Chapter 473 - Input (1/2)

”So after sleeping on it, do you still feel like you made the right decision?” Dr. Moore asked me. ”No regrets? You don't want to call the police yourself and tell them what Jeremy had done?”

What he had done? What did he do? He just grabbed me by the arm to get me to stop walking away. Harder than necessary, but still, people grab others all the time and no one else calls the cops.

It was Saturday and as promised, Dr. Moore came by for lunch. No one brought up yesterday's events and instead, the twins led the discussion with Monday's opponents. They're a powerhouse with a great lineup overall, according to the email Coach had sent out. I didn't bother looking, but with the twins spending all lunch talking about it, I no longer saw a need to.

With that information in hand, the twins both decided to practice some pitching in the backyard. Zeke stated he would supervise so they wouldn't injure themselves; then Noah was roped into being a ball boy. He looked at me with such concern that I felt awkward and embarrassed like he thought I needed watching. It was only after Mr. Atkins assured him that he would be with me and Dr. Moore in the living room, that he decided to join his brothers in the backyard.

”Jake?” Dr. Moore questioned patiently as Mr. Atkins watched from the corner of the room.

I pursed my lips. ”I don't think he's like my mother.”

Dr. Moore made a note in the pad he was holding. ”That's what influenced your decision?” I nodded. ”How did you come to that conclusion?”

I glanced down at the arm that now had some bruising around my stitches. ”He, he didn't...um.” I paused, trying to find the words. Why wasn't he like my mother? Oh, yea.. ”My mom would talk a lot when she hurt me.”

Dr. Moore fixed his glasses upon the bridge of his nose. ”What would she say that he didn't?”

I studied my nails. ”She would say things that made me feel like I deserve it. Like it was my fault. I don't think Jeremy came to physically hurt me.”

”First off, let me remind you that it wasn't your fault, Jake.” Dr. Moore told me. ”No kid should ever go through what you've been through. It's highly abnormal and flat out wrong. There's a reason why she's in prison.”

”Yea, I know that.” Now.

”Let's get back to what you said about your brother. You don't think he came to physically hurt you. What about what he said? Did that hurt?”

”Yea...”

A moment of silence passed. ”It's okay to be mad at him, Jake. Just because he sounds mad, doesn't mean he gets to be the only one that is mad. It's not something you can call 'dibs' on.”

”...I just don't understand.” I looked up helplessly at Dr. Moore. ”This wasn't what I imagined. I thought I would get to be the mad one. The one that yelled or gave him the cold shoulder.”

”Well. Why didn't you?”