Page 1 of Sachie's Hero

CHAPTER 1

The tortured teenburied his face in his hands and hunched over in the chair. “I didn’t want to hurt anyone.”

Sachie’s heart squeezed hard in her chest. She leaned forward and touched the young man’s arm. “You don’t have to hurt anyone, Luke.”

When he’d shown up at her office as she was closing the door to leave for the day, he’d been distraught, almost what she considered manic. His hands shook, and his eyes were wide and wild.

She hadn’t had the heart to tell him to come back in the morning. Instead, she’d let him in, ushering him into the room where they’d conducted their counseling sessions.

Now, he glanced up at her, his eyes filled with tears. “I’m just like my father. I’ll always be like him. Whatchoice do I have? I have his DNA; I’m hardwired like him. I can’t escape it.”

“Yes, you can,” Sachie assured him. “If you stay on your medications, you can control the ups and downs of being bipolar. You won’t be as susceptible to the mood swings. But you have to stay on the meds. They help you regulate the chemicals in your brain that are making you feel the way you do. You don’t have to do it on your own.”

Luke shook his head. “It was only a matter of time before something bad happened, and I lost my shit. I knew someone would get hurt, and I’ll never forgive myself. It’s no use. I can’t have a real life. I can never trust myself with a girl. I mean, look what I did to Kylie.” He waved his hand in the air. “The girl I care more about than anyone—I put her in the hospital.”

Sachie’s stomach clenched. “What happened, Luke?”

Again, he buried his head in his hands. “I never wanted to hurt her. She was my everything, and I hurt her!” He leaned back and stared at his hands. “I hurt the girl I love. Instead of her, I should’ve hurt myself.” He pounded his fist into his forehead. “Why am I this way? Why can’t I be normal?” He continued to pound his fist into his forehead, leaving a red mark that grew bigger with each blow.

“Luke, you can’t beat yourself up.” Sachie reached out to capture his wrist in her hand, halting his assault on himself.

He jerked his hand out of her grasp and leaped to his feet.

Sachie backed away several steps, giving herself distance from the tall, gangly teen. During their sessions, he’d never hit her, but hadn’t he just admitted to putting his girlfriend in the hospital?

He paced away from her. “Whatever gene it is causing me to be this way needs to stop here.” Luke spun and faced her, his cheeks red enough to match the patch on his forehead. “I could never have a kid of my own, knowing I could pass this down to him. I wouldn’t wish this mental disease on anyone. It’s genetic, I tell you. I don’t want to end up like my father, in jail for murdering my wife. He killed my mother in one of his rages. That’s how he ended up in prison. That’s how I ended up in foster care.” He pivoted on his heel and faced the wall. A print of a Hawaiian beach with stately palm trees hung in front of him, a scene meant to instill a sense of serenity.

He swept his hand across the print, knocking it off its hook. The picture landed with a crash on the floor, the frame shattering into pieces.

Sachie fought to remain calm, though her heart hammered against her ribs. She eyed the door, gauging the number of steps it would take to reach it should she need to make a quick escape. The problem was that she’d have to pass near the teen on her way out. He’d hurt his girlfriend. He might hurt Sachie.

He turned to face her, his brow furrowed, deep shadows beneath his eyes as if he hadn’t slept in days. “Everything was going better than it ever had. I was in school, doing my community service at the Honolulu Boys’ Club after school, and I saw Kylie in the evenings and on weekends. I even liked working with the younger kids.” He grimaced. “I almost believed I could have a real life. I could be different.” He snorted and strode past Sachie to stand, staring out the window.

The view from the window was of a garden filled with colorful bougainvillea, a stark contrast to the teen’s dark and dangerous mood.

Sachie took another step backward, edging toward the door while Luke’s back was to her. She hated feeling defensive. Her job was to help this young man, not run from him. She couldn’t bail on him like so many others had. But damn. Her receptionist had left before her. Sachie was alone, with no one to help her if Luke turned violent toward her. She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. Panicking wouldn’t help her or Luke. “Did something happen at school that set you off?”

The young man shook his head, rocking back and forth, his hands rubbing against his thighs in nervous thrusts.

“Did something happen at the Boys’ Club?” Sachie persisted.

Luke stopped rocking and stiffened.

Had she struck a nerve?

His fingers curled into fists.

“Something happened there,” Sachie stated. “You were angry when you left to meet Kylie.”

“I wasn’t angry with her,” Luke said as if pushing the words through clenched teeth.

“Talk to me,” Sachie urged. “Tell me what happened. Maybe I can help you sort through your feelings. We can go through the techniques I showed you to help you manage your anger.”

He pounded his fist into the window, cracking the glass.

Sachie jumped, emitting a startled yelp.

“Didn’t you hear me?” he yelled, staring down at his bloody fist. “I’ll never be able to manage my anger. I’m damaged. You can’t fix me.”

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