Chapter 10
Over the next few weeks, Will was able to avoid Hannibal quite well. Sure, a small part of Will missed their time together, but to make up for it, Will had practiced what Hannibal had instructed him to do on his own time. He read and took notes from the dictionary every day, trying to expand his vocabulary as much as he possibly could. He would often construct his own short essays in the late evenings for extra practice.
But there was still something missing...and that was Hannibal's presence. He had taught Will the basics, and the theory. Will appreciated that to no end. However, he desired and deeply yearned for more contact.
Neither Hannibal nor Will had attempted to call each other or meet for a chat. Whenever they accidentally walked past each other in the halls at school, Hannibal would extend a curt nod in Will's direction, but Will would only turn away or stare at the floor in response. It seemed as if their friendship had truly ended after all.
He just couldn't understand why Hannibal had turned so cold towards him last time they spoke. He knew how much Jack had tormented him, and he knew that Will was rather sensitive towards the entire subject. So why did he have to go and bring it up? "He probably gets off on humiliating people." Will thought to himself as he reached his locker at the end of the day and shoved whatever books he needed for the weekend into his bag.
Although Will knew very well that he was not going anywhere at the moment. Today was the day that Dr. Chilton had arranged to meet and talk with Will's adoptive guardian as well as Jack Crawford and his mother. This was going to be hell, just pure, raw hell. Fire and brimstone to the neck.
Will sat down on the red brown wooden bench outside of Dr. Chilton's office. Opposite him faced a medium sized square window which opened his view to the large forum of the high school. Will sat and watched painfully as the rest of his classmates and peers shouted and ran about the place like a menagerie of insane monkeys, hooting and hollering about, excited for the weekend. Will observed a few guys in his gym class jump down from the large staircases that lead up to the second floor of the school, half of the boys sliding down the banister, and the other half just jumping down from the fifteenth step all the way to the bottom of the floor of the main floor of the school.
Will rolled his eyes and murmured something about prepubescent freaks when he saw from the far left side of the window, which lead to the back door that lead to the school's parking lot for guests and visitors, open. The heavy navy blue door swung open and shut ever so slowly, as if it were a coffin lid swinging shut on Will himself.
He resisted the urge to groan when he saw the light blond hair of his adoptive mother in full view. Her pale face was set to a neutral expression as she walked and turned to stop at the doors that lead to the waiting area of Dr. Chilton's office.
Once her blue eyes set upon Will, she smiled lightly, her thin pink lips turning upward at the corners of her mouth. She swung her red purse aside and flicked back her medium length wavy blond hair as she opened the door. Her black high heels clicked on the carpet of the waiting area, slightly muffled. Will wished it was his neck she was walking on, so it would choke him out of his misery of bringing her to the school to begin with.
Under her expensive cream colored raincoat, she wore a pink business dress. Will's adoptive mother had once been an esteemed psychiatrist. Bedelia Du Maurier had to unfortunately cease her practice due to a horrific accident that lead to one of her former patients attacking her. She was lucky enough to escape and survive, but the post traumatic stress she had faced lead her to quit practice and instead spend her time with her adopted son, Will Graham.
"Hi sweetheart." She cooed down at Will as she sat next to him on the bench and ran a black kid gloved hand through his messy dark brown curly hair.
"Bedelia! Don't do that!" Will shook her hand off and turned away from her gaze. It wasn't that he didn't appreciate her and love her as his new mother; he just wasn't yet used to her over-affectionate and over-protective nature. It was for that very same reason that Will still couldn't bring himself to calling her "mother" either. He saw Bedelia as a friend more than a mother figure.
He swatted her hand once more as she tried to rest it upon his shoulder.
"What happened, Will? Please just talk to me." She calmly stated as she looked him up and down, obviously checking for signs of a physical battering with another student.
Will sighed and slumped in his seat. "It was nothing."
She shook her head, not believing him. "Sweetheart, are you having conflict with Jack Crawford again?"
Will threw his hands in the air violently. "Great. Just...yeah!" He laughed in a strained huff, trying not to get up and run out of the waiting area out of fear and panic. If Bedelia already knew, then Jack's mother surely knew too.
"Will, I am only trying to help. But I can't help you if you don't talk to me and give me answers." She sighed as she kept her eyes trained on Will.
Will looked down at his jeans and frowned. A piece of lint hung onto the side of his right thigh and he began flicking it downward.
"Will?"
He kept flicking it, watching as it danced down his leg and close to his kneecap.
"Will!" She cried in exhaustion.
Will growled, "What!?" He suddenly wanted to take the outburst back when he turned and saw Bedelia's hurt expression.
"Look, I am sorry, Bedelia...I didn't mean to take out my anger on you. It's just been a rough couple of days." He was barely reaching the tip of the iceberg with that one.
Bedelia sighed but did not question or pry any further. She knew her adopted son well enough to recognize the tone of his voice, and it meant "No more questions at this point."
"Alright, Will." Was all she countered as she turned and faced the window facing the forum of the school and looked out it miserably.
"Oh great, now I feel even more like crap! I put her into a bad mood too! Why do I have to ruin everything?" Will battled internally as he clenched his fists tightly against his sides.
He really didn't want to insult or hurt Bedelia; she was just not helping at the moment. She didn't understand how. Sure she wanted the best for him, as any caring, concerned parent would, but Will wanted to achieve a stable sense of independence for once. How was he supposed to fare in college and take care of his personal problems if his guardian and councellors would always intervene? This was the only way. Sometimes in order to achieve something great, one needed to face hardship and pain. But in the end, Bedelia would see that this was all for his own good.
Will's thoughts were interrupted when he felt Bedelia shift back towards him, her warm blue eyes looking him up and down.
He looked at her hair instead of meeting her eyes. "What now?" He wheezed out. He was not ready for another lecture or interview.
Her only response was pulling out a napkin from the front of her coat pocket, and she unfolded it and brought it up to her mouth, her pink tongue darted out and wet it before she turned and applied it to Will's left cheek. She scrubbed the napkin up and down hard along his stubbled cheek.
"Bedelia! What the-?! Gross! Stop!" He cried as he turned his head away from her and recoiled as far away as he could.
"Honey, you have some dirt on your face." She stated collectedly as she gripped his jaw in her strong hand and kept rubbing.
"Nnnnugh!" Will cried savagely, his vocal cords burning as soon as that sound was emitted from them, his feet scraping along the carpet of the waiting room as he bore the gross warm wet saliva upon his skin. He gripped the sides of the bench tightly, fingernails practically embedded in the wood.
"How motherly." Both Will and Bedelia froze at the sound of Dr. Chilton's soft voice as he stood, leaning against the wooden door frame of his open office door. He smirked devilishly at the ridiculous display of affection before him.
Will wanted to die right then and there. "How long has he been standing there?"
"Dr. Frederick Chilton. Pleased to meet your acquaintance." He walked forward with his hand outstretched for Bedelia.
She looked at him with a plain expression and shook his hand. "Ms. Maurier."
"You mean Dr. Maurier?" Dr. Chilton asked, eyes widening a bit.
Bedelia nodded. Will gasped slightly. How on earth was Dr. Chilton aware that his adoptive mother was once a psychiatrist?!
"It's Ms. Maurier. There was a time I was once known by that established moniker. But I have closed my practice and stopped seeing patients for years, now." She said sadly, looking around the office fondly as if she had lived there and built her greatest memories there.
"Yes, I am somewhat of a fan of yours, actually. I really enjoyed your research on psychosexual deviants especially." Dr. Chilton explained as he waved a hand in the air.
Will rolled his eyes.
"I bet you did." Will's jaw nearly dropped to the floor once his ears registered what Bedelia had retorted back to Dr. Chilton.
Will was tempted to leap up to his feet and yell: "BUUURRRRN!" to Dr. Chilton and point and laugh in his face, but that would be nothing short of childish. But he had given his adoptive mother a small laugh and smile of approval. She was a feisty one when she needed to be!
Dr. Chilton's face began to turn red as his eyebrows clumped together in obvious anger and embarrassment. He waved his hand in the air once more, as if trying to fan himself from the growing heat in his face.
"Have you read my work and my research, Dr. Maurier? I highly recommend it. I am well trained academically in recognizing the early presenting signs of antisocial, sociopathic behaviours in young teenagers. It would be a great help-" he paused to throw a dirty look at Will- "in dealing with young Mr. Graham here. I believe he can be helped." Dr. Chilton finished, clasping his hands in his lap and wearing a leprechaun-like shit-eating grin on his face that Will wanted to knock off with a shovel.
Bedelia only smiled warmly. "Ms. Maurier. I am afraid I have not read it or heard of it, Dr. Chilton. However, might I suggest testing out your own theories on yourself before you can safely recommend it to others? I believe it would help in solidifying your credentials and lead you onward to becoming, shall we say, more highly accredited?"
Will tried his best to contain his laughter. He really truly did. But that was too much. He bent over in laughter, holding his head in both his hands as his back heaved as he roared in laughter.
"Mr. Graham! That is quite enough!" Dr. Chilton hissed dangerously.
Will could not cease his guffaws of laugher nevertheless. The fact that Bedelia had not been afraid to call Dr. Chilton out on his suspicious medical credentials was absolutely a price to behold. She had over-stepped the lines, but it was long over-due for Dr. Chilton. She had put him in his place just the proper way.
Their happiness however was short-lived when the door to the waiting area opened up once more, and Jack Crawford and his mother Irene Crawford entered, both wearing stern expressions on their faces.
Irene Crawford was a tall, thin woman with long blue black hair that hung just down to her waistline. She wore short, ankle-high black winter boots that were a bit dirty, with a long dark blue thick winter coat.
Jack wore his Baltimore State High School gym blazer, with his hands buried deep in the pockets. He threw Will a killer of a look as he shut the door behind him.
"Ah, Mrs. Crawford, Jack. Please, would you all come into my office and make yourselves comfortable?" Dr. Chilton asked, turning aside and walking ahead into his office. He turned on the lights and pulled up a few more blue chairs as Jack and his mother sat to the far left side of the wall of the office, directly facing opposing two more blue chairs that Will and Bedelia occupied.
Irene nodded at Bedelia, who gave her a half-smile. It was as if a silent agreement had already taken place among the two women that they would be here for the sake of their sons and would never look forward to meeting each other ever again.
Will pulled at his coat collar due to the increasing amount of tension on the room.
Dr. Chilton on the other hand either did not seem to notice it, or he did not care to. He poured himself a cup of water from the little water bottle he stored on the top shelf of his desk, and sat back in his seat with his arms folded in his lap.
"Now then, I just wanted to let everyone know that this is a safe place, and whatever we discuss will not leave this room. I highly believe in and respect confidentiality, and I want to make sure no one leaves this room without feeling that a solution has been reached. Agreed?"
Everyone nodded silently.
"Very well. This issue came to my attention when I noticed approximately two and a half weeks ago, Mr. Will Graham-during gym period-had a rather violent, physical encounter with Jack Crawford."
"Who are you calling violent, Dr. Chilton?" Irene viciously barked as she sat up as straight as a curtain rod, eyes pointed dangerously at Dr. Chilton.
"Please let me finish, Mrs. Crawford. I want you to hear all the events that transpired so you have a more clear picture." Dr. Chilton held up a hand, silencing the angry woman immediately. She let out a puff of hot air, but did as she was told. She only threw Will a dirty look that matched the one her son was currently sending Will.
"Yup. Make it allllll my fault, Chilton." Will thought to himself depressingly.
"Now I understand that boys will always be boys, but this could have resulted in some serious damage to Will. As I witnessed it myself, along with the rest of the boys in Will's gym class and the female cheerleading class, Will was thrown across the field and slid right into the goalie posts, headfirst, resulting in an immediate black-out. He was rushed to the nurse's office immediately, and he luckily woke up and passed the physical examinations successfully. Will's guardian, Dr. Maurier, also took him to the hospital the next day to double check. He is still doing exceedingly well, despite that accident, mind you."
"Ms. Maurier." Bedelia corrected for the tenth time that day practically.
"My apologies." Dr. Chilton passed, though he was not looking at Bedelia.
"Now, before things get, shall we say, heated, I would like both Will and Jack to talk to each other about just what happened that day on the football field." Dr. Chilton motioned with his hands for Jack and Will to begin.
Will looked at Jack, afraid of opening his mouth. The memory of Jack and Tobias cornering him after school and threatening him was still burning vividly in the back of his mind, as was the sent text message.
"Will? Dr. Chilton is talking to you." Bedelia ushered gently. Her eyes reflected a sad glare onto Will, who cleared his throat and opened his mouth to speak.
"Ummm, well, see, it wasn't that bad, Dr. Chilton. Jack didn't really run into me. I mean, I told you before that it was a muddy field, and it is possible he lost his footing." Will turned to meet the eyes of Jack, who seemed calm, but for how long was in question.
"So out of all the other students on the field that day, Jack just miraculously happened to be facing your direction, tripped, lost his footing, and rammed into you?" It did sound silly, but Will did not want to get a second beating from Jack and his goon Tobias.
"No, I j-just, accidents happen..." Will mustered.
"Think! I can't just give half answers! Jack's gonna kill me!" He began to panic.
"Boys, I know all too well of your adversarial relationship. But that is why I called you all in here today. I want this matter to be resolved. Baltimore State High School wants to ensure the parents and guardians that their children are well taken care of. Our student safety policies are in place for a good reason!" Dr. Chilton swirled his water around in his cup, as if trying to create a large tsunami and drown everyone in the room with the water.
Jack huffed proudly. "Will and I have no," he paused and glared at Will in disgust and disapproval, "relationship. We just sometimes get in over our heads, Chilton."
"That's Dr. Chilton, Mr. Crawford!" Dr. Chilton barked, earning a raised eyebrow from Irene.
"Don't talk to my son in that tone of voice! Just because you hold some sort of authority here, doesn't mean you can talk to him in that degrading manner!" She clutched her purse in her ruby red painted long nails, as if imaging it were Dr. Chilton's throat she was sinking her long sharp nails into.
"Like mother, like son." Will debated.
"Mrs. Crawford, please calm yourself. I wasn't trying to insult or demean Jack at all." Dr. Chilton gasped, completely taken aback by Irene's bold attitude.
Irene only threw him a death glare, but her composure relaxed a bit.
"Now, you were saying, boys?" Dr. Chilton turned and looked back to the two boys in the room, as if silently pleading with them to begin talking so Irene would not scorn him any longer.
Will nodded. "It's as Jack said. We don't get along, but we have no problems. We just go to class, do our work. It's that simple."
"Yeah." Jack replied, nodding strongly.
"Prick."
"I don't mean to disagree with anyone here, but am I the only one who feels that Will is hiding something? It's the way in which he communicates...his dialogue indicates that he is almost, covering up for Jack...Will, do you fear Jack?" Dr. Chilton had definitely picked the most opportune time to play therapist.
Will wanted to slam his head onto Dr. Chilton's desk, and give himself another blackout. This was pure bullshit.
"Will, honey, are you hiding something? What's going on?" Bedelia asked.
"I am NOT!" Will almost screamed like a petulant child. He couldn't help it; this was getting on his final nerve.
"If he said he's not hiding anything, then he's not." Irene said to Bedelia.
"Please don't interfere!" Bedelia snapped back, her eyes shining threateningly at Irene.
"Well a thousand pardons." She muttered under her breath.
"Everyone, please, just remain calm!" Dr. Chilton instructed, setting his cup down as he sensed the room growing tense.
"Look, I ain't wasting my time here. I didn't do anything to Will, and you yourself said he is fine. I can see it for my own two eyes. He is sitting right here and he is fine. The rest is just rumor and hearsay. I am not going to discuss this anymore." Jack announced as he stood up and opened the office door and walked out, his mother following his lead.
She stopped in the doorway of the office and glared at everyone else in the room. "The school board will definitely be hearing about these accusations aimed at my son! If he says he didn't do anything, then he is telling the truth! I know my child, and he'd never hurt this young man here. Do what you want, but we're finished here for today." With that last note, she turned and marched off after her son.
Bedelia and Will turned almost in unison and looked at Dr. Chilton.
Bedelia was the first to speak. "Perhaps you should write a research study report about today's incident? Might make one heck of a leap in medical science."
Dr. Chilton's face nearly boiled in temperature.
"If looks could kill." Will thought, mentally high-fiving Bedelia.