Lara stepped outside the cinder block house to find something to occupy her mind while waiting for Lucy to arrive. Not having anything to do was driving her crazy with the thought of Julia weighing on her.
The afternoon sun was directly overhead as it burned down on Lara's nude body. There were sparkles of light flashing across a large lake in front of her as they caught the beams of sunshine. Loons and ducks waded in the shallows.
Lara walked down to the lake. It was a large lake. In either direction it seemed to go forever. She carefully walked over some wet, mushy earth, step by step towards the water's edge. The water wasn't at all that cold, but considering how warm the sun had heated her body, she tightened her muscles and slowly waded in.
She could see a boat way off in the distance speeding by, yet there was no one else visible that she could see. She continued to wade in further until she was finally deep enough to push forward for a swim.
Floating on her back, with the midday sun shining on her face, she closed her eyes and thought of the time she and Julia made love in the tent. She could still smell her, taste her, feel her, and hear her. The way Julia depended on Lara made her feel needed.
***
At the Home for Abused Women,
Julia was still laying in bed. She had just finished a lunch that Ellen had gotten her, and was listening to Ellen talk about life at the Home.
"You poor thing." Ellen said to her, sitting at the foot of the bed, rubbing her feet.
Julia was still traumatized after having been held down by other girls with Miss Woodrow performing a rape evaluation and having an IUD placed into her.
"Why do you stay here?" Julia whispered.
"Well, because I feel safe here." Ellen answered. "I know it ain't all that great, but it ain't all that bad either. It's still way safer and nicer than where I came from."
"It should be illegal what she did." Julia spoke softly.
Ellen found it hard to answer. Having grown up in this area, just minutes away from the Home, the concept of individual rights seemed lost on her.
"I guess you do what you're told." She answered. "The Sheriff told me to stay here, and that's all I know."
Julia thought about it for a moment. The look of exhaustion from howling in agony combined with an introspective expression at how girls perceive life in this part of the country, made her realize that Lara was right. Even her own perception of life was shaped by her own parents.
"How long are you going to stay here?" Julia asked.
Ellen shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. I haven't really decided."
"But you can leave anytime you want."
"Yeah, pretty much."
"I guess I don't get it."
"Don't get what?"
"That people choose to stay here when there's so much to see and do out there. I learned a lot in the past few days of living naked with Lara."
"Lara? Is that the other girl you were with?" Ellen asked.
Julia nodded her head yes.
"Well, but you all were educated." Ellen said, nearly chuckling. "I grew up here. This is all I know."
"But you went to school too?"
Ellen laughed.
"Yeah, but that's not education! Listen, my father started having sex with me when I was ten years old. He got me pregnant when I was eleven, and I was forced to get an abortion. When I was twelve, I ended up with my uncle and he started having sex with me too. He made me stop going to school because he didn't want me telling anybody. He started charging his friends $60.00 to have sex with me. I was getting abortions once or twice a year. I ran away from him at fifteen and started living with various people. I had a baby at sixteen and gave it up for adoption. I've been living here ever since. It's all I know."
Julia's facial expression changed.
Somehow she didn't feel so violated anymore.
"Oh, I'm sorry." Julia spoke softly, putting her head down. "I had no idea."
"I know, it's OK, I understand."
"Julia?" A voice called out from the doorway to the room. It was Dora. She walked towards Julia's bed. "You will need to put your clothes on right away. Sheriff will be here soon, along with Dr. McInnes.
***
Small ripples of water lapped up against Lara's ears as she remained floating in the lake. They made gentle pats against her eardrums and often covered over her mouth as she focused on slow breathing, watching the blood circulate inside her closed eyelids.
When she opened her eyes, Lara righted herself upright to stand, except found she could no longer touch the bottom. She looked back at the edge of the lake and it seemed much further away. The breeze and current had drifted her further out into the lake. She began swimming back to shore.
Lara pulled herself out of the water, and shook the drips off of her hands. She pulled her hair back and ringed out the moisture. She wasn't quite back at the same shoreline when she had entered the water earlier, and so began walking along the water's edge until she found the spot, and then began the hike back to the cinder block house.
Still no sign of Lucy, she entered the house and looked in the cupboards to see what food was available. She didn't feel right about eating someone else's food, but she was now famished, having only eaten several wild blackberries earlier this morning.
There was no refrigerator or ice box of any kind. There were jugs of water, boxes of crackers, and several baskets of fruit and vegetables. She picked out a couple of apples and a box of crackers, and then poured herself a glass of water.
Lara sat on the couch and looked up at the ceiling noticing artifacts that had been nailed to wooden crossbeams. After finishing eating, she laid down on the couch and closed her eyes to rest.
