It all hit me in that moment, and I bit my lip to prevent the tears from falling. My own father had shot me with a tranquilizer gun. He’d tricked me into thinking he was my hero after Joseph had forced himself into my home.
Joseph was a monster, a demon in the form of a horrible human being. But my father, Dr. Robert Dooley, was no better. He had said nothing and acted as though nothing was wrong when he had come to my home; he had manipulated me. But looking back, his behavior had been off. I should’ve noticed it. I should’ve remembered what mom had said about him; I shouldn’t have trusted him.
"Violet. Answer the question." He growled as he stood beside me with a glass of water in his hand. I felt dizzy when I turned to look at him. I was petrified.
"N… no." I said, my voice sounded foreign to my own ears. My throat was dry and scratchy.
"Lovely. Very well then." He drank the cup and tossed it on the floor. I wondered how he had snuck me out of the building without anybody noticing an unconscious girl being dragged by an old man. I wondered how he’d been able to carry me down those four flights of stairs without anyone noticing.
I shut my eyes again as realization struck me. He must've done this before; he must’ve done it to somebody else if he’d been able to drag me out so discreetly.
"I took some blood samples." He began as my eyes shot to my bruised arm. It looked like he had pricked it with a dozen different needles. "Relax, it was only a liter.” He said casually as my eyes widened. An entire liter— he could’ve killed me. “Anyway, I tried to analyze your DNA, but it seems like everything is normal. So, tell me Violet." He said, approaching me, "if you were able to read minds, you would've known my plan and not gone with me. This shows that you cannot hear my thoughts and thus, you lied to me. Do you know what happens to liars?" He grimaced; anger written all over his features.
I didn't move; I couldn’t move. I flinched, realizing that he was going to hurt me.
Instead, he began laughing, "are you afraid of me? Why are you flinching?" He asked as I stared at the wall instead. I was internally screaming, and nobody could hear me; nobody could help me. I wondered if this is where I would die—and by the hands of my own father. I sobbed quietly, unable to feel if any tears had left my eyes as he approached me with a smirk on his face.
"Very well then. Maybe we can try something else." He said, and like a switch, I was out. I kept falling in and out of consciousness for God knows how long. Everything was always foggy and hazy when I woke up, but the fear was the only consistent thing.
I would open my eyes and it would be a different time of the day. Inconsistent. I was tired all the time and drowsy. I woke up today and I had been seated in a chair with my hands zip tied together.
The pile of tools on Dooley's desk seemed to increase every time I was conscious. And I was afraid of what he was doing to me while I was unconscious. I had no recollection of being moved from the vertical table to a chair, but more importantly, I wondered how long I had been there. It was always the same room, the same smell, the same environment. I lulled my head as a loud scream woke me up this time.
"Listen here Violet! Tell your incessant boyfriend to stop calling or I will personally get a restraining order against him!" I woke up to Dooley angrily holding my phone in his hand as Aaron's name popped up on the screen. He clearly didn’t know about the magic of blocking numbers, but I wasn’t about to tell him.
I took a deep breath, thinking of Aaron. I missed him. The last time I’d seen him, he was telling me he had to visit a friend out of town and that he’d stop by afterwards so we could watch a movie together.
Aaron. My dear, sweet Aaron. I missed him. His kind eyes, the secure feeling I always got when he was around. I was so afraid now, staring at my phone screen as the phone kept vibrating in Dooley’s hand.
"Look Violet. I am going to answer the phone call. You're going to tell him you're fine and busy. Then hang up. If you say anything out of line, I will inject you with a certain… uh… thing… that you're not going to like." He said, a smile on his face as he spoke. I wondered if he enjoyed hurting me. But I knew that I couldn't trust anybody, but Aaron. I needed help. I needed someone to rescue me because there was no way for me to even have time to plan a way out when I became unconscious every five minutes.
I nodded as Dooley hit the green button on my phone screen. "Violet! Thank God, I've been trying to reach you for three days! Are you okay?” Aaron’s voice echoed through the phone as I felt an uncomfortable feeling in my face and tears refused to leave, “I checked your house and asked your mom, she said she doesn’t know where you are either. Where are you? Are you okay?" He asked, he sounded worried and relieved all at once, but I could barely speak. My mouth was so dry. Everything was numb, but it hurt all at once.
Dooley glared at me, as I shut my eyes, "yeah, I'm fine. No worries." I said, my voice was hoarse and weak as I fought against myself; I couldn't cry. Dooley would hurt me if I started to cry in front of Aaron.
"Why does your voice sound like that?" He asked as my heart leapt in my chest. He truly was he only person who knew me well enough to notice a voice change, "can I stop by your house later? Everyone has been worried sick about you." I could hear the urgency in his voice.
"No, I'm okay. Thanks for checking up on me." My voice was shaky as I spoke, and I knew he could tell something was going on. I hoped he could tell that I was not okay.
"You sound so tired… have you been sleeping lately?" He asked as Dooley hung up.
"Why'd you do that for!?" I asked, trying to muster up as much strength as I could to yell, it probably sounded like a low whisper to him. I was tired, feeling like a limp noodle.
"He was asking too many questions. How annoying. Anyway, darling, off you go to sleep. I have much to analyze and work with. Goodnight." Dooley said and I slowly drifted back to sleep, wondering why this was happening to me as I passed out.
Chapter 55:\ Bulldozer
Aaron
"Aaron, have you heard from Violet recently?" Amelia had called me to ask and I grew confused. I had genuinely thought she’d just been avoiding me after what happened with Stacy.
Stacy had called her out of nowhere during our amusement park date and said someone had crashed into her car at a party and she needed someone to pick her up. Violet had gotten upset that I didn't want to pick up her ‘friend’ from some random party and drop her off at home. I couldn't understand why she was okay with helping out someone who’d tortured, manipulated, and walked all over her.
But nevertheless, I went with her to pick up her friend. And then, Violet had gotten upset that I had been rude to Stacy the entire time, but I was never one to beat around the bush. It wasn’t my fault that Stacy hurt Violet in more ways than one… and Violet had decided to forgive her for whatever reason. I didn’t understand her reasoning and I know that I could have never done that if I was in her shoes.
And then I leave her for one day, just one day so I can visit a family friend that I had planned on visiting for a while; and the next thing I know Violet disappeared. I went to her house to check if she was okay, the door was open, but her home was empty. It was odd, but I ignored it. I had tried calling her again the next day, but nobody answered. I was sent to voicemail every time and I assumed she had decided to pretend we were never friends.
But this morning, her mother had called me, which was more worrisome than anything else. I had asked around, tried calling Violet again, and attempted to figure out how she had gone missing so quickly. I couldn't find her, and her mom didn't even know where she was.
And then I decided that perhaps she needed some space from me. Maybe she wasn't happy that I had figured out and done something about her rapist; and maybe this was her way of punishing me. My gut told me that I had to keep looking for her, regardless of if she hated me now.
It just didn't click. Violet was too mature to ignore people as a way of punishing them; that was child's play. She was always very blatant about what made her upset
and had never hesitated to call me out.
"No, I haven't. I've been trying to call, but she hasn't been at school either. I don't know if she's okay." I said, my voice cracked as a sinking feeling engulfed me. I was mortified, asking myself a million and one questions.
I wondered if somebody had taken her. My only options were possibly:
Amy, but I doubt she cared to kidnap Violet when she was dealing with so much. Also, she had never had anything against Violet as far as I knew so that ruled her out completely.
Stacy was another possibility, but I didn’t think she would hurt somebody who’d helped her in her time of need. Knowing Stacy's thoughts, she was devastated about her car and that's all that had been circling around in her mind since I had last seen her. Automatically, that ruled her out too; if Stacy had been, hypothetically, plotting against Violet, she would certainly not kidnap her—and she’d have done it way sooner.
Tyler and Jared were ruled out because they were bozos who couldn’t have possibly pulled off something like this— especially if it was a kidnapping.
Amelia wouldn't hurt her own daughter, which left just two people: Joseph and Violet's father. I wondered if they had conspired together. I didn't know what Dooley would have against his own daughter; I had hardly seen them together anyway, so that ruled him out. I couldn’t think of anyone else who knew Violet, which narrowed it down to one person: Joseph.
"Okay, well Aaron, if you find her, please let me know. I’m worried sick and she hasn’t been answering my calls. I'm going to report her as a missing person right now." Amelia said, she sounded distressed. I could only imagine the pain she must’ve felt, but while I wasn’t Violet's mother, I was hurting too.
"Will do Mrs. V." I said, hanging up the phone and knowing exactly what I had to do. I hopped in my car, memories of all the times I’d been in here with Violet flooded my thoughts. We had stupidly hung out in my car countless times and laughed until our lungs couldn't hold any more air. Three days felt like eternity and I was exponentially worried and the fear that she might be dead lingered in my mind.
I had tried calling her again just to have the answering machine respond. "The number you're trying to reach is not available. Please leave a message at the beep." And then a long beep played, and I ended the call, running a hand through my hair.
Violet! Please be okay! I just want to know that you're okay! Ignore me all you want afterwards.
Her phone clearly wasn't dead since it was still ringing for a while before sending me to voicemail. I was frustrated, worried, and scared. This was the person I trusted and cared for more than anyone else on the planet; I was so afraid for her. I pressed re-dial once again, surprised that she had actually picked up.
"Violet! Thank God, I've been trying to reach you for three days! Are you okay? I checked your house and asked your mom, she said she doesn’t know where you are either. Where are you? Are you okay?" I asked, my voice sounded anxious, even to my own ears. I was worried about her; I wanted to hear her voice and hear her tell me that she was okay.
"Yeah, I'm fine. No worries." She whispered, her voice was quiet and shaky, it sounded dry and hoarse all at once; like she hadn't had a single drop of water lately. I could only imagine what she was going through, and my mind went to the worst places.
"Why does your voice sound like that? Can I stop by your house later? Everyone has been worried sick about you." I asked, wishing she would give me more than one sentence answers. But I was thankful to hear her voice and know that she was alive.
"No, I'm okay; thanks for checking up on me." She whispered, her voice sounded like she had just woken up or that she’d been crying, and it pulled at my heartstrings to know something was going on and I couldn't help her.
"You sound so tired… have you been sleeping lately?" I asked, hearing a loud machine rumbling in the background. I was so confused when she randomly hung up, leaving my question unanswered. I backed out of my driveway and drove to Joseph's apartment. Perhaps he knew where my Violet was.
***
"What do you want?" His voice sounded cold and accusatory from the other side of the door. I assumed he'd learned from last time when he didn't open the door immediately after I had knocked. My fist was itching to hit something— if he had her hidden in there and if he had hurt her, I wouldn’t hesitate to beat him to the point where he couldn’t walk for the rest of his life. I don’t typically condone violence; but Joseph was built different.
"Where's Violet?" I asked, glaring at the peephole that I knew he was staring at me through.
"How am I supposed to know?" He asked. I groaned; because the last time I heard your thoughts, you said you were going to get revenge you fool. She did nothing; if you want revenge, take it up with the man who one-sidedly fought you: me.
"Look, buddy," I spat, "I don't have time to talk to you. Open the door and tell me where she is." I said impatiently.
It's not like this bulldozer can tear my door down anyway. He thought, I contemplated it for a second.
"I will, in fact, tear your door down if you don't let me in." I said as he froze. What the heck? Did I say that out loud? I decided to just push on the door slightly so he would open it, although the idea of having him sleep without a door for a few weeks did sound appealing. I knew he was afraid of not getting his deposit back from the landlord, so I figured, why not scare him a bit.
"No… no wait! I’ll open it. Stop! Just please don't hit me. I don't know what she told you! I didn't do anything." He said as he unlocked the door. This was news to me, I glared at him, trying to see if he’d think about anything else that I didn’t know about. I knew that Violet hated playing the victim, yet here was this man-child who was trying to pretend that he was the victim. He was a monster.
"What are you talking about?" I asked as he unlocked the door. I stood at the doorway as his expression changed. He held a knife in his hand.
"She didn't tell you?" His eyebrows shot to the ceiling and I could see the alarm on his face.
"Tell me what?" I asked, crossing my arms as I stared at him. I grew angrier by the second as I got flashes from his thoughts. His anger was bursting at the seams as he appeared at Violet's house and as soon as she opened the door…
"I don't know where she is." He spoke, cutting off whatever thoughts had gone through his mind.
"You were at her house three days ago, right?" I crossed my arms as I stood in his doorway. How did he even know? She did tell him!
"So, you were there, then?" I glared at him, "why were you there?"
He doesn't look as angry as he did last time. Maybe she didn't tell him. I didn't exactly plan to do anything to hurt her, I was just angry.
"You hurt her?"
"Dude, look, we were friends right. There's no reason to get mad. I didn't do anything." Joseph said as I glared at him.
"So why were you at her house?" I asked, hoping his thoughts would wander over to what actually happened and tell me, but he somehow managed to avoid thinking about it.
"Look. You came here asking for Violet. I don't know where she is and if she isn't telling you where she is, then maybe she doesn't want you to know." Joseph reached for the door handle in an attempt to shut it, but I stuck a hand between it. He didn't deserve a civil conversation. He was still walking around and not in prison where he belonged; I would ensure that it was where he ended up one of these days. I decided to take another approach and walked into his apartment.
"You realize that walking in here is considered trespassing. I can have you arrested for that." I ignored him and instead sat on his couch; my eyes glued to him like a lion to its prey.
"So, how are your parents? And the camping trip went well, I assume. I'm sorry to hear about what happened with the bear." I said. He looked at me with the most misshapen look, his eyes widening. And suddenly, he crouched on the floor, staring at me with a blank expression.
There was never a bear because Joseph was the bear.
I eyed him cautiously. Not only wa
s he a rapist, but also a murderer. I would need to figure out how to gather evidence against him regarding this also. However, Violet was my top priority now.
"Please don't bring them up again. It's too painful to think about. Look, if you need help tracking Violet, and please don’t hit me for saying this. But she never turned off the location-sharing services after we broke up. I can tell you where she is."
For whatever reason, I was suddenly extremely uncomfortable where I sat. I hoped my mouth wasn't hanging open at the new revelation. He was a stalker and a rapist and a murderer. He deserved to be behind bars more than Bailey Bloom did—at least she had seemed clueless about her actions. This guy had intended on doing everything he had done, and I was suddenly afraid of Joseph as I sat on his couch and watched him scroll through his phone. I still wondered how he had found the phone I’d thrown away— but based on this new information, I was no longer surprised that he had found his phone.
Chapter 56:\ Hatred
Dr. Dooley
It was only a matter of time. Violet had proved to be useless and there was no reason to keep her here except to bait the one person that had consumed my experiment at the age of twelve. He was the sole reason behind my madness, and I knew he would track her down if he knew she was alive. They were forever connected, their DNA manipulated to where they strived when they communicated with one another.
It was all part of my classic experiment and I hadn’t realized that I’d been missing this crucial part in my most recent trials. The reason my mice had been able to escape their cages was because they both had been injected with the serum and thus, their genes had, in a sense, become linked in order for them to communicate.
It didn't take me long to realize that the boy that had been in her room the time I had visited her all those months ago looked familiar, at least he had matched the description of the boy named Aaron who had destroyed my life’s work. He was the boy that had called for his friend Joseph when they'd destroyed my experiment on a day that I’d been so excited to be part of. It was then that I realized why Violet and Aaron seemed inseparable— because I’d accidentally linked them and now the mind-reading ability could swap between them. I wanted to do more research on them, use them as my lab rats. I needed both of them.
The Boy Who Read Minds Page 24
