Chapter 16: Treading Water

9th Grade: February 1st - February 7th, 1986

Suzi found me in a heap on the floor halfway inside Sandi’s doorway with Sandi huddled over me, the pair of us crying for different reasons.

Suzi exclaimed, “What is going on!”

I faintly heard footsteps coming up the steps, and for a moment I feared it was their parents.

Joey said from down the hall, “What’s going on?”

Suzi commanded, “Sandi, but your robe on!”

Brad groaned, “Sandi, what did you do?”

I shouted, “NO!” Then I wept, “No ... She didn’t do anything. It was me. It’s all me!”

Suzi groaned, “Oh, for Pete’s sake. Joey? Can you make any sense of what he’s saying?”

I shouted, “Sandi is DREAM GIRL!”

Suzi repeated, “Dream Girl,” while Joey groaned, “Shit.”

Brad asked, “Dream Girl?”

Joey said, “The ... we thought it was a woman. She sort of ran the fantasies with Tim last summer.”

I untangled my legs from underneath me and sat up looking over at Sandi, who had put the robe on she had had hanging on one of the large posts of her bed. She was over by her stereo system with her back to us, but Barry Manalo was still singing. I could see her shoulders twitching as she silently wept.

I said, “Sandi...”

She shook her head.

Suzi nudged me with her foot, and when I looked up at her, she motioned for me to go to her.

But I didn’t want to do that. I didn’t want to touch her. I was afraid if I did, something worse would happen. Brad and Joey were now at the door with Suzi, having held back until then. Joey’s and my eyes met for a moment, and in that moment, I felt this ... shame come over me.

It was nothing Joey did or thought or felt. I don’t know why the last remaining shred of my denial of the Truth had waited to break until then. But that was when I knew. This was the price for all my sins.

The voice from my dream spoke in my ears, “Those closest to you will suffer the most,” followed by Sandi’s screams.

Joey kicked me in the tailbone, and when I looked up at him angerly, he said, “Stop it. You’re fucking not responsible for this.”

I barked out a laugh and said, “No? Then who is? Is it Sandi’s fault? She’s only fucking ten years old.”

Sandi sucked in a loud, deep breath, turned, and with a grimace on the rest of her face and fresh tears on her cheeks, she glared at me.

I croaked, “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry.”

Sandi’s face softened slightly, but then she caught Brad’s eyes wandering around her room.

Sandi stomped towards the door and said, “Out! Everyone out!”

With me in the doorway, there was no way for her to shut the door, but it didn’t matter. Brad already saw what she was trying to avoid him from seeing.

“Sandi, is that ... Is that a fucking dildo?”

Sandi froze a moment, then cried out, “OUT!” before rushing back to her bed, snatching the black penis off it and tossing it into her dresser drawer.

I finally, shakily, got up on my feet and said, “Will everyone, please leave us. I need to talk to her.”

Suzi said, “Timmy, I know you mean well, but...”

I didn’t give her the chance to finish. I took control of hers, Joeys’ and Brad’s bodies and marched them out and down the hall. I closed the door, and before releasing them, I made them unable to open it.

Feeling dead in my heart and the power-lust starting to flow through me, I stepped over to Sandi and pulled the robe off her. She was completely unresisting.

I pulled my shirt and shoes off before lying down on the bed where Sandi hesitantly joined me.

I asked her, “Why? Why did you ... why didn’t you tell me?”

In the faintest of whispers, she said, “Because you would have stopped.”

“How long did you know it was me?”

“Since you started spending the night and making up stories with the others.”

I gasped and said, “You ... you were in those with us?”

“I could hear your thoughts. I thought you were whispering to me somehow. You were telling me all these ... sexy things, and it was like I could feel how it felt. And then I felt you cum, and I was so happy. The next time you didn’t whisper to me, but you still shared what you felt ... I love you.”

I closed my eyes as the tears those three simple words triggered filled them. I didn’t know what to do. Suzi, Joey and Brad had stopped banging on the door, and Suzi was still trying to talk to me, but they couldn’t help me. They were part of the problem.

No, they were innocent too. I was the problem. This was all my fault.

“Are you going to make love to me now?”

I sucked in a big gasp of air and then hugged her and said, “Sandi, I love you too, but ... I can’t. You’re ten. I’d hurt you.”

“You can’t hurt me. I’ve been with men bigger than you.”

“WHAT!”

I grabbed her by the shoulders and pulled her from me. I held her like that as I stared into her eyes. Her needy eyes.

That’s when I looked into her head and started probing her for the details.

Brad had been right. She had been on drugs.

She had already started feeling the need before she had stopped responding to me. When school started, Sandi, brilliant and observant, noticed two men hanging out near her school, eyeing the kids there. When they returned the next day, she approached them. She seduced them, not that they weren’t there to do the very thing she wanted them to do.

But they also had a special candy. Sandi didn’t know what was in the candy, but it made her feel like she was floating on a cloud of happiness. The candy was her reward for having sex with them. Little did they know the high she got from the candy was only part of the high she received from the orgasms they gave her.

They were in jail now. When they tired of her, they started offering the candy to some of the other girls. Some were even younger than Sandi. Sandi left an anonymous tip for the officer who patrolled the school detailing their schedule, and she made sure she wasn’t anywhere near them the next day while the police observed and then arrested them.

What Sandi hadn’t counted on was the withdraw effects of both the drugs and not having anyone to help sate the need. The dildo she stole from her mother’s toybox only did so much. She’d been fucking some of the older boys in the neighborhood for months.

Ten years old and she’s had more partners and more experience at sex than I had, and she hadn’t even had her period yet. The blood her mother had mistaken for that had been from sex with the men.

I had fed all that to Suzi, Brad and Joey, and after Suzi and Joey had calmed Brad down, I undid the commands preventing them from coming in.

Suzi came in first. She didn’t give me the glare I had expected, just the worried look. Joey, on the other hand, was still angry at me, mostly for using my telepathy on him. Brad was so upset he didn’t know what to feel beside guilt for not having noticing what was going on. He kept talking about telling their mom about the men and drugs, but Sandi and I kept talking him down.

Suzi finally asked, “So what are we going to do? You’re not seriously thinking of making love with her.”

I said, “I don’t know. I need to talk to Father Xavier. He went through this himself at an even younger age. He’ll know what to do.”

I was unprepared for Sandi slamming her fist down on my stomach. I was so startled and in pain, I didn’t react in time to spot her second fist. Out of self-defense, I instinctively knocked her out, then I had an overprotective brother yelling at me asking me what I did.

“I don’t know, Brad! Damnit, give me a second!”

“What do you mean you don’t know!”

I frowned and started feeling Sandi’s mind out as I said, “Just what I said! Sometimes I just do things I didn’t know I could do...”

Recognizing the focused expression I used when feeling someone out, when Brad opened his mouth to argue, Suzi held up her hand and said, “Just give him a second, Bradley. I’m sure he didn’t hurt her.”

A half a minute later, I said, “I found the command that knocked her out. It’s harmless. I can take it out anytime and she’ll wake up naturally. But let’s talk first.”

Brad for at least the tenth time, ran his left hand through his hair and said, “Man, we have to tell my mom.”

I said, “And tell her what? Oh, hey, Mrs. Redmond. I’m telepathic and accidentally infected your daughter with this intense need for sex without knowing it. I’m not sure if I can fix it, but if you let me have sex with her a few hundred times, I’m sure she’ll be just fine.”

Brad asked, “But you fixed those other girls...”

I said, “I did and I didn’t. I haven’t told you what Father Xavier said. He’s experienced this himself before and he survived it. He’ll know what to do. Please, Brad. We just need to wait until tomorrow, then if we need to tell your parents, Father Xavier and my parents can help explain it. Until then, we just need to keep her from doing anything else.”

Joey asked, “What did he say about the other girls?”

I told them everything that had happened and what I had figured out myself. I didn’t mention anything related to the dream and was careful not to think about it just in case Joey was monitoring my thoughts. I did not want to have to deal with our impending breakup that night.

Suzi helped me dress Sandi for bed, then once all the candles were blown out, we left her room. I waited until we were down the hall before removing the command that had knocked her out. I was very careful to understand how it worked before removing it just in case it did something unexpected and so I’d know how to do it again in the future. I saw how it could come in handy.

We started the movie when we all returned to the basement, but we weren’t watching it.

Joey asked, “Why did you kick us out like that? We would have left if you had given us the chance.”

I said, “You might have, but Suzi and Brad wouldn’t have. I knew Sandi would talk to me but not in front of others.”

“But you didn’t have to command me.”

“I’m sorry, okay? Do you have any idea how upset I am about this? I mean ... It’s Sandi ... Sweet little spunky Sandi...”

Brad teared up with me, but then he got angry and said, “Why her, Tim? Why?”

I shook my head and said, “I don’t know. I didn’t know it was her. I would never ever do something like that to her. Now she’s so ... She’s messed up, Brad. Her fantasies are out of control. It would take four of us to sate her latest fantasy.”

Suzi said, “I am not having sex with her.”

I snorted and said, “Four guys, Suz. I don’t see your brother volunteering for this, do you?”

Joey said, “Maybe Ted?”

Suzi said, “We are not going doing this! She’s ten!”

Joey said, “Besides that, how could four men have sex with one girl?”

I said, “Three holes and one to hold.”

Brad groaned and then started weeping.

Suzi moved beside him and held him while Joey looked intensely at me. I looked at him questioningly but instead of explaining himself, he glanced over at Brad and Suzi, then returned to staring at me.

Feeling uncomfortable, I decided I was thirsty and got up to get something to drink. I came back with a second glass of water for Brad and set it down next to him. Suzi had him lying in her arms and was running her hands through his hair.

When I sat down, Joey sighed and asked, “What time are you going to see this Father Xavier tomorrow?”

“I’ll probably leave around ten to catch their last mass. I’ll need to take Sandi. I’m sure he’ll want to see her.”

“Any problems if we all go?”

I shrugged.

Suzi said, “I’ll have to get it cleared with my mom first, but I don’t know why she’d say no to going to church. I will have to go home to change first.”

Brad said, “What am I going to tell my parents?”

Joey said, “Just tell them we’re going to church with Tim tomorrow to meet this cool preacher he met.”

I added, “One that helped my mom when I was just a baby.”

A part of me didn’t want them to go, but the rest of me was grateful not to have to do this on my own.

I spent a few minutes telling them about my morning. I had picked Rachel and Tina up from their house in the limo and gave them both another dose of Timmy loving. Joey and Suzi both were hinting they’d like to witness one of my sessions. All the guest rooms had hidden cameras that were in full color. I decided that would be the safest way for them to see it, but I didn’t say anything. I wasn’t going to offer it unless they asked.

Brad finally sat up and started drinking his water, but then his mom came down to check on things. She was freshly showered and we all knew what she and her husband had been up to. That was another reason why they had sent us away for pizza.

The movie ended right before midnight and I was worn out. I hadn’t felt that stressed out since I was having the dream every morning. Brad was tired too, so after Suzi gave out kisses to all three of us, she headed up for bed.

As the three of us brushed our teeth in the bathroom down there, I said, “I didn’t even think to bring my sweats with me.”

Brad said, “Man, that’s so junior high. We’re high school men now. We sleep in our underwear.”

Joey said, “I sleep naked.”

Brad said, “No, you don’t. You’d never do that and have your mom walk in on you.”

I said to Joey, “He has you there.”

Joey said, “You could, though. Your mom has seen you naked plenty of times.”

I said, “She’s seen you naked too. She’s even ... you know.”

Joey rolled his eyes when Brad looked at us.

Brad spat out his toothpaste and said, “Man, sometimes I don’t know if you two are trying to pull one on me or not. But I’m too worn out to care.”

Joey and I spat as well, then we each took turns rinsing while trying to make the others flinch and spit out the water.

I did that so automatically, I wasn’t even thinking about it.

I felt hollow inside. I was so ... disappointed in myself I felt ... despair.

And Joey knew it and it worried him. I wasn’t paying attention when Joey told me to go grab some more pillows from Brad’s room. When I got back, they had zipped all three sleeping bags together making one big bag.

I frowned at Joey and said, “We’re not messing around.”

Joey said, “I know. But you and Brad are pretty upset. I figured it wouldn’t hurt for a little mutual support.”

I looked at Brad who shrugged and said, “I’m cool as long as the underwear stays on.”

Looking at the sleeping bags, I saw mine was the one in the middle. I didn’t argue, though.

Despite how tired we were, Brad tossed and turned while I just stared up at the ceiling trying not to think.

After about a half an hour, Brad sighed and asked, “Tim, are you sure that thing you did to Sandi is safe?”

I asked, “Why? You want me to try it on you?”

“Only if you think...”

Joey laughed and said, “You could have let him finish his sentence.”

I said, “But that wouldn’t have been funny. I doubt he’ll remember asking me in the morning anyway.”

Joey moved against me again like he had done when we first climbed in. But instead of just lying there, he wrapped his arms around me.

I said, “I’m not in the mood, Joey.”

“You’re not in the mood for your boyfriend to hold you? I’m not trying to get you into any kind of mood.”

I felt my eyes tear up again and the reason why flittered through my head.

Joey stiffened when he caught it and said, “Why?”

I said shakily, “Because I don’t want you and Suzi getting hurt.”

“Fuck, Tim. It’s the dream again, isn’t it?”

“It doesn’t matter. I can’t be with you while I’m ... fixing all those girls. You two will just have to manage without me.”

“What if we can’t? What if you are what keeps us together and without you...”

“Then it’s meant to be that way. I’m sorry Joey. No one is asking me to do this. I just don’t ... I can’t. Okay? I just can’t.”

I moved out of his embrace and tried to get comfortable.

Joey said, “If you think I’m going to...”

After making sure he was asleep, I sighed, but then rolled over, kissed his cheek, then snuggled up against him. He wouldn’t remember in the morning, either. I had learned enough about how short term and long term memory worked to know that.

Early the next morning, Sandi woke us up by getting in the sleeping bag with us. Or I should say with me. That’s who she snuggled up with. That was very Sandi like. Her grabbing my morning woody and playing with it, however, wasn’t.

She was very discrete and if Joey and Brad hadn’t simply rolled over to go back to sleep, I wouldn’t have let her. But I could feel the need inside her and it was making the power-lust flow into me very quickly.

But it was a sin and I knew it. When I lost my hardon, Sandi sighed unhappily and asked, “Why don’t you like me?”

“You know I feel more than just like for you. Remember? You’re like my little sister.”

Sandi said angerly, “I’m not your little sister!”

I instinctively made her arm go dead when I felt her hand tighten around my dick. She gasped and asked, “Did you do that?”

Joey rolled over and cracked his eyes open as I said, “Yes. Now, are you going to behave, or do I have to make the rest of your body go numb?”

Brad groaned, rolled over and asked, “Man, what’s going on?”

Sandi said angerly, “Nothing Brad. Go back to sleep.”

I said, “Your little sister was trying to give me a handjob.”

Brad exclaimed, “Sandi!”

Sandi said, “I was not! I was getting it hard enough to fuck it.”

Brad sat up in shock, and Joey gasped, “Shit.”

I let out a frustrated sigh and said, “Brad, I’m going try something to try and take the edge off. Don’t freak out.”

Brad exclaimed, “I’m already freaking out!”

Joey said, “You’re going to try that thing you did with Suzi and me Wednesday night?”

I looked at him in surprise and said, “Yeah. How did you know?”

Joey shrugged and said, “Great minds think alike.”

I gave him a half-hearted smile before turning to Sandi and asking, “Are you ready?”

Sandi asked a little nervously, “For what?”

Joey said, “For your mind to be blown.”

Sandi opened her mouth to speak, but instead, she took a deep breath, rolled her eyes up into her head and then let out a squeaky high pitched moan.

A few seconds later, she was actively humping my leg as she attached her mouth to my bare upper arm to suck on. Her tongue was lashing and swirling while her humping became longer and more powerful.

Joey said, “Shit, she’s enjoying that. Any chance we can have a try?”

I was too focused on what I was doing to respond. It was tempting to try and sate her need completely this way, but I wasn’t sure if that would work. It might even make things worse. I took her up and down the rollercoaster twice before making her cum with a loud, guttural and gasping for air groan.

As Sandi came down from her orgasm, Brad said, “Man ... Next time you do that, I’m leaving the room. It isn’t natural for a brother to get a hardon watching his sister go through that.

Joeys said, “Shit, Brad. I don’t know any male who wouldn’t. I know she’s only ten, but she didn’t look it. That was fucking hot as hell.”

Sandi slid on top of me little, gave me a kiss on the lips and said, “Thank you. I love you.”

The words made me shudder on the insides, but I didn’t let it show.

Instead, I asked, “How long do you think that will hold you?”

Sandi stretched her arms out around me to give me a hug as she said, “A couple of hours at least.”

Brad exclaimed, “Hours?”

“Maybe until lunch.”

I looked at my watch. It was a little after six-thirty.

I said, “I’m going back to sleep.”

Brad said, “Man, how can you after that?”

I said, “It’s too early to get up and it’s going to be a long day. Do you want me to help you fall back to sleep?”

Sandi asked, “Can I sleep here?”

I said, “I don’t care as long as you don’t try and start anything.”

Sandi said, “I may be a whore, but I’m not stupid.”

Brad groaned, “Sandi, don’t talk like that. You’re not a whore.”

Sandi said, “Yes I am. Last week I made nearly fifty dollars.”

Brad exclaimed, “From who?”

“I’m not telling. You’ll just try and...”

I knocked her out again.

Brad said, “What did you do that for?”

I said, “She started touching my cock again. Shit Brad. I’m really sorry. I can’t believe this happened. I’d never think of her doing sexy things.”

Brad asked, “Then how did it happen? You had to know at some level who you were connected to.”

Joey said, “Unless she’s telepathic too.”

Brad said, “Shit, you think?”

I said, “If she was telepathic, I would think she wouldn’t have had any problem getting her need satisfied.”

Joey said, “Maybe she’s only partially like me then. Did you bring your coin?”

I untangled myself from Sandi and slipped out of the bag to get my coin.

Joey followed me and started getting dressed when we reached the clothes, saying, “She’ll be less tempted to start something if we’re dressed.”

I said, “I doubt that. Shit, Joey. Her just thinking about sex made her horny for it even without the need. Now that we know, she’ll be seducing us every chance she gets. Even Brad.”

Brad, seeing we were getting dressed, had followed us over and heard all that.

He groaned, “Man, we can’t let that happen. Can’t you make her stop? Like can’t you just put her back the way she was?”

I said, “I told you it’s not that simple. Father Xavier said the need is like ... like a substance in her. Actually, I didn’t understand what he meant by that, but the impression he gave me and from what my dad has taught me, it’ll take more than just motivators and inhibitors to stop her from acting on it because it’s like in her blood now or something. Telepathy can’t really change how a person thinks long term directly. We can take direct control of you and make you do things or not do things, but if we want to make you want to do those things naturally, that takes a lot more effort and time.”

Joey said, “You said your dad does something similar to what you did. Do his women have the need?”

I said, “Not that I’ve seen.”

Holding the coin in my hand, I offered it to Brad and said, “See if you feel anything when you hold this.”

Brad took it and asked, “Like what?”

Joey said, “You’ll know if you feel it.”

I said, “You didn’t at first.”

Joey shrugged and said, “I was expecting something a lot more obvious from the way you reacted.”

Brad was frowning while he turned it over in his hand then closed his hand around it to grip it tightly. After a few seconds, he relaxed his hand and held it between his thumb and index finger.

He eventually shrugged and said, “I don’t feel anything special. It just feels like a piece of plastic to me.”

Brad handed it back to me and finished pulling his socks on.

We waited for him to finish before heading back over to the sleeping bags and waking Sandi up.

Sandi woke with a start, then after a few moments of taking in how we had gotten dressed, she asked, “How did you do that?”

I wiggled my eyebrows and said, “I wiggled my nose and poof. Here Sandi. Hold this coin and tell us if you feel anything strange while you hold it.”

Sandi sat up and took the coin, then after a moment, she pressed it up against her left cheek before examining it.

Sandi asked, “Who’s the man on it? He looks familiar.”

I said, “I don’t know. Do your fingers feel strange holding it? Or do you feel comforted by it?”

Sandi looked at me and asked a little scornfully, “Why? Is it magic too?”

Joey said, “Actually, yes, it is. Do you feel anything?”

She pressed it up against her cheek again and this time closed her eyes. But a few seconds later, she huffed, opened her eyes and said, “Are you trying to trick me? It’s just a stupid piece of plastic.”

I said, “No, Sandi. This isn’t a trick. When someone with the gift holds it, they can feel something from it. I thought ... well, we thought maybe you had the gift a little too. That would have explained why I didn’t know it was you.”

I turned away, not wanting her to see me getting upset.

Sandi only made it worse when she said, “I did it for you. I wanted to. I love you. And I thought you loved me. That’s what you did in the dreams. You were making love to me through those other girls. You just wouldn’t do it to me directly because I was too young.”

Her voice was angry when she had said that last bit, but she calmed down and said, “I’m really good now. You won’t need another girl to keep you happy. Please? It’s all I ever wanted. I just want to be yours.”

Brad moaned, then he knelt down beside her and said, “Sandi, we’re going to take you to see someone who Tim thinks can help you get back to normal. But whatever happens, you can’t go fucking guys just because you’re horny or whatever. Like, you could get a disease or get pregnant. What would mom say if that happened?”

Sandi said, “I’m not stupid, Brad. I make them wear condoms and I can’t get pregnant. And I don’t want to be with other boys. I just want to be Tim’s.”

Brad said, “But that’s ... you’re fucking ten years old!”

“I’ll be eleven in three months, and I’m tired of everyone saying that. I could fuck all three of you right now and it would be the best sex you’ll ever have.”

I turned around and said shakily, “I don’t have sex with little girls, and I don’t have sex with whores. You can’t be my girlfriend and you know what? You won’t be happy with that either for long if you were. You’re fucked up, Sandi. Don’t you see that? You’re out of control. You’ll be seducing your brother next, and your father. Is that what you want? To be a sex-obsessed eleven-year-old who can’t get enough cock to satisfy your need?”

Sandi broke down in tears and refused Brad’s offer to hold her which only made Brad glare at me.

I groaned out a, “Fuck!” and turned around and headed for the stairs.

Joey caught up and stopped me asking, “Where are you going?”

“To wake up Suz. Joey, I’m not going to run away from this. I have to face it, so stop worrying I’m going to do something stupid. I’m not. I have to figure this out before the rest of them end up like her.”

Joey released my arm and said, “Shit, you think?”

I nodded, but then before I turned to continue towards the stairs, I said, “I’m going to have to break up with you two for a while. I can’t do what I have to do while I’m still your boyfriends.”

Joey stood there, shocked, while I headed up, but then like I expected him to, he quickly followed me up.

As we climbed the second staircase together, I said, “Don’t just blurt it out the moment she opens her eyes. Let her wake up first.”

Joey said with a tinge of anger in his voice, “Oh, I’m not going to tell her. You are. And we’re not leaving the room until you do.”

I let out an irritated snort before increasing my pace. I knew I had to get this over with. I needed to start making plans. I was certain Rachel, Tina and Jessica needed the cure soon or they’d end up like Sandi. And after seeing how Tina’s need had suddenly bloomed, any of the other girls that I thought were still a long way away from needing it could go off at any time. I wasn’t certain what had triggered Tina, but I had the feeling the trigger didn’t require me to be involved.

The hollow feeling grew deeper as I opened the guest room’s door and saw Suzi’s sleeping form. Joey and I stood there looking at her, and I started tearing up. I loved her. I didn’t want to do this. I wanted all this to go away so we could be together.

But I had to give her up. I couldn’t put her through the hell I was about to go through. Suzi was strong, possibly the strongest person I knew, but that didn’t mean she didn’t have her weaknesses. She would insist on being directly involved, but that would ruin her. To watch me make love to girl after girl, over and over again? I didn’t want to be involved in that myself. I mean, who would? Even the horniest pervert would get bored of doing the same thing after the first four or five times.

I didn’t even realize Joey had embraced me until I was crying into his shoulder. That made it all the worse. I wasn’t just giving Suzi up but Joey too. I didn’t know how to do that, really. We’d been like brothers for so long. How could I continue living next to him, riding the bus with him, or, fuck, anything without him there to do it with me? Sometimes it felt like it was killing me just knowing he and Brad were playing basketball without me. Without me. We’d never done anything apart like that.

I started calming down when Suzi stirred.

When I finally pulled away, Joey looked at me, his cheeks wet from his own silent tears, and said, “You don’t have to do this. We can find a way to make it work.”

I would have given in at that point if he hadn’t added, “I love you. We need you too.”

Need. It was there, in his eyes. Need. It was a different need, but it was a need all the same. Instead of it being a lustful need, it was an intimate one. But it was a need and it needed to be continually sated.