Speak

Chapter 11

"True penitence condemns to silence. 

What a man is ready to recall he would be willing to repeat."

~ F. H. Bradley

Wes POV

It has been exactly eight weeks since I met Liz; seven weeks since I took her out for the first time. It has been one hell of a wild ride.

Liz has to be the most fascinating girl I have ever met.  She has her shy and timid side, and I've learned that she does not like to be around a lot of people.

She has her playful and easy going side, acting as though there is not a care in the world.

Liz has her fierce side, where she can be very opinionated and downright scary, but it's hot as hell.

I have to control myself because, in those moments, I forget that she has that other side. The side I know she tries so hard to hide. One moment, everything will be fine, then out of nowhere, Liz will close up and shut down, with hollow despondent eyes.

It's as if she is in a completely different place, and I've wondered what secrets lay within the emptiness of her eyes.

I can't bring myself to ask, because I fear it will only drive her deeper into whatever darkness she hides.

I had hoped that over time, I could gain her trust, and she would open up to me, but she still hasn't, and it is so frustrating.

I have tried to find out more about her, but the results are always the same. A few articles here and there about her being a cheerleader, but after her Sophomore year of high school... nothing. She wasn't a cheerleader her junior or senior year, and she wasn't listed with her graduating senior class.

But she wouldn't be in college if she hadn't graduated, so what happened? Where did she go? Why did she seemingly vanish for the past two years?

I know something happened because the Liz I found online is not the Liz I have come to know. Cheerleaders yell and cheer, while Liz is silent. If not for the pictures, I would have never thought in a million years that she would've been a cheerleader.

What caused Liz to changed the way she dressed, caused her anxiety around people, caused her to become unable to speak?

I thought about various possibilities.

Some sort of accident maybe?

Surely if there had been an accident, there would be news articles. Maybe, I was looking in all the wrong places.

How the hell am I going to be a lawyer if I cannot research one person?

While some days are worse than others, I'm noticing the bad days are becoming fewer and farther apart. I hope that it is because she has been spending more time with me that I'm actually making a difference in her life. I know she's sure making a difference in mine.

About two weeks after we first went out, Liz moved into her own dorm room. I don't exactly know what happened, but, she was distant for three days. Three miserable days without her beautiful smile. She refused to discuss it. If I brought it up, she changed the subject or just closed up. So, I just left it alone.

Knowing Kim Bryant was her roommate makes me wonder if Lisa had a hand in what happened since they are practically best friends.

As much as I try to keep a low profile, I can only imagine there are whispers of me going out with a girl other than Hannah.