Whispers

Two

Blake slowly got up, mindful of every move she made. Her hands were shaking slightly, and her legs felt like jello beneath her. She grasped Belle's shoulder as she walked away, trying to tell her everything would be fine. But really, it wouldn't be fine.

Mr.Bach knew Blake's family like the back of his hand, or so he thought. After her brother Trey had gone through high school, going to the guidance office almost everyday, everything about her family had changed. Trey moved off to Alabama for college, calling once a week with news of a passing grade and "maybe life isn't so bad". Her mother finally divorced their abusive father, John, and was working full time at the library. John was completely out of the picture, with Blake rejecting him any time he attempted to talk to her and "make things right" between them. Blake was finally happy, and had found what felt to be her soulmate in this dreary town in California.

Of course, Mr.Bach believed this to be some sort of cover up, and tried to get Blake to open up, despite his new position as principle. Blake repeated the same things every time she was forced to go into his cramped office that was decorated with his children's scribbled and smeared drawings, but he still forced her to be there nevertheless.

Blake marched down the hall, her black boots making clicking noises as she went. She balled her hands into fists, attempting to make them stop, but just making the problem even worse. "Are you okay, Blake?" Mr.Bach's voice drifted up to her ear. He was a short man, maybe five foot on a  good day. "Just fine, thank you," Blake stiffly replied, looking down a little to show she wasn't exactly trying to be a demon child. Blake turned around the corner and sulked into his office.

"So, how are you really  feeling?" Mr.Bach said, walking over to his desk and folding his hands together. "I'm feeling hungry, it's almost lunch time,"Blake replied, tired of the therapy session already. "Blake, you know what I mean. On the inside." "On the inside I am hungry, as I didn't have time to eat breakfast this morning before I left." "And why was that?" "I forgot to set my alarm last night; I was too busy studying." "And why didn't you get any food from the cafeteria?" "I don't trust that roach infested crap you people try to make us consume. Heaven knows how many diseases I could contract from even touching a tray!" "And what makes you believe that?" "The hundreds of roaches I see in the hall and the way everything is 'cleaned'."

Mr.Bach sat back in his chair, studying Blake. "Are you sure it's not because you have been lead down a path where you believe everything is dangerous due to your abusive childhood?" he countered. "If that were so, Mr.Bach, I wouldn't even be touching this chair. I wouldn't let another human being touch me, and I most certainly would not be in a room alone with a man. My father did not hit me, he only hit my mother. And even that he did not do in front of me or Trey. So to say that anything that might be 'wrong' with me is because of my 'abusive childhood', you're wrong. I didn't have an abusive childhood. I didn't even know until my brother told me that the bruises on Mum's arms weren't from falling and running into doors. That was two years ago. So don't even bother trying to brainwash me into believing your little ideas about my neurological functions." Blake sat back in her chair, holding her chin in her hands.

Mr.Bach sat silently a minute. Blake smirked, thinking to herself, "Well what do you have to say now, smart mouth?" "Well, Blake, I do not believe that you are okay. Maybe you don't have any trust issues, but one cannot just be simply fine after she finds out her mother is being hit by her father, or their divorce. There has to be some feeling towards that," he finally said, his voice quiet, as if he were talking to a frightened child. "I was numb when I found out about what was really happening. When Mother divorced him a few months ago, everything started to piece together. Everything is better now. I am okay, Mother is okay, Trey is okay. The family is all okay and there is no reason for me to be here at all," Blake replied, her voice rising in a crescendo as she went on. "And have you talked to your father at all since the divorce?" "No, there is no need to." "Has your mother?" "My mother has talked to him to tell him that I do not wish to speak to him at the moment." "Why won't you talk to him?"

Blake opened her mouth to respond, but then the bell rang. "If you will excuse me Principal Bach," she said, grabbing her lunch bag from the floor, "I must go and eat lunch with my girlfriend now."