The Perfect Son by Kyion S. Roebuck Read Free Book Online Page A

already placed so much stress on the firm, so I have to do this.
    Normally, I wouldn’t even think of making this request, but can you please sit with Cody tomorrow until I can make it home? I know this is very short notice, but you’ve always had a calming effect on him, and he’s always been so close to you, so I figure it will do him some good. Besides, I really don’t want to leave him alone for hours on end. I don’t trust him by himself, and I really don’t want him meeting a new shrink alone. Can you please do this for us? It would mean everything and more to me.”
    For a few quiet moments, the sister sat in stunned silence. She had always wondered about Cody’s whereabouts and how he had been fairing since he and his mother abruptly stopping coming to church over a year ago. Never did she ever imagine that this had been his fate, and she wasn’t quite sure how to process it. One thing she did know, however, was that she could not turn down this request.
    “Kelly, I can’t believe you ever considered not asking. It is my mission to be of service to anyone in need, so to turn down a personal request to attend to someone so close to my heart is inconceivable. I will be there. What time am I to arrive?” Sister Mary Ava said as she watched the woman with gentleness in her eyes. Immediately, Kelly hung her head and cried.
    “Eight thirty,” she said.
    “I’ll be there.”
     
    ***
     
    “Hold still,” Kelly said firmly and without inflection as she tightened Cody’s restraints. He winced, and then laughed without humor.
    “I love you, too,” he said mockingly.
    His comment got no reaction from Kelly, and the same as before, she kept her face blank as she bound his feet to the footboard, before making her way to his right arm. Cody watched her intently as she moved from corner to corner, but she never met his gaze.
    “You know, you can’t ignore me forever. Even if you try, I’ll still be here,” he said after several minutes of her silence. Finally, with coldness in her eyes he had only seen once before, she looked at him.
    “I am not ignoring you. I simply refuse to entertain a vengeful, malicious sub personality of my son; therefore, we have nothing to discuss,” she said, and then returned to checking over her handiwork. She was resolute in her decision to not allow this Cody to hurt Sister Mary Ava after she had so kindly agreed to assist them. Cody, however, was even more confused than before.
    “Really? So that’s what you’re telling yourself to help you sleep at night? I don’t act the way you want me to, so I must not be your son? Well, you’re wrong. I am your son, even if you don’t want me to be. I’ve always been your son, even when you weren’t my mom,” he said, with his voice finally revealing an emotion different from anger or amusement. Kelly merely turned away from him.
    “Sleep,” she commanded firmly as she gathered her things, preparing to leave the room. Cody silently watched her, and after receiving silence once more, his eyes welded with tears.
    “Right,” he said softly as he thought over his predicament. Not even twenty-four hours ago he was informed he was mentally ill, forced to take several pills, and was now strapped to a bed with the only person that had control of his life planning to leave him behind as quickly as she could. It terrified him, and he wanted to go away to a time and place he felt save. The first memory that came to him was when he had been a small boy of only three years old. A song had been sung to him to quiet his fears and help him sleep. Ironically, the person that starred in that memory was the same one who had just turned her back on him.
     
    “Fly little bird, fly high and high
    Dream far and wide, go touch the sky
    Fly little bird, don’t fear the wind
    I’ll make sure…”
     
    Cody sang, before his voice drifted off in sleep. The one good thing about his predicament was that the other personality was always trying to claw