Meet Me in the Middle

Chapter 3: Cassandra

It was a Friday. Office of Mrs. McKenna; a nice lady my parents introduced me to shortly after we left the orphanage. Parents. It was still a foreign word coming out of my mouth. We've been in this room for quite some time, I haven't been able to answer a lot of her questions but she was still very nice.

"So, tell me more about St. Lorenzo Ruiz, how was your experience there?" she asked calmly, setting her pen and paper into motion to track whatever I was to tell her.

A flood of memories rushed through my thoughts, all jumbled up and incoherent. I remembered the beatings, the older girls, and the communal bathrooms where rumors circulated about a bloodied corpse being discovered there. As a kid, you never really have the big words to describe these big things in a way that an adult understands. I didn't realize that the seconds of silence that enveloped the room turned into a couple of minutes, and Mrs. McKenna snapped me out of it.

"I'm sure you're still processing a lot of things, Cassandra. Might we cut this session short and try again next time?" she said. I nodded in return.

Did I fail? Was saying nothing at all going to have consequences? My mind rattled continuously for answers, creating more questions than the former. We walked back to the lobby where Kate and Fabian were patiently waiting, an expectant expression on both the people that I now considered family.

"She did so good, Mr. and Mrs. Powell" Mrs. McKenna mused, clipboard in hand as she urged me to the play area. The room seemed fun. I sensed some kids playing in the ball pit area, hastily swimming around the pit of colorful plastic spheres.

A tap on my shoulder made me look to my side, a small form of a boy staring up at me.

"Hello, do you want to play tag with me?" he asked as he smiled, his white molars mostly, beaming through my vision.

"Well, I can't really" I responded. I saw the white disappear, he was probably frowning.

"Why not? I'd be fun" he retorted, abruptly pulling on my arm to lead to me a wider area in the play space, causing my sleeve to rise up a bit.

Then, a scream. "Ew, what's that?!" he asked, a terrified tone in his little voice.

Out of habit, I pulled my hand away and crossed my arms. Fuck. He saw the scars, didn't he?

I got out of there as fast as I could, closing the glass door behind me and walking towards the three figures still chatting where I left them. I wonder what's taking them so long.

"-It's my own medical opinion, I think she's suffering from dissociative amnesia. I should meet with her weekly to assess further progress and keep watch for any more symptoms of hidden cases. This is a situation where we have to get authorities involved as soon as possible." I heard Mrs. McKenna whisper incoherently.

I still didn't get what they were talking about. What authorities? Are they going to hire me a private tutor because I missed out on a few things she asked me earlier?

Their hushed discussions halt as they sense me behind them, listening with a confused expression on my face. Kate abruptly turned her back, wiping her face with her hands as she bent down to talk to me.

"It's been a long day, sweetie. I think it's time to go home, yes?" she suggested. Kate, I mean mom, had the sweetest voice known to mankind.

I related her to a warm kitchen filled with the scent of cookie dough baking in the oven and a soothing, radio melody in the background. She also looks like a muted yellow color, in my visions.