Golden Hearts | Rafe Cameron

62

August 8

I'm sitting on a lounge chair in the yard of my house. It's a warm and sunny day again, so I'm taking the opportunity to sunbathe a bit while reading one of the new books I got for my birthday. It's just fantastic and peaceful, and I plan to just read all day unless something more fun comes up.

I'm still in pain from the accident, so it's nice to be able to take it easy for a while. To enter another world in the book I'm reading and escape for a bit. That's what therapy is for me.

There's a knock on the deck, which makes me turn around to see my dad coming out onto the deck. He meets my gaze and stops when he sees me before clearing his throat. "Adeline. Just the person I was looking for. Could you... uh... come with me?"

I look at him questioningly. He's been acting a bit differently lately, but I don't know why. However, I am quite curious to know what he wants from me now. Maybe I have to do something important? It's best to follow along just in case.

My dad is waiting for me at the front of the house with the car door open. He looks around nervously before slamming the car door shut after me. He's quick to get into the driver's seat and drives off at an enormous speed. He drives so fast that he runs red lights and cars honk at him.

"Where are we going?" I ask but get ignored instead.

"Dad?" I ask, still no response from him.

He still says nothing, keeping his eyes focused on the road ahead of us. I'm starting to get mad and immediately regret that I followed him. What does he want? If he wants to take me somewhere, he might as well say it.

"If you want to take me somewhere, can you just—"

"Can you shut up for once so you'll find out where you're going?" my dad yells, which makes me back off a bit and fall silent instead. I guess I'll have to wait and see.

And I was right. I had to wait and see. I realize quite quickly that we're on the mainland, and my dad has stopped the car outside some strange house I don't recognize. He opens the car door and takes a firm grip on my arm. He takes me into the house, and I start protesting when I realize where we are.

"Dad?.." I whisper, but it's already too late. An old lady is coming towards me with a big smile on her face. She has no idea, I think. She knows absolutely nothing. I try to break free, scream, do anything to make her understand that I don't want to be here. That I'm being forced. But nothing works at all.

"She just has a hard time right now. Give her some sedatives, and you'll see she'll calm down," my dad says, and that's the last I hear from him before he leaves the room and probably the house, as I soon hear a car drive away.

"What am I doing here?" I ask the lady while she leads me down a long corridor with lots of rooms.

"Your dad wants you to stay here for the rest of the summer for your own good. You'll see that it's not as bad as you might think here. It usually feels bad the first few days, but once you get into the routines, it always gets better," the lady says as she opens a door to a room for me.

I'm in a girls' boarding school. I see a sign that says Boarding School for Girls with Psychological Issues. My heart sinks to the bottom as soon as I finish reading the sign.

"Here you can see your schedule, and no phones are allowed on the premises, so I'll take that, thank you," the lady says, holding out her hand. I hesitate, but the lady starts to approach me, so I take out my phone and do as she says. She gives me a quick smile before closing the door behind me. She locks it and leaves me alone in the dark little room.