Song: You don't know by Katelyn Tarver

I stay in my room the remainder of the night. The next day the sunlight is coming right through the window and there is a loud crow outside. I try to cover my head from the sun rays...but that sound has got to go. Dear lord I wish it would just shut up. It forces me out of bed and I take off the clothes I was wearing into a pair of clean jeans and a t-shirt.

The sound continues. I come out of my room and creep over to the bathroom, thankfully it is empty. Then I go into the kitchen and pour me a glass of orange juice. I walk outside to see what the hell is making all the damn noise and sure enough it is the freaking rooster doing its morning wake up call. It is too early in the morning for this shit. Everyone else is wide awake and doing chores around the farm.

"Good morning Sophie." Julie comes walking up towards me.

"Hey...does that thing do this every morning?" I point to the rooster.

"Uhm...yeah...he is a rooster that is what they do." She laughs.

"Dear lord shoot me now." I reply.

She laughs again. "You get use to it after awhile...believe me within a week you will not bother you."

"Yeah...sure...if you say so."

"So we all help out around here...would you rather help with the animals or work in the garden?"

"Neither." I give her a tight lip smile. She looks back at me like yeah...right. So I roll my eyes and tell her, "the garden then...I'm really not an animal person." Right when I say that this huge dog comes running around the barn and jumps on me, knocking me over.

"Charlie...get down." Julie yells at it. But he continues to lick me in the face. I try to push him off of me and then I feel someone jerk him off of me.

 "Charlie...kneel." And just like that he is sitting on the ground looking at me panting. I look up to see him smirking down at me.Andy holds his hand out for me to take to pull me up but I stand up on my own and start to dust the dirt off of my jeans. I glare at him and start to walk off.

"Is that how it's going to be...you gonna ignore me the whole time you are here?"

I stop in my tracks and turn around to look at him. I breathe in and then out. "Why? Why did you lie to me...you could have just told me about this place."

"I never lied to you."

"Really...you saw the damn brochures...you acted like you never heard of this damn place and all along you and my mother went behind my back. You were on her side all along."

"No...you got it wrong...she was on my side."

That hit a nerve. "Your side...this was your idea...to bring me here. I...I...am not an object...a thing that can be owned...you don't even know me...you're fucking crazy." I start to walk off.

He follows behind me. "I know that...I just couldn't stand knowing that they would lock you up in one of those places. I saved you from bringing you here. I know what this place can do to people. Dammit we were giving you another chance at life."

"Another chance at life. You have no clue who I am...I am not a freaking project for you to work on...to fix me. You should stay out of people's lives...maybe they don't want to be fixed." I find myself walking into the barn...I don't know why I come this way, it's not like I like being around animals.

"Would you just stop...let me explain."

"Explain...oh I am dying to hear. What you fell in love with the sick girl...hoping that if you took time out of your day everyday that hopefully one day she would wake up and fall madly in love with you. So you talk to her mom and her mom tells you everything that you want to know about her and then her mom falls for you and hopes that maybe just maybe this will be that one person...this one guy who can actually fix her fucked up daughter...oh please tell me...am I wrong...AM I?"

The guys that were in the barn stop and look at us and then walk out to leave us alone. Well partly alone, I feel something nudge me on my upper back. When I turn around, I step back to see this charcoal grey horse looking t me.

"He is not going to hurt you...that's Lightening. You want to go for a ride?"

"No...and don't change the subject...dammit."

"Oh my God Sophie...get off your pedestal. This world doesn't just revolve around you alright. I get it...you are pissed off. I should have told you my parents owned the farm but then you would have said no."

I run my hands through my hair, placing a few of the strands behind my ear. Then I huff while biting my bottom lip.

"Come on go for a ride with me...let's get out of here." He walks over and grabs the reins of the other horse. "This is Thunder...but you should ride Lightening...he is a little easier."

"I don't know how to ride a horse."

"What...you got to be kidding me."

"Does it look like I am kidding?" I throw my hands on my hips and stare back at him.

"Come on...say you will ride with me. Look the horses need to get out...you need to get out of here...come on."

I look at the horse and shake my head but then I let him help me on top. Once on top he grabs the reins and leads us out of the barn. He leans over to whisper in Lightning's ear, "You be nice now...she is new at this."

I roll my eyes like any of that is going to help. We ride out the gate and into the open fields. I will say it is nice out here. The field is covered in yellow flowers and it is so peaceful.

"Do you want to go faster?"

I shake my head no. I'm still not comfortable riding. I mean what if I can't stop him...what if I fall off. But Andy goes a little faster and eventually he lets go and Lightening is running and I am holding on for dear life. Before I even realize it, I am riding him and I am not scared. The fear is gone.

When we reach a pond, both of the horses stop like they just knew when to. Andy looks at me with a wide grin and gets down and then helps me down. We are all alone in the middle of nowhere. "Now we can talk without everyone eaves dropping."

"Andy...why am I here?"

"Have a seat." He points over to this huge rock by the pond. I sit down and he sits down beside me. The view is amazing here.

I hear him breathe in and out and then his sweet voice. "When I walked into your room that first day...I saw this girl...this amazing girl who was lost. I was there once myself and I thought if I could do it...you could do it with the right amount of love. Your mom is the only one that ever visited you and don't get me wrong she loves you so much... but I...I had a whole family to come help me. I felt like you just needed more than she could give."

"I stopped by everyday to read...to play you music...to tell you about my boring day. You never replied...never told me to be quite so I just kept coming. Your mom was scared Sophie...she didn't know what to do...how to help you."

"Yes she told me all about you...but she needed someone to just listen to her...to let her get everything off her mind. I mentioned this place one day and she came to check it out. She didn't want to bring you here at first but after coming she realized this is an amazing place. Believe me I would choose here any day over being in a room with no windows."

"And then you actually woke up. You took my breath away. Sophie I am not here to fix you...or change you...I like how you are already."

"Then why am I here?" I ask him.

"I was hoping I could get to know you more...to see you more. I have been visiting you for almost two years and to think they were going to place you in one of those places frankly....creped me out. You don't deserve to go there."

I don't say anything. I have so many thoughts running through my head.

"I'm sorry...I should have been upfront with you. You were right. I didn't lie...I just never said anything. I was hoping you would make the decision on your own to come here."

"My mom basically said I needed to come here. She says she can't help me...not the help I need anyway."

"Yeah...I know."

"Of course you do...you and my mom hit it off...she told you everything about me didn't she. I bet she didn't leave out one thing."

"Sophie...it's not like that."

"Really...she told you about the voices...did she tell you about the shadows too."

"No you did. I really want to help you..."

I cut him off... "Help me...with what? I hate to tell you this...but Emily and Ava will never go away. They are a part of me and the only way to keep him away is taking the stupid pills. So how can you help me?"

"I can make sure you never forget to take the pills...I can help you find peace within yourself...hell...I can help just by being here for you when you need me."

"Why would you do that?"

"Because...I care about you."

Why does he care about me...I'm no one to him. "Why?"

"Because a part of me loves you." He stands up and walks over to Thunder, grabbing his reins. Then he grabs Lightning's reins. "You ready to get back now?"

I nod my head. I stand up and walk over to him and let him hold his hands out make a step for me to push off on to sit on top of Lightening. All the way back I think about Andy. I watch him riding Thunder beside me. He has feelings for me. What if I don't have those same feelings? I mean he is so freaking cute and he is a really nice guy but what if I can't return those same feelings.

What if the dark shadow returns and takes me away from all of this...can he really save me?