Tainted: Origins of a Psycho

Healing

February 22, 1998

Vincent:

One week has passed and the news of Jordan's disappearance has spread through our small town like a wildfire.  People were terrified that there was a dangerous person on the loose and the police were urging anyone who may have seen her last to give them any information they could use to help find her. Daddy assured us that they had no leads in the case as of yet, and he seemed confident that it would remain that way for a very long time. There was a small part of me that was relieved, but for the most part I was so terrified of going to prison that I have not slept a wink since it happened.

When I returned to school my teacher noticed how exhausted I was and immediately pulled me aside during recess one afternoon to ask me if everything was alright at home. I wanted to tell her the truth since she was always so nice to me, but I knew Daddy would kill me.  I told her that that things were perfectly fine and that the reason I was so tired was because I stayed up late watching cartoons.  She seemed to buy my story at first, but when my grades began to slip she called my parents for a conference.

My throat was painfully dry as I sat in the small chair between Mommy and Daddy, listening as the teacher expressed her concerns to them. "I want you both to know that Vincent is one of my brightest students." She said, "But he has been exhibiting some rather odd behavior, and I was wondering if something has happened that may explain what is going on with him."

Daddy cleared his throat and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. "To be perfectly honest, Miss Lawrence, there has been a lot going on in our home for the last couple of days."

Miss Lawrence leaned forward. "Oh?"

"I suppose you've heard the news about my police partner, Jordan Nichols.." Daddy said, making me tense in my seat. He squeezed my shoulder to make sure I remained silent, then continued. "She and Vincent were very close to one another, so he hasn't been doing very well as of late.  I know that's no excuse for his poor performance in your class, but-"

"Oh, Vincent..." She interrupted, looking at me with concern filled eyes.  "Forgive me.  I should have known that was what was troubling you."

Daddy raised a hand in the air. "You have nothing to apologize for.  In fact, Vincent tells me that you have been wonderful to him since the incident on Valentine's Day.  My wife and I really appreciate your kindness to our son."

"And I appreciate you both taking the time to come and speak with me today." She stood from her desk and shook their hands before opening the classroom door to let us out into the hallway. "Please let me know if there is anything more I can do to help Vincent during this difficult time. My door is always open."

"We sure will, Miss Lawrence." Daddy said, placing his hand on her arm. "Thank you."

There was only one hour left of school for the day, so Daddy decided to sign Violet and me out early. The fake smile remained on his face until we reached the car, and when we were a few miles away from the school he pulled over to the side of the road and glared at me through the rear view mirror.  "What the hell is the matter with you, boy?  I've told you to stop drawing all of this unwanted attention to yourself. You have to do your part and pretend that everything is normal."

"I'm trying, Daddy!" I shouted, slamming my fist into the backseat so hard that my knuckles cracked. "But every time I close my eyes all I can see is her dead face looking up at me from the grave! I can't forget about what we did!"

Daddy sucked in a deep breath and opened his mouth to speak, but Violet decided to chime in before he had the chance. "See, I told you that Vincent was going to mess it up! You need to lock him in the attic with the rats before he-"

"Shut the hell up, Violet." Daddy said calmly, shocking everyone in the car. "When I want your advice I'll ask for it, but for now I need to you to sit there with your mouth closed."

Violet's eyes filled with tears and she folded her arms on her chest, sitting there quietly with a frown on her face. Daddy sighed and returned his attention to me. "Look, son...I know what happened was very scary, but I need you to try and keep it together for me. Can you do that?"

My heart rate gradually slowed back down to normal at the sound of his calm voice. I could not believe that he was being so nice to me, especially since he had to come up to the school again to talk to my teacher, but I figured it was best not to question it. I just nodded my head and said, "Yes, Daddy."

"There's a good boy."  He grinned, ruffling his hand through my hair.  "Now, let's go out for a nice family dinner and get all of this negative stuff out of our minds.  How does that sound?"

"Sounds great!"  I shouted happily as my bad mood immediately disappeared. 

We went to Buena Comida and shared a wonderful meal together before returning home for the evening.  I stayed up with Daddy and watched an episode of Taxi before going into my room to get ready for bed.  The evening had been so much fun that I nearly forgot about all of the bad stuff that happened. My mind was at peace when I laid my head on my pillow and within minutes I was fast asleep.

*****

Meanwhile:

Victor stared up at the ceiling with his arms folded behind his head as he lied in the bed next to his wife. He wanted to believe that he was in the clear for the murder because of the lack of evidence in the case, but his son was a wild card that needed to be dealt with as discreetly as possible. Sighing, he turned his gaze over to Vera and said, "We're going to have to do something about the boy before he gets us all into trouble. I'm thinking about sending him away until all of this blows over."

Vera grabbed the glass of wine from her night stand and chugged it, hoping that it would help ease the pain inside of her. "Do what you think is best, dear." She said, knowing good and well that it was useless to argue with her husband.

Victor climbed out of the bed and walked into the kitchen. He picked up the cordless phone and punched in his mother's number. When she groggily answered from the other end he said, "Sorry to call you so late, Ma, but I have a favor I need to ask."

"What is it?"

"Can Vincent stay with you for a while? He's been getting into a little trouble at school and I thought some time away would do him good."

There was a brief pause from the other end of the line, then Millicent answered. "Of course, son. Pack him a couple of bags and bring him over tomorrow. I'll make sure that he doesn't get into any more trouble."