Souls in Peril (12 page)

Max wondered if
Tim
’
s friend was blond and female. He also wondered if
Tim
had a job, but he was too tired to ask. He needed sleep, and lots of it. When
Mel
closed his bedroom door on her way out, Max rolled over and tightened the sheet around himself. Nodding off, he offered a small prayer,
“
Please don
’
t let me wake up, ever.
”

“
Max. Max, you need to get up,
”
the voice urged from the darkness that encompassed him. Max drew his head up, but no one was there
. He
lay it back down on his flat pillow. His cheek landed on a wet spot, probably drool, but
he
just didn
’
t care. A few seconds later he heard it again.
“
Max, please, reach down inside and find your strength. You have to get up.
”
This time Max recognized the voice.

He peeled his eyelids back and found Gabe standing next to him dressed in stone-washed Levi
’
s and a tan
Hard-Rock Café
t-shirt.

“
I can
’
t do this, Gabe. It
’
s too hard. The
abuse
never stops. Every day, all day, over and over. I just can
’
t do it.
”
Max closed his eyes again, wanting nothing more than sleep.

“
Remember what I told you? I said you would feel JD
’
s emotions. You have given in to his feelings, ignoring your own.
”

Max wondered why Gabe thought he
’
d even care what he had to say. He wanted out of JD
’
s body.
“
I
’
ll sit in a holding cell until my allotted time is up. If it takes fifty years, it takes fifty years. Anything
will
be better than this.
”

“
No, Max
.
A
nything isn
’
t better than this. Where is your fight? Where is your will to win?
”

“
Gone. It
’
s on the bus, crushed into a pulp under Greg Hendricks
’
size twelve shoe, or maybe it
’
s over at the school covered in pizza sauce. Wherever it is, it
’
s gone.
”

Max rolled over, away from Gabe. He pulled the sheet down to his waist.
“
Do you see th
ese
? Th
ese
are
from
Tim
,
”
he said pointing
a finger over his shoulder
at the angry red streaks across his back.

Gabe turned away in disgust.
“
Yes, I know. I saw.
”
Gabe rubbed his face.

Max swung his legs around and settled them on the thin carpet. He looked at Gabe,
a
tear
trickl
ing
down his face.
“
I
’
m so very sorry,
”
Gabe said
gently
.
“
I wish I could have done something. Unfortunately, we can
’
t just pop in and strike people like
Tim
down with a lightning bolt, as much as we
’
d like to. But we can use people like you to help. You can
’
t give up on JD. He needs you.
”

“
I didn
’
t give up on him. JD gave up on himself.
”
Max pulled the sheet around his naked body and stood. He
wandered
into the kitchen for a drink of water. Gabe followed.

“
So that
’
s it. You
’
re going to desert JD.
”

“
No, Gabe.
I told you,
JD deserted JD.
”

“
Max, we put you here to try and influence him. We want you to teach him about perseverance. You
’
ve spent your life working toward goals. Think about the hours you spent in the gym making your body strong. No matter how hard the workout, no matter how tired you were, you pushed through it and came out a winner.

“
Remember when you were thirteen and the pony league baseball coach told your dad you
’
d never amount to anything in baseball?
”

“
Yeah.
”
Max
smiled and
leaned up against the sink.
“
When we got home, my dad asked me if I wanted to give up or prove that moron of a coach he was wrong. I said,
‘
Let
’
s show him he
’
s wrong.
’
We went out every day, for two hours a day, practicing. I even practiced in the snow. I wasn
’
t about to give . . . up.
”

Gabe smiled.
“
JD never had anyone teach him that. He
’
s spent his entire life hiding from ever
ything, and for good reason. Hi
s
father died when he was a small child, and he
’
s not
had a loving father
figure
since
to help him
. H
is mother, well, there are times when she barely gets
through the day herself. Often, she has little left in her to give. Her poor choice in men, seeking what she thinks is love, and not forgiving herself for mistakes made long ago
leads her away from what truly matters. All these things
weigh her down, and often leave her little to
give
her son.
”

“
Does she know
Tim
beats JD?
”

“
She
doesn
’
t allow it, if that
’
s what you think. She
’
s steps in every time she
’
s aware of it. But JD
’
s seen his mother get beatings that pale to what you went
through
earlier when she
’
s defended her son. He
’
s taught himself to keep quiet when one of her boyfriend
’
s beat him.
”
Gabe
’
s angelic face went hard and he added,
“
Or worse.
”

Max dropped his head back. How was he supposed to help JD when he felt hopeless himself? His head
hurt
again. He turned to the cupboard and searched for the aspirin.

“
What are you looking for?
”
Gabe asked,
coming up
next to Max.

“
Headache again. The doctors told me I
’
d be getting them for a while, thanks to the accident.
”

“
Here.
”
Gabe laid his hand on Max
’
s head. A warm sensation surged through
him
. The headache stopped.

“
That
’
s handy.
”

Gabe smiled.
“
Max, please don
’
t give up on
him
. You
’
re the only one who can help him at this point. You need to teach him how to reach inside himself, like you did when you were thirteen. Or the hundreds of other times you had to overcome adversity. You didn
’
t give up. You dug in and worked.
”

“
But his problems are ten times harder than mine ever were.
”

“
You can help him. Push out his negative thoughts, his fears. Don
’
t let them take you over. You
’
re his mentor. You must be strong.
”

“
But how? How can I help him fend off these bullies?
”

“
JD
’
s not alone, even though he believes that. Remember Coach? He wants to help
him
,
only JD
’
s afraid to confide in him. He worries his mother will
get hurt. There are others
,
too
,
that want to help
,
only he doesn
’
t see them yet,
”
Gabe said.
“
Please don
’
t give up.
”

Max
shuffled
over
to
the couch and sank onto it. How much more did Gabe think he could take? He
knew
he
’
d break if one more burden
landed on the already oversized load he carried
.

Yet, how could he not try? He
cared deeply
JD, and he
’
d only been with him three and a half days.
G
uilt
swamped Max
for not helping him when he was alive. He should have offered him friendship, like Emma wanted. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

“
Okay. I
’
ll give it another try. But I need help. I need JD
’
s fears to stop controlling me
. I can
’
t function when they do.
”
Max
closed
his eyes shut, frustrated.
“
Can
’
t you just shut
them off
? If I only had mine to deal with, maybe I could do this. But to have both is overwhelm
ing
.
”

“
You need to know what he
’
s feeling to help him, otherwise you won
’
t know if you
’
re on the right course,
”
Gabe explained.
“
Max, JD
’
s feelings are vital to your success.
You
have to
control
your response
. And when you do, JD will learn how
to control
them
also. Remember, what you do will become his memories. If you stub your toe, he will think it was him.
”

Max rolled his eyes. He had no idea how he
’d
do this.
“
I
’
m not making any promises,
”
he
warned.

“
I know. But I have faith in you, and so do your parents.
”
Gabe turned and
went
back toward the bedroom. Max followed him, wanting to get dressed before
Mel
came home.

Gabe opened the bedroom door.
“
Look.
”
He pointed to the door frame.
“
The frame
’
s been broken and glued back together here.
”

“
It’s an
old house. I
’
m sure many thing
s have been glued back together,” Max answered, wondering why Gabe bothered to point out only one flaw in house laden with them.

“
Perhaps
you
’
re right
,
”
Gabe nodded.

“Oh, Tim broke JD
’
s glasses. Can you fix them?”

“JD has contacts in the second drawer down.” He pointed to the dresser. “Nice ones too. He chooses to wear the glasses to hide behind.”

“Really? Good to know.”