Chapter 12

Benson lied down in a hospital bed at San Jose Saint Bonaventure while a female nurse drew some blood. The male officer who rescued her stood at her bedside.

"This is ridiculous," Benson said. "I don't need to be in the hospital. I'm fine."

"You were hit in the head with a crowbar and buried alive," the officer said. "That doesn't count as fine."

"Can I at least borrow your phone so I can call New York?" Benson asked.

"That phone call will have to wait," Dr. Melendez said as he entered the room. "Take Miss Benson in for an MRI."

"I don't need an MRI," Benson said.

The nurse helped Benson into a wheelchair and began pushing her down the hall.

"I can walk, you know," Benson said.

Later, at Shaun's apartment complex, Shaun floated on his back in the apartment pool while Clark swam laps. Clark stopped swimming laps and stood up in the pool.

"You have been floating like that since we got in," Clark said. "Why don't you swim some laps?"

"No thank you," Shaun said. "I'm experiencing."

"Experience this," Clark said before splashing Shaun.

Shaun stood up.

"I do not like to be splashed," Clark said.

"It's fun," Clark said.

"I don't like it," Shaun said. "I don't like it."

"Hey," Clark said. "I get it. Remember, I'm autistic too. You don't like to go outside your comfort zone. But sometimes you just have to. Here, splash me."

"No," Shaun said.

"Come on," Clark said. "Splash me."

"The sign says no splashing," Shaun said.

"Shaun," Clark said. "Splash me."

"The rules specifically state…" Shaun started to say before Clark began splashing him.

"I'm not stopping until you splash me back," Clark said as he continued splashing Shaun.

Shaun splashed Clark back.

"You did it!" Clark cheered.

Shaun splashed Clark once again.

"This is fun," Shaun said smiling. "You were right."

"I'm going to get you for that," Clark said.

Shaun and Clark began splashing each other.

"What is going on here?" a voice asked.

Shaun and Clark turned stopped splashing and looked to see Armon, the building manager.

"Hello, Armon," Shaun said.

"Who's he?" Clark asked.

"This is Armon," Shaun replied. "He's the building manager."

"It is after 2 AM and I received a noise complaint from several residents," Armon said. "What are you two doing in the pool area?"

"We were having a splash fight," Shaun replied.

"Pool area closes at 10 PM," Armon said. "If I catch you in the pool area after closing again, I will evict you. Got it, Sam?"

"It's Shaun," Shaun replied. "Shaun with a U."

"Are you being a smart ass?" Armon asked. "You know what I do to smart asses?"

Clark quickly climbed out of the pool and approached Armon.

"Listen, punk!" Clark shouted. "I am a police detective! Shaun is not a smart ass! He is autistic and sometimes he doesn't understand things! I have autism too and I know what it's like to be bullied by punks like you! Lay off of him or you will have to deal with me! Got it?"

"Got it," Armon said.

"Now apologize to him!" Clark shouted.

"I'm sorry," Armon said. "You can use the pool anytime."

Armon walked off and Clark jumped back into the pool.

"Thank you," Shaun said.

"You're welcome," Clark said.

"I thought you weren't bullied," Shaun said.

"I lied," Clark said. "When word got out that I was autistic, the other kids in school would make fun of me. They would call me a freak and some of them would beat me up. There was one bully who would lock me in the janitor's closet and follow me home."

Tears fell from Clark's eyes.

"One night, I was sleeping and he threw a brick through my window with a threatening note," Clark cried. "The bullying got so bad, and combined with the grief over my brother's death, I tried to take my own life."

"Oh," Shaun said.

"I waited until my parent were asleep, I opened her medicine cabinet, and swallowed a whole bottle of Benadryl," Clark cried. "As I sat on the couch waiting to die, a PSA for National Suicide Prevention came on TV. I quickly woke my parents up and told them what I'd done. They rushed me to the emergency room and I had my stomach pumped."

Shaun looked at Clark with a sympathetic look on his face.

"If I hadn't seen that PSA, I'd be dead," Clark cried. "I remember after my stomach was pumped, I woke up and my parents were at my hospital bedside with tears in their eyes. My mom said, 'We already lost your brother, we can't lose you too'. The thought that I did something as stupid…"

Clark began to cry uncontrollably.

"I'm sorry," Clark sobbed.

"It's okay," Shaun said. "I'm going to give you a hug now."

Shaun gave Clark a hug as Clark continued to cry.

"I'm glad you're alive," Shaun said. "You're my best friend."