After Jude had finished telling me he was also a patient of Dr. Alder's, I asked why he was there, like it was the most normal question in the world. Even though I hadn't answered him when he asked, he still gave me some insight to who he was.496Please respect copyright.PENANAMVbZGNRXem
496Please respect copyright.PENANA44t4c9qvO4
"My dad thought there was something wrong with me because I didn't like spending all of my free time with him. I wanted to go out with my friends and go to parties, and when I came home drunk once, he said he'd had enough. He called my mom the next morning and they both agreed that I should go see someone. Unfortunately for me, Dallas is an old friend of the family. Doesn't that make my visits all the more special?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAQhT39fOWbR
496Please respect copyright.PENANAGY4SdEP0wT
It struck me as odd that he'd call his psychiatrist by her first name, but I didn't say anything about it. Instead I asked, "Does that make it weird?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAlzSKj1D6zS
496Please respect copyright.PENANAHYUMQrlVmM
"What?" He was in the process of shredding a napkin up and hadn't heard me.496Please respect copyright.PENANAafbKBvhach
496Please respect copyright.PENANAisb1kE9RZ1
"With her being a family friend. Isn't it strange? I mean, if she's so close, wouldn't she have known your problems before you got an appointment with her?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAtl63tfdOX3
496Please respect copyright.PENANAfrqvn15qaK
"My parents didn't tell her anything. That would be kind of stupid, wouldn't it?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAgFRMYluug1
496Please respect copyright.PENANAtM2Vlw55zf
"But didn't your parents have to call her?"496Please respect copyright.PENANA1lBWO75WSV
496Please respect copyright.PENANAdj6fUVJM1e
Jude looked at me, the torn napkin forgotten. His eyes held mine for a minute before he said, "Are you trying to ruin my explanation or something? You're the one who asked for it, remember?"496Please respect copyright.PENANABMeqCVMj6x
496Please respect copyright.PENANAVHZbv5xT72
I frowned. "Sorry. Go on."496Please respect copyright.PENANAleUPkA62M2
496Please respect copyright.PENANA1M9zisOiYk
He smiled, but only slightly, like he was silently thanking me for letting him continue.496Please respect copyright.PENANAXb7i8HyJyL
496Please respect copyright.PENANA6woJtG43PC
"Anyway, you should have seen her face when I walked into her office. She looked like she forgot who was coming in that day. But when we started talking, she understood things very quickly. I was actually surprised, but I guess in her line of work, she got a lot of nut jobs."496Please respect copyright.PENANASmahK1fav1
496Please respect copyright.PENANA2WSoBhbRzO
I stiffened.496Please respect copyright.PENANAe4xpLXzjTL
496Please respect copyright.PENANAzfh2ge6BVl
He blinked at me. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, Kendall. I didn't mean it like that."496Please respect copyright.PENANAbkAB44yrFc
496Please respect copyright.PENANApnORBcje8L
"It's okay." But it wasn't. I just didn't want him to know that.496Please respect copyright.PENANAYB50bCJ6jb
496Please respect copyright.PENANAgoP7jCJKcO
Jude looked at me, his head tilted slightly, like he was trying to figure me out. He was going to fail with that one. Then he let out a long sigh and picked up his mug, draining his coffee.496Please respect copyright.PENANAC1rjFhMaUf
496Please respect copyright.PENANAT5SJQFWPtB
"Listen," he said after he finished, "I'm not going to judge you or anything if you tell me your secret. It's not a big deal, really. I bet you're normal compared to some of the patients Dallas gets."496Please respect copyright.PENANAO3dcSflxJS
496Please respect copyright.PENANAejoDeQ1M8f
"It's not that simple," I said, though my voice was now tight, small. "If I tell you, you might get hurt."496Please respect copyright.PENANA8DouirmCGq
496Please respect copyright.PENANA8FQpNLp65S
That was when Jude laughed. When he stopped he said, "Please. How the hell can what's already happened hurt me?"496Please respect copyright.PENANArcPxMRWQEb
496Please respect copyright.PENANAE2Mydy1248
"You don't understand!" I practically shouted in his face, my vision blurring. "I can't tell you what happens because then you're going to go away."496Please respect copyright.PENANAxQeMpMb3W6
496Please respect copyright.PENANAOwmeSNTlqk
"Wait." His eyes widened and he leaned forward. "What do you mean 'happens'? Kendall, what's going on?" He reached across the table for my hand, and I let him take it. He squeezed my fingers.496Please respect copyright.PENANAnMYHP3u7Fy
496Please respect copyright.PENANAfhKVmEgQHS
I looked up at him. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks now. I took a breath and finally told him. Then I wished I hadn't opened my mouth.496Please respect copyright.PENANAFz3b2BIhIi
496Please respect copyright.PENANApPab4CbD7L
"I have dreams almost every night about killing people, only they aren't my dreams, and now I'm afraid you're going to die, too."496Please respect copyright.PENANAk9aa0oMcjI
496Please respect copyright.PENANAmfi0nawDZY
Before he could reply, I stood up and ran out. But something stopped me halfway out of the shop. The window, there was something taped to it. I wiped my eyes and looked at the white piece of paper. The words MISSING PERSON were typed in big, bold letters on the top of the page, and underneath was a picture. A picture of someone I knew.
ns216.73.216.175da2 496Please respect copyright.PENANA44t4c9qvO4
"My dad thought there was something wrong with me because I didn't like spending all of my free time with him. I wanted to go out with my friends and go to parties, and when I came home drunk once, he said he'd had enough. He called my mom the next morning and they both agreed that I should go see someone. Unfortunately for me, Dallas is an old friend of the family. Doesn't that make my visits all the more special?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAQhT39fOWbR
496Please respect copyright.PENANAGY4SdEP0wT
It struck me as odd that he'd call his psychiatrist by her first name, but I didn't say anything about it. Instead I asked, "Does that make it weird?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAlzSKj1D6zS
496Please respect copyright.PENANAHYUMQrlVmM
"What?" He was in the process of shredding a napkin up and hadn't heard me.496Please respect copyright.PENANAafbKBvhach
496Please respect copyright.PENANAisb1kE9RZ1
"With her being a family friend. Isn't it strange? I mean, if she's so close, wouldn't she have known your problems before you got an appointment with her?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAtl63tfdOX3
496Please respect copyright.PENANAfrqvn15qaK
"My parents didn't tell her anything. That would be kind of stupid, wouldn't it?"496Please respect copyright.PENANAgFRMYluug1
496Please respect copyright.PENANAtM2Vlw55zf
"But didn't your parents have to call her?"496Please respect copyright.PENANA1lBWO75WSV
496Please respect copyright.PENANAdj6fUVJM1e
Jude looked at me, the torn napkin forgotten. His eyes held mine for a minute before he said, "Are you trying to ruin my explanation or something? You're the one who asked for it, remember?"496Please respect copyright.PENANABMeqCVMj6x
496Please respect copyright.PENANAVHZbv5xT72
I frowned. "Sorry. Go on."496Please respect copyright.PENANAleUPkA62M2
496Please respect copyright.PENANA1M9zisOiYk
He smiled, but only slightly, like he was silently thanking me for letting him continue.496Please respect copyright.PENANAXb7i8HyJyL
496Please respect copyright.PENANA6woJtG43PC
"Anyway, you should have seen her face when I walked into her office. She looked like she forgot who was coming in that day. But when we started talking, she understood things very quickly. I was actually surprised, but I guess in her line of work, she got a lot of nut jobs."496Please respect copyright.PENANASmahK1fav1
496Please respect copyright.PENANA2WSoBhbRzO
I stiffened.496Please respect copyright.PENANAe4xpLXzjTL
496Please respect copyright.PENANAzfh2ge6BVl
He blinked at me. "Oh, shit. I'm sorry, Kendall. I didn't mean it like that."496Please respect copyright.PENANAbkAB44yrFc
496Please respect copyright.PENANApnORBcje8L
"It's okay." But it wasn't. I just didn't want him to know that.496Please respect copyright.PENANAYB50bCJ6jb
496Please respect copyright.PENANAgoP7jCJKcO
Jude looked at me, his head tilted slightly, like he was trying to figure me out. He was going to fail with that one. Then he let out a long sigh and picked up his mug, draining his coffee.496Please respect copyright.PENANAC1rjFhMaUf
496Please respect copyright.PENANAT5SJQFWPtB
"Listen," he said after he finished, "I'm not going to judge you or anything if you tell me your secret. It's not a big deal, really. I bet you're normal compared to some of the patients Dallas gets."496Please respect copyright.PENANAO3dcSflxJS
496Please respect copyright.PENANAejoDeQ1M8f
"It's not that simple," I said, though my voice was now tight, small. "If I tell you, you might get hurt."496Please respect copyright.PENANA8DouirmCGq
496Please respect copyright.PENANA8FQpNLp65S
That was when Jude laughed. When he stopped he said, "Please. How the hell can what's already happened hurt me?"496Please respect copyright.PENANArcPxMRWQEb
496Please respect copyright.PENANAE2Mydy1248
"You don't understand!" I practically shouted in his face, my vision blurring. "I can't tell you what happens because then you're going to go away."496Please respect copyright.PENANAxQeMpMb3W6
496Please respect copyright.PENANAOwmeSNTlqk
"Wait." His eyes widened and he leaned forward. "What do you mean 'happens'? Kendall, what's going on?" He reached across the table for my hand, and I let him take it. He squeezed my fingers.496Please respect copyright.PENANAnMYHP3u7Fy
496Please respect copyright.PENANAfhKVmEgQHS
I looked up at him. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks now. I took a breath and finally told him. Then I wished I hadn't opened my mouth.496Please respect copyright.PENANAFz3b2BIhIi
496Please respect copyright.PENANApPab4CbD7L
"I have dreams almost every night about killing people, only they aren't my dreams, and now I'm afraid you're going to die, too."496Please respect copyright.PENANAk9aa0oMcjI
496Please respect copyright.PENANAmfi0nawDZY
Before he could reply, I stood up and ran out. But something stopped me halfway out of the shop. The window, there was something taped to it. I wiped my eyes and looked at the white piece of paper. The words MISSING PERSON were typed in big, bold letters on the top of the page, and underneath was a picture. A picture of someone I knew.
496Please respect copyright.PENANAOTsJHI4wjV