“You’re well-stocked,” she said to Daz.
“We have to be,” Daz said.
She pocketed the pills without looking at them. The sling was more than welcome but she had to be clearheaded for Charlie. No pills.
Once back upstairs, Beth led them into an office that was set up more as a living space. “Make yourselves at home. You can wait in here while I talk to Charlie in one of the smaller rooms.”
“I’d rather be there when you talk to Charlie,” Renee said. “He doesn’t like meeting new people.”
“That’s completely understandable. But I need to gain his trust to speak to him, mind-to-mind, and if you’re in the room, he’s going to look to you instead.”
Renee frowned. That made sense, as much as anything regarding telepathy made sense right now.
Beth turned on a television monitor that showed the video feed from the room next door. The room was obviously set up for kids, with a toy box, containers full of Lego bricks, Lincoln Logs, action figures, along with several child-size comfy chairs. “You can watch everything that happens, and we’re only a few feet away,” Beth said.
“I guess that’s okay,” Renee said.
Daz put his arm around her. “It’s going to be fine.”
“I know it’s hard not to be nervous but—”
Beth stopped talking and a strange look came over her face.
“Daz? What’s happening to her? Is she okay?” Renee said.
“She’s talking to Alec telepathically,” Daz said. “They’re connected enough that if he calls to her, mind-to-mind, she hears him. But she needs to focus like this to hear him clearly.”
“I see.” She didn’t. Renee added that to the list of questions she had about telepathy. It was certainly a more subtle ability than Alec’s TK.
Beth’s face returned to normal. “You need to both come with me.” She led them back out to the hallway at a brisk walk.
Oh. No. Alec was with Charlie. “Something’s wrong with my son?” Renee asked.
“He’s scared and acting out,” Beth said.
I knew it. She should have stayed with him. She should’ve listened to her instincts. She should never have let him out of her sight.
Beth led them back down the hallway, to the lobby, and down another hallway that branched off it. They rounded a corner and there was Charlie, on the floor, his head in his hands. He was rocking back and forth. Thor was at Charlie’s side but her son wasn’t even acknowledging him. That was bad, very bad. He’d totally checked out.
Alec stood over him, clearly confused about what to do next. “I didn’t know what to do, he—”
Renee knelt down next to Charlie, not hearing whatever else Alec said, too focused on her son.
“What’s wrong?” Daz said.
Renee waved a hand at them for quiet. Charlie had done this once before, at an amusement park. He didn’t mind the roller coasters but he’d been terrified by the costumed characters. She put her arm around him and tried to get Charlie to rest against her. She kissed his head, rubbed his back, and murmured soothing words into his ear.
After a few minutes, he stopped rocking. Another minute passed while she just held him. Thor came closer and sat at their feet. Loki stayed back.
“It’s too bright in there, Ma,” Charlie said.
“That’s okay. You don’t have to go back inside,” she said.
“But I know it would be fun. Alec said so. I like Alec.”
“I’m sure you can have fun with Alec some other way.”
Beth knelt next to them. “I have a small room with Legos and some other types of building blocks. Would you rather go there, Charlie?”
He glared at her. “Who’re you?”
Alec knelt too. “This is Beth. I was telling you about her.”
“Oh.”
Daz sat on the other side of Charlie. A few more minutes passed as Charlie’s breathing returned to normal.
“I’d like to get up now,” Charlie finally said.
“Great,” she said.
Renee helped him up. He clung to her hand while he wiped tears off his face with his sleeve. “I was scared without you,” he said. “I thought maybe I’d fall over a cliff again.”
Guilt dug claws into her. She should never have let him run off yesterday. She hugged him. “I’m right here. And you’re never falling off a cliff again.”
“You promise?” he asked.
“I promise.”
“Can we go home?” he asked.
Again, she should have listened to her instincts. Beth could have come to their house to examine Charlie. But they were here now and she didn’t like the idea of another car ride with Charlie in this mood. “I’ll think about it but, in the meantime, don’t you want to go check out the Legos first? We can build them together.”
“There’s a huge batch of ’em,” Daz said. “More than even at my place.”
“Okay. I’ll try.”
Charlie held her hand the entire walk to the playroom. She sat down with him as he dumped out some Legos. They built a house for a while, with Alec and Beth pitching in. That, Renee suspected, was so he became used to the new people. And it was an excellent idea.
When the house was done, Charlie asked what they wanted to build next. And he was smiling. Whew.
“Do you think it’s okay if everyone leaves but me?” Beth asked.
“Why?” Charlie asked.
Renee stayed quiet. Let Charlie decide what he wanted.
“One of the reasons your parents brought you here was so I could talk to you. I’m a psychologist and a lot of my patients are children and teenagers.”
Charlie’s eyes narrowed. “Are you going to say there’s something wrong with me, too, and I can fix it if I just try hard enough?”
“No, I don’t believe people need ‘fixing’. I’m going to talk to you and figure out who you are, so I can find a way to help you learn to deal with stuff like today,” Beth said.
Good answer, Renee thought. She was as wary as Charlie of psychologists. But Beth had made a good start.
“Can Thor stay?” Charlie asked.
“I was hoping he would,” Beth answered.
“I’ll be just a room away,” Renee said.
“Both of us,” Daz added.
Charlie’s gaze darted back and forth between them for a second, then he nodded. “Okay.”
They filed out of the room and into the hallway. Alec left to do some work and Renee and Daz went into the room with the video monitors. Loki sat on one of the chairs. Renee petted him, feeling better that he was there.
“You were right about Charlie being tense. I should’ve listened to you,” Daz said.
“I could’ve insisted he stay with me. I was hoping he’d be okay. But, you know, he might have melted down even if I were there. I hope your friend can help, Daz, because I don’t know what else to do.”
Too tense to sit, she leaned against the back of the couch and focused on the monitor.
Beth and Charlie were still on the floor, building another Lego house. Renee took a deep breath. She had to stay calm and supportive for Charlie, whatever happened in there. Whenever she lost her cool, Charlie tended to panic. Stay even, she told herself. Whatever happens, stay even.
“So you talked to Odin the cat with your mind to ask if he wanted to stay at your house?” Beth asked Charlie.
“Yep. I’m not just making it up that Thor and Odin and the rest talk to me, like Mom thinks I do.” Charlie put down his Lego bricks and crossed his arms over his chest.
“Your Mom didn’t know telepathy is real,” Beth said. “But she still brought you here to me.”
“What do you mean?” Charlie asked.
“It means your mom may not believe you can talk to the animals but she believed you enough to bring you here so I can find ou
t for sure.”
“How can you find out for sure?” Charlie asked.
“I can talk to people, mind-to-mind.”
Charlie’s eyes widened and he dropped the defensive stance. “You’re tele-telepath…”
“Telepathic,” Beth supplied.
“Then it’s not so rare. If Alec can pick up trees with his mind and you’re telepathic, I can talk to animals.” Charlie put the Legos aside and spilled out the Lincoln Logs. Avoiding looking at Beth, Renee thought. But he was listening.
“Ah, I’ve never met anyone who can telepathically talk to animals,” Beth said.
“I can,” Charlie insisted.
“That’s what I’m here to confirm,” Beth said.
Charlie began to build a small cabin with the logs. “None of the other psychologists believed me about the animals. They thought it was a symptom of ‘underlying psychological difficulties’.”
“Sounds like you’ve been to some psychologists who talk down to kids,” Beth said.
“Yeah,” Charlie said.
Hell, yeah, Renee thought.
“I’m telepathic. I can tell for sure what’s happening when you talk to the animals.”
“Then find out.” Charlie added some more logs to an animal pen.
“First, I have to ask a promise.”
That had Charlie’s full attention. He put down the logs. “What?”
“People aren’t always accepting of psychic abilities.”
“I know.”
Renee winced. Yeah, Charlie definitely was holding a grudge that she didn’t believe him.
“So, I want you to promise not to talk to anyone about psychic abilities except the people at the Institute.”
“Yeah, that’s what Alec said too.” Charlie crossed his heart. “I promised him already that I won’t tell.”
“Great. Okay, first step, I’ll show you what I do.”
Beth stared at Charlie, the same expression on her face when she’d spoken telepathically to Alec.
Charlie knocked the side of his head with his hand. “You’re in my mind! In my head! Like Thor! Like Loki! Like Odin!”
Thor, on hearing his name, padded over to Charlie.
Beth glanced over at where the camera in the room must be. “Yes, I talked to you telepathically.”
Renee nodded, since that statement seemed directed at her and Daz as well as Charlie.
“That’s cool,” Charlie said to Beth.
“I didn’t used to think so. It scared me as a kid,” Beth said.
“Mine doesn’t scare me. It’s fun. Why would yours scare you?”
Beth put her hand on Charlie’s shoulder. “Because sometimes I heard things I didn’t want to hear. Especially when people were mad at me.”
“Oh.” Charlie frowned, as if the idea was new to him. “That must suck. The animals are never mad at me. Just curious, though a few are really scared of me, which I think is weird. And Odin was scared of someone else and thought I’d save him. I liked that he wanted me to rescue him.”
“It sounds like animals are more accepting of the unusual than people,” Beth said.
“Animals are really nice. Does your telepathy still scare you?” Charlie asked.
“No, because now my telepathy makes helping kids like you easier. And that makes me feel very good.”
“Because you can prove I can talk to animals!” Charlie’s voice rose in hope.
Please let him have this telepathy, Renee thought. She couldn’t bear to see his hopes crushed.
“I’ll be able to see what’s happening in your mind, yes,” Beth said. “That means I’ll be hanging around inside your head for a few minutes. Basically, the minute you talk to Thor with your mind, I’ll hear exactly what you said to him. And I’ll hear his response. But I need your permission to be in your mind. What do you say, Charlie?”
He tilted his head. “Will it hurt?”
“Absolutely not. You won’t even be able to tell I’m there unless I decide to talk to you. It’ll be like me watching you build Lego houses.”
Charlie pursed his lips. “That’s okay, then.”
This was the moment of truth, Renee thought.
“What do you want me to do for this test?” Charlie asked.
“Just talk to Thor with your mind like you always do. If I can overhear what you’re saying to each other, especially if I can hear him respond, then I have proof that you can telepathically communicate with animals.”
Beth knelt down and put her hand on his shoulders. “I might find it’s something your imagination is telling you, Charlie, instead of it being real. Are you ready to know that for sure?”
“Mom says I have a really busy imagination.” Charlie took a deep breath and nodded furiously. “But it’s not that. You’ll see.”
Beth smiled. “Good. How about you tell Thor to come over here and lick my fingers. But you can’t use words or any hand gestures or whistling. Only your mind, so I can overhear the conversation.”
“Got it. I’ll stand way away from him. Then you’ll be sure. Then you’ll know.”
Charlie went to the other side of the room, his back flat against the wall, as far away from Thor as he could be. He closed his eyes for a second.
Nothing happened.
Charlie opened his eyes. “Thor says he’s been taught not to lick people’s hands. He doesn’t want to do it.”
“I see. Can you let him know how important it is?” Beth said.
“Okay.” Charlie closed his eyes again.
In a few seconds, Thor padded over and licked Beth’s fingers.
Renee reached out to the monitor. Her hand froze in midair.
“Thor says your fingers taste like candy,” Charlie said.
“That’s because I just ate some M&Ms. Thor has a good sense of smell.” Beth knelt down. Thor head-butted her gently. “I overheard the entire conversation between you and Thor. How fun! I somehow expected Thor to use words but instead it was more like pictures and feelings.”
“Exactly! That’s what it’s like,” Charlie said. “Does this mean you believe me?”
“I believe you. You were absolutely right about being able to talk to animals, Charlie.” Beth grinned.
“You believe me?” Charlie’s voice squeaked.
Beth nodded. “Absolutely.”
Without warning, Charlie flung himself at Beth and hugged her.
Renee blinked. Charlie could talk to animals. “Charlie can talk to animals.” She said it out loud so she would believe it.
Oh, Charlie, I’m so sorry for not believing you.
“You believe me. I thought no one ever would!” Tears fell down her son’s cheeks and he bounced around with joy. “I was right, I was right, everyone else was wrong.”
Beth gave him a high five. Charlie laughed and the two of them sat back on the floor.
“So how do you feel about all this?” Beth asked him.
“Like everyone who didn’t believe me should apologize. Especially Mom. She was mean about it.”
“It must have been frustrating not to have anyone believe you,” Beth said.
“Yeah. I told Mom over and over but she didn’t listen. And neither did Dad.”
“Why do you think that your parents didn’t listen?” Beth asked.
“Because they thought I was a stupid kid,” Charlie said. “They just figured I made stuff up.”
“That’s a possible explanation. Can you think of any other reasons?” Beth asked.
“Um…why?” Charlie asked.
“Because I’ve had people not believe I can read minds, even when I demonstrate to them that I can, like I did with you. They think it’s a trick or I’m lying or they dismiss what I can do because I’m a tiny person. They don’t like thinking of me as powerful.”
“Those people are mean and stupid,” Charlie said.
“Some of them surely are,” Beth said. “Does your mother often think the things you say are stupid? Does she ever call you stupid? Or does she take what you tell her seriously most of the time?”
Charlie didn’t speak for nearly a minute. Renee held her breath the entire time.
“I guess she’s never called me stupid,” Charlie said. “And she’s not mean. Well, she tells me I have to clean my room and take a bath. But she’s not mean.”
Renee took a deep breath and let it out. Daz squeezed her hand.
“And she even listens to the stories I make up about Aquaman. I like him because he talks to animals too, though just the ones that live in the ocean.”
“Hmm…so she’s not stupid or mean, then. So why do you think your mother didn’t believe you about your animal telepathy?” Beth asked.
Charlie hugged Thor. “Um, I’m not sure.”
Beth stood. “Maybe we should ask her and you two can talk it out?”
“You think she’ll be mad about being wrong?” Charlie asked.
“I think she’ll be happy because you’re happy,” Beth said.
“Let’s go see.”
Crap. They were coming to this room. Renee knew she must stay calm. She blinked away budding tears. Charlie would know if she was upset and would feel guilty. That was the last thing she wanted. Besides, she wasn’t upset. Just overwhelmed.
The door opened.
Charlie rushed in. “Mom, Dad, did you see?”
Renee smiled. “I sure did. You were right, Charlie. That’s wonderful.”
Charlie’s smile grew bit by bit, until it was so wide it nearly took up the lower half of his face. “You really think so?” he asked.
“Yes.”
With that, he rushed up to her. She knelt down and hugged him tight, not ever wanting to let him go, even if he was pressing on her sore shoulder.
Charlie was the one who broke the hug. “You saw too, Dad?” he asked.
“Yep. Good job, kid!” Father and son fist-bumped.
Beth went to the kitchen area, poured a bag of M&Ms into a bowl and put it on the coffee table. “These are my celebration candies,” she said. “Feel free to dig in.”
Charlie grabbed a handful. Renee followed his example and so did Daz.
Phoenix Inheritance Page 19
