A Loner Mentalist Pt. 06

Mia sat back in her seat and giggled softly as she stared out the window at the landscape the freeway passed through. Jack parked in front of his house. It was Tuesday afternoon and Janice was still at work. He took his dogs out back and attached the hose to the top of the fence. He turned it on and let them wash themselves properly. He came back to the car to find Mia missing. He panicked and cast frantic looks up and down the street.

"Hey," her voice came from behind him. He turned to see her standing on the front porch. She hooked her thumb over her shoulder. "Coffee's on. Wanna come inside and explain things?"

He heaved a big breath of relief and nodded. She went in. He waited a few moments for his heart to stop trying to smash its way out of his ribcage, then he grabbed the coats and blankets from the back seat and stuffed them in the metal trash can. He was going to burn those later. He went inside.

Mia was seated at the kitchen table with a pair of steaming mugs in front of her. Jack sat down and drew one of the mugs to himself. She took the other and brought it close to her mouth. Jack weighed the warm ceramic in his grasp and found himself glad for the strong smell of coffee. It would be a point of commonality he could use to slide into her mind more easily and intervene if she freaked out. He blew on it, took a sip when she did, and winced as it almost burned his mouth. It was very strong.

She set her mug down and cleared her throat nervously. Her eyes darted between his face and everywhere else in the room. She shifted in her seat and opened her mouth a few times before saying, "So...these supernatural powers..."

Jack simply didn't know what to say. His power had been the focus of his life, ever since he had first felt it, yet he didn't know how to tell the story of it. She was staring at him anxiously, and he couldn't keep her in the dark anymore. The words just came rattling off his tongue. "I can read minds and influence them, too. There was this other guy that could do the same thing, only better, and he, uh, he didn't like the fact that there were others who could do the same things he could, so he, uh, he came here and messed with our heads. He made you...do the things you did this morning and he made me unable to use my power to fight him. I recovered and undid the stuff he had put in your head and then we drove to the place today and he, uh, he chose to commit suicide rather than face justice for what he had done." He cleared his throat and took another sip of his coffee. It was still scalding hot.

Mia stared at him with an expression that slowly changed from anxious to a combination of incredulous and offended. "That...that's bullshit! Mind reading? Do you honestly think I'm dumb enough to fall for that? You're a witch. A boy witch and...I can't even begin to imagine what you're up to, but this story with mind reading is complete bullshit and I'm not falling for it."

Jack blushed even before he began to speak. "The band I took you to see...you, uh, you've had many sexual fantasies about being taken backstage and blowing the singer. Then their road manager would film you doing that and use the recording to blackmail you into staying with the band, or he'd send a copy of the film to anyone that you ever came into contact with. Then the band would use you as...well, for lack of a better expression, a cum dumpster, and if you were a good enough lay, you'd be rewarded by one-on-one sessions with the singer."

Mia's face lost all color as her eyes bugged out in shock.

"You also had some sexual fantasies about Justin Bieber and whipped cream that I've been trying to forget ever since I learned of them."

Mia's face suddenly turned beet red and her mouth fell open.

Jack frowned. "The one thing I don't get is when you fantasized about Lisa spanking you in the locker room at school, you imagined her blackmailing you into being her sex slave by threatening to tell the whole school you were a dyke. How would that work, exactly? Wouldn't that make her a dyke in the eyes of the whole school, too?"

Mia exploded out of her seat. Her hands shot up to grasp her hair, as if she was trying to literally keep her head on her shoulders. "Oh, my God! Youare a mind reader!"

Jack winced at how loudly she yelled that out and gave a small, apologetic smile. "Yeah, sorry."

"Oh, my God!" She paced back and forth, hyperventilating. "Oh, my God! And you've...you've read my...oh, my God!"

"So sorry about that. I didn't mean to. It was an accident, I swear!"

"An accident!?" She stopped pacing and rounded on him. "An accident?! How was reading my...how wasthat an accident?!"

"Well, it was the day after I had saved you from getting raped by Ramon in the woods and you started accusing me of being a witch." She barked a mirthless laugh. "Then you came out of school all cool and saying you were sorry. Your mind changed on a dime and I just needed to take a small look to see what was going on in your head." Now Jack turned beet red. "It just so happened that...at that precise moment, you were, uh...touching yourself and..." He shrugged with an apologetic grimace on his face.

She sat down heavily, put her elbows on the table and buried her face in her hands. Her breathing was irregular and he could see a thin, wet trail running down her cheek. "You're a fucking monster," she said in a small voice. She lowered her hands and shot him a look. "How could you do that to me? How could you violate me like that? What have I ever done to you?!"

Jack's brow drew down as his fists clenched. Her mouth opened, doubtlessly to deliver a tirade, but he cut her off. "Are you kidding me?! You had me kidnapped and stuffed into the trunk of a car, youbitch, and youdare take that tone of voice with me?!" Mia's righteous indignation vanished in an instant to be replaced by shame. Jack's wrath lessened at the sight, but not completely. "For your information, I could only really use my power on dogs before you had done that. It was in that dark, bouncing trunk that my power started to work on people in earnest. It had to. I was so fucking scared that you'd kill me, or rape me, or worse, that I truly gained control of my power. So, if you want to know how I could use my power to look into your mind, ask yourself how you could have me stuffed into a trunk and taken out into the woods by a trio of psychos!" Only after finishing his tirade did Jack remember he had read her mind once before that, but he chose to ignore that little tidbit.

Mia's eyes darted around as she tried to look as small as possible. "That doesn't..."

Jack leaned forward, making her flinch, and put a hand to his ear. "Sorry, what?"

She looked frightened and then slowly raised her hands. "Look, what's done is done. No going back on it. What we need to do is go to a church and pray for salvation. We need to be cleansed of the Devil's touch so-"

"I am not touched by the Devil, Mia."

She adopted a long-suffering expression on her face, even as she nodded along with his words. "You're right." She licked her lips. "Let's go to the church then...and light a candle to thank God for...uh...for giving you this ability."

Jack's brow drew down as he shook his head at her. She was channeling the fundamentalists that had fostered her after her adopted parents had died. "Seriously? You're sticking to the teachings of your first foster parents? Still? That guy lusted after you and his wife wasjealous of you. Remind me, how old were you when they placed you with them?"

Mia's eyes glassed over. "And they shall be among the people, and they shall speak truths and whisper secrets and you will know them by their crafts."

For a moment, Jack was reminded of his mother's Bible-inspired lessons. The pain of her hypocrisy when he had learned she had been cheating on his father struck him all over again, like an old wound that suddenly flared up. He slammed the palm of his hand down on the table, startling Mia and almost himself, too. "You will not recite biblical bullshit at me!"

Mia looked fearful, but nodded. "You are possessed."

Jack rolled his eyes and spread his arms. "How the fuck did the conversation turn into this? I'm trying to tell you about the fact that there are dangerous people with supernatural powers out there. I'm trying to explain what one of them had already done to you and you're reciting the Bible at me, like that matters."

Mia licked her lips. "If you were to reject the Devil's offering, the Lord would take you back into the light. It's not too late. It's never too late to repent." Jack wiped his face as he fought against the urge to go intervening in her mind. She hesitantly reached towards him with a hand. "I can go to the church. I can speak to the priest about your...ability. He can come here and help rid you of it."

Jack gaped at her. "Mia, if you love me, or have any kind of feelings for me, you will never, ever tell anyone about my power. Ok? And if you feel any kind of gratitude towards me for saving you from getting raped, or worse, by Ramon, or for helping you graduate high school, you will start to listen to what I am saying to you."

"The Devil leads us into temptation in many ways, but we can always be saved. We must never lose hope in the salvation of our immortal souls." She nodded earnestly as she stared at him with huge, pleading eyes.

It slowly dawned on Jack that she was not herself. The revelation he had sprung on her had probably overwhelmed her.Well, shit. Now I really have to go poking around inside her mind. He gently clasped her outstretched hand on the table. He focused on the feel of it in his own hand and made the corresponding hole in his cloak. He felt her thoughts mirrored through the hole. He worked hard to remember what it had been like back when he had been a kid and the mere thought of God had filled his heart with awe. When he recreated the religious fervor with which he had been raised, he tried to match it to Mia's state of mind, but failed. "Pray for me, Mia. Pray for me, right now."

Mia nodded and clasped her other hand over his. She closed her eyes and bowed her head. Jack watched her full, red lips move a little as she prayed with an inaudible whisper. He guessed it was "Hail Mary". He focused on the words of the prayer and quickly matched her state of mind. He worked on her mind for a few minutes, making holes in his cloak and projecting his power through them, until he managed to dispel her fervor. He convinced her that the Devil was not upon them both and that he was not a witch. He put the truth of the matter in her head and let go of her hands. He picked up his cup of coffee and blew on it before taking another sip.

Mia opened her eyes. They fixed on him, but he could not tell what her reaction to things was going to be. He had put nothing but the truth inside her head and left the decision of what she would think of it solely up to her. She slowly sat up and then leaned back in her seat. He searched her cute face for any sign, feeling bad for seeing her looking almost haggard, but picked up no hint of what was going on inside her head.

At length, his patience expired and he said, "Well?"

"Well, what?"

"Well, what do you think of all this?"

She shrugged. "I will think whatever you want me to think."

He frowned. "Mia..."

"I mean it. You have the power to make me think and believe anything you want. My own thoughts don't matter."

"You can't really mean that!"

"Why not? It's the truth."

"Mia, I'd never!"

"You justdid!" She leaned forward on her seat and pointed an accusing finger at him. "You just changed what I believed in!"

"I corrected your beliefs.Corrected." Mia stared at him incredulously. "I am not touched by the fucking Devil, Goddamn it!"

"Yeah, you had me going until you said God damn."

"Mia..."

"Look, Jack, I don't know why we're even talking about this. You can do what you want with me. You can turn me into anyone you like. I can't do anything to stop you."

He leaned forward across the table and reached out for her with one hand. "Mia, I don't want to turn you into anyone other than who you alreadyare. Why can't you see that?"

"But you could if you wanted to."

Jack rolled his eyes. "I could do a lot of things if I wanted to. I could strangle you to death right now, if I wanted to. I'm way stronger than you. I could rape you right now, if I wanted to. I could go out with my dogs and have them maul people to death in the streets, if I wanted to. I could take the mind of a guy holding a button on a nuke somewhere and blow up the world if I wanted to." Jack's tirade stalled as he realized he didn't see a single reason why that should not be true. He shook off the terrible thought and focused on Mia. "But I don't want to do any of those things. I don't want to change you, Mia. I want to keep you safe. I want to please and pleasure you. I want to see you grow and bloom. I want to take you on a trip around the world and flaunt your grace to everyone."

He leaned further forward and grabbed her limp hand. He pulled it onto the table and grasped it firmly with both of his. She searched his eyes as she weighed his words. "I love you, Mia Newman." Her eyes watered and she gasped for breath through an open mouth. "What's wrong?"

She shook her head as she cried. "No one ever said that to me before. But, we can't be together, Jack."

"Why not?"

"Because I've been defiled."

He frowned, perplexed. "Defiled? How?"

"I had that guy's cum in my mouth."

He grunted in bemusement. A grin spread across his features. "So did I. Remember?"

She sobbed even harder at his words and her eyes searched his. He guessed she saw the truth in them, because she jumped out of her chair and sat in his lap with her hands around his neck. "I love you too, Jack Watts!" She gave a small, nervous laugh. "I've never said it to anyone, either. Well...I nevermeant it before. Not once!"

Jack took her delicate chin in his fingers and turned her face up towards his. They looked into one another's eyes for a long time before their lips came together for a kiss. It was a slow, steady affair which seemed to affirm the truth of their feelings for one another. Their tongues wrestled between their open lips. He put his arms around her waist and drew her in closer. He could feel her heart beating behind her firm breasts and she squirmed in his lap as his dick tried to lift her on its own. They gently explored each other's mouth, as if doing it for the first time. At length, he slid a hand over her ass to slide down her thigh to the back of her knees.

He stood up, lifting her in his arms, and walked upstairs, to his bedroom. When he laid her down in his bed and started to undress her, she stopped looking like a willing participant. He stopped and stretched out beside her to plant another kiss upon her soft, succulent lips. She barely returned it. He kissed her forehead and pulled back. He searched her eyes with a tender gaze. "Their teachings stopping you?" She seemed embarrassed and quickly nodded. "Should I dig out the crystal? That was one of the three times I used my power on your mind, you know."

"You mean you didn't hypnotize me with a flickering candle while you tutored me?"

He smiled at her imagery and shook his head no. He had never mentioned any flickering candles when he had put that suggestion in her head. He took note of how she had filled in the blanks. He gently swept her hair away from her face.

"What were the other two times," she asked.

"When I calmed you down after I chased off Ramon and just now, downstairs."

"That's it? Only those three times?" He nodded. She looked confused. "Why?!" Now it was Jack's turn to be confused. "I mean, look at me! I look so fucking hot and I just, I can't imagine any red-blooded male not being out to take advantage of me. How come you haven't turned me into your perfect lover, or, like, an empty-headed fuck-slave?"

"I've seen enough romantic comedies to know that the right answer to that question is 'because you're already perfect', but I respect you too much not to give you the true answer. First off, changing you against your will would be wrong. Not just because that's what society says, but because I would feel bad for having done such a thing. Second, that would probably be boring. No one wants an empty-headed fuck-slave. Well, I don't. I prefer to be with a girl that likes me on her own. Making a lover would be...pathetic, you know? Like I was admitting to myself that I was unlovable, or unworthy of genuine human companionship." He chuckled. "I guess I think too much of myself to stoop so low."

She bit her lip as she nodded. Then she smiled a warm smile and said, "I love you for who you are, Jack Watts!"

Now it was Jack's turn to grin. "I know you do, Mia. Do you want to make love to me?"

She nodded. "I just...I don't want to sin."

He kissed her forehead. "That's ok, babe, we know how to work around that." He reached into his pockets, searching for the violet crystal.

"Could you...could you look into my mind and, um, and do...and make changes that I want. That you can see in there?"

Jack's brow rose. "Are you sure about that?" She closed her eyes and nodded. "Ok." He took her hand in his. "I need you to slide your fingertips against mine like this."

"Why?"

"So I can get inside your mind and read it and do what it is you want me to do."

She frowned in confusion. "Can't you just...get inside my mind?"

"That's not how the power works. I need to have some thoughts in common with you to be able to get in. It's kind of like how you have to tune two radios to the same frequency for them to talk to one another. If we're thinking the same thoughts, feeling the same feelings, or experiencing the same sensations, then I can get inside you to do my thing."

She looked at him in surprise. "So, you can't just..."

"What? Just think it and it is done? No, I need to have the same thing on my mind as you do on yours and only then I can enter your head. It's the same with all the people that have mental powers."

"How many of you are there?"

Jack grimaced. "I'm the only one for hundreds of miles around. There used to be more of us, but the guy from this morning killed all the rest." She gasped in fear and sat up on the bed. He sat up as well. "Don't worry, don't worry. He's gone. He killed himself when I confronted him. He's dead." He rubbed her arm to give her some comfort. "He can't hurt anyone anymore."

Mia took a few moments to recover from her sudden fright. "So, if I had strange stuff in my head, I'd be immune to mental powers?"

"Yes, but it's not as easy as it sounds." He moved his hand to her breast. "I mean, I could pinch your nipple, think about what it feels like to have my nipple pinched, and poof! I'm in your mind."

She frowned as she digested this piece of information. "But if you weren't near me, I would be safe from your power?"

"Pretty much, yeah. That's why Jacobs had you think that mantra this morning, so he could find your mind at a distance."

"Mantra?"

Jack took his hand off her tit to wave her question off. "Never mind. I made you forget it. So, technically, I used my power on your mind four times, but I only removed what Jacobs had done this morning, so that one doesn't really count."

"Will you teach me how to fight against mental powers being used on my mind?"

"Yes. Yes, of course." He didn't know how to teach her something like that. He honestly didn't know if it was even possible, but he'd definitely try.

She smiled a relieved smile. "Good." She took her hand in his. "Now, where were we?"

"Um, you wanted me to do something in your mind? Would you mind telling me what?"

She hesitated, grimaced, and then said, "I can't, Jack. Just...just look inside and do what I need you to do."