“Your answer is perfectly fine.” She covered my hand and squeezed it reassuringly. Looking down, she eyed the design on my wrist.
“How do you…?” She leaned in closer to get a better look. “I mean, how long have you had this?”
“For as long as I can remember. It’s just always been there,” I said.
“You don’t remember getting it? Seems like something you’d remember.” I started to feel like she was trying to catch me in a lie, so I decided she wasn’t going to get any more answers, no matter what she asked.
Giving my hand another squeeze, she sat back in her chair in deep thought. “I’m going to step out for a minute and speak with Doris, alright?”
“Okay…” I said with slight hesitation. The visit really wasn’t making much sense to me so far.
She gracefully rose from her chair and disappeared to find Dee. A couple of minutes later, they walked back in and both sat down watching me with serious faces. I had a bad feeling I wasn’t going to like what she had to say next.
“After careful consideration, Doris and I believe it would be in your best interest to be enrolled in a special boarding school for young people very much like yourself.”
My mouth dropped open. Did she really just say what I thought she said? A boarding school?
And here I was thinking it couldn’t get any worse. Boy was I wrong. And what careful consideration? She had only asked me four questions!
I looked wide-eyed at Dee, wondering how she had been brainwashed in such a short amount of time. I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing seemed to come out right. “But I….how can….I don’t….because of nightmares…the occasional fainting spell…?”
Dee just gave me a loving smile, “You’re going to love it Hannah! It’s called the House of Lorelei and it’s on an island up in North Carolina. This is perfect timing because the new school year there starts next Monday! It’s a year round school so you won’t miss a beat!” She clapped her hands together happily as if this was a good thing. “You’ll be able to come home during the holidays and on breaks. And the best part is Dr. Campbell has made all the preparations for you to move in immediately! Isn’t that wonderful?” No. It wasn’t. And I found it hard to believe that she made all of these ‘preparations’ in the three minutes she left to talk to Dee.
I cast an accusing glare at the doctor and stood up, ready to argue. “What do you mean people like me? You can’t just up and move me to a different state because you think it’s a good idea! You don’t even know me!” I could feel my face growing hot as my anger spilled over.
Slowly inching closer to me, the doctor placed a gentle hand on my shoulder and spoke softly.
“But do you really belong there?” She asked cryptically. “Trust me, Hannah. I promise you won’t regret this. Please trust me.” I narrowed my eyes at her, instinctively looking for an ulterior motive, but found only genuine concern and a small gleam of excitement in her eyes. For some reason I wanted to trust her. Well, crap.
I sat back down and tried to sort out the confusion clouding my mind. What could it hurt, really? A new school - new people who knew nothing about me or my past. A new start. Wasn’t that what I’d been wanting? A new beginning? I felt the fight go out of me and a brand new emotion took hold. It felt a lot like….hope.
Chapter 4
Friday. The day my life would change forever. I was embarking on a new journey, a completely different direction and I had no idea what to expect. It was as much unsettling as it was exciting. I sank into seat 12C on the plane and said a quick goodbye to Atlanta as well as the life I was leaving behind. I’d gotten pretty good at goodbyes. Maybe a little too good. I had lived with five different foster families before being adopted at the age of thirteen, and I had made sure never to allow myself to get attached to anyone or any place. I never knew when I’d be picking up and moving on to the next place. It was just easier that way. My current situation was a good example of that.
Unfortunately, by the time I arrived at the Whitman’s home three years ago, that self-defense mechanism had stuck and no matter how hard they tried, those walls had been built too tall and too thick to break through. I had so many barriers around my heart; it would take an entire army to break them down. Until that army came, I was perfectly content with my walls. I’d gotten used to the security, albeit dysfunctional, that they had provided me through the years.
I watched the Atlanta skyline shrink below me, as we gained altitude. I reminded myself, once again, that a person was more likely to die in a car crash, than a plane crash. I closed my eyes and tried my best to get comfortable. The sound of heavy footsteps made me open my eyes in confusion.
Smoke swirled in the slanted rays of sunlight coming through the windows, and the smell of old cigarettes mixed with stale liquor filled my senses. I wasn’t on the plane anymore.
Suddenly, I was lifted to my feet. Glaring at me through bloodshot eyes, he held me up with one hand, and shook an empty ice cube tray in the other.
“Why’s there not any ice cubes?” he slurred. The stench of his breath in my face made me gag. “The water ain’t gonna jump out the sink and freeze it’s damn self!”
He threw me back onto the coach and tossed the empty ice cube tray in my lap. “Go make me a drink,” he demanded through yellow teeth. I looked up at him, hoping I didn’t sound as scared as I felt.
“No,” I whispered.
“No!? Is that what you just said?” His oversized hand gripped my scraggly arm and dragged me into the kitchen. Before I could regain my footing, he pushed me against the cabinets. One of the blunt, metal drawer knobs pressed into my back.
“Make. me. a. drink.” He loomed over me with blood-shot eyes.
I crouched down to hide my face, hoping he’d just give up and leave me alone. Instead, he threw an empty beer bottle at my head. His aim was surprisingly good for being so drunk. It shattered against the side of my face and shards of brown glass stuck into my skin. The pain was sharp and immediate. I scrambled to my feet and ran down the short hallway, while he stumbled after me laughing. I made it to my bedroom first, shutting myself inside the small closet opposite my twin bed. My breath came quick as fear constricted my throat. I placed my hand over my mouth. I didn’t know if I was going to scream or cry, but I couldn’t afford to give away my hiding spot. The ringing of the phone in the living room stopped his black boots from breaking the threshold of my small room. He mumbled something inaudible and stumbled back down the hallway. As soon as he was gone, I let the sobs building in my throat spill out. Hot tears instantly mixed with the fresh blood running down my cheek, while my head pounded from the newly formed welt on my face.
The closet door creaked as I peeked out, cautiously, making sure he was really gone.
Expecting to see my bedroom, I was shocked to find the scene before me had completely changed. As I got to my feet, it became apparent to me that I wasn’t the younger version of myself anymore, either. I lightly touched a shaky finger to my eyebrow and noticed the absence of blood. The welt on my cheek had also disappeared. As I tiptoed out into the foreign room, carpet gave way to wooden floor beneath my bare feet. Soft evening light cast long shadows across the room, but I was still taken aback by its size and opulence. I could make out the shadowy figure of a woman sitting across the room in a rocking chair, softly crying as she gazed out the window. She didn’t stir at my entrance, only continued to cry one word over and over with such pain, it broke my heart. Anastasia….
Anastasia…