Surfacing - Book One in the Swans Landing Series

Chapter 34

Chapter Thirty-Four

I burst through the front door of Lake’s house, my body alive with the need to move and dive deep into the salty water. I would pack up everything I wanted to keep with me and then I would be gone before night fell completely. With my faith in Josh now gone, there was nothing else to hold me here. I was sorry that I would leave with Dylan angry at me, but apologizing to him would only delay the inevitable. And I couldn’t stand to waste another minute on good-byes.

But the scene that awaited me in Lake’s living room made me skid to a stop inside the front door. Lake sat in a chair and stared evenly at me, his hands planted firmly on his knees. Across from him sat Mr. Richter on the faded couch, drinking a glass of tea.

“Mara,” Lake said, “do you care to explain why you left school early today and skipped your appointment with Mr. Richter, without my permission?”

The sight of Mr. Richter in Lake’s house had me stunned into silence. I shook my head, trying to regain my composure.

“It is vitally important that you keep your meetings with me, Mara,” Mr. Richter said as he set his glass down on the battered coffee table. “You are too impulsive, too emotional and this can lead you into doing stupid, even dangerous things. I truly believe that you could benefit from some structured guidance and counseling.”

“I agree,” Lake said.

They were ganging up on me, making decisions about my life without my input, just like everyone had done since the moment I was born. The anger I’d felt from my encounter with Elizabeth and then my fight with Josh had now turned into a boiling rage inside me.

“Do either of you care about a thing I have to say?” I asked. “I’ve tried to explain my side of the situations, but no one listens. You find a way to blame everything on me and expect me to be the one to make all the apologies.”

Lake stood and took a step toward me. “You don’t think before you act. You can’t go around punching everyone in the face whenever you feel like it. You can’t run away from your problems because you don’t feel like talking to someone at the time.” He ran a hand through his messy hair and sighed. “Honestly, Mara, I don’t know what to do with you. I don’t know how to get through to you.”

“The reason I run away is because I am exactly like you!” I snapped. “Instead of coming after Mom and me, and trying to figure out a way to make everything work, you chose to hide from it all.”

“We’ve discussed this,” Lake said in a low voice. “I couldn’t leave the island. You won’t be able to leave the ocean either now that you’ve been in it. It will kill you to be too far inland, wait and see.”

“You could have left any time you wanted!” I shouted, causing him to flinch. “You made the decision to stay and let us go.”

Mr. Richter stood, holding up his hands as he walked toward me. “I think these are feelings that you both could benefit from talking about in a rational manner. It’s clear that there are some deep-seated emotions about this matter—”

I let out a growl of frustration. “I’m not interested in talking about anything!” I pressed my fingers into my temples, squeezing my eyes shut. “Just leave me alone, all of you. No one here has ever once been totally honest with me since the moment I arrived. I don’t want to talk, I don’t want to listen, and I don’t want anything to do with any of you ever again.”

“Mara—”

I wasn’t sure who had called my name, maybe both of them, but I didn’t pause to find out. The door slammed with so much force behind me that the house shuddered, the windows rattling. I stumbled down the stairs, almost falling headfirst down the last few before I caught my balance.