...continued from previous page

John and Terry made their way down the hall to Jake's room and knocked on his bedroom door. Another wail of agony came from the closed room, causing Terry to tremble in his socks. John quickly opened the door, and found Jake lying on the Johanneses' old king-sized bed, his arms flailing and his voice crying out in grievous screams that tore at Terry's heart. While John went to Jake's bedside, Terry, who was unable to handle the torrent of pleas to "Get them off me!" left the bedroom and joined Abby, who was waiting in the living room.

"What's going on?" she cried.

"He's having a flashback!" explained Terry, plugging his ears with his fingers to block out the cries, for it was too much for him to endure. "I'm sorry, but I can't stay!"

Abby rushed into the bedroom, where John was unsuccessfully trying to help Jake as he had done for Terry so long ago, though this was more severe than anything John had ever seen.

"You're only making him worse!" argued Abby, dragging her father from the room. "He doesn't like men!"

"Then you go to him," said John.

"No way!" resisted Abby. "I don't know what to do!"

"Jake is reliving the past," John patiently explained, "so you must get him back to the present. Talk to him and reaffirm that his abuser isn't here. And above all-- BE GENTLE! This isn't one of your fishing buddies!"

As John was finishing his instructions, Izumi arrived. Standing by her husband's side, she watched what was going on.

Reluctantly, Abby climbed onto the large mattress, and knelt beside Jake so she could get in his line of sight.

"Jake! Can you hear me?" she asked.

"Please, guard, get him OFF!" wailed the young man.

"JAKE!" shouted Abby at the top of her lungs, in an attempt to get his attention. "It's me, Abby!"

"NO!" screamed Jake, still unaware of her presence.

"Come on Abby, you can do it," encouraged John from the bedroom doorway.

"Abby?" gasped Jake, his hands still clawing at the air. "Help me!"

"Open your eyes," she instructed him.

"They are open," he whimpered.

"No, they're shut," said Abby. "Come on, open your eyes."

With great difficulty, Jake finally opened his eyes. However, the screaming and pleas for help, continued.

"No one is hurting you," explained Abby in a calm, assuring voice. "Look, no one is here except for me and my parents."

"I can feel him!" he moaned, his plea ending in a frantic gasp for air.

"Then it's only your body remembering," reasoned Abby, recalling her father's instructions. "He is NOT HERE."

Focusing on Abby's face, Jake struggled to bring himself back to the present.

"He's not here," repeated Abby, soothingly.

Keeping his eyes intently focused on her face, Jake's breathing slowly began to calm down. Then, as before in the restroom, he leaned over the edge of the bed, and threw up on the floor.

Seeing a chance to be of some use, Izumi went to the bathroom and returned with some towels. As Izumi cleaned up the mess, Abby stayed with the young man, who's eyes never left her face for a single moment, for he was afraid to let her out of his sight.

continued on next page...

<< Love Stories Last PageLove Stories Next Page >>