"You guys think I'm crazy?" Richie asked as soon as Tessa's psychiatrist friend was mentioned the next afternoon at lunch.

"No," Tessa assured him.

"Then why do you want me to go to a shrink?"

"Because we think there might be some holes in your thinking. we just want to make sure everything is okay," Duncan tried.

"Holes in my thinking?" Richie repeated. "You think I'm crazy."

"We don't understand some of the things you say," Tessa said. "We don't want to come to any wrong conclusions just because of a misinterpretation."

"You think I'm crazy."

"No, that's not what we mean."

"I don't get it. Look, I'm sorry I ran away, all right? I just panicked. I was scared; it won't happen again."

"That's not it, Richie," Duncan said. "Some of the things you say and do worry us a bit, that's all."

"So you want me to go to a shrink?"

"Just to talk to her. She can figure out why you do and say the things you do." Tessa got up from her seat and went to sit next to Richie. "What's the worst that can happen? We find out there's nothing wrong."

"And if there is something. different," Duncan said trying to think of a word that wouldn't offend Richie. "We can try to fix it. What can it hurt?"

"I don't want to," Richie insisted.

"Just once, that's all we're asking."

"No."

"Please, Richie, we worry about you," Tessa told him.

"You don't need to."

"But we do. This is really important to us."

Richie looked at Tessa; she had the same look in her eye that she had when she picked him up at the police station. Richie sighed. Why did she have to be so nice? "Fine," he mumbled. "But I'm making no promises. If she starts talking about something I don't want to, I'm not."

"All you have to do is try," she assured him.

. . . . . .

The next day Richie missed another day of school to go see Dr. Karen Bliss, a friend of Tessa's from aerobics.

"I changed my mind," Richie said stopping short on the walk outside the building. "I don't want to do this."

"Please, Richie," Tessa almost begged. "It's only an hour."

"Please don't make me."

"We're not going to make you do anything," Duncan told him. "But we really want you to do this. Just once. We'll be in the waiting room and if you get uncomfortable we can leave."

"You promise?"

"You have my word."

Richie took a deep breath. "Okay."

For the second time since she'd known him, Richie allowed Tessa to take him by the hand. "Come," she said gently giving him a little tug. Richie nodded slightly and followed her lead.

Dr. Bliss' office was warm and inviting. It was decorated entirely in neutral creams and other earth tones. There were the usual magazines on a coffee table and coffeepot in the corner.

The receptionist smiled at them brightly as they entered. "You must be Richie," she said practically ignoring Duncan and Tessa. "Karen will be right out. Go ahead and take a seat."

Richie nodded slightly and allowed Tessa to lead him to a seat in the corner. "You'll like Karen," Tessa whispered to him patting his hand. "She's very nice. and very pretty." Had it been any other moment Richie would have laughed at her statement. As it was he was too consumed with trying to stop the rising panic to notice it.

After a couple minutes a young woman exited the office. At first Richie thought she was a patient. She was wearing jeans and a blouse, little makeup and her dark hair was pulled into a simple ponytail.

"Hello, Tessa," she greeted approaching them.

"Karen, how are you?" Tessa asked standing up.

"I'm fine, thank you. Are you Richie?" she asked looking down at the boy who hadn't moved from his chair.

"That's him," Duncan said gesturing Richie to stand. He did.

"It's nice to meet you, Richie," she said warmly extending her hand. "I'm Dr. Bliss, but everyone calls me Karen. Do you mind if I call you Richie or would you prefer something else?"

"It's fine," he replied softly keeping both hands clamped firmly behind his back. He was already uncomfortable.

"Richie it is," she nodded seemingly unfazed by his reaction, but she had already started taking notes in her head. "Well, why don't you come with me? Unless you want Tessa or Duncan to come, too. Or both?"

"Maybe you should start by yourselves," Tessa suggested. She and Duncan had already decided to remove themselves from the situation unless Richie refused to cooperate otherwise.

"Is that okay with you?" Karen asked Richie. "It's your decision."

"I don't care," he mumbled.

"Okay, if you change your mind just say so and they can come in, okay?"

"Whatever."

"Why don't you go on in a take a seat wherever you want and I'll be there in just a minute, okay?"

Richie looked at Tessa and she smiled at him as she gave him a gentle nudge toward the office. "Go on."

Once Richie was out of the room Karen looked at Tessa. "That's him?"

"That's him."

"Let me make sure I have this right before I go in there. He doesn't let you touch him?"

"He just started letting me," Tessa said. "He started two days ago; he let me hold his hand. He still goes back and forth though."

"He won't let me unless he's hurt," Duncan added.

"And he said he had a problem with being loved?" Karen asked.

"The other night. We were trying to figure out why he was so mad at us. He insisted nothing bothered him until we said we did it all because we love him," Tessa explained.

"I see," Karen nodded. "Well, I'm going to go talk to him. And I have to warn you that if I don't see this as a threat to his well being or as something that just he and I can work out that I can't tell you anything he tells me. But since he's seventeen if I feel there's reason to, I will tell you."

"Okay," Duncan consented.

"I'll be back in a little while." Karen went to join Richie. "Comfy?" she asked in slight amusement when she spotted Richie in the big leather armchair behind her desk.

"You said anywhere," he shrugged letting his attitude take over for his emotions.

"That I did," she consented sitting in the chair on the other side of the desk. "Can you hand me that notepad?" she asked gesturing to the one that sat in front of Richie. "And a pen?" Richie handed them over wondering how long she was going to let him get away with this. "Thank you. So, Richie. short for Richard, right?"

"Albert," Richie corrected straight-faced.

She smiled. "Really? Never heard that one before. Usually it'd be Al or Bert. Why Richie?"

"Cause."

"That's as good a reason as any." She jotted down a few notes on her pad. 'Want for dominance, sarcastic. possibly attempt to isolate himself?' She looked up at Richie. "Do you know why you're here?"

"Cause Mac and Tessa brought me."

"Why?"

"Cause they think I'm crazy."

"No, they don't. They're just worried."

"How come?" Richie asked. Karen's warm smile, gentle voice, and casual demeanor were staring to melt his attempts to stay disconnected. "I didn't do anything."

"Maybe that's the problem. What is a typical day at your house like?"

"Wake up, eat breakfast, go to school, come home, chill for a while, do my homework, eat dinner, finish my homework, go to bed," he rattled off.

"Do you eat breakfast and dinner as a family?"

Richie seemed off put by the suggestion that they were a family. "We eat together."

"Do you talk?"

"Yeah."

"What about?"

"Stuff."

"What kind of stuff?" Karen was scribbling as they spoke.

Richie shrugged. "School, work, sports, stuff. it just depends on what happened that day."

"Do you ever get in trouble?"

"Sometimes."

"Do they punish you?"

"Mac does; Tessa doesn't like to."

"Who do you like better Duncan or Tessa?" Karen asked leaning towards him.

"Huh?"

"Who do you like better?" she repeated.

"Neither one."

"You have to have a preference," she prodded. "Just because you like one more than the other doesn't mean anything. There's always one you lean more towards."

"Not me," he insisted.

"If you had a problem. say you got in trouble at school, who would you go to first?"

"Tessa."

"Why?"

Richie thought for a minute. "Because she doesn't do anything. Mac gets real mad."

"Okay," Karen wrote it down. "If you were physically hurt, who would you go to?"

"Mac," Richie answered after a pause. "Cause he always seems to know what to do."

"What about emotionally. if your girlfriend broke up with you?"

"I don't have a girlfriend."

"If you did."

"Tessa, 'cause she's more. um." he searched for the word.

"Gentle? Nurturing? Motherly?"

Richie looked at Karen in sudden realization. Tessa was motherly toward him and he was encouraging it. "Yeah," he whispered.

"Would you tell Duncan?"

"If he asked."

"Why?"

"Tessa would understand more."

"Why do you say that?"

"I don't know," he shrugged.

"If you had really great news, say, you asked a girl at school to a dance and she said yes, who would you tell first?"

"Whoever I saw first," Richie answered.

"Would you get real excited?"

"Maybe, depends on the girl."

"Say it was the prettiest most popular senior in the school. Would you jump up and down?"

"No," Richie grinned slightly.

"Would you scream?"

"No."

"Would you hug them?"

"No."

"Why not?" Karen asked positioning her pen ready to write down his exact response.

"Cause."

"Because why?"

"Just 'cause."

"There has to be a reason, Richie. Why don't you let them touch you?"

"Cause," he insisted.

"Do you and your friends ever touch? Do you ever try to hug or kiss a girl?"

"Yeah."

"Why not Duncan and Tessa?"

Richie looked down and the highly polished oak desk. He took a deep breath. "Cause I don't want them to think that I love them," he finally answered.

"Do you, though?"

"I think so."

"Why don't you want to tell them?" Karen leaned forward highly intrigued by his answer.

"Because I don't like what happens next. I don't want to, not with them."

"Don't want to what?"

"Do. what people do when they're in love. Especially with Mac, it hurts with guys."

"Richie, I don't know what you're talking about," Karen insisted. "I think I have an idea, but I'm hoping it's wrong."

"How many options are there?" he scoffed. "You fall in love, you have sex, end of story."