Unsound: A Horizons Book (7 page)

I nodded with understanding and I looked down at my outfit. I knew as I got dressed that morning, that it probably wouldn’t fly wherever I was headed, but I wanted to be comfortable when I arrived. I was comfortable in black. I felt invisible. I felt better, safer.

“I get it,” I said with a sigh. I thought that I would be wearing some type of prep-school uniform, but I had packed basic clothes, t-shirts, sweatshirts and jeans. I hoped everything still fit. It had been a while since I donned jeans and t-shirts. My basic black wardrobe took over my closet months prior.

Although the intention had been to blend in and disappear, it had the opposite affect in the hallways of my preppy high school and even in the hallways of my own home. Nevertheless, the dark clothes and my dark makeup helped keep people away, and helped cover the occasional bruises given by my charming, abusive, alcoholic father.

“I’m sure you can still say bye to your mom in a bit. I just figured you needed a break from that,” Lena said quietly as she picked through my bag. Her words surprised me. She was listening to the confrontation in Jeff’s office.

“Thanks,” I responded.

“So, here’s an outfit to change into. I’ll need you to wash that makeup off too. And is your hair…?”

“It’s a demi,” I reassured her, “it will be au natural in a few more weeks. Where can I go to,” I motioned to my face.

“There’s a bathroom right in there,” Lena said, “given your history, we need to keep the door open until we search you.”

I just nodded again, at a loss for words really. Lena seemed relieved. Probably because I was so easy going about everything. Truthfully, although still confused at where I was, I felt relieved for the first time in a year.

Julie

It was eight o’clock in the evening,
and the Mountain Climbers were in the cafeteria waiting for Melinda. She was with Lena and we didn’t know what was taking so long. Jason was at a table with Michelle. I was on a nearby couch, next to Jon. Marie and Anthony were at another tutoring session in a classroom somewhere.

“Hey guys,” we heard Lena’s voice and looked up. A pretty girl, about five-foot six, wearing a soft grey t-shirt and light blue jeans tucked into her Ugg boots followed Lena and Jeff. While she was still pale with dyed black hair, she had more color in her complexion than earlier with her pale makeup and black lips. It was like night and day as she stood there awkwardly.

“Davies?”

The girl stopped dead in her tracks and looked at Jason, puzzled.

“Mindy Davies… I thought that was you before!”

“You two know each other?” Jeff asked. By his expression, I assumed that had never happened before.

“Jason? Is this where you’ve been?” Mindy asked, shock evident on her face.

“Can someone share with the rest of the class please?” I asked, growing bored of the name game.

“Well,” Jason started, scratching his head, “Mindy and I used to be really good friends back in high school.”

“But you two are from different high schools,” Jeff interjected.

“Ah,” Jason interjected, “for about four months I was with a foster family who lived in a different district. I transferred to the other regional high school for a few months. I went back to the original one, but I still lived close enough to Mindy to see her all the time. We were best friends.”

“Aka, he would sneak over and against my better judgment, I would let him sleep on my floor when he ran away,” Mindy added before her eyes opened wide, “Sorry, that’s probably not something I should admit to you, right?”

Jeff shrugged as he ran a hand through his hair. He was actually at a loss for words. He couldn’t know the kind of relationship these two had, or if they were bad for each other, and didn’t know what to do.

“Aw Jeff, you’re not gonna take her away now, are you?” I asked, more than a hint of sarcasm in my voice.

“Yeah, Jeff. You can’t take her away now,” Jason pleaded earnestly with his hands, “we’ll be so good, I swear! Plus she was always a good influence on me. Wait, what the hell are you doing in a place like this?”

A flush crept up the base of her throat.

“Jesus, man,” Jon said, “give the girl a few days. No game, I tell you, goes right for the hard questions.”

Michelle and I laughed along with Jon, but Mindy was clearly uneasy as her flush deepened.

“Well,” Jeff interrupted, “Mindy, I need to review this a little bit, but I’ll let you settle in and talk to everyone.”

Once Jeff walked away, everyone’s attention turned back to Mindy.

“So you knew Jay in high school?” Jon asked, “I think we’re all dying to know… was he always this big of a loser?”

“Probably,” I chimed in as the group laughed.

Mindy definitely looked uncomfortable and didn’t know how to answer us.

“I think we should take the lack of an answer as a yes,” I commented, trying to lighten the mood. She definitely didn’t expect to see a remnant of her past in a place like this. I know I would be mortified to see someone from high school, friend or not.

“Sorry,” Mindy quickly said, “I guess I’m a little overwhelmed.”

“And if anything, I was the cool one… Mindy was a little goody-two-shoes. I didn’t even really know who she was for the first month I went to Montgomery,” Jason stated.

“Oh thanks,” Mindy replied dryly, clearly not stoked to be deemed a dork right off the bat.

“So how did you guys become friends?” I asked.

“I don’t really remember how we met… I mean, he’s right,” Mindy started with an eye roll, “he was the troublemaker in school, always in detention and in the principles office. And I was the goody-two-shoes. Worried about my grades, never went to parties.”

“Ah, but that’s how we met,” Jason chimed in, “You decided you had enough of being the good girl for your ungrateful parents, and you were at that homecoming after party.”

“Oh my God, you’re right!” Mindy exclaimed with a hand on her forehead, “that was the first time I got drunk. I was a freshman.”

“Who couldn’t handle her liquor,” Jason added, “I was an older, wiser sophomore and when I saw this poor girl wandering around….”

“You decided to be a perv?” I interjected with an eye roll.

“Well I mean, it probably started out that way. I saw her head up to the bathroom and thought I would follow and hit on her. Then she walked into an end table upstairs and almost knocked it over.

“Of course, the kind gentleman I am, I helped her. I sat her down, got her some water and walked her home. I snuck her into her house—”

“Thankfully, my parents are drunks and didn’t hear us come in,” Mindy interjected.

“Yeah, cause you’re a loud drunk. All giggles and gibberish,” Jason added.

“Yeah well, he slept on my floor that night.” 

“And many nights after that,” Jason finished with a grin.

“Boring,” I said.

“Julie,” Jon scolded me. I had to bite the inside of my cheek so I didn’t smile at that. I couldn’t let him know how affected I was every time he said my name.

“What? I wanted a good story, sex, drugs and rock n’ roll. Not a PG friendship,” I stood with a shrug, “I’m going to bed. It was nice to meet you, Mindy. Night all.”

I didn’t mean to be rude, but I was exhausted. Though the night terrors had stopped and the drugs were out of my system, I still felt drained going through a full day of activities. I felt eyes on me so I paused at the doorway and glanced back at the group. Jon quickly lowered his gaze to his book. I smiled on the walk back to the cabin knowing that he watched me walk away.

Mindy

I noticed Jon look after Julie as she left, or rather watching her ass as she sauntered outside. Everyone else seemed to ignore the outburst, so I figured it was normal from her. Not that I cared to take offense, I had been treated way worse at my old school.

Jason pulled me to a table off to the side of the group, “So how have you really been?” Jason asked me as we sat.

“Ugh, I don’t know where I would even begin?” I answered with a cynical laugh. I knew I had to deflect. I hoped the dim lighting coupled with the months apart would diminish his abilities of pulling down my walls and reading me.

“I still can’t believe you’re here,” he commented.

“You? I can’t believe I’m seeing you again. You just disappeared from my life.”

“Well. I got caught,” Jason explained with a shrug, “I was stupid, really high, and tried to steal from the wrong place. There was a cop inside. I got caught. They knew I was a foster kid, threw me in jail for the night. My foster family didn’t want me back so after I spent about a week in juvie, I was sent here.”

“How did you end up at
this
place though?” I asked, confused. On our trip, my mother reminded me often how expensive this place was. She wanted to make sure I felt properly indebted.

“Well,” Jason started, scratching his head, “it’s kind of ironic, but an old foster family made the suggestion and funded this little home for me. Maybe they felt guilty.”

“Home?” I said, not hiding my tone of surprise, “wow. You have really changed. Calling someplace home? You never tried to get out of here? Never tried to run?”

“Over a dozen times,” Jason responded seriously.

I looked at my old friend and his serious face, and laughed. The first real laugh I had laughed since he was gone. He looked at me confused.

“You are… definitely different, Davies….” I didn’t know what to say to his comment. It was true. I had been very happy when I was around Jason a couple years ago. Having him in my life really helped get me through all the problems I had with my parents. But I was broken now. I was different.

“I don’t know, it was just…different when you left. All at once,” I said, purposely keeping it vague. I wasn’t necessarily going to let Jason back in just because he was there. I wasn’t as naïve as I was when we met. I also wasn’t quite ready to air my dirty laundry to strangers.

Was Jason a stranger now?

“That doesn’t quite explain this new black hair you’re rocking?” Jason asked.

I shrugged, thinking about my light brown hair and tan skin from summers passed, “it fit my mood, I guess.”

“So why was it so much better when I was around?” he asked with a smirk, eliciting another eye roll from me.

“I see you’re no less full of yourself. Who said it had anything to do with you being around or not?” I commented.

Jason’s face split into a grin and that’s when I knew: I
was
safe again. It felt as though no time had passed. We were back in each other’s lives, and that was that. It would still take some time before I really opened up to him, but for once, we had time.

JONATHAN

The next day, the group was outside, suiting up for project adventure. Julie looked up at the unsteady wooden structure once again. The obstacle course scaled up between the trees, far over our heads. It was the same one Julie looked at a couple of weeks ago that Tony assured she wouldn’t climb yet. I don’t think she could help staring at it. All of the beams and ropes made her uncomfortable.

She started backing up, hoping to sneak towards the back of class but she bumped into me.

“Sorry,” she quickly said as she spun around to find me, “or maybe I’m not.” I failed to suppress an eye roll at her sultry tone but offered to help her put her harness on.

“I don’t really think I need to wear this,” Julie started.

“Why? Too good to join class?” I asked. The side of my mouth turned up as I took the harness from her hands. I tried to ignore the tingle in my hands as they brushed hers and focused on turning the harness the correct way so Julie could step through the leg holes.

“Well, I just don’t think that I’ll be starting all of that…” she waved her hands at the direction of the obstacle course, “so I don’t need this,” Julie tried to justify.

“You still need a harness. What if I want you holding my ropes while I’m climbing? You need a harness.”

“You really want
me
to hold your ropes?” Julie asked, still ignoring the equipment in my hands.

“You’re gonna need to get over it eventually, it’s not scary once you do it.”

Julie laughed to herself, “I’ve heard that more times than I care to remember,” she muttered under her breath.

“Well, since Jon and Julie have so much to discuss, maybe they can start us out today,” Jeff started the class. I felt Julie’s body tense up next to me, “Come on, don’t be shy now, you two come up here and show Mindy how this all works.”

I looked over to see Julie’s face go pale. She started to come to life since her trust fall. Although she lived up to her Leo mentality and usually loved to be the center of attention, she couldn’t perform the same way when put on the spot. Especially in a situation that scared her.

“Can I just go from the first platform again?” Julie asked.

“Trust builds, Julie. We know you can fall from the first level, how about trying the second?”

Julie looked at the second level. The first one was a foot off the ground, the second was about two and a half, but it might as well have been ten for the way Julie looked at it.