Free Every Fifteen Minutes by Lisa Scottoline Page B

socially.”
    â€œObviously, I don’t feel great about it, but there’s nothing I can do about it, it’s too late.” Max’s face darkened, and he glanced at his watch. “I think it happened because my house sucked so bad, like when my mom would drink, I didn’t have friends over. And when people have you over, you’re supposed to have them over, and I knew I could never do that, so I avoided everybody. Then in high school everybody got in their group—the jocks, the stoners, the hipsters, the rich kids, the geeks, the black kids, the hot girls, and the slutty girls who think they’re hot. I don’t fit in anywhere, I end up on the outs.”
    Eric noted that Max dismissed his own feelings about being isolated, glossing over them in favor of explaining why he got that way. “Is there a gamers’ group?”
    â€œAt school? No, that’s online.”
    â€œWhat about dating? Do you date?”
    â€œNo.” Max flushed under his pale skin. “I know a few girls, but I get friend-zoned.”
    â€œAny girl you’re interested in, like a crush or anything?”
    â€œNo, not really. I don’t get my hopes up.”
    Eric felt another stab of sympathy, then tried a different tack. “Have you ever had thoughts that you would consider gay or bisexual?”
    â€œNo, dude!” Max’s eye flared in surprise. “I’m straight!”
    Eric remained silent for a moment, waiting. Silence had a lot of uses in psychotherapy, and he sensed that a client like Max would rush to fill it.
    â€œDr. Parrish, I’m totally not gay.” Max pursed his lips. “You don’t look like you believe me.”
    â€œI do.” Eric saw an opportunity. “Let me be clear. If you tell me something is true, then I’ll believe it. In return, I will never lie to you, ever. And anything you tell me is confidential. This is a safe place for us to talk to each other, to be completely honest, and everything we say stays here. Do you understand?”
    â€œYes.” Max paused. “Even if my grandmother pays?”
    â€œCorrect, and by the way, when you go home, don’t feel as if you have to talk with your grandmother about what we discuss.”
    â€œOkay.” Max swallowed, his Adam’s apple going up and down his skinny throat, like an elevator. “Um, then, there is someone. A girl.”
    Eric made a mental note, it was a small triumph. “What’s her name?”
    â€œRen é e. Bevilacqua. I see her at work. She goes to a different school, Sacred Heart, but she comes in for tutoring.”
    â€œHow long ago did you meet her?”
    â€œA month ago, when she came to tutoring.”
    Eric wrote, Ren é e Bevilacqua. “What do you like about her?”
    â€œEverything.” Max burst into unaccustomed laughter, flushing. “She’s beautiful, she has curly red hair and tons of freckles. I like them even though she feels weird about them. I know because she puts makeup on her face to hide them.” Max’s face lit up, for the first time in the session. “Her eyes are a bright blue, like really bright, and she sucks the tip of her tongue while she thinks. She’s not good at trig but she’s smart, she just has a mental barrier.”
    Eric let him talk, just to see him look happy, however briefly, like any other young man in love. “Would you like to ask her out?”
    â€œNo!” Max widened his eyes, as if the question were plainly ridiculous. “She has a boyfriend, but I don’t like how he treats her. Like one day she came in and I could tell she had been crying, and I asked her if she was okay, and she said he said something mean to her but she wouldn’t say more.” Max sighed. “How is telling you this going to help me stop tapping? Are you going to give me a prescription or not?”
    â€œFirst I need to understand more and get to know you