Chapter 4

"So, tell me about Frida, the new girl you put in my group." Sophie said. It was after lights out and Sophie finally had the chance to talk with Peter about the new student. They were in his office and he had her file out. She was standing by the wall and he was sitting on his desk. Peter sighed and looked tired.

"Well, I have reread her files several times and they don't add up. It is frustrating. She had a lot of files. How did she seem to you?' Peter asked.

"Okay, I guess. New. You know how it is when they first get here. She was withdrawn, didn't say much." Sophie replied. "What is so strange about her files?"

"Her earlier files are from a adolescent psych ward in a hospital. She ran away, the cops were called, they found her at the park right next to her house, her parents said she was suicidal. She was gone less than an hour before the police found her. She told them she didn't run away. They though she wasn't in her right mind because she wasn't wearing shoes, just socks. The next day she sees the therapist on duty at the hospital, doesn't know anything about running away. She says that her dad through her out of the house and she wasn't suicidal. She self-harmed but she was already in therapy for that." Peter summarized as he read.

"So?" Sophie asked, not sure where he was going with this.

"Her files go on to say that she was difficult while at the hospital. Her main difficulty: she wouldn't admit she was suicidal or that she ran away. Paperwork the parents filled out say she was manipulative, social isolation, and that the dad was sure that she smoked pot a lot. Blamed the bad influence of a friend from school. All started about 6 months ago. Therapist writes that she doesn't have any friends, had been self-harming since she was 12, which is confirmed by another therapist she was seeing before then. No drugs or alcohol were found in her system." Peter read off, again summarizing parts.

"Wait was it 6 months at 15 or since she was 12? And if she is socially isolated and has no friends…" Sophie trailed off trying to puzzle it out.

"Exactly. It doesn't add up. They finally let her out of the hospital after she admits to being suicidal for a few days. But, and this is strange, when asked how she planned to commit suicide she didn't seem to know. After a few sessions she had more specific answers so they released her. After being about 2 weeks in a place with suicidal teens coming in and out." Peter explained.

"She lied so they let her out." Sophie realized.

"Seems like it. But it backfired. A little while later she is sent there again and readily admits she is suicidal. Seems to know what she is talking about now, but won't say why, after being pressured several days she finally says it is because of stress from school." Peter went on.

"Oh no. We know she lied on that. So what happened?" Sophie asked.

"That is the big question, because she was in and out of so many of these places and worse after that it is impossible to tell. She actually attempted suicide 3 times while at 3 different places. She got closer to succeeding each time. She had been diagnosed with half a dozen mental illnesses that seem like guesses, most likely for the parents insurance qualifications." Peter explained.

"It looks like we will have to start from scratch." Sophie suggested.

"That would be easier if we had more time. She turns 18 soon Soph, this is her last chance." Peter said.

"How did she even end up here? We don't take suicide risks." Sophie asked.

"Her last therapist eventually came to the conclusion that he didn't think the problem was in her head. He thinks it is her home life." Peter explained.

"It usually is." Sophie commented. "So, what do we do?"

"The main reason for her last therapists change of heart was that she was changing. Not improving, but it looks like before she seemed desperate, sad and then it changed to anger, which made him reevaluate." Peter said. Sophie picked up the file and glanced through it.

"She went off her meds. It almost killed her." She filled backward. "She didn't want to be on medication in the first place but the psychiatrist didn't believe her, though she was drug seeking. Manipulative just like her dad had said." She flipped through more pages. "It looks more like she has problems with impulse control than manipulation. Destruction of property, but only at the places she was sent. No outside record. She got good grades until she was sent to the psych ward, then they turned to Ds and Fs. How is this possible?" Sophie asked showing the page to Peter.

"I will have to call, maybe someone will know. That's weird. I'll call first thing in the morning." Peter said looking at the line Sophie was pointing to. "We'll need to schedule a lot of one on ones. More than usual. We don't have much time with this girl. This couldn't have been planned much worse." Peter said thoughtfully.

In the Cliffhangers girls cabin Frida wasn't sleeping. She hardly ever slept, even when she was sedated. Insomnia had been around her for as long as she could remember. The sounds were strange here and so were the lights. The places she had stayed before were so lit up. Always too bright at night. Now it was dark. The sounds were wind and other outside noises. She was used to the sleeping sounds of the other girls. It was strange not to hear staff up and around at all times though.

She got up quietly and used the bathroom. While she was in there she looked around for something to use to self-harm with. On the inside of the bathroom stall was a hook, not sharp, but she wedged it away from the door a bit and the part that was previously hidden had a metal edge. After a few cuts on her upper arm, she stopped and waited for the bleeding to stop. It hadn't been too sharp, but it was enough for now. Then she went and lied back in bed to wait for the morning.