Chapter 99: Decision
Thea was alone.
the door was closed, a thin piece of wood that felt like the only thing separating her from a world she did not understand, and the permission slip in her hand was a paper-thin declaration of war against her own fear.
’a trip, with other kids, for a week.’
the thought was a physical weight in her stomach, a cold, heavy stone of pure dread; her mind immediately supplied the images, the whispers in the hallway, the pitying looks, the way the other students would move away from her at the lunch table. she was a ghost, a pariah, a black cloud of misery, and this was an invitation to go haunt a mountain resort.
she wanted to rip it into a hundred pieces, an act of self-preservation.
but her eyes drifted to the desk. the new sketchbook, with its thick, heavy paper. the tin box of drawing pencils. the shirt with the little blue jay on the pocket, folded neatly on her chair.
he had not just bought her things. he had paid attention.
’he noticed I liked birds.’
it was a small, insignificant detail, but it was a detail that belonged to her, not to the tragedy that had become her life; it was a kindness that was not born of pity, but of observation. he saw a person, not just a problem.
the permission slip felt different in her hand now. it was not just a piece of paper. it was a choice, a terrifying, impossible choice between the safety of her quiet misery and the terrifying possibility of something else.
something that might not be miserable at all.
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