Page 77 of The Secrets of a Sin

“Files.” I answer. “Three of them, to be exact.”

One by one, I go through each until a name I’m looking for pops up, and I quickly snatch it and hand it over to Arsen. Taking it from my grip, he peers down at the folder.

“Annalise?” His eyebrows sink in as he reads the name, but like a light bulb going off, he glances back down at me. “She’s one of those girls.” He declares without question, and I nod. Going back to the files, I search for the other two girls, beginning to flip through the folders again.

It doesn’t take too long to find them, and once I do, I rise to my feet and focus on Arsen. “They all told me why they were sent here, but they could have easily been lying to me.” I confess with both folders in hand. “I just want to see if there’s something more, something that we could be missing.”

It only takes him a split second to open Annalise’s file, and I start to do the same with the two I have.

Name: Priscilla Rae Dorsey

DOB: 05/23/2002

Reason for enrollment: Claims to be a misandrist. At her previous school, she was involved in an altercation with another male student and stabbed her pen into his arm. When asked why she did it, she replied, “He was asking for it.”

Physician’s Evaluation: Ms. Dorsey is a very troubled young woman. Her disturbed childhood is most likely the root of her problems, stemming from her biological father and brother. She’s known to deflect whenever asked about her past, so our goal is for her to relive and come to terms with her upbringing in hopes that it will give us more to work with and we can help her.

Recommended: weekly counseling and an encounter with a male once a week as well. (Be sure someone else is present.)

Jesus.

Name: Verity Grace Bell

DOB:10/28/2003

Reason for enrollment: Pill/drug addict. She was discovered overdosed on her mother’s prescription medicine one morning and was sent to a small rehab facility for three months. She relapsed soon after and was sent here after being caught stealing more of her mother’s pills.

Physician’s Evaluation: Ms. Bell claims that her addiction can easily be managed, but I fear she is suffering more than she lets on. When asked about her very public upbringing as the daughter of a famous actress, she immediately diverts to something less personal. Especially when bringing up her father, who left her at an early age. She tends to shut down. I believe the cause of her addiction is a way of coping with her life and possibly get attention.

Recommended: At least a year at St. Catherine’s with counseling and a sponsor provided by us.

Peering up from the papers in awe, I realize that they weren’t lying. Priscilla really did stab someone with a pencil, and Verity really was a pill addict. I was hoping for more answers or something that would clue me into any reason why they would have hurt Phoebe.

“Fuck…” Arsen shakes his head in disgust as he shoves Annalise’s file in my face. “Let me read the other two.”

Handing over the other files, I grab Annalise’s and open it.

Name: Annalise Joy Chambers

DOB: 03/12/2003

Reason for Enrollment: Began a ludicrous relationship with her father’s boss's wife. Soon after it started, the wife told Annalise that they couldn’t be together any longer, and that’s when she and I quote here, “fell off the deep end.” She then began stalking the woman and leaving crude/threatening notes at the married couple’s home until Mr. Chambers and the wife’s husband discovered that it was Annalise, and the affair was revealed. The family hopes her being here will cure Annalise of her desire for women and her violent tendencies.

Physician’s Evaluation: Ms. Chambers appears reluctant to cooperate. Whenever questioned about her affair, she becomes hysterical and unhinged to where we have had to hold her down to calm her in our first session. Usually, it only takes one or two, but with Annalise, it took six sessions to get some kind of answer out of her. She couldn’t understand why she was sent here, and she blamed everything on her father. She despises the fact that he couldn’t accept her for who she is and that he thought sending her here would cure her of her sexual preference. I quote her response, “Men, like my father and you, will never dictate what goes in between my legs.”

With the little progress she has displayed, I fear that Annalise will never fully be fixed.

Recommend: DAILY counseling and visits to the church.

On a rush of air, I lift my eyes to meet Arsen’s. They were all telling the truth, but something about reading Annalise’s gave me a weird vibe. I couldn’t exactly describe it, but my skin crawled.

“They all have major issues, but there’s nothing in here that would give me a reason to believe they killed Phoebe.” He throws the files down onto the desk in a loud thump.

I agree, but there was still something off about them.

Something lingering that's yet to be discovered, and I want to find out.

“I… I don’t want to eliminate them just yet.” I announce. “There’s something creepy about them, Arsen. You have to trust me.”

---