"You're lucky that your friend stopped you this time," Kyle, the school's counselor, said to me, leaning back in his office chair. I, however, what sitting up straight for once, trying to think through what just happened. "'One more fight,' they said, and you'd be suspended."
I was barely listening to what he was saying. Kyle was okay, as far as counselors go, but it didn't mean I liked him. There were more important things to worry about right now. "Now, let's see," Kyle said, standing from his chair to walk over to his bookcase. "Maybe we should-"
"Can I use your computer?" I asked, and he turned and looked at me strangely, as if he wasn't sure he heard me right.
"I, uh-" he started to say, but I was already up and walking towards his chair.
"Thanks," I answered, and sat down, pulling myself closer to his desk. After turning on his computer, I quickly pulled up the internet and pulled up google. Behind me, I could feel Kyle watching closely. "Do you mind?" I asked him.
"Oh, right, sorry," he fumbled quickly and moved around so he couldn't see the screen.
When he was on the other side of the desk, I continued, and typed in the name of our town along with Kace's name. However, when I clicked 'search', nothing came up. What am I missing?
Then it hit me. Kace is underage, so unless he just went missing, the police wouldn't be able to release his name. But going missing was the only thing that fit. Arian said that he disappeared from school for three months, so where was he?
Irritated, I ran my hands through my hair, trying to grasp at something, anything that I might have missed. Where were you Kace? What the fuck happened to you?
I erased my original search and started over with just the town, but I couldn't think of anything else to put. If I just put 'police reports' everything would pop up. There had to be something more focused. Kace was afraid of people touching him, and he was afraid of sleeping, but what else? Maybe it had something to do with the window?
Quickly, I typed the word 'kidnapping' and clicked enter. A bunch sites pulled up on the screen and I scrolled passed the first few. Most of them were tips on how to keep your kids safe, and kidnap protection; none of it stood out. Then suddenly, there was a news report.
'Local Gang Kidnaps 13 Children: Police have located the central house of local gang and find…'
Instantly, I clicked on the link, and the story expanded.
'Police have located the central house of local gang and find 13 children inside. The children's ages range from 6 to 14 years old, all male. The chief of police has informed us that the authorities had prior of these kidnappings, and had been looking for these children for over four years now, but with no luck. Not until two months ago.
The authorities have told us that the children have been taken from out of town, and even out of state. Because of this, the police couldn't hold to any leads and soon had to push the case to the side until another kidnapping. However, a little over two months ago, a local, 9 year-old boy was taken from inside his home in the middle of the night, and gave the police a big break in the case.
The boy's kidnapping led the police to where the other children were being rescued. It has been estimated that about 63 children in total have been kidnapped, but so far, the police have only found 13, and of that 13, three children are alive.
The police have strongly told the press that they will keep looking for the other children, and suggested that the gang might have used the children to incorrupt new members. However, Dr. Landon disagrees with this statement.
"It might be true what the police are saying about the gang trying to make new members out of these boys, but that didn't happen to the three boys that I've looked at," Dr. Landon tells us when asked about the condition of the retrieved boys. "For the most part, they are all unwilling to tell anyone what happened to them, but it is my job to figure it out using their injuries. Unfortunately, all signs point to sexual assault."
The police are pushing the hospital to get any answers or clues about where the other boys are from the ones that were found, but as of right now, they have nothing. We have tried to get pictures and names of the boys, but the mothers have decided to keep their identities a secret.
More updates when the story develops.'
The report ends, and I'm left stunned. I had never heard about this in my life, and I wondered why. When this happened, I would have been eight years old, so why didn't I ever know? And could this really be Kace? There's no way it was, I didn't want it to be him.
"Kyle?" I asked, looking over at him, and he looked up from his phone. "What do you know about phobias?"
"Phobias? I know the basics, but I'm not an expert," he answered, giving me his full attention now. "Are you afraid of something?"
I resisted rolling my eyes. "What do you know about the fear of being touched?"
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees while he thought. "I'm assuming you're talking about Aphenphosmphobia," he said, and I shrugged. I didn't know the name of it; otherwise, I would have said it. "Well Aphenphosmphobia is a lot different than Mysophobia, the fear of germs. With Mysophobia, you can't touch anything, but with Aphenphosmphobia, you can't touch other people."
"Uhh… the first one then," I said, struggling with how to say it. "What do you know about it?"
Kyle thought for a moment. "Well, I know that it's pretty rare. With Aphenphosmphobia, you're either born with it, or you can develop it through a traumatic experience."
"A traumatic experience like rape?" I asked directly and he gave me an odd look.
"Yes, that's the leading cause," he answered with a question in his voice. "Are you alright, Nixion?"
This time, I couldn't help from glaring at him, and then turned to back to the computer to click the print button. Once the report came out of the printer, I grabbed it and quickly walked to the door. "Thanks, Kyle," I called back from behind me, and shut the door before he could yell back at me to stay.
As I walked down the hallway, I quickly texted Rylee and let him know I was taking his car. He complained at first and resisted, but after a few promises to bring his car to his house tomorrow he let me have it. I thanked him, and then instantly turned off my phone, walking faster to go find Kace.
I busted in through the door of the class he was in, and instantly everyone looked at me. "Can I help you?" the teacher asked, but I ignored her and locked eyes with Kace instead. "We're leaving," I demanded.
At first, he hesitated, as if he wasn't sure if he should follow or not, but after a moment, he started to gather his things. The teacher started to protest, but Kace calmly told her that it was okay and that he would see her tomorrow. I was impressed because as soon as he said that, she let him pass.
When we were out in the hallway again, I started walking quickly to the parking lot, and I could hear Kace struggling to catch up. "Where are we going?" he called after me, but I wasn't going to give him answer- not yet, anyways.
I got to Rylee's car first and quickly got inside and started the engine. Kace got inside too shortly after, and as soon as he shut his door, I put my foot on the gas, and back out into the road.
"Will you please tell me what's going on?" he begged me as I drove. For some reason, I was being to feel angry again. There's no way Kace is that kid… There's no way.
As carefully as possible, I kept one hand on the wheel, and with the other I pulled out the report, and passed to Kace. "What's this?" he asked, as he started to read.
"It's you," I answered, simply, and waited as he read. Slowly, he began to get quiet, and soon I felt the air in the car change. When I looked over at him, he looked shocked, but sad. His face was pale. "It is you," I repeated, but this time it came out more as a question.
Suddenly, Kace crumpled up the paper and stuck it in his pocket angrily. "Let me out," he demanded, "now."
With a suddenly jerk, I pulled Rylee's car over to the side of the road and parked. Instantly, Kace went to open the door, but I was quick to lock it. "We need to talk about this."
"This has nothing to do with you," he spat at me. "Let me out right now."
Anger overflowed inside of me, and I realized I couldn't hold it back. With a sudden motion, I leaned over into the passenger's seat, and pushed Kace against the car door. He winced as his back hit the hard metal only to quickly look back up at me in shock. Before he could say anything, I pushed my lips against his, and kissed him until he had no choice but to kiss me back. "Like hell this has nothing to do with me."