Dark Mind (The Dark Mind Trilogy Book 1)

by Matthew Goldstein

  Beth stood and left him to stew in his emotions. Later that night when Meredith came home, he blocked out everything, determined not to let his mother see that something was wrong.

  “Hey, Mom,” he said, running up to her and trapping her in a hug as she tried to strip off her jacket.

  “We need to talk,” Beth said from behind him. “There's something you need to know.”

  Cole released his grip and spun around, a lump quickly forming in his throat. “Aunt Beth, it's not...”

  Beth lowered her gaze to match Cole's. “She's a grown woman. She can handle it and she needs to know. She's going to hear about it soon enough anyway.”

  “Hear what?” Meredith said.

  “Just get settled and come in the kitchen,” Beth said.

  After dropping her coat on a hanger and kicking off her shoes, Meredith followed Beth into the kitchen and they both took a seat while Cole stood against the wall, wringing his hands.

  “Out with it,” Meredith said. “What did Cole do?”

  “Screw this, I'll tell her,” Cole said, pushing himself off the wall. “Amy's parents abuse her and I had Beth call Child Services on them. I didn't want to tell you because I didn't want to worry you.”

  “What?! Your friend Amy? That's not possible.” She looked at Beth, who simply nodded in confirmation. “Oh my God. What did they do?”

  Cole recounted all the details for her, concluding with a toned down version of that day's visit, all the while feeling smaller and smaller as he watched his mother's face slowly drop in horror and disbelief. When he was done, Meredith leaned back against her chair, exhaling deeply.

  “That's unbelievable,” she said. “I guess that's what's best for her but... Wow, I just can't... I hope she finds good foster parents.”

  “It's nothing for you to worry about, Mom,” Cole said.

  “I need to go to sleep,” Meredith said. She got up and shuffled her way to the bathroom.

  “Told you she'd worry,” Cole said.

  “Yes, but it's best she knows.”

  * * *

  At lunchtime the next day, Amy was waiting for him by the entrance, a gleam in her eye.

  “So... how'd it go?” she said. “I've been dying to hear.”

  “Uh, not bad.”

  “Not bad? After that whole build up?”

  “I mean I told him everything plainly enough. You know how he is.”

  “Yep, I do,” Amy said. “He came to school and talked to me again this morning. He seems really on top of everything.”

  “Really, again?”

  “Yeah, and it was so much better. He said that after the chat with you, the evidence is considerably in my favor. Guess your speech did the trick. Like you said. It's happening. It's really happening.”

  Cole was exuberant. “Ah hah, I knew it. That's amazing. Told you, I got this covered.”

  Amy tapped his arm. “Yeah you did. I'll never doubt you again, I promise. Let's go eat. I'm starving.”

  Cole was in such an elevated state that he didn't mind Martin and his posse that day. He ate his lunch in blissful ignorance of the conversations going on around him, even occasionally tuning in long enough to add a word here and there, one time drawing a laugh, until one boy said, “Ew, what is that?”

  The boy's face was scrunched up and he was pointing at Cole's lunch. Now the whole group was looking and a chorus of disgusted voices joined in.

  “Hey, shut up guys,” Amy said.

  “What?” Cole said. He could feel his cheeks turning red as the familiar voices inside his head began their insatiable whispering. “It's just tempeh.” Every once in a while, his mom would have the urge to pack him a lunch, and today happened to be one of those days. He had never considered before this moment that some of the food he ate might be different than what the average kid was used to, but now, glancing at the lunches around him, he was very much noticing it.

  “Looks like a dead animal,” Martin said. “Did your mom pack that disgusting turd for you?”

  “Shut the hell up,” Cole said, jumping to his feet, and trying to ignore the inner voices as they reached a crescendo.

  Martin stood, putting his face to Cole's. “Yeah? What're you gonna do about it?”

  Amy pulled Cole back down. “Are you kidding me?” she said. “You're gonna fight over food? I don't care if you don't like it. Then just don't look at it.”

  Martin sat back down, his glare becoming an expression of confusion. “What's wrong with you?”

  Cole was cradling his head in his hands, his eyes squeezed shut, his breathing slow and labored. It was all he could do to stop himself from screaming as the voices became his world. The cafeteria was a distant dream. A thousand voices assaulted his brain at once, the occasional word seeping through, but meaningless in the tumult. He fought to shut them out and regain a grasp on reality.

  “Cole, are you all right?” Amy said.

  “It's... nothing. I'm gonna go sit somewhere else today,” Cole said, getting back up. The voices faded away as he left.

  “You see what you did?” Amy said to Martin. “Come on, Cole.”

  “Amy, don't be like that,” Martin said.

  “Don't be an asshole and I won't.” This received a number of “oohs” from the spectators.

  Amy and Cole relocated to another table.

  “Sorry about that,” Amy said. “I am really getting sick of those guys.”

  “Maybe you can ask for new friends while you're getting new parents,” Cole said, smiling.

  Amy gave a half smirk. “Ha, yeah, maybe. So you wanna hang out after school today? Get me away from my super awkward house?”

  “Sounds good.”

  School seemed to him at this point a cruel joke, a way to torture him between doing things that actually mattered. As soon as Cole's last class was dismissed, he rushed outside in search of Amy, but at first, she was nowhere in sight. Just as he decided she hadn’t left the building yet, he caught a glimpse of her getting into her mother's car, whose tires screeched and jetted down the block.

  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 occu
rred 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.