the linen closet to find some other color bedding to put on her bed. But walking down the hall she noticed something that made her stop. The hallway walls had pictures. They hadn't always had pictures, Daisy was sure she would have remembered them. But here they were, pictures of her and the family, especially pictures of her mom and dad were up on the walls. Daisy's breath suddenly caught in her throat and tears pooled in her eyes.
"Daisy!" Her father calls up the stairs. "We need to head to dinner if we're going to make the reservation."
"Be right there." Daisy said after swallowing hard a few times. She headed quickly down the stairs, hoping dinner would go ok and being grateful that she didn't have to spend more time in the house.
Scott and Auggie stood by the wood shed. They had been chopping wood for an hour.
"I can't beleive she just left." Scott said and then brought the ax down splitting a piece of wood. "Shelby's supposed to be her best friend and she just up and leaves."
Auggie gathered the wood. "Yo meat she was just doing what she had to do. We all are man."
"None of us want Shelby to be gone." Ezra said as he and David walked up and joined the group. "But she is and even when she's not here, well life goes on Scott." Ezra said.
Scott turned to face them. "That's all I seem to be hearing from anybody. 'Shelby's gone Scott.' 'Life goes on Scott.' Everyone keeps acting like I should forget about her. Shelby's out there somewhere probably having a nervous breakdown and no one cares. What are you guys going to tell her when she comes back? It won't be that you didn't give up on her." With that Scott turned and began to walk away.
"What if she doesn't come back Scott?"
Scott turned and glared menacingly at David. "She'll come back." He said his voice a low hiss.
"What if she doesn't?" David said stepping up to Scott. "It's been a month Scott. She's been gone a month. You said so yourself that she was freaking out before she left. What makes you think she's still alive? Why do you think they quit searching for her night and day Scott? They have no new leads. She's gone Scott, face it."
Scott grabbed David by his shirt and the two were thrown to the ground. "You don't know what the hell your talking about. You don't know Shelby. She'll come back."
"For you?" David asked.
"Yea." Scott said pushing David away and sitting up on him so that David was still trapped below him. "She did before."
David took a deep breath knowing his next line would cost him. "How do you know she's not going back to one of her 'other' guys?"
Scott swung and it would have connected with David had Roger not grabbed the boys arm.
"You take that back." Scott screamed at David lunging for him. "She's not like that. She wouldn't do that." But even as the words escaped his mouth, his brain whirled with what ifs. His new thoughts causing the intended violence to be forgotten for the moment.
Roger realizing Scott had calmed down, released his grip. " All right you two, you need to talk this out." He said even though he was certain he knew exactly what was causing Scott's violent behavior. The same thing that always caused his violent behavior as of late: Shelby. Or really her dissappearance. "David, you ok?" Roger asked as Auggie helped him to his feet.
"Yea." David answered. "Guess this means Scott and I get to visit Peter again?"
"Yea." Roger said as the three headed off across campus. "I would think the two of you would get sick of visiting him so often."
"What can I say?" David asked. "We like the guy."
Act three (Early evening think 5 p.m.)
Bobby walked around the bar scanning the room looking for Patty. "Hey Stan." He said to one of the men sitting at the counter. "You seen Patty, she was supposed to be working till five, but I can't seem to find her anywhere."
"Couldn't tell ya Bob." Stan answered. "I was too busy trying to be old Chuck here at pool."
Bobby nodded and started to head to the back of the bar to look for her again when he saw Mr. Granger. "Hey, Mr. Granger, have you seen Patty, I was supposed to pick her up, but I don't see her."
Mr. Granger walked over and pulled an envelope from behind the counter. "Patty was in earlier, said she wasn't feeling well and since we had two other people here she left early, but she asked me to give you this when you came by." He said and handed him an envelope.
'Thanks." Bobby said and took the envelope, wondering why Patty wouldn't have just told him whatever was in this letter when he got home. He opened it and took out the note, when he did a key fell out as well. Bobby immediately recognized it as his apartment key and his stomach turned as he realized what the letter must say. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath forcing himself to read the letter anyhow.
Dear Bobby,
I wish I could tell you this in person, but I know you wouldn't let me go if I did. I can't tell you where I'm going or why, but know that what happens will be ok. Remember what I said, you deserve more. I realized in telling you that, that I needed to take my own advice. I know that you thought you loved me, but you didn't and one day you'll realize it. Bobby, I am not who you thought I was. My name isn't even Patty, but what I told you about you deserving more was true. I hope you have a good life you deserve one.
Shelby
Bobby looked at the signature. Shelby. All of this time he had thought she was somebody else. She had lied to him. I can't believe I thought I loved her. "Mr. Granger, give me a scotch on the rocks." He said. He didn't want to think about this now.
"So Scott and David are on kitchens?" Ezra asked Juliette and Auggie as the three ate dinner.
"Yea." Juliette said. "Those two have been at it ever since Shelby left."
"That's because David keeps pushing him."
"If Meat would learn to control his temper this wouldn't be a problem."
"If Shelby would come back, it wouldn't be a problem." Juliette said.
Auggie turned to her. "You really think that?" Ezra asked before Auggie could.
"Yea." Juliette said. "Scott loves her." She said emphasizing the 'L' word. "The two have been through so much together. Being apart from her is destroying him and the group."
"So what happens when you go to college?" Kat asked walking into the convesation. She had decided to stop by for dinner to see how the other cliffhangers were fairing. The three looked up at her. "Horizon is a nice place, but you can't stay here forever. There's a real world out there Jules and you won't always be able to depend on everyone."
Juliette looked down at her plate. It was true that they would one day leave this place. Some sooner then others. What was she going to do without them?
"You have to learn to rely on yourself." Kat said almost as though she read Juliette's mind. "Scott and Shelby are in love." She said emphasizing the 'are'. "But they both need to change some before they leave here or else it won't last."
"We all need to change some before we leave." Auggie said. "We're not ready for the real world yet."
"We've been in the harsh world though." Ezra said. 'I guess it's just getting used to the adult world that we need to do and the world away from Horizon."
"It's not as hard as you would think." Kat said. "While you can't stay here forever, you can always visit." She said with a smile. "And call and write. And if there love is as strong as it seems to be, they'll make it. They have a lot to work through once Shelby comes back, but if they are both willing to try they'll be able to." The others nodded. They didn't want to see Scott and Shelby break up, the two were unbearable when they were apart.
Scott washed a dish and handed it to David. "I didn't really mean what I said earlier." David said quietly.
Scott looks over to him wondering why the usually annoying and brash David was all of a sudden seemingly apologizing.
"Look, I know I come off as a jerk."
"Your right you do. But you don't just come off as one, you are one." Scott said to him. "You've been here for almost nine months and you still act the same."
"Didn't we get along when we were on that buddy back thing?" David asked.
Scott glares at him, but then smiles as he thinks about the fish incident. "Yea... Your not a complete jerk."
"Thanks." David said sarcastically as he dries a dish and then puts it away. "Scott, I am sorry about Shelby and what I said earlier." A pause. "But the others are right... Life goes on Scott. You've been in this funk ever since she left. Shelby wouldn't want you to be like this." He pauses again. "There is such a thing as caring too much."
Scott leans over the sink propping up on his elbows and rubbing his hands over his face. "I know."
"I do." He stands back up suddenly. "I don't know what I'll do if she's gone." David suddenly realized that Scott's biggest fear wasn't Shelby's not returning, but her reason for not returning. "I should have noticed sooner. I'm supposed to be in love with her and Juliette and Daisy noticed something was wrong with her before I did."
"Don't kick yourself about this man. It's just that you have so much to deal with. Add Shelby into the mix and it gets hectic, because she's dealing with her stuff too."
"So I should deal with my stuff and just forget about Shelby?" He snapped.
"No." David answered. "I think you should take time to deal with yourself, so that when Shelby and you get together, it will be better then ever."
Scott gave a slight nod and then smiled. "When did you become such a caring person David?"
"Oh I don't know." David said jumping back into his usual self. "I guess I just channelled Sophie or something."
Scott laughed and went back to washing dishes. He paused after cleaning a couple dishes and then turned to David. "Other then the stuff with your dad, I don't know why your here, but if you ever want to talk... to someone other then Daisy... I'll listen."
David dried the dish that he was holding. "You guys pretty much hear it all in group." He places the dish in the stack with the others. "But thanks for the offer. It's nice to know I could talk to someone other then a counselor."
"Yea, well, your not so bad."
"Now if you could only help me convince Daisy of that."
"Sorry Davvvy, I have enough girl problems." Scott said with a laugh.
"Daisy, I'm sorry to end our dinner early, I just have to go to the office real and take care of a problem." Mr. Liponowsky said.
"It's not a problem." Daisy said as her father pulled up outside their house. "I'm sure I'll find something to keep myself occupied, besides I'm still tired from the trip." She said.
He nodded, a look of guilt passing across his features. "I'm sorry about this Daisy. I'll be back as soon as I can."
Daisy climbed out of the car. "It's fine dad." She said, but her tone showed that it wasn't. "I'll see you when you get home." She said and quickly closed the door and hurried into the house before he could say anything else.
Upon entering Daisy went to the couch and sat down considering if she wanted to watch TV or do something else. After sitting on the couch for several minutes, she decided she needed to do something, anything, but just sit. What had she used to do when she was here? She had spent most of her time with her friends or away from home… or, she thought as her eyes landed on the piano, singing and playing. Stood and headed over to the piano sitting down and looking at the piano. Her mom had taught her how to play; probably part of the reason she never admitted she could. She had heard Scott play and was impressed with his ability. He played with a different style, but he was still very good. Daisy stretched her arms and cracked her knuckles. After a moment she placed her hands on the keys and slowly played a scale. It had been a long time since she had played.
After playing for some time she remembered something that her mother used to play, Daisy stood, lifting the bench top to look for some sheet music, upon opening it though, she discovered something else. Daisy's draw dropped, and then her mouth formed a tight thin line as she shook her head knowing she should have known better. She picked the bottle up holding it in her hand and inspecting it closely. She shouldn't have believed him.
It was at that moment the front door opened and her father stepped in.
"You're drinking again?" Daisy shouted at him, more of an accusation then a question.
" Daisy you don't understand…" Her father started to say.
"Don't understand what? Don't understand that you can't get through a day without a drink? Don't understand that everything you keep saying is true, is lies? You promised me. You told me you had changed and that you did love me and you don't." She shouted at him, her voice breaking with emotion.
"I have." He said trying to explain himself as he stepped into the room. "I do. I… I don't drink… I haven't had a drink in a long time. I'm telling the truth."
"I don't believe you!" Daisy shouted at him. "You can't keep a promise and you can't not drink. Everything you said was a lie." Daisy said and with that she threw the bottle that was in her hand across the room towards her father.
Mr. Liponowsky hit the floor very reflexively and glass shattered above and over him. "Daisy!" He shouted.
"You are a liar!" She shouted at him.
He picked himself up off the floor groaning at the abuse he'd just bestowed upon his body. "Look, you're too upset to talk about this rationally." He said to her. "I'll give you some time to calm down." He said.
"Calm down! Calm down?" She shouted. "You're a liar. An alcoholic liar. And I never… never want to see you again."
Mr. Liponowsky looked down at his daughter knowing any bridge of a relationship that they had had was for now gone. "Fine." He said his voice crisp. He then turned and headed out the door.
Shelby walked down the aisle of the bus finding a window seat near the back. She was once again running away from everything. Bobby hadn't really been much to her, but she'd apparently meant something to him. She knew her leaving hurt him. Didn't doubt for a moment that he was sitting in the bar drinking.
She sat down in the seat, pulling her bag onto her lap and staring out the window. Things had certainly changed. A few months back there had been the morp and Scott telling her he loved her. Then there had been the summer, which had been good for the entire cliffhanger group. Well everyone, but Kat who had had the psychopath in her group. Now it seemed that Shelby was the resident psycho of Horizon. She shook her head at the thought. No one could have known any of this was going to happen. Who would have thought that on her eighteenth birthday she'd tell her mom everything about her life on the streets before Horizon? Who would have thought that her mom would accept it and then her sister would reveal that her mom had considered letting Walt come home?
Tears formed in Shelby's eyes as she thought of Jess. She wondered if Jess was worried about her. Shelby had run so many times. Had disappeared for months without contact, Jess was probably used to it by now. Her mom on the other hand probably didn't care that Shelby was gone, she was probably glad. She never really believed anything Shelby had said; it had taken Jess to make her mom realize her mistake.
A tear spilled over Shelby's cheek. Did her mom even realize the mistakes she had made? Did her mom know about her father? That he like Walt had abused her and that he was now gone, ripping himself from the world by causing his own death because he was too weak to deal with the guilt and the repercussions of it all.
More tears fell as Shelby thought of the man and of the last few weeks. Why was her life so hard? Why had one person managed to take so much from her? How had she let it happen? It wasn't fair and it hurt so much.
Shelby stood and hurried towards the door of the bus that had yet to begin traveling. How was she supposed to leave when she had no place to go, no one to go to? She stopped before getting to the front. How could she stay, when she had nothing to stay for? Shelby stopped and sat down in the first available seat. She had nothing…no one.
Daisy stared at the door, tears still falling down her face. He had left… he had actually left. Why could he just not drink? Why did he have to lie and be an alcoholic? Daisy looked at the glass from the bottle that was spread across the floor. Why did she have to get so mad? Why was she so afraid that she was going to become him?
"Maybe because I already am like him." She said to herself. Looking around, Daisy moved quickly through the house tearing it apart looking for any more alcohol that may still be hidden. After several minutes of searching she came upon a bottle of scotch. "If I'm going to be like him, why delay the inevitable." She said to herself and with that she opened the bottle and took a long sip.
Mr. Liponowsky drives down the road a bottle lying unopened in the seat next to him. His hands shook, he was so angry. He hit the gas speeding up a little wanting to get away from his problems and his enraged daughter for just a little while.
Shelby sat on the bus silently. She had managed to move to a window seat, where few people could see her. She couldn't ever remember feeling as lonely as she did now. At least not in a long time. Tears slid down her face as she thought of everything she'd been through in the last few months and of everything she had lost.
Daisy stumbled through the living room, the open bottle in her hand. She took a long drink making a face as the liquid burned on the way down. She couldn't imagine how her father drank this stuff, but then again considering the oblivion from her problems that she was experiencing right now, it didn't really matter to her why her father drank it.
The black car belonging to Daisy's dad speeds down the road. The driver, Mr. Liponowsky makes a sidelong glance to the bottle in the seat next to him. Is it worth it? A flash of his daughter and the pain and anger he had seen on her face when he'd arrived home went through his mind… was it worth it?
Shelby continues to cry as the bus passes a sign saying, "Thanks for visiting Colorado."
Thoughts of his daughter once again flash through Mr. Liponowsky's brain as he contemplates getting the bottle from the seat that his eyes are gazing at. Is it worth it? The answer to the contemplated question never is answered. A horn blowing and metal scraping against metal is heard. Then glass shatters and Mr. Liponowsky, having been thrown from his car, lands in the middle of the darkened highway.
