Chapter 3

Liam took Courtney to the pharmacy like he'd said, and then watched as she got out and went inside without the slightest hint of nerves. It took more than thirty minutes before she came back out and got in the car again.

"I got it!" Jubilation was etched across her face. She was waving a sheaf of papers in her hand as she fumbled the seatbelt in her excited hands.

"You like having a job?"

"Money," she said. "Are you kidding me? I never get money from my parents."

"We need to protect it then. What are they paying you?"

"I get seven fifty an hour, and a store discount," she said. "They had me fill out all the paperwork and everything. I start Saturday at three."

She was smiling all of the way back to Liam's house. Even Liam was a little happy for her, despite the occasional thought about Amber Wetzel. When they pulled into his driveway, she bounced to the door to his basement, and waited for him.

Once inside, Liam found a shoe box of old baseball cards, and emptied it into one of the drawers on his father's old desk. He put the empty box next to another one that was up on the top of his bookshelf. The other box was where he kept his left over allowance money.

"When they pay you, you cash the checks, and put half of it in this box," he said, indicating the empty box. "That way even if your parents take your money, we still have half of it."

"Yes Sir," Courtney said. "Thank you so much for helping me get a job."

"All I did was drive you over there."

"No you didn't," she said, looking at the floor again. "You made me more comfortable about my face, got my body going in the right direction, and most of all, since you told me to get the job, I couldn't help but succeed."

"I didn't--"

"You did, and I wouldn't bother to explain it," she said. "I don't know why I feel so comfortable with everything you say, or so motivated to do things for you. I'm so fortunate that you are helping me."

Helping her? Wasn't he taking advantage of her, and using her for his purposes? It was possible, Liam thought, that the laser altered the subject so much that they made their own assumptions. Or it was possible that the commands Liam used were good enough to cover all the bases he was finding. A third option was that Courtney enjoyed the treatment Liam was giving, and the commands just bricked him in as the one to do it.

Courtney laid back on his bed relaxing while he pondered. She seemed to know when he needed a minute, and wasn't frustrated at all by the sudden silence. Shaking himself back to the moment, Liam watched her. She was still bigger than she needed to be. Her hair needed work, she didn't do makeup at all, but given her home situation when would she have learned?

Squirming a little, Liam decided he didn't like being so contemplative with someone in his room. After a moment, he left her there. Walking out of the room, he set off down the street on foot.

On the street, his feet kept shuffling and his brain kept digging. He'd been meticulous and organized right up until the laser fired in the auditorium. Soon as that watch had flashed, he'd dropped it all.

All his planning, all his hard efforts, all his goals had been tossed aside while he wallowed in his mistake like a little boy. That needed to change. While the soles of his sneakers pounded on the sidewalk, his brain made some conclusions.

First he accepted the bottom line. Courtney had been affected by the laser, and was likely to never lose its affect. Second punishing her for being in the wrong place at the wrong time would leave him miserable and ashamed of himself. Even if he enjoyed it for a long time, eventually it would crash down on him since she would never be unaffected by the commands he'd used.

Those two realizations, once taken in, freed him to make plans. He wasn't going to be popular by his association with Courtney, but the possibility was there for him to be happy. He amended that to happy, and not evil.

It took him twenty minutes to walk back to his house. During those minutes, he came up with a loose plan. He figured he'd tighten it up as/if things came to be. Right off the bat though, he wanted to get more organized.

Opening his door again, he found Courtney right where he'd left her. She was just sitting on his bed quietly. Shutting the door, he looked her over.

"Ok," he said. " Tomorrow you bring three sets of clothes here for you to workout in."

"Yes Sir."

"Unless I say otherwise, you come here everyday at eight A.M."

"Yes Sir."

"You change your clothes, and either do your running, or DVD workout."

"Yes Sir."

"You don't clean my room on Thursdays anymore." She looked down at that, like it made her unhappy. "From now on you have to keep my room clean all the time."

"Yes Sir." Smiling, she swayed back and forth, happy again.

"Are your parents working today?"

"Yes Sir, until six."

Taking her out to his car, he had her lead him to the place she called home. The neighborhood went from decent to rundown in a block and a half, and he was cringing as she pointed to her home. It wasn't much to look at.

Cinderblocks were stacked up in a rudimentary staircase, and broken lattice surrounded the bottom of the trailer as if trying to mask its mobile purpose. It was old. Newer models were setup in some of the surrounding lots, and were obvious in their nicer differences, making Courtney's home look the equivalent of living in a cigar box.

Inside it wasn't much better. Liam didn't know what to think of the squalid trailer. Piles of clothing and trash were on every surface. Walking paths through the debris led from room to room. Clutching his nose against the stench, Liam followed Courtney to her room, the only bedroom in the place besides her parent's.

Wanting to get out as quick as possible, he had Courtney find her social security card and birth certificate. It was only luck that she even knew where they were. An old desk that her father had been using to hold up a carburetor and several used truck air filters, had both items in a drawer. The birth certificate looked abused with its many creases and a thumbprint left in automotive grease. Her social security card was new though, not even removed from the envelope it had been sent in.

Liam pocketed both of them, and had Courtney throw what she thought were her valuables in a back pack. She only had a teddy bear from her grandmother, and a bracelet her dad bought her when she was five.

Unconcerned with boundaries, Liam left her there and took her things back to his room. He placed her documents in the box he expected her to put the money in, and set the backpack on his desk.

Satisfied with his progress, Liam went upstairs, and vegetated on the television for the rest of the day. Long term thoughts rattled around his brain for the afternoon, and his planning began to take form. For once he was thinking of his laser gift as a race run like a marathon instead of a sprint.

Friday morning, Liam woke up to a light rapping on his basement door. With sleep still clinging to his eyes, he let a burdened Courtney into his room. She smiled bright as she came in. Carrying all the clothes he'd requested she bring had been a tough chore. A misting of swear was on her brow as she stopped once inside and looked to him for guidance.

"Just put them in front of the TV for now," he said.

Back into action at his words, she placed her things on the floor and began unfastening her jeans. Liam sat on the end of his bed watching. He hadn't thought that she'd just strip down in front of him like this, but found himself aching to see what she would look like.

Her panties were large, white, and cheap. They covered her ass, and bunched up around her legs. The bra he saw after she pulled her blue tee shirt off was about the same. It had a few holes worn into it, but was still a basic white undergarment.

Liam found himself getting a rise out of looking at her. Despite the pale skin, and awful looking underwear, she was still feminine. He couldn't say if he'd have admired her form before he'd changed her, but he was getting a hard on from it now.

Saving him from any difficult decisions, Courtney, unaware of Liam's inspection, pulled a baggy pair of beat sweat pants on, and reached for an oversized white tee shirt. Liam had control of himself by the time she pulled it over her head, and sat down to tie on her sneakers.

With a shake of his head, Liam cleared out the remaining thoughts, and found himself a towel, getting ready to take a shower as Courtney was walking to the door.