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ONE. TIME DOES NOT BRING RELIEF; YOU ALL HAVE LIED
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JANUARY 30, 2011 EICHEN HOUSE A MONTH LATER
There's a lot of people that would describe Lacy Austin as the happiest person they know. She's always smiling, she's always talking, always laughing. She has a lot of friends, lots of people who know her and her father. Samuel Austin's a good man with a good daughter. For a while, Lacy was known as the girl with only a father. Her mother died when she was six. Suicide. Her body was found four hours after she committed. Sam never told her all of the details because she was too young. But even now that she's older, Lacy's never asked. She only wants to remember the good parts of her mother like how much they look alike. They're both tan with dark hair, their eyes are dark and kind like a doll's. The only difference was their noses. Lacy had her dad's nose. Sophia Austin was described as a social butterfly. That's where her daughter got it from, apparently.
But now Lacy can't remember the last time she spoke. Maybe it had been to her father. Maybe it had been to the cops when she was taken to the station. She can't remember what her last words spoken were. Her mouth's been dry for so long. It's like she doesn't have a tongue to speak with. The only thing she can remember is being taken. It's in her brain on a constant loop. She remembers the sound of her friend's screams, the sound of her own screams, as he tortured them for days on end. Her body still aches on the inside even after being rescued but she feels numb on the outside. She can't speak. She can't hardly more. She can't hear anything. It's like she's soulless.
"Lacy. . . Lacy."
Lacy blinked her eyes, coming back to reality. She tried to stay away from reality as much as she could. She looked ahead of her, Marianne Anderson looking back at her. She's a counselor at Eichen House. She realized everybody was staring at her. They meet in group in once a day. It's been a month.
"It's been a month since they brought you in and you haven't said a single word about what happened to you," Marianne said in a gentle voice. She's an older woman, grey hair and dark eyes. She's been a counselor at Eichen House for three years, she tells them. Lacy wondered all the time how she's not lost her mind yet. "In fact, you haven't said anything at all?"
