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Dr. Henderson. Your parents have told me so much about you.
Jesus. Henderson, the shrink his father had been pressuring him to see.  Yeah, I ll just bet
they have.
Again, Angela stepped in.  Dillon, we brought Dr. Henderson here because we heard
about your ordeal from one of the ladies at church this morning. We re just certain after what
happened last night that even you can see how dangerous living this lifestyle is.
Dillon fought hard not to laugh in his mother s face.  You think my being gay caused
Dan Morgan to try and kill me?
Angela sniffed.  Don t be clever with me, Dillon. You know what I mean. You must
know that none of this would have happened to you if you hadn t hooked up with James Walker
in the first place.
Despite the generous amount of sleep he d had, Dillon was still tired, worn out from all
he d been through. He had no intention of going through all this again. Turning his full attention
on the doctor, Dillon said,  You ve wasted your time coming here. I have no intention of
becoming your patient or listening to hour after hour s worth of lectures on the evils of
homosexuality. You and my parents can show yourselves out.
Henderson ignored Dillon and looked straight to his father.  I see what you mean,
Douglas. Dillon is obviously suffering from self-destructive impulses. I might even go so far as
to classify him as having suicidal tendencies. I think Dillon is a prime candidate for involuntary
commitment.
Involuntary commitment? Suicidal tendencies? What in the hell was this guy talking
about? Dillon was starting to get scared.  You can t do that to me. There s nothing wrong with
me, and you know it.
Henderson s smile turned nasty.  On the contrary, I can and I will. I m a respected
psychologist. All I have to do is sign the papers saying I believe you re a danger to yourself, and
you ll be locked up in a state hospital by nightfall.
Dillon felt the cold grip of panic seize his heart. He reached for the only person in the
room he thought might have mercy on him.  Mom, please don t let him do this.
 I m sorry, Dillon. It s the only way. Turning to Henderson, she said,  Do it. Have him
locked up for as long as it takes.
Dillon backed away, but his father stepped behind him, blocking his path towards the
bedroom.  Don t you have anything in that bag to sedate the boy? The sooner we get him out of
here, the better.
Henderson nodded and reached into his bag, pulling out a pre-filled syringe.  Of course. I
never travel without the proper equipment. A mixture of Haldol and Ativan ought to keep him
calm. The two of us will have to carry him out, but it s a small price to pay. He started towards
Dillon with the syringe. Dillon tried to run, but his father was stronger. Doug had him pinned in
place, his arms locking Dillon s behind his back and rendering Dillon immobile. There was
nothing Dillon could do. He waited for the sting of the needle, but it never came. What did come
was a loud crash and the splintering of wood as his little league baseball bat cracked against the
back of Douglas Carver s skull. Doug let go of Dillon and sank to the floor.
The minute Jamie brought the bat down on Doug s head, he dropped it and grabbed
Dillon s hand, pulling him forward with unheard of strength and propelling Dillon out of his
stupor and towards the front door. Henderson and Angela were too busy seeing after Doug to try
and stop them.
As they raced down the steps, Jamie pulled Dillon s car keys out of his pocket and tossed
them to Dillon. Dillon jumped into the driver s side. Jamie had just climbed in and gotten
buckled when Henderson, Doug, and Angela came charging out after them. Dillon gunned the
motor of the Lumina and took off in the direction of the sheriff s station. It wasn t until he was
on the main road that he noticed both he and Jamie were wearing nothing more than a pair of
jeans each. Dillon pulled the car onto a side road and changed directions.
 Where & where are we going? Jamie was shaking so hard he could barely get the
words out.
 I was headed for Bran s office, but I changed my mind. We ll try his house, first. With
any luck, he ll be there, and if he s not, Nate might be.
Jamie only nodded, hugging himself even though it wasn t all that cold in the car. The
temperature was pretty mild for early April, but Dillon knew Jamie s chills came from within.
After an agonizing silence, Jamie said,  I know how Ben felt.
Dillon hadn t expected that one.  What do you mean?
 The night Ben hit that guy who was roughing up Mitch. I knew how Ben felt the minute
I swung that bat at your father s head. That s where I got the idea, from Mitch s story. Jamie
shivered.  I thought I d killed him until I saw him coming out the door behind Henderson and
your mom. He put his face in his hands.  I didn t want to do it, but I didn t have a choice. They
were gonna take you out of the house, give you that shot.
Dillon increased the pressure of his foot on the accelerator.  I know, baby. I know. We ll
make this right, Jamie, I swear it.
Dillon let out the breath he d been holding the minute he pulled into the driveway and
saw the Sheriff-mobile, as Megan always called the government issue S.U.V. Brandon used
when he was on duty. Seeing Nate s car there as well reassured Dillon even more. Unless the
two of them were out for a drive in Brandon s Camaro, there was a good chance they were both
home.
Dillon got out first, the pine needles and rocks that lined the driveway pricking his bare
feet. He went around to Jamie s side and helped him out, much like he had the day Jamie found
out about Ben s death and went into shock. God, Dillon hoped Jamie wasn t going to go through
that again. From the look of him, though, it was a real possibility.
Brandon met them at the door, still wearing his uniform.  Get your asses in here. I was
just about to go out and look for you. He surprised them both by enfolding them in his arms.
 Do you have an idea how worried I was when I heard the call from your father come over the
scanner?
 Shit. He called the cops on us?
Brandon pulled them into the house, one arm still wrapped around each of them.   Fraid
so. He called the city cops, naturally, instead of my office. He wants to have Jamie locked up for
assault. Brandon let go long enough to close the door behind them. Seeing the look on Jamie s
face, he pulled him back in close and said,  Relax, kiddo, nobody s gonna lock you up. The chief
of police is giving me time to put this thing together before he even comes to question you.
Jamie was too shaken to answer, but Dillon said,  Put what thing together? What s going
on? Do we need a lawyer?
Brandon moved them towards the kitchen.  I ll tell you all of that in just a minute. First
thing we re gonna do is get the two of you warmed up and settled down. Then you re gonna tell
me every last thing that happened, from the minute your parents walked in the door until the
minute Jamie cracked good old Dougie on the back of the head. Damn, I wish I d seen that.
Nate met them in the kitchen, directing Dillon and Jamie to have a seat at the kitchen
table. Coming back with two steaming mugs, he said,  I wasn t sure if the two of you would
want coffee or hot chocolate, but chocolate is more soothing, so I went with that. After setting a [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]