Her eyes widened with excitement. “She's really nice. I can see why you like her. She really knows her stuff. I feel a little better after just one session.”
“She took a real interest in Amy,” Meredith said. “She agreed to make a time slot for her every day for the first couple weeks.”
“Knew you'd like her,” Cole said, smiling. “Life-changer.”
That evening, when Meredith called Amy and Cole in for dinner, they were surprised and dismayed to find Beth stirring a pot.
With Beth's back turned, Cole shot a mock look of horror at Amy. “You cooked dinner tonight?”
“I know I've been cooking a lot lately,” Meredith said, “but your Aunt Beth insisted on giving me a break. She said there was something special she wanted to make.”
“Yes, indeed,” Beth said, pausing her stirring to take a whiff of the pot.
Cole looked again towards Amy but Amy didn't miss a beat.
“What'cha making?” she asked in her sweetest voice.
“You'll find out in a minute,” Beth said. “It's just about ready. Take a seat.”
The table was already set and Cole and Amy exchanged looks of trepidation as they sat. Beth carried the large pot over to the table, placing it with a thud in the center. Cole attempted to catch a scent but the smell was not strong enough to figure out what it was. I guess that's a good sign, right?
Beth spooned a massive helping of a reddish stew into each of their bowls. “Go ahead. Begin the feast.”
Cole took a spoonful and brought it slowly towards his mouth, prepared for the worst. However, Amy beat him to it.
“Mmm wow, that's amazing,” she said.
“Thought I'd try something a little different,” Beth said. “Glad you like it.”
Cole studied Amy's expression in confusion, trying to figure out if she was faking. Failing, to determine this, he stuck a spoonful into his own mouth and his eyes shot open in surprise.
“Oh. Man, it really is,” he said. It was not only the best thing Beth had ever made, but it was one of the best things he'd had. “No offense, but why don't you make this all the time?”
Beth chuckled. “Guess I got stuck in my ways. Forgot what it was like to be a kid. This is a little more kid friendly.”
“A little?” Cole said.
Amy tried unsuccessfully to hold back a giggle.
“Did you really hate everything I made you?” Beth said, showing the rare emotion of being hurt.
“Now kids,” Meredith said. “Show some appreciation. So Beth, what is in this delicious stew? I might need to steal the recipe.”
As Beth recited the ingredients, her pained face gradually filled with pride. While she talked, Cole and Amy devoured their serving and sat back in their chairs, satisfied.
“Genius,” Meredith said and then, turning to Cole, “Anything special happen at school?”
Cole suddenly felt very hot and prayed that his cheeks did not turn red. “Nah it was pretty boring.” He shoved another spoonful of stew into his mouth.
Amy was the only one who seemed to notice his odd behavior but she just gave him a questioning look. Cole just shook his head.
“I might even miss school eventually,” Amy said. “But probably not. It's really boring.”
“Any other day I would try to show you the merits of school but for some reason I can't argue with you right now,” Meredith said. “It's boring. No way around that. But at least that just makes it all the better when you're finally done.”
“Agreed,” Beth said. “School sucks.”
“But there's so much more to go,” Cole said. “How do you expect me to look forward to the end?” He smiled his approval at Amy for the diversion. “I'm stuffed. Thanks, Aunt Beth.”
Beth nodded, her mouth full of stew.
After dinner, when Amy and Cole were talking in the library, Meredith poked her head in.
“Hey kids. Sorry to interrupt. Cole, can I speak with you for a second?”
Cole exchanged a look with Amy and followed his mother to the kitchen. Meredith leaned in close, placing her hands on Cole's shoulders. “I asked the lawyer today about the will,” she said in a hushed tone, “and I just got a call back. They didn't have one. They must have been too young to think about such things.” She hung her head. “Sad.”
“So what happens to their stuff?”
“Well, since her father is alive, all his money is tied up in the estate. Can't be touched. But...”
“But what?” Cole pressed, feeling the coming words.
“But, oh, I really hate to even consider this, but if he were to... pass away, all of the money would be given to a lawyer whose job it would be to handle her money until she's eighteen. That was the only semblance of a will they had.”
Cole's eyes widened. “Does that mean she gets to spend it?”
“Within reason, yes. Don't be excited about this.”
“So what happens if her dad wakes up?”
“It gets returned.”
“That sucks.”
“Cole!”
“Just kidding, Mom. Sorry, bad joke. So I take it you don't want to tell Amy?”
“I think it best not to burden her with this. It would just upset her. I'll tell her another time when she's recovered.”
“You do realize she knows you lost your job because of her?” he said. “I think this would actually make her happier.”
“What? What do you mean? I told you, I quit.”
“Uh-huh, that was believable. Even if I did believe it, this house is not as sound-proof as you may think.”
Meredith fell back into a chair behind her and put her hand to her forehead. “Oh jeez, you heard that? That's really embarrassing. But listen, do not tell her. This only affects her if something happens to her father. That will not make her feel better.”
“Yes, Mom. I won't, if she hasn't already heard.”
He smirked, as Meredith shook her head, and returned to the library.
Amy looked up expectantly at his arrival. “What was that all about?”
“Nothing. She just wanted to make sure you were all right. I told her everything was fine.”
Amy's chin dropped to her chest and her eyes closed. “Yep.”
A short while later, the doorbell rang.
“I've got it,” Cole called. He hurried to the front door and swung it open to find a solemn-looking Josh.
“Oh, hi Cole,” he said. “I told your mother I'd be stopping by today to talk to Amy. Is she here?”
“Yeah, she's here,” he said, opening the screen door. “What's this about?”
“Just checking in to see how she's doing. It's important to keep a close watch.”
“Who's there?” Meredith said as she came towards the door. “Oh, Josh. Yes, of course. How are you?”
“I'm fine. How's Amy?”
“She's getting through. Come see her for yourself.”
She led them to the library where Amy was waiting, staring vacantly out a window. She turned at their arrival and her face fell.
“Hi, Amy,” Josh said. “Feel up for a chat?”
“Yeah, sure,” she said quietly.
“I'm going to have a short talk with her,” he said to Cole and his mom. “You can join us in a few minutes. I'll let you know when we're ready.”
Cole looked towards Amy, who caught his eye and nodded approval. At this sign, he left with his mom and they joined Beth in the kitchen.
“Poor Amy,” Meredith said as they sat down.
“At least they're taking care of her,” Beth said. “Making sure she gets through this. You see Cole? Josh does care about children.”
“I guess, but it is his job to check up on her. And what does he think she's gonna say? I'm all better?”
“I think he's checking on us more than her,” Beth said.
Meredith nodded. “Yeah, he didn't explicitly say it but it's pretty clear he needs to see if we're good caretakers.”
“Makes sense but all he's go
nna do is make her cry,” Cole said.
There was a silence punctuated by Josh's voice. “Meredith? We're all done in here.”
“Coming,” Meredith said.
They all convened in the living room. Amy hung back in the doorway watching from a distance. Cole glanced at her face and saw that her eyes were bloodshot.
“Well everything appears to be in order,” Josh said. “Anything anyone would like to add?”
“Are you going to keep coming back?” Cole said.
Josh shot him a sharp look. “Yes, I will need to come back periodically to check up on Amy and to find her a permanent residence.”
“She's fine here and you just upset her by making her talk about it.”
“It's all right, Cole,” Amy whispered.
“May I please have a word alone with your son?” Josh said to Meredith.
She gave Cole a stern look. “Yes, of course. You may use the library.”
Cole grudgingly followed Josh into the library and closed the door. “I get what you're trying to do but is it necessary?” Cole said. “I feel like she would be better off alone for a while.”
Josh sat in a chair and folded his hands. “Since I will be seeing a lot of you in the future I figure we should get a few things straight. I know that you care for Amy and it's very noble to not want her to be upset. However, under the circumstances that is not possible. Even if I were not required by my job to do this, which I am, you have to realize that this, overall, is best for her. She needs to talk about it. She needs to let the pain out. It'll be there whether she talks about it or not and keeping it cooped up makes everything worse. It comes out in unfortunate ways. There are lots of studies on this.”
“Whatever you say.”
“Dammit! I know how to do my job. Don't make this any harder than it already is.”
Cole raised his eyebrows at the outburst.
Josh stood up, cleared his throat and smoothed the front of his jacket. “Pardon me. I didn't mean that. I simply wanted to say that I am doing my best here and would appreciate you cutting me some slack. I'm not the bad guy. In fact, I'd like to be friends. I think it would make both of our lives easier.”
Cole sighed. “All right, I guess I have been a bit of a jerk. I'm sorry. I never realized how protective I am of her. I don't know how it happened.”
“It's because you have a big heart, son.” He smiled. “Now let's go back out there. They must be wondering what's taking so long.”
Cole led the way back to the living room, feeling as if a giant weight had been lifted.
“Everything all right?” Meredith asked upon their return.
“Yes, we came to an understanding,” Josh said. “I'll be going now but we'll be in touch.”
As he lay in bed that night, he couldn't help but think that in some sick, twisted way, his life had been changed for the best. He felt a different person from whom he had been just a couple months ago and, as awful as he felt for Amy, he was thankful for everything life had thrown at him. The creak of the door pulled him from his musings.
“I had a bad dream,” Amy said. “Can I come in?”
“Of course.” She crawled under the covers, snuggling up next to him, and he wrapped his arms around her. “You're all right. You can stay here as long as you want.”
“Thanks.”
He pulled Amy closer, feeling his eyes grow heavy.
Kill Rita Stern or Amy will die. Monday.
24
Cole's eyes shot open, his heart pounding, his breath coming in short raspy breaths. No! Are you kidding me?! His mind activated its useless defense mechanism against failed agreements. Breathe three times before Amy opens her eyes. Swallow before you blink... Cough before... Shrug... Twitch... Blink... He continued his self-created agreements in desperation for a few minutes before the true weight of the situation sank in. What the hell was that?
“Cole? Are you okay?”
He had not noticed that his twitches had stirred Amy and she was staring at him strangely. “Oh, yeah, I, uh, couldn't get comfortable. I'll be right back.” He bolted out of the room and ran to the bathroom, locking the door behind him. He stared at himself in the mirror, willing his breathing to slow but unable to stop the panic. I can't, I won't, let any harm come to her. But how do I fight something like that? I can't kill my psychologist.
There was a light rapping at the door. “Cole?” It was Amy. “Are you okay in there?”
“Yep, just had to go to the bathroom. Go back to the library. I'll be there in a minute.”
“All right...”
Footsteps padded away down the hall, leaving Cole alone, staring into his own eyes. “It's not going to happen,” he whispered. “I won't let it. I'm sure you're just getting yourself worked up over nothing. She's not really in any danger. I was falling asleep so it was probably just my imagination. You can do this. Go back to bed.” His chest heaved up and down. He flushed the toilet, ran the water for a few seconds, and returned to the library. He slipped in, clicking the door shut behind him, plunging himself into darkness.
“Sure you're okay?” came the whispered voice in the dark.
Cole crawled under the covers and sidled up to Amy. “Yep.”
“All right, well, I think I'm going to go back to sleep.” She left, shutting the door behind her.
After lying awake all night, staring at the ceiling, he was barely conscious the next day. No matter what rationale he used, the sickening fear did not fade, although by now it felt like no more than a bad dream. Once the day started, however, he was able to distract himself with his daily routines.
He pushed his irrational fears aside as best he could but there was no shaking them entirely. In the afternoon, Meredith took Cole to pick up Amy, who came out of her session with an unusual sparkle in her eye.
“Today was amazing,” she said. “Dr. Stern really knows how to get to you. Even better than that, she wants to have a joint session tomorrow.”
“What do you mean, with me?” Cole said.
“Yeah. She thinks it'll be important since we're close friends, and living together. I'm really looking forward to it.”
“That sounds great,” Meredith said. “It'll be a perfect chance for you two to connect on a deeper level.”
“Should be interesting, that's for sure,” Cole said.
Cole's head was not into all the fun activities his mother had planned for the rest of the day. Meredith and Amy either didn't notice his aloofness or didn't want to say anything because neither one of them asked him about it.
The next day, Meredith drove the two of them to Dr. Stern’s office. She greeted them with her usual complacent smile and, after having a word with Meredith about Amy's progress, welcomed them into her office, where Amy and Cole took seats side by side on the couch.
“So, Cole,” Dr. Stern said. “How have things been going?”
“Pretty good. I see you couldn't wait for Tuesday.”
Dr. Stern smiled. “Glad to see you haven't changed too much. All right, let's get started. This is a bit of an informal session. I just want to get an initial feel for your dynamics together and then we can go into depth individually another time. So, it seems a lot has been happening lately between you two. How's the semi-sibling relationship so far?”
“Great,” Amy said. “Like I said, it's been really hard for me but he's been a huge help in getting me through the day.”
“And you, Cole?” Dr. Stern said.
Cole leaned back in his seat. “Ditto. Great.”
“All right... Is there anything either of you want to discuss?”
“Not really,” Cole said.
“Not sure,” Amy said. “Like what?”
“I'm sure it hasn't quite sunk in yet, but how are you adjusting to living together? Have you noticed things about each other that you never noticed before?”
“Let's see,” Amy said, tapping her chin. “He's really good at comforting people. Makes for a great pillow too.” She chuckled.
/> “Is that so?” Dr. Stern said. “Cole? Cole!”
“Wha-?” He hadn't noticed that he spaced out. “Sorry?”
“Something the matter?” Dr. Stern said.
“No, sorry, my mind just wandered for a second.”
“Are you sure?” She cocked an eyebrow but Cole just nodded. “I asked how you were adjusting to living together.”
“It's great, like I said.”
Amy cast her own skeptical look at Cole.
Dr. Stern jotted something onto her pad. “Okay... We can come back to that later. Moving on, what has-”
“I'm sorry,” Cole cut in. “Can I talk to you alone for a second?”
“This is a group discussion. Can it wait until Tuesday?”
“No.”
Amy shifted in her seat to face Cole, a confused and hurt expression on her face. “What can't you say in front of me?”
“It's nothing bad about you. I just need to ask her a personal question that I'm too embarrassed to ask in front of you.”
“That's cute.” Amy's wide smile had replaced her confusion. “No worries.”
“Come with me,” Dr. Stern said, getting to her feet. “Wait here, Amy, we'll be right back.” She led Cole to the empty waiting room, out of earshot. “What's bothering you?”
“There's no good way to say this. I don't know what you can do but I have to tell you anyway. I hope you can come up with something.”
“Deep breath, Cole. You can tell me anything, you know that.”
“I can't go into many details because Amy is waiting so you're going to have to put an inhuman amount of trust into me. I found out that Amy is goi- might be... killed on Monday.”
Dr. Stern’s eyes went wide. “That is a very serious claim. What did you hear?”
“Nobody told me anything. I can kind of predict things that are going to happen. They just come to me. I know that sounds absurd and I don't have any proof with me but I can tell you that I have proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that these predictions are accurate. Like when my mother was in that accident, I knew that was going to happen but I did nothing to stop it because I was in denial. But I'm not going to let any kind of denial kill my best friend. I'm going to do something about it this time. Do you have any ideas? Have you ever heard of anyone having this ability?”
Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1) Page 22