Chapter 4
"Dad, a-about last night . . ." Shawn began shakily, biting his lip and beginning to cry, "It was my fault, I-I shouldn't have answered the door."
"Henry shook his head, "Son, no . . ."
But I thought it was Mrs. Emerson and just opened the door without asking who it was, and it turned out to be . . ."
"Shawn, stop!" Henry said forcefully.
Shawn stopped talking, tears running down his face.
"I'm sorry, but it was not your fault. You thought it was Mrs. Emerson. Anyone would have." Henry continued, "It wasn't you, it wasn't me, it was him. It's just one of those things Shawn, and you can't go blaming yourself for it." He gently placed his hands on either side of Shawn's face, and kissed him on the forehead, "Understand, son?"
Shawn sniffled a bit and nodded, grabbing another piece of Pineapple from the bowl on his lap and taking a big bite out of it.
"And Shawn," Henry said. Shawn turned his head around to face his father, who was looking at him right in the eyes, "I don't want you to dwell on this. That could be the worst thing that you could ever do. I just want you to push it out of your mind, and never think about it again. Ok?"
An hour later, Shawn and Henry were checking out of the hospital, and on their way back home.
(End flashback)
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(Present)
Gus closed his eyes and sighed, "I remember now. I guess I just hadn't thought about it in so long . . . it just slipped out of my mind. I was there when you were in the hospital."
"You were? I guess you would've . . . all I really remember is him." Shawn said, shuddering slightly.
"How did you remember again?"Gus asked, "I thought you had blocked the memory out."
"Well, let's just say I was at Tom Blair's Pub, and I was just a little bit drunk, and I started hitting on a gorgeous blond, who had a boyfriend who was a boxer." He stated matter of fact-ly, "But that's off the subject. How did you know that I had completely blocked that out of my mind? I mean, I could've just not talked about it."
Gus shook his head, "I know, because I remember when we came to visit you after you came home. We were supposed to come the next day, but dad said we should give you some more time to rest . . ."
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(Flashback)
Shawn was sitting cross-legged on the blue sofa, watching The Flintstones, when Gus cautiously approached him, "Hey Shawn." He mumbled to his best friend
Shawn smiled and shut off the TV, "Hey Gus!"
"How are you doin'? I mean, are you all right?" he asked
Shawn looked at him with a quizzical look, "Uhhh, yea. Why wouldn't I be? Oh! I'll race you to tree! Ready? 1 . . . 2 . . ." but before he reached three, he dashed off leaving a very angry Gus yelling and tailing after him. "But that's not fair Shawn!!! Why do you always do that?!"
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(Present)
"I remember the first couple nights after it happened, I had horrible nightmares. And when I got decked by the blonds boyfriend, I blacked out, and when I woke up, all these memories came back to me. And now those awful nightmares I had are all coming back." Shawn said, rubbing his face wearily.
"Are you gonna see someone about it?" Gus asked
"No! I didn't have to see someone then, and I shouldn't have to now!" he said, "Ya know what, I take that back . . . and as much as I hate to say it, I gotta talk to dad." He said getting up and walking toward his bedroom to get dressed.
Gus was getting confused, "Your dad? Do you really think he's the best person to be talkin' to, Shawn?" he asked
"No," Shawn called back as he pulled on a pair of jeans, "But I gotta ask him something that's been bugging me since I've been having these dreams."
"And what's that?" Gus asked as Shawn emerged from the room, now fully dressed.
Shawn walked over to the counter by his kitchen and snatched up his cell phone and the keys to his motorcycle, "Who did this to me and why, I know he knows Gus. I remember the guy asking me if I was Henry Spencer's son."
Gus got up and walked toward Shawn, "Do you want me to come with you?"
"No, I should probably do this alone, unfortunately. Besides, I could use a good ride on my bike." And with that, he told Gus he could crash there until he got back, and then walked out of his apartment building, jumped on his motorcycle, and drove to his dad's house.
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It was 9:15 P.M., and Henry was dozing in front of his TV. He was just about to drift off to sleep, when there was a sudden knocking on his door, "What the . . . ? Who would be here at this time of night?" he said to himself, as he grumpily got up off his couch and swung open the door to reveal Shawn standing there, his helmet under his arm. "Shawn, what're you doing here?" he asked, "If this is about a case you're on, contact me in the morning."
"Well, good evening to you too, father." Shawn replied with a smirk, "and this isn't about a case. Believe it or not this is a personal visit."
Henry couldn't believe it, "Your kidding?"
Shawn shook his head, "Nope. There is something I need to ask you but it doesn't have to do with a case. It's about something that happened to me a long time ago."
Henry sighed, "All right." He said, standing to the side and opening his door wider, allowing Shawn to come in.
After he had set his helmet by the door, he walked over to the TV and collapsed on the couch.
Henry closed the door, then went over and sat next to his son, "So, what is it that you need to talk to me about?" he asked, shutting the TV off.
Shawn leaned forward, placed his elbows on his knees and clasped his hands in front of him, "Well, it-it's about the night I got beat up."
Henry knew full-well what Shawn was talking about, "Shawn, I thought you forgot that."
"Well so did I, until a guy punched me at the bar and it... all of it . . . well most all of it . . . came back to me." Shawn replied
"How could a punch bring a memory like that back?" Henry asked
Shawn folded his arms and sat back in the couch, "I don't know dad, but it did. It also brought back the nightmares I used to have."
Henry fell silent for a minute, he remembered the nights when his son would have nightmares . . .
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(The night Shawn and Henry got home from the hospital)
Shawn was tossing and turning in his bed, "No, stop! Don't hurt me anymore, please!" he cried out, as the tears mingled with sweat soaking the gray T-shirt he was wearing.
Henry rushed into the room, and sat on the edge of Shawn's bed. He grabbed Shawn's shoulders and gently shook him, "Shawn, Shawn! Wake up!" he said
Shawn whimpered for a minute and his fearful eyes opened. He gazed at his father, then threw his arms around his dad's neck, looking for some form of comfort. Trying to ignore the stinging pain in his side where his ribs were cracked, he forced himself to hold back tears as he clung to his father.
"It's ok Shawn. It was just a nightmare." Henry said, gently rubbing his sons back, "You're all right."
They pulled away from each other, and Shawn nodded, wiping away the tears that were beginning to well in his eyes.
"Was the dream about last night?" Henry asked
"Yea." Shawn mumbled
"Listen to me Shawn, remember what I told you this morning? I want you to push that memory out of your mind. When things like this happen, we can't dwell on them. We just have to keep going with our lives. It's in the past. All right?"
Shawn sniffled a little, "Ok, I'll try."
Henry shook his head, "I need you to do more than try, I need you to forget it entirely. I've seen to many cases of little kids your age being abused, and after it happens they end up going into Psych Therapy, because they can't let go. I don't want that happening to you, son. Now, lay back down and try to go back to sleep, ok?"
Shawn nodded as he placed his head back on his pillow, and closed his eyes.
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Henry subconsciously shook the thought off, "Just tell me what you wanna know Shawn."
"I wanna know who did it." Shawn said, "I wanna know who beat me up 20 years ago."
For once, Henry really didn't know what to say. "Shawn, how am I supposed to know?" he said
"I know that you know, dad. Just–who was it?"
TBC . . .