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

to the surface, so falling into dreamland could be quickly accomplished by simply ending his never-ending battle to remain awake. Unfortunately, he did not see the frozen figure standing only a few inches from his door.
     
    “I’ll make sure your wings don’t bend
    Fly little bird, I’ll be your guide
    I am with you, you’ll never die”
     
    Kelly finished, before turning to look at her son. She then staggered over to him, before falling into a chair that sat at his bedside. She hadn’t sung that song in twelve years, and its reemergence made her think back to how it had come to be.
    “Mommy, Daddy, look, a bird family! Mommy bird, daddy bird and baby birds!” Cody said excitedly as Robert held him up to get a better look. The minute his feet touched the ground again, he ran over to Kelly.
    “You’re mommy bird and I’m baby bird,” he said with a huge smile. Not quite paying attention to who she was addressing, Kelly said the first thing that came to mind.
    “Cody, those things are ugly as hell. You are way cuter than that.”
    Immediately, Robert slapped his hands over Cody’s ears, before he scolded her.
    “Kelly, what the hell are you thinking! Don’t tell him that!” He said with sternness and amusement coloring his voice. Realizing her error, Kelly’s eyes widened, and she quickly set out to amend her statement.
    “What I mean is that I’m biased. You’ll always be the cutest baby to me, but if you want to be a baby bird, you can be one,” she said, making Cody’s confused face shift back into a smile.
    “I’m a baby bird!”
    A few weeks after that, Robert finally convinced her to take a year off before starting law school. She had already earned her bachelor’s degree in political science in only four years even with a child, yet he still had another year to earn his bachelor’s in education, and they were strapped for cash. He told her that she deserved a break, they could save on child care expenses, and the time off would let her get to know her son before it was too late. With those sound arguments, she relented, and her little bird ditty came about during one of the nights Cody had climbed into bed with her. She had never felt closer to him any other time than she did then. Of course, it didn’t last, and during their divorce Robert was quick to call her on it.
    “You know what? Fuck you, Kelly! You’re mad at me, so you’re using Cody against me, and it’s wrong! You claim you love him, but how can you when you don’t even know him!”
    ‘I don’t know you, huh?’ Kelly thought as she wiped a stray tear from the sleeping boy’s eye and caressed his cheek. She then thought back to her latest conversation with Dr. Cruson.
    “I have never given this diagnosis before, but I and my colleagues can see none other more fitting. We believe he has dissociative identity disorder. It often arises after a person experiences an extremely traumatic event, so their minds compartmentalize different events, memories and emotions to protect themselves from further pain, and Cody fits that description.
    In order to treat this, the first order of business is to identify the dominant personality, and then unearth what is fueling the creation of the others. I attempted to do this over the past three days, and I now believe that the Cody that attacked you is the main personality,” Dr. Cruson said, and Kelly was already shaking her head in the negative.
    “No, I won’t accept that. I will accept that perhaps his previous issues led to him creating this other person, but no, that is not my son. My son has never behaved that way before, and he never would. That’s not my son.”
    “Kelly, I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear, but after speaking with him extensively during his hospitalization, I am confident that I am correct in my assessment. Before the accident, Cody was struggling with feelings of anger, despair and ineptitude at living up to your expectations, so it should not be a