Falling From Grace

Chapter 6 - Insight

Cooper glared down at the paper in her hands, wondering what the hell Peter expected to prove by having her fill it out. It asked all of the clichéd questions you'd expect when dealing with a perpetually screwed up adolescent. When did he/she start acting out? What kinds of things did they do? What sort of outbursts, if any, can be reported? Does said child have a criminal record? Does said child have a history of violent acts? Does said child have a history of intense anger? All of the things Cooper was sure her parents had been asked dozens of times before, but had never taken the time to answer. Surely they had viewed Peter's questions as trivial, for they had brought her here hadn't they? Why wouldn't she fall under most, if not all, categories of "troubled youth"?

With a loud, shaky sigh, Cooper picked up the pencil she'd set down numerous times already, and touched it lightly to the first blank on the paper. She skipped the first seven questions, and answered the first one she had a vivid recollection of.

Q: Does said child have a criminal record?

A: Yes.

Q: If so, what were the details of arrest?

A: Got drunk, stole a car, got caught. Parents bailed me out. End of story.

Q: Does said child have a history of violent acts?

A: Occasionally.

Q: If so, what are the details?

A: Tried to run Brayden McCarthy over with a car. (Strike 1; Warning) Bashed Isaac Raymond's face off a locker. (Strike 2; Suspension) Tried to beat Nick Fields' face in with baseball bat. (Strike 3; Expelled).

Q: Does said child have a history of intense anger?

A: See above.

Q: Does said child have a history of substance abuse?

A: Does a bear shit in the woods?

Q: Has said child reported any instances of physical/sexual/verbal abuse?

A: No.

After answering the seventh question, Cooper put down her pencil and pushed the paper away. Her hands were shaking too badly to write, and her eyes were blurred by tears that she refused to cry again. Peter would have to be happy with the few answers she'd provided, because she wasn't answering anymore.

Lexis didn't like Juliette, and she wasn't sure why. Sure, the girl was perky, and annoyingly cheerful, but it was easy to see that it was all an act to mask the scars that ran too deep to cover completely. Despite the wide, cheerleader smile, Jules was hurting just as badly as everyone else, but Lexis had no sympathy for her. She contemplated what this said about her personality as she pushed her dinner around on her plate. The chicken wasn't half as bad as it looked, but Lexis couldn't bring herself to eat anything. Not on the third anniversary of the day she'd destroyed a life...

"So, I got a postcard from Kat today."

Juliette's voice cut through Lexis' thoughts like a knife, and she blinked as the mess hall came back into focus. Jules was passing a tacky postcard with a sailboat on it to Auggie, who read the note slowly before passing it on to Daisy. The pale-faced girl smiled a little as she read the note, and Lexis' curiosity got the best of her. "Who's Kat?

Jules' looked mildly surprised at the sudden sound of Lexis' voice as the new girl spoke for the first time all dinner. "Um, she was our roommate last year. She graduated and moved out to the East to become a social worker."

Lexis nodded, and smiled politely. The story did little to spark her interest further, as she didn't know the girl they spoke of, but it was comforting to know that people got out of Horizon. That they graduated and moved on, like normal people. If there was hope for this Kat person, maybe there was hope for Lexis and Cooper.

The ray of sunshine didn't shine on Lexis long, though, for she soon faded back into her thoughts, and became just as troubled as before. Sure, maybe this Kat had graduated, but did she carry the burden of knowing she'd destroyed another human life? Did she walk around everyday knowing that she was living a life she didn't deserve, while someone who'd had a chance at life had been robbed? No, Lexis thought darkly, as she stood up to take care of her dishes. Only I'm privy to that particular luxury.

"Are you thinking about Cooper?"

Peter didn't look up at Sophie as she sat next to him on the couch, just kept his gaze focused on the muted TV where Lucy and Ricky were arguing enthusiastically about something that did little to capture his attention. "Yeah," was his dull response.

Sophie moved close enough so she could rest her head on his shoulder, and directed her eyes to the TV. "She's going to be hard to crack."

"Yeah."

"So I talked to Lexis today."

Peter blinked and glanced down at her. "Yeah? What'd she have to say?" Even if he hadn't made any progress with Cooper, maybe Sophie had gotten somewhere with Lexis.

"She told me about their maid, the one they loved, but their parents fired," Sophie explained, unable to keep the unimpressed tone out of her voice. Not only were the Sparks' paying no attention to their kids, but they were keeping others from doing so as well. Sophie had had a very low opinion of them from the start, but with each passing day, and each revelation from Lexis, she found herself hating them more and more.

Peter set his jaw. "Why would they fire the maid? She was probably the only authority figure in the girls' lives."

Sophie nodded. "I know."

Peter shook his head, and switched the TV off. "I think there's much more going on here than either of those girls are revealing, or maybe even aware of."

Sophie picked her head up so she could look at him better. He was tense, and angry, with his jaw set and his feet tapping. "What's the matter?"

"Cooper's afraid of me."

"Afraid of you?"

He nodded. "Yeah, like, shaky, tense, fidgety afraid of me."

Sophie found herself wondering about the events in a young girl's life that would make her fear a man. The possibilities were frightening. "Why would you think that?"

"I can see it in her eyes, in her movements...Its fear."

"Do you think she was abused?"

Peter shrugged. "Its a definite possibility...I'll just have to wait and see what she writes down for me."

"You gave her the file, then?"

"Yeah, and she only took it because I promised that if she did there'd be no more one-on-one sessions."

Sophie sighed, and made herself comfortable again. Neither of them could deny what Cooper's fear could mean. It could mean that she was abused by a man in her past, and most likely someone she'd trusted. But it hadn't been in her file, so either her parents hadn't known about it, or they didn't want someone else to know about it. Both possibilities had their terrifying aspects.