The Mind Bender

Chapter 1

"Go away!" The ten-year-old boy cried, his hands pressed against his ears. His face, red. So were his wet eyes and cheeks. Curling inside his closet, he brought his legs close to his chest. "Go away!" 

From inside the room, the faint voice of a woman could be heard against the loud banging on the wood. "Dane, open the door. Open it, god dammit!"

The kid drew his knees closer to his chin as he lowered his head, clenched his jaw, and pressed his palms harder against his ears. "Stay away, mom. Please stay away. Your thoughts are too loud." He shut his eyes.

"Dane," the woman continued, "what's wrong? Let me in."

Dane could hear the mild clinking of keys behind the door. The doorknob began to twist, and then the door slammed open. But as his mother stormed in, his head seared as if someone had run a saw into his skull. The ringing in his ears grew louder. He grimaced as he watched the woman kneel beside the closet where he had hidden himself. His dad stood beside her. "Make it stop."

"Dane, what's happening?"

"Mom, make it stop!"

Dane's mother looked distraught. She placed a cupped palm on her open mouth, eyes wide, forehead furrowed. She began to cry as she tried to grab her son and embrace him. "Mom and dad are here. We're here." She whimpered.

"Dad?" Dane asked. His eyes, wet. He shifted his gaze to his dad, who had looked down on him and shaken his head. He looked at his mom again, who held his arms. "I saw dad naked on top of a girl."

"What are you talking about?" Elaine scowled.

"Your son is going nuts." The tall man pointed his hand at Dane while putting the other one on his waist. "He needs to be seen by a doctor." He shook his head and turned away. "Elaine --"

Dane's mom turned to Henry. "Is it true?"

The man scowled as he shook his head. "Elaine, you..." He looked away and then looked at her again. "You can't be serious. Look! He's sick." He pointed a finger at Dane.

"Tell me what you saw," Elaine told Dane.

"Him," Dane replied pointing at his dad, "naked with another girl."

"What girl?" Elaine asked, the curiosity in her face unconcealed by deep creases between her eyebrows. "And where did you see them?"

"I don't know, mom. I just saw them," he said, trying to keep himself calm. "Then I started to hear so many voices and" -- he gazed at her -- "I felt like my head was about to explode."

"See?" Henry snapped. "He's nuts." He stooped with his hands on his waist and brought his face closer to Elaine. "He needs psychiatric care."

Elaine kept her gaze at Dane. "What did the girl look like?" She took her phone from her pocket and appeared to be searching for something. Then she showed the image to him. "Like this?"

Dane looked at the picture, squinted for a moment, and then nodded.

The creases between the man's eyebrows grew deep. "You can't be serious!" he snapped.

"You thought I wouldn't know, didn't you?" She slowly stood up and stared at Henry. "Just be honest with me." She folded her arms under her breasts. Her eyes began to appear watery.

"Elaine, you seriously can't believe this!" Henry frowned at her and then turned to Dane. "He's sick."

"He's not." Elaine stood still and steadied her gaze at Henry. "Is this true?" She showed the girl's picture.

Henry gawked at the photo and shook his head. His palms reached for his face as he turned around.

"Henry?" Elaine asked. Her voice started to break.