Page 12 of The Sandbar saga

Tears came again. She couldn't stop them, no matter how hard she tried.

A soft knock startled her. She froze, squeezing her knees together.

"I put some clothes on your bed, Katie. I'm going to go downstairs and wait for you to get dressed and come back down to me," said Dr. Conner from the bedroom.

She put her ear to the door and waited several minutes after she could no longer hear his shoes on her wooden floor. Opening the door, she pulled her shirt down over her butt and walked out into the bedroom.

He'd helped her and had done everything he said he would do.

She stayed in her room long after she redressed. Finally, curious, she went downstairs, expecting Dr. Conner to have left. His hour appointment had to be over.

In the sitting room, Dr. Conner was in the same chair as earlier, but now he had a notepad on his lap and a crayon in his hand. She sat down, hoping he wouldn't mention she'd wet her pants. It was humiliating and scary. She hadn't done that since she was a little kid.

Dr. Conner put the notepad on the end table. She glanced down and leaned forward, surprised he'd drawn a picture of a deer and two babies by the stream. Off to the side, a girl stood, holding on to a bicycle.

He was really good. She could tell he drew her in the picture. He'd drawn long, blonde hair and put a pink shirt on the girl like the one she wore today.

"Our hour is up, and as I understand it, your mom will be coming home soon, so we'll plan on revisiting our talk on Tuesday." He stood, leaned over, and tapped the paper. "This is how the world sees you, Katie. You're a beautiful young lady. See how peaceful the deer are to have you look at them? That's what I want to help you find. Peace...happiness, if you let me."

He walked out of the room. The front door opened and closed.

She picked up the picture. Dr. Conner imagined what he wanted to see. To him, the deer and the girl were peaceful creatures. For her, outside of the picture, a storm was brewing. Bad things happened. People got hurt. Parents died.

And, the girl, no matter how innocent she looked and how people viewed her, was the cause of everyone's pain.

She carried the drawing up to her room and put it in her desk drawer. Dr. Conner could think however he wanted. He was an adult. He wasn't her friend.

When he had started coming to the appointments, he acted like the sole purpose was to be her friend. Like hanging around an adult would make her more comfortable being around kids her age when school started back up again. But he'd asked a few questions that made her think he was checking to see if she was sad.

Just like the school counselor had done when her dad had died, and she'd returned to school. But Dr. Conner was trickier. He pretended to like her by buying her a bike and drawing pictures.

"Miss Katie, Mrs. Meihoff is home," said Betsy over the intercom system.

She sighed and crawled up on her bed. Cuddling the pillow under her head, she closed her eyes. She'd not let her mother see how anxious she was to have her home after she'd left her for a whole month.

Summer break was supposed to be a fun time away from school. Tyla, in her old class, planned to go to Disneyland with her family. Scott B. was going to summer camp and getting to row boats and sleep under the stars. Tiffany, the most popular girl, was attending a cheerleading camp with her older sister, who was going into high school.

What had she done? She'd stayed home by herself.

The highlight of the whole summer was when Dr. Conner came over for her appointment to prove that everyone was right about her, and there was something wrong in her head.

She'd gone on one bike ride. That was it. She might as well had gone to school all year, even though she hated going.

The next thing she knew, she woke up from a nap and the house was quiet.

Sitting up in bed, she rubbed her eyes and looked around. Her room had grown dark.

Outside the window, the sunlight no longer lit up the trees in her view. She'd slept a long time.

Her stomach rumbled. Going to the bathroom, she peed and spotted her wet clothes. When she finished, she picked everything up and dropped her clothes in the hamper, covering the evidence with a towel. The maid service would pick everything up in the morning.

She walked downstairs, being careful not to run. On the stairs, she stepped on the runner without putting her hands on the banister. Downstairs, she looked in all the rooms as she worked her way to the kitchen.

Betsy looked up as she walked into the room. "I almost thought you'd sleep through dinner. I've been calling up to your room for the last half hour."

She slid onto the stool at the counter in the kitchen. Her mother wasn't in sight.

"Did my mom eat already?" she asked.

"Your mother has come and gone." Betsy opened the oven and removed a plate, putting it in front of her. "Be careful. It's hot."

Steam came from the chicken and rice. She picked up her fork and played with the small grains. "Did she try and wake me up?"

"She barely stayed long enough to have her luggage brought in." Betsy set a glass of ice water on the table. "I do know that Ms. Gray was called, and she'll be here at eight o'clock. I'll stay until she's here with you."

Her appetite fled. Nothing Dr. Conner could say or do would make her believe that her mother cared about her. She couldn't even check up on her after a month-long vacation before she was off again.

How long would she be gone this time?