Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1) (21 page)

Shit, what now? They can’t hit her, right? They better not hurt her or I swear to God…

“Come on, Cole. Get a move on,” Beth shouted to him through the open window of her minivan.

With nothing to do, and in a concerted effort to ignore the flooding of whispers, he reluctantly climbed in.

“So…” Beth said, tapping one hand on the steering wheel and clearing her throat, “you, uh, do anything interesting at school today?”

“Not really, school’s boring,” Cole said absently, staring out the window.

Beth threw him a sidelong glance. “Any developments with Amy?”

Cole’s gaze drifted from the window over to Beth. “Yeah, y’know she said things were going great and she was all excited because the worker was on her side and just now her mom shows up after school and whisks her away when we were supposed to hang out. What do you think that’s all about?”

“No idea. Could be a million reasons.”

“Do you think she’s all right?”

“I doubt they would do anything to her while they’re under investigation. She’ll be fine.”

“Yeah.”

He spent the next hour at home pacing the living room in nervous suspense, wondering how he would ever make it to tomorrow.
What if they took her and ran and I never saw her again? What if they knew they were going to lose her, or didn’t care about losing her, and were beating her for her defiance? If she’s not in school tomorrow I’m gonna flip. I’ll run over to that house myself and if she’s not there I’ll find them. I'll track them down if it’s the last thing I do.
He tossed around the idea of asking Beth to drive him over there but he didn’t want to make the same mistake twice.

“Worried about her?” Beth said from the doorway.

“A little.”

“Yeah, I could tell. Do you want me to give them a call?”

Cole’s eyes lit up in appreciation; that thought had never occurred to him. He opened his mouth to say that would be amazing when the phone rang and Beth left to answer. She was back in a few seconds with the receiver.

“It’s her.”

Cole grabbed the phone, a million horrible and relieving thoughts rushing through his mind. “Hello? Amy? What’s wrong?”

It was that same small, scared voice that sent chills running down his spine. “I can’t do it.”

“What do you mean? Can’t do what?”

“I can’t go through with it. Can you get over here? Now? I need to talk to you.”

“Yeah, I’ll be right there,” Cole said.

“Hurry.” The phone clicked dead.

20

“Beth! Aunt Beth! Please, I need to get to Amy’s immediately.”

Beth came running in. “What’s the matter? Is she okay?”

“She said she needs to talk to me. Something’s really wrong, I can tell.”

“And it's an emergency?”

“Yes! Aunt Beth, please!”

Beth sighed. “All right, come on.”

“Thank you, thank you.” Cole bolted into the entrance hall to put on his sneakers and waited impatiently for Beth to put on hers.

This is really bad. What did she mean she ‘can’t do it'? What did those bastards to do her now? I swear, if they touched her again I’m going to kill them.

At long last, Beth had on her shoes and coat and they were in the car. The ride to Amy’s had never felt so painstakingly long. When they finally pulled up, Cole was already opening the door before the vehicle had stopped.

“Whoa, hold on there a second,” Beth said. “What’s the plan? Do you want me to come in? Are you going to call me later?”

“I’ll call you.” Cole was out the door and sprinting up the path to the dark house. Not a light was on inside and a chilling panic gripped him. He rang the bell twice in quick succession and began peering in through all of the front windows, trying to catch a glimpse of someone. After few seconds he saw a shadow making its way through the living room and a moment later Amy was at the door. Her hair was a mess and her eyes were red and puffy as though she had been crying.

“Thank God,” she said. “Come inside.”

Cole stepped in, closing the door behind him, and followed Amy through the house to her bedroom. The darkness of the interior gave the perfection of the house, and all its whiteness, an eerie vibe that had him checking behind him, expecting someone to be watching them. No one appeared to be home but Amy took him to her room anyway and shut the door, leaving the light off and sitting on the floor. Cole took a seat facing her and even in the darkness he could see the fear etched onto her face.

“What did they say to you?” he said. “Did they hurt you?”

“No, it's not that,” she said, her voice edged with sadness.

“Then what? You can tell me, it's okay.”

Amy took a deep breath and rubbed her face. “My mom picked me up today. Said she and my dad wanted to talk to me. They sat me down in the living room and for the next couple hours they apologized for everything they'd ever done to me. They told me that they loved me and they didn't want to lose me and that they would do whatever I wanted that would make me happy. They promised things would be different from now on.”

“What!? You didn't actually believe any of that crap, did you?”

“It's hard. I mean they're my parents. And when they were finished talking they said they were going out to buy me a surprise and that even though it wouldn't make up for everything they'd done, it was a start and it was guaranteed to make me happy. They haven't come back yet.”

“Come on, Amy,” Cole said, laying his hands on her knees. “That's all bull. They're just being nice until the
Child Services guy decides not to take you away and then everything will be back to the way it used to be. Trust me. They didn't change just like that.”

“And what if they did?” Amy's voice was getting shrill. “They're my
parents
. No matter what they do to me I still love them. To tell you the truth, I've been having doubts for a while. I just didn't want to say anything because you were so set on helping me and I didn't want to upset or anger you. I'm scared, Cole.” Her voice dropped and her eyes found sanctuary on the floor. “I'm really scared. Scared of what will happen to me if I leave. Scared of regretting it and losing my family forever. This is too much. I can't handle it.”

“Amy, it's okay. I know it's a big change but it's for the better.”

“You don't know that. You can say it but you don't
know
it. I mean, what if your mother was mean to you? Would you want to leave and never come back?”

Cole was taken aback by this and found himself at a loss for words.

“Exactly,” Amy said.

“Let's put it like this,” Cole said. “If you stay your life is almost guaranteed to be miserable. If you find a new family, there's a much better chance your life will improve. It's a risk worth taking.”

“I'm sorry, Cole, but I've made up my mind. I need you to support me in this.”

Cole had no idea what to say anymore. After a moment of silence he reached across and wrapped his arms around her. She returned the embrace and buried her face in his shoulder as tears began to flow freely down her cheeks. They remained in each others' arms for many minutes as Amy sobbed quietly, her body trembling. Cole felt Amy's soft hair against his cheek, felt her choking breaths against his chest, and listened to the silence surrounding them.

Finally, Cole released his grip on her and sat back up. “So, what now?” he said.

Amy wiped her eyes and sniffled. “I don't know. I don't think there's anything
to
do. This may not be the right decision, but, I'm sorry, I...” Her voice trailed off.

“Let's do something to take your mind off it,” Cole said. “What kind of games do you have?”

“We have everything. My parents have a ton of money. I've played almost none of them so let's go see what I've got.”

She lifted herself off the floor and led him into a hall closet that was lined from floor to ceiling with games and toys, the vast majority of which were still in their original wrapping and all neatly placed on shelves. They scanned up and down the shelves for something of interest, Cole having never heard of any of them and Amy muttering to herself about how she couldn't believe she had forgotten she had all these amazing games and how now would be a great time to try them out but she couldn't decide which to choose first. They settled on a game, of Amy's choice, and brought it back to her room where she unwrapped it and removed the instructions.

“I think it's time for some light in here,” she said. As she stood up, however, the room was suddenly filled with blinking red and blue lights. Thinking it was just a passing patrol car, she ignored it, but when it didn't pass, she turned around to look out the window in curiosity.

“I wonder if something's up with the neighbors,” she said, pulling back the curtains. “That's weird. They're parked out front.”

Cole got up to join her at the window and, sure enough, parked outside was a police car. As they watched, the lights shut off and a policeman got out of the front seat.

“Is he...?” Amy said. “No. What? Why is he coming up the path? He must have the wrong house.”

She turned and ran for the door just as the policeman rang the bell. Cole chased after her, a sickening feeling rising in his gut, and he came in view of the front door as Amy flung it open.

“Can I help you?” She stood up straight to face the officer but her trembling voice betrayed her. “There's nothing wrong here.”

The officer was a massive man who made Amy look even tinier than usual.

“My name is Officer Daniels. Are you Amy?”

“Yeah, what do you want?”

“Come with me,” he said. “I'll explain in the car.”

“No, tell me now,” she screeched. “I'm not going anywhere unless I know why.”

“All right, all right. May I come in then?”

“No, just spit it out already.”

The officer fiddled with his belt. “There's been an... accident. Involving your parents.”

“What?! What kind of accident?”

“I don't have many details. When one of them said they had a daughter, I volunteered to be the one to pick you up.” At that moment he noticed Cole lurking in the dark around the corner. “Who's that, your brother?”

“I'm her best friend,” Cole said, coming forward. “May I come with you?”

“I'm sorry but I'm going to have to get a parent to come pick you up. I'm legally not allowed to bring you along.”

“So wait,” Amy said. “If they asked for me, they must be okay, right?”

“I'm sorry but I don't have any answers.”

“Come on, Amy,” Cole said. “Let's get going. I'm sure it'll be okay.” He looked up at the officer. “Do you have a phone I can use?”

“Yes, of course,” the officer said, pulling out a cell phone and handing it to Cole.

“You're lying,” Amy said, giving the officer a dead stare, her voice like ice. “You know more than you're telling me.”

“I, uh...”

“Of course he's lying,” Cole said, taking her hand and trying to pull her past the officer but failing to budge her. “He's not allowed to tell you. Now let's go. The sooner you leave the sooner you can know what happened.”

“All right, fine.” Amy ceased resisting and allowed herself to be dragged to the waiting police car.

Cole flipped open the cell phone.

“Tell them you're all right and then hand the phone to me,” the officer said.

Cole punched in his number and waited awkwardly as the phone rang once, twice, three times, while he watched Amy's frozen, unblinking face out of the corner of his eye.

“Hello?”

“Oh, Mom, you're home.”

“Yeah, I was allowed to leave early today. Are you having fun with Amy? Is this her number?”

“No, it's not. Listen, don't worry, I'm fine and so is Amy, but something's happened and I need a ride to the hospital with Amy and a police officer.”

“Oh my God. Why? What's wrong?”

“He asked me to let him tell you. One second.” He handed the phone to the officer.

“Yes
, hi, Mrs... Mrs. Sicarius. Yes, he’s fine, nothing to worry about. Amy's parents were involved in an accident… yes, I’m sorry I don’t know the details. I was taking her to the hospital at their request and your son asked to tag along but I'm not allowed… Yes, that would probably be for the best... We'll be here... All right. Goodbye.” He clicked the phone off and stuck it in his pocket. “We're going to wait for your mother and she'll drive you to the hospital. Should be here in a few minutes.”

Amy looked up at the officer. “Are you kidding? You expect me to wait here even longer when you won't even tell me what happened?”

“It will only be a few minutes.”

Amy looked at the ground and closed her eyes.

The officer cleared his throat. “So, how old are you kids?” the officer said.

“F
ourteen,” Cole said after a long delay.

“You seem mature for your age.”

“I get that a lot.”

“Well, Amy, Sweetie, listen. Everything’s going to be okay. I’ll see to it that it is.”

Nothing more was said for the remainder of the wait. Meredith pulled up to them and got out of the car to speak with the officer.

“Mrs. Sicarius?” the officer said.

“Yes. If you can't fill us in on any details then for Amy's sake we should get to the hospital as soon as possible.”

“Of course. We'll be able get more information once we arrive. Follow behind me.”

Meredith stroked Amy's hair. “Sorry for making you wait, Amy. We can get going now.”

Amy did not respond so Cole led her into the backseat and took a seat next to her. While they drove to the hospital, Cole kept his eyes forward but his focus was on Amy sitting next to him. Not once during the entire ride did he notice her move or blink and her coma-like state had him on edge, unable to shake a stubborn lump in his throat. He couldn’t stand seeing her like that, unresponsive and detached from reality. Meredith made a couple attempts to get Amy talking but was unsuccessful.

When they arrived, Cole climbed out and Amy mechanically followed. Cole took her hand, to which she gave no response, and led her behind the officer inside the hospital. Once inside the waiting room, the officer told them to wait just a minute.

Cole positioned himself in front of Amy and looked into her eyes, but she looked away. “Amy,” he said. “Are you in there? Talk to me. You’re scaring me.”

She blinked hard but there was no response.

“There’s no point in worrying until you know what happened,” he said.

She nodded and looked away. Cole let it go. He sat there tapping his foot, willing anyone to come along and end their torture.

A few minutes later, a nurse approached them and, directed by the officer, knelt in front of Amy. “Excuse me,” she said softly. “Amy?” After a nod from Amy she continued. “Do you have any nearby relatives you can stay with?”

Amy shook her head, never making eye contact with the nurse.

“None? An aunt or uncle? A grandparent? Even one you haven't seen in a while?”

Amy shook her head again.

“What about someone who lives far away?”

Amy shook her head.

The nurse got to her feet. “Someone from Child Services will be here shortly.”

“Wait, you're not even going to tell us anything?” Cole said.

“Sorry, I can't,” she said and left.

“Ridiculous,” Cole muttered.

After another agonizing wait, Josh appeared and Cole’s heart sank at the expression on his face. He looked back to gauge Amy’s reaction but her back was still turned. Josh knelt by her side and placed his hand on her shoulder. She did not appear to notice his arrival, nor did she flinch at his touch.