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I& No, he whispered, too shocked to offer comforting lies.
Do you need to talk?
No.
Can you say anything but no to me? Ben teased.
The joke fell flat as Gentle began to cry in earnest with great heaving sobs. N-no.
Strong arms wrapped around his shoulders, and Gentle leaned into the embrace, trying to
settle enough to catch his breath. He couldn t remember what he d dreamt, but it hurt. Whatever
he d seen or done while he was sleeping, it felt like it had broken his heart.
Ben whispered words of support, rubbed his back and continued to hold him. The longer
Ben held him the less real the dream felt.
A rumbling growl startled him, and he pulled out of the doctor s arms and stared at
Chance. The dog s fur was bristling in anger, his teeth bared and threatening. The moment
Gentle leaned away from Ben, Chance was on his lap, facing the psychologist and snarling.
Ben ignored him completely, instead focusing his whole attention on Gentle.
No! Gentle ordered the protective creature.
The collie spared only a quick glance back to him, snarl gone and face innocent, before
he faced off with Ben once more, growling and vicious.
Gentle? Ben asked, sounding confused.
I m sorry.
We re all worried about you. Ben was quick to forgive.
Mom called you.
She told me there s a carnival in town. And that it claims to have a Faerie Prince in
captivity.
I saw the wagon, Gentle admitted.
Ben nodded. Get dressed. I ll wait for you in the kitchen.
The door closed behind the doctor, and Gentle sat beneath the covers, cheeks flushed,
staring at the door. Chance licked his face tentatively.
I m okay, boy, Gentle whispered. If only he was telling the truth.
I only just remembered him again, he told Chance. I miss him. Like all the years I
should have known to miss him has caught up to me at once. And he needs me, I know he does.
The collie whined in sympathy.
Well, come on. Gentle gave the dream up for lost and searched around for some clean
clothes.
Chapter Five
They were all there when he came downstairs. His mother and father and Ben sitting
around the kitchen table waiting for him, from the sour look on his mother s face, he guessed
they hadn t waited to start talking about him.
I need to go back, Mom.
No, you need to forget the carnival and move on.
It was frustrating, trying to talk to her when she got like this. She wouldn t listen to a
thing he said, and Gentle didn t know how much more he could take. He sat in his chair at the
kitchen table, hands curled around a cup of coffee, and tried not to get angry at his mother. She
wasn t making it easy.
I can t move on until I face this, he reasoned. Ask Ben.
Unable to sway Gentle, she turned to Ben and tried again. You don t understand,
Benjamin. You didn t see him after that first carnival. It changed him overnight. My sweet and
innocent baby turned paranoid and violent. It wasn t a gradual change. It was instant, and that
place did that to my boy. How can I be expected to allow him to go back? How?
He does present a valid point though, Mrs. Carver. The key moment in any
rehabilitation therapy is when the patient is able to face their past.
But he can face this mentally. That s where his problem is after all, right? He doesn t
need to be physically there, his mother insisted.
On the contrary, I believe this is exactly what he needs. Gentle is making progress in
leaps and bounds. It s time to let him take the next step.
No, she insisted. I m his guardian, and I have the right to refuse on his behalf.
It was all too much for Gentle. I m a grown man, Mother.
On the outside, but
And on the inside. I know you re scared. You have to be because I m terrified. But
that s why I have to do this. Because if he was terrified, how must Ronan feel? Ronan was the
one in a cage.
Chance licked his hand and kept him from zoning out. He ruffled the dog s fur in thanks.
Darcy, his father finally stepped into the conversation. Back off and let the boy grow
up.
I m not going to lose him again.
We won t lose him&
No, we won t, his mother agreed. Because he isn t going to that damned carnival.
Gentle stood abruptly. Mom! A hand squeezed his shoulder, and he glanced behind
him in time to see his father shaking his head. Ben? he tried once more for support.
I m sorry, Gentle. The psychiatrist lowered his gaze. She is your legal guardian; she
has final say.
I m a grown man. He meant to be strong, but instead the words came out broken,
almost a question.
I know.
His boots sounded too loud on the wooden floorboards as he walked away from their
worried gazes. That s not good enough.
* * * *
The air in the house was thick with tension. It had been for the two days since Gentle had
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