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The Divine Right of Kings	By : vinsmouse Category: G through L > Hardy Boys Series Views: 5915 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I don't own the Hardy Boys, not making any money, just cheap thrills.

Chapter List
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Chapter 33

“I don’t think I can start school next week,” Joe announced.

Diane wasn’t really surprised by the statement. “Why do you say that?”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“I’m sorry Joe but with school beginning next week we can’t not talk about this,” Diane sincerely apologized. She never enjoyed pushing her patients but there were times it couldn’t be helped.

Joe glared but he knew he wouldn’t be allowed to avoid the question. “I’m not like the other kids and they know it.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Because it’s true,” Joe snapped.

Diane took a deep breath, forcing herself to remain calm. “Why do you think it’s true?” With no answer forthcoming Diane tried again. “Did something happen during one of your field trips?”

“I only went to one place.”

“And where did you go?” Diane ignored his avoidance of the question for now.

“The mall.”

Diane’s eyes widened, after the park she had expected Joe to stick to sparsely populated areas. “Why did you choose the mall?”

“You said it had to be public,” Joe accused.

“I did,” Diane calmly agreed.

“I knew there’d be more people at the mall but there are security guards there too.”

“That made you feel safer,” Diane guessed.

“A little.”

“Was that the only reason you chose the mall?”

“You said I had to stay an hour and it’s easier to keep moving at the mall but not really do anything.”

“You couldn’t do that at the park?”

Joe shuddered, “The park is too…”

“Too what?” Diane gently asked.

“Too big, too open,” Joe whispered.

“That scares you?”

“It’d be easy for somebody like Red to find me there.”

“You don’t think they could find you at the mall?”

Joe shook his head, “But there are guards there to help and they can lock the doors to keep everybody safe if they have to.”

“But something happened anyway, didn’t it?”

Joe stood, moving to the aquarium. As he had last time he squatted next to the tank, watching the colorful fish swimming about. His eyes were drawn to the small fish that was once more swimming alone. “It wasn’t Frank’s fault, he couldn’t help needing the restroom.”

Diane made a small noise of acknowledgement but nothing more.

“A couple of boys came over to me. I think they had been following us.”

“Did they say something that made you think that?”

Joe shrugged, “Just a feeling,” he admitted. “They pulled me around the corner from the restroom and pushed me up against the wall. They were standing real close, too close,” Joe’s finger was shaking as he began to follow the small fish with it. “They knew,” Joe whispered.

Diane watched her young patient carefully. This was important. “What did they know?” she asked, her own voice nearly a whisper lest she disturb the spell the fish seemed to cast on the boy.

“They were up against me, like him and they,” Joe’s head dropped against the glass of the tank. He blinked rapidly, desperate to keep the tears at bay. “They asked me if I liked what Red did. They wanted to know if he had…” he couldn’t say, couldn’t repeat the vile words they’d used. “They said they would take me somewhere private, that I could show them a good time, like I did Red.”

Diane stood, instinctively moving to comfort the young teen. Joe jerked the moment she moved; Diane retook her seat.

“Everybody says nobody knows,” Joe confessed. “But they knew fishy.”

Diane held her breath, waiting for the boy to complete his thought.

“I’m a freak fishy and those boys knew it. They knew that I liked what Red did,” Joe softly confessed. He kept his head pressed against the glass, his eyes closed. He couldn’t bear the look he knew would be on Dr. Saylor’s face now that she knew his darkest secret. He hadn’t told anybody, not even Alex.

Diane didn’t know why Joe thought that but she was sure it wasn’t true. “Joe, did you really, honestly like what Red did? Did you want him to continue?”

“I hated it but…”

“But what?” Diane quietly asked when the teen remained silent.

“But some part of me liked it or I wouldn’t have…my body wouldn’t have reacted like it did.”

She understood now, she should have guessed. “You became aroused, probably when Red was licking the blood away?”

Joe nodded. He couldn’t stop the tears that fell. She would tell his parents and they would tell Frank. They were going to hate him when they knew the truth. He shouldn’t have told, hadn’t meant to tell but the secret refused to stay inside any longer.

Diane didn’t allow his flinch to stop her this time. With an economy of movement she was at the boy’s side, kneeling beside him. “You are not a freak Joe and you didn’t like it.”

“But…”

“I know your body responded but that doesn’t mean you wanted or liked what he was doing, I promise.”

“How do you know?” Joe wanted to believe her. He had been so relieved when Alex came into the kitchen and stopped Red but whenever he remembered his body’s reaction he doubted his own perception.

“The response your body had was only a physical response. It doesn’t mean you enjoyed what was happening.” Diane thought quickly, she needed an example, something a teenager could understand. “Have you ever had what they call brain freeze when eating ice cream?”

Joe nodded. He didn’t know what that had to do with the topic of their conversation.

“Does that mean you don’t like ice cream?”

“No.”

“Yet your head hurts if you eat ice cream too quickly. That is a physiological response to a particular stimulus, the ice cream.”

Joe thought about that. “So when my body reacted to…that, it didn’t mean anything?”

“Exactly,” Diane confidently replied. “The only thing it means is that your body responded in a natural way to a particular stimulus. What matters is how your mind responded and from everything you’ve told me your mind was resisting the assault.”

“Yeah,” Joe whispered. “But other people still think I wanted it. In school there will be other kids like those two and I won’t know who is watching me, wanting to do things.”

“There will also be teachers you can go to for help,” Diane pointed out. “Your brother and friends will be there too, you can trust them can’t you?”

“My brother and friends, yeah,” Joe’s finger still traced the movement of the small fish.

“But not the teachers?” Diane felt a pang of sadness for the child.

Joe shrugged, “I won’t know them.” He was beginning high school this year meaning new teachers of course.

“That’s true,” Diane conceded. “You know schools are very careful nowadays, they do extensive background checks on anybody that works in a school.”

“They could miss somebody,” Joe stubbornly countered.

“They could,” she honestly responded. Lying to a patient was the surest way to lose their trust. “But as we’ve discussed before you can’t spend your life hiding away in a dark bedroom. I have made some arrangements with the school that I hope will make things easier for you.”

“What kind of arrangements?”

Diane told him, outlining everything that had been put in place to help him. The plans had only been finalized a couple of days earlier. He would have a refuge in the form of a small office near the nurse’s station. This would allow him the privacy he might need if he felt a panic attack coming on while placing him near medical help should it be needed. His teachers would be told that if he asked to leave the classroom they were to allow it without questioning him. Finally he would be allowed to carry a cell phone with him at all times, as long as it was kept on vibrate. His brother too would be allowed a cell phone so that Joe could call him if he felt the need.

Joe smiled softly at that last bit. All of it sounded good but knowing he could call for help no matter where he was in the school made the prospect a little less scary. “Thank you,” he quietly said his voice thick with emotion.

“You’re welcome Joe,” Diane squeezed his shoulder. Standing up she moved to her desk and picked up a card. “Our time is done for today but before you leave I want you to take one of my cards,” she had meant to give him one before but somehow he was always gone before she remembered. “If you have any trouble, no matter how small it might seem, you call me.”

“But what if it’s late?” Joe took the card, slipping it into his pocket.

“No matter what time it is Joe,” Diane firmly replied. She wanted him to know that help was only a phone call away and that time or reason didn’t matter. “I want you to make an appointment for next week.”

“I will.” He looked up at her, “Homework?”

Diane smiled. “I think just going to school and getting through the week will be more than enough, don’t you?”

Joe nodded shakily. He wasn’t even sure he could do that much.

Hardy home

11:00 p.m.

“In our top story tonight, police have no leads in the brutal murder of two teen boys. The boys were last seen leaving Bayport Mall on Wednesday evening. Their parents reported them missing when they failed to return to their respective homes. An immediate search was launched, ending with the discovery of the boys’ bodies in a waterfront warehouse.

Mark Miller and Roy Davidson were found bludgeoned to death by a night watchman during his normal rounds. Police do not know why the boys were in the warehouse. Were they engaged in illegal activity or were they lured or taken there by the person or persons who murdered them? Police at this time are baffled. A reward has been offered for any information leading to an arrest in this heinous crime.”

With a sick feeling Laura clicked the off button. She was thankful the boys had already gone to their rooms for the night. She hadn’t recognized the names and could only hope that neither of her sons knew them. Perhaps it was callous but her family, especially her boys, had suffered enough this summer they didn’t deserve more.

TBC...

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The Divine Right of Kings