DreamALittleDream (2 page)

for it to last long. After only a few pumps, Aiden came with a moan. He spilled hot seed over Jake’s hand, his knees nearly giving out and sending him crashing down; the only thing keeping him standing was Jake’s strong arms around his waist.

“Fuck.” Aiden wiped the water out of his eyes.

“You said it, baby,” Jake sighed, tilting Aiden’s face up to capture his lips in a soul searing kiss. Aiden trembled, clinging to his lover and moaning. By the time they pulled apart, both men were out of breath and starting to get hard again.

“We got to stop, baby, or were going to miss our dinner reservations at Zorbas,” Jake reminded, but he made no move to let go. Groaning, Aiden turned away into the water, resolutely turning his back on the gloriously wet man behind him.

“Then go so I can shower in peace.” Aiden picked up the shampoo and poured a palm full. “We’ll never get out of here if you stay…”

Jake sighed. “Okay, okay, I’m going.” Reaching around, he gripped Aiden’s half-hard shaft and gave it a good squeeze.

“Save this,” Jake whispered in Aiden’s ear, causing him to moan softly, “for later. I’m going need an after dinner snack.”

Aiden half groaned, half laughed as he whapped Jake with a soapy hand. “Go!” he shouted, a chuckle escaping before he could stop it.

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Jake grinned, totally unrepentant, and left.

Aiden just shook his head. At least his relationship with Jake could always make him forget about the stress his job brought every day. It was one of the things he was grateful for.

***

But he had to stay. The doctor would need him soon, and he would need the doctor, the dreams said so. The doctor with kind eyes, green like grass; he liked grass. It was going to be dangerous, but between the doctor and the cop, things should be easier than if he was on his own. He only hoped that they would forgive him when everything came to light.

Footsteps sounded in the hall, and he quickly laid down, not wanting the others to see him awake. A flashlight shone through the little window in the door, training on him where he lay in the little bed with gray sheets, and he pretended with all his might to be asleep. There was a moment of terrifying stillness. Then the light left, and the footsteps sounded away.

Thank God, it wasn’t one of the mean ones, who liked to come into his room during the night to “play” with him.

Cael pretended like he didn’t know what they were
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doing, that he didn’t know it was wrong, but he knew; he’d spent years fending them off. He knew what was happening when they touched him, when they hurt him and made him bleed; he’d just lay there ’til it was over, pretending that he was somewhere else, that the doctor was there to help him, to hold him. No one ever held him, ’cause he was a bad boy; a bad boy who saw things he wasn’t supposed to see. He was being punished

’cause he was a bad boy, that’s what the ones back home had said, so he wasn’t allowed to complain.

Soon he would get to go, the dreams said so. Soon.

Reaching under his pillow, he ran his fingers along the edges of his sketchbook, letting the feel of the pages sooth him. He would dream, and then he would draw again, like he always did. Then he would hide the pictures in the special place, so the others couldn’t find them and use them to hurt people. And they would, if they could find them.

He heard footsteps again, listening until they stopped outside his door. No flashlight this time. He heard keys jingle, then the sound of the lock on his door turning. A cold sweat broke out of the base of his spine, fear surging through him, but he knew better than to fight back.

Quickly placing his sketchbook under the mattress, he closed his eyes and pretended to sleep again.

Soon, Cael told himself as the door swung open and a shadow entered.

Soon…

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“Dr. Turner, your next appointment is here.”

“Thank you, Megan. Please send Mr. Sumner in.”

After putting the paperwork he was working on aside, Aiden walked out from around his desk just as the door to the outer office opened.

The small, huddled form entered the room, shying away from the hand the orderly placed on his shoulder, sketchbook clutched tightly to his chest. He was practically swimming in the large, gray sweater he wore, the sleeves falling well past his wrists; it had to be at least three sizes to big.

Cael looked adorable.

Aiden approached the kid, careful to keep his

movements fluid and non-threatening. As Cael wasn’t a violent individual, unless someone took away his sketchbook, Aiden had taken to having the therapy sessions in his office, in the hopes of getting the kid to open up more. So far it hadn’t worked.

“Good morning, Cael. Are you ready for our session today?” Aiden asked softly, stopping close enough to the kid to be acknowledged, while far enough away to keep within Cael’s comfort zone.

As he expected, the kid said nothing, violet eyes trained on the floor, hair being used to hide the boy’s face.

Aiden turned to the orderly, sighing. “Thanks, Josh. I’ll
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see you in an hour.”

“Sure, Doc. Just holler if you need any help.” With one final look at Cael, the orderly left.

Aiden stood there for a moment, waiting for any inclination that Cael was ready to move over to the chairs in the corner where they conducted the sessions.

When the kid didn’t move, Aiden sighed again.

“Come on, Cael. Let’s go sit and talk,” Aiden said, letting his hand hover just over the kids shoulder without actually touching him. As he had expected, Cael moved to avoid the contact.

After seating himself, Aiden motioned toward the other high back chair. “Have a seat and we’ll get started,” he said gently.

Cael paused at the chair, and then very stiffly sat down.

A flicker of something like discomfort flashed in his eyes before it was gone just as quickly as it had come.

Aiden noted this all quietly, but said nothing. It wasn’t unusual for Cael to seem uncomfortable, but today it seemed to be more of a physical pain than an emotional one. He made a mental note to speak with the nurses on Cael’s floor to see if there had been any altercations.

“So, Cael, how are you feeling today?” he asked. Cael’s eyes flicked up to his face, then quickly moved back to stare at the gray sweatpants he was wearing. “Do you have anything you want to talk about today?” Again, a brief look, then nothing.

Aiden had to stifle a curse. It was the same thing every
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session. How was he supposed to get through to the kid?

Aiden had done everything he could think of to show Cael that he wasn’t a threat, but still the kid seemed to be afraid. There had to be something he could do.

Maybe it was time to try something new.

“I see you brought your sketchbook today; may I see it?” He caught Cael’s eyes when they flicked up and kept contact.

The kid froze, his violet eyes growing wide, and Aiden could see a fine tremor go through the small body. He was about to backtrack and say he didn’t need to see the book, when one small arm slowly uncurled and the sketchbook was extended in a shaking hand.

Aiden couldn’t believe it. As far as he knew, Cael had never allowed anyone else to touch his sketchbook, let alone look at its contents. It was a huge step forward.

Reaching out, he gently took the book from Cael’s hand, making sure to smile. “Thank you, Cael.”

The kid barely nodded, retreating back to his chair as soon as possible. Aiden smiled once more at the kid, flipping the front cover open.

The first picture was of the main common room on Cael’s floor. It was empty, but the details included in the furniture and the tables were so well done it was more like looking at a photograph than a drawing. Done in gray and white, with lots of shading, it gave the room a desolate and lonely feel. The emotion betrayed in the simple drawing was incredible.

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There were two more of the same rooms, all from different angles. Aiden noted almost absently that there were ragged edges where it appeared that some

drawings had been ripped out.

Glancing up, he could see Cael watching him almost nervously, so he smiled encouragingly at the kid. He could see Cael’s shoulders relax marginally and gave a silent cheer. Maybe things were starting to look up.

Flipping to the next page, Aiden froze. It was him, drawn with great detail and care, his arms wrapped around a very small and clinging Cael. Their lips were locked in a kiss, looking like they were devouring each other. The picture was drawn with so much detail that Aiden felt his face flush, and to his horror, his cock twitch. It was simply beautiful, yet erotic in an innocent way.

Looking up, he thought he saw a slight coloration on Cael’s cheeks, but the kid’s face was turned away so much he couldn’t be sure. It wasn’t rare for a client to become infatuated with their therapist. Not very common, but it happened enough for Aiden to know that proper procedure stated that he should transfer the patient to one of the other psychiatrists on staff.

By why did the thought of doing that make his chest hurt?

Turning to the next page, he froze again, only this time felt his blood run cold. It was a picture of a doorway, as though someone was looking at it from a lying down position in front of it; in fact, he could see the faint outline of blanket covered feet at the bottom of the page.

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The room was small and empty, very drab and uniform.

It looked a lot like the patient quarters here at the hospital; he could almost guarantee it was.

But that wasn’t what bothered him.

In the picture, the door was open, and in the doorway was a large shadow person. The details were obscured by shading, all except the faint impression of a key ring on the belt and the shadow’s eyes; those were very clear.

In them was a mixture of lust, hatred, and cruelty. One shadowed hand reached for the unknown person, drawn in a way that it appeared to be getting closer and closer.

The entire picture gave a sense of fear and resignation, so much so that it nearly broke Aiden’s heart.

“Cael, what is this?” he asked softly. Cael refused to look up; his fingers clenched tightly into fists. “Cael, has someone hurt you? Someone here at the hospital?” Cael seemed to hunch even further into himself.

“Cael, you’re not in trouble, but if someone is hurting you, I need to know about it so I can help,” Aiden said softly, feeling sick. What if someone was hurting this young man, and Aiden had been too busy to notice?

Jesus, if that was true, he had to do something. But what? And how was he going to get Cael to tell him if they were?

Then it dawned on him; the drawings. They were Cael’s way of telling him, the only way the kid was

comfortable.

“Cael, do you have any more of these pictures?” he asked. Cael looked up at him, that soft mouth set in a
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thin line. His eyes were bleak and fearful, as if he expected Aiden to punish him.

“Cael,” he said, fighting to keep his voice calm as he reached out and placed his hand on top of Cael’s. Those perfect lips parted in a soft gasp, and Cael stared at their joined hands like he had never seen anything like it.

Aiden’s mind screamed at him how inappropriate the action was, but he couldn’t bring himself to let go.

Cael’s hand was so soft, almost like silk, or velvet, and all Aiden wanted to do was feel more.

“Cael, who hurt you?”

At first, he was sure the kid wasn’t going to answer.

Then, Cael took a deep breath, and spoke very softly.

“The mean one.”

All Aiden could do was stare for a moment. This was the first time he had ever heard Cael speak. His voice was angel soft, almost hypnotic, and just those three words weren’t nearly enough for him. Then the contents of the words pierced through his lust filled mind.

“The mean one? Who is the mean one?” Aiden asked, before he could think better of it. He could tell it was the wrong thing to do when Cael tensed. Damn, he was going to have to watch what he said if he wanted to get the information he sought.

“It’s okay, Cael. You don’t have to answer that. How

’bout you just nod yes or no to answer my questions, okay?” Aiden suggested, and Cael’s tenseness slowly
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faded. He nodded. Aiden smiled, then quickly walked over to his desk to grab a pen and pad of paper.

“Okay. Did the shadow person in your drawing hurt you?”

A nod,
yes
.

“Has it happened more than once?”

Yes.

Oh, Jesus. “Do you know this person’s name?”

Yes.

“Can you tell me?”

No.
A very adamant no.

“Does this person work here, at the hospital?”

Yes
.

Fuck! “The keys in the picture, does this mean they have a key to your room?”

A pause, then a nod.
Yes
.

That meant the perpetrator was a staff member. The very thought of someone abusing their power over those who couldn’t defend themselves made him sick.

“Is it a nurse?”

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No.

“An orderly?”

A small shrug.

“Okay, good job, Cael. You’re doing great,” Aiden said encouragingly, hoping the tremor in his voice didn’t betray his anger. “Just a few more.”

Taking a deep breath, Aiden steeled himself for the next one. “Did this person hurt you physically?”

A slow nod,
yes
.

“Cael, did this person hurt you…sexually?” Aiden asked as gently as he could. Cael refused to look at him.

“Please Cael, this is important. I need to know so I can stop this person from hurting you. They’ll be locked up so tight they’ll never be able to hurt another person again. Please?”