Silent Wood

Chapter 2

One Month Later

I curl up in the black leather seat, staring ahead at a poster that stated the signs of anxiety disorder. Apparently 18% of Americans suffer from some form of it. 

Aunt Rachel, seated in the chair next to me, talks to my therapist, Michelle, as if I'm not there. Which I am used to by now. Instead of objecting, I continue to stare off at the poster.

"It's been a month now. A month!" my aunt says desperately. A feeling of guilt from my aunt's tone stirs up inside, but is quickly squashed by bigger feelings of listlesness and depression. 

"It doesn't look as if Skylar will be out of therapy anytime soon," Michelle says calmly. "She's gone through a terrible ordeal, and while I will continue to work with her, she needs to go back to normal life. Going to school is essential right now, not only to build relationships with peers her age, but also because she will be graduating in less than a year. If she misses much more school, Skylar may have to repeat her senior year." 

"But how can she do school when she won't talk?" Rachel asks, looking up from her nervous hands to Michelle's face. 

"Skylar will just have to find a way to cope at school. Perhaps sending her to high school will actually encourage her to find her voice again," Michelle assures her. 

"I just... I just don't understand why she won't talk," Rachel says brokenly, then turns to me. "Why won't you talk, baby?" she whispers, smoothing my hair out of my eyes. 

The guilt flares up again, but my sadness stomps on it quickly. I don't even react to her hand on my face. She sighs and pulls her hand back.

"Skylar will talk when she's ready. You can be sure of that. Just make sure that she continues to come see me every Tuesday," Michelle finishes, standing up to usher us out. 

I stand mechanically, following my aunt out to her red Ford Fusion. 

Driving home in complete silence would have been awkward, if I could feel that emotion anymore.

My aunt breaks the silence, as always.

"If you want, we can go shopping for some new school clothes! Don't you want to look stunning on your first day of school?" Rachel questions, infusing her voice with as much cheeriness as she possibly can. 

I shrug.

Her expression brightens a bit, and she goes with that noncomittal gesture. 

"Ok! We'll go tomorrow and hit all these amazing boutiques. We can get you registered for school as well. I think you should start this coming Monday."

Monday. Just three days away.

I used to love school. Yes, I was that person. I love learning new things, but that wasn't all of it. School was where all my friends converged into one setting, and I could see them all at once. Bailey and I-

Bailey.

I stop thinking and shrug again.

"Great, Monday it is," Rachel says as we pull into the driveway of my new home as of a month ago. 

My aunt and her husband, James, live on the very edge of this small town. In fact, we're more in the woods than in a residential area. 

Rachel is my mom's only sibling. My dad didn't have any brothers or sisters. Because my mom and Rachel are 13 years apart, Rachel isn't much older than me at 25. She and James have been married for about three years now, and have no children.

I am grateful they took me in. Me, a 17 year old girl that had just lost her entire family. Throw into that the fact that I can't bring myself to talk or express emotion, and I'm just a great package deal. I realize the sacrifice they make, but don't know how to show it without breaking this shell I have around me.