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"We empathize. We tell him he's got a problem that other kids have, and that we're in this with him to make him normal again." |
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Her voice began to break again. "Who knows what kind of psychological damage has been done?" |
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"We can deal with that too," he said. "On the phone you said something about drugs." |
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"Just that he's been acting strange lately." Terry filled in the details of Betty Gorawlski's call. She also described the way Matty looked yesterday before school, and how the cat seemed skittish around him, and how she saw him hiss back at her. |
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Mitch recorded what she said. |
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"He's on edge all the time," she continued. "Also, he's been having bad dreams. Sometimes he cries out in his sleepterrible cries. And when I go to him, he says it's just a bad dream. But night after night? And when I ask him what it was about, he gets mad, says it's nothing." |
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"Which is another thing," Calvin cut in. "His anger. He flies off the handle at the slightest provocation." |
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Terry answered. "The other day he had such a fit of rage that I was scared he wouldn't come out of it. I don't mean a little temper tantrum. I mean a violent fit. He locked himself in his room, turned over the bed and tore the place apart, swearing at the top of his lungs. Saying the most awful things. I think what frightened me most was his voice. It didn't sound like him. It was full of rage, and, well, growly . . ." |
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"And how long did it last?" |
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"Maybe half an hour. I was frantic. I was going to call you but I decided to let him get it out of his system. When he quieted down, I went to check him and he was asleep under the blankets. The room was a mess. He had found the Raggedy Andy doll I had made him when he was a baby. It was torn apart, shredded. The stuffing was all over the room. The thing is, he didn't remember any of it when he woke up. In fact, he was upset his room had been turned upside down. When I told him he had done it, he denied it. Then he got quiet and began putting things away. It's like living with two people, Matty and some dark negative of him." She shook her head. "Where did all the rage come from? He was such a sweet, happy kid." |
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