Page 97 of A Me and Him Thing
Ren rubs his forehead with his free hand, frowning. “I’m sorry I prejudged you.” He pauses. “It’s just that Ethan hasn’t been doing well lately. I actually thought…you’re not going to believe this…I thought you were giving Allie his Adderall. It would explain her symptoms.”
Jack freezes, the blood draining from his face. “Adderall?”
“Yeah, remember how it made Ethan aggressive and irritated and unable to sleep until we adjusted his dose? He was wired, ready to run five miles if I’d let him outside.” Ren scoffs. “It wasn’t a fun time for anyone.”
“Adderall?” Jack repeats, looking as though his mind is spinning with thoughts.
“What? What are you thinking?” Ren glances at me, matching my curious, but slightly shocked expression.
“That…that would explain everything. It would have to be an overdose to overcome the sedatives. A side effect is liver failure, exactly what she’s experiencing. But regardless of the sedatives they give her, the Adderall would make her restless and irritated. Honestly, it would be the cruelest thing you could do to someone in her condition.”
“Wait.” Ren shifts uncomfortably. “What are you saying? That Bree and I were right?”
“Yeah. You could be spot on.” Then Jack mumbles, “I should’ve caught on. Why didn’t I see it?”
“I don’t understand. How? Who?” Ren’s getting worked up.
“There’s another person in the mix, another person who’s on Adderall. Another person who visits Allie several times a week. A person who could be irrationally angry with her for leaving him.”
Ren’s quick intake of breath tells me he’s just realized what his father is insinuating. “Curtis? Is he on Adderall?”
They’ve lost me now. While they’re having lightbulb moments, I’m still sitting in the dark. Curtis visits Allison? That’s news to me. Of course everything about Curtis and Allison is news to me.
“Oh yeah. He’s quite normal and friendly. When you first meet him, you’d never guess he has issues. He can be downright charming, but he’s as entitled as they come. His parents give him everything he wants, but they don’t make him try to function like a normal person.” Jack sighs. “That’s not helpful to his development. He’s probably capable of functioning just fine, but he needs professional help. His parents have tried to handle him themselves. The thing is, he needs more than just meds.”
“Wait. What’s wrong with Curtis?” Ren asks.
“He has severe ADHD, which is handled with Adderall. But he was also diagnosed with oppositional defiant disorder as a kid. Most kids outgrow it, or their parents get them the help they need. It can be mild or severe. As a teenager, it becomes a conduct disorder. Acts of aggression, destruction of property, that type of thing. Again, it can be mild or severe. But at Curtis’s age, it’s considered antisocial personality disorder. Again, mild or severe. Someone with this condition tends to be engaging but lacks empathy. They don’t feel guilt. They’re impulsive, and aggressive. Alcohol only makes it worse. Nicotine as well.”
Ren sips his herb tea as though he’s trying to calm down. “How do you know all of this?”
“I’ve spoken with Todd and Rhoda on quite a few occasions. They worry about him constantly, saying they can hardly handle his mood swings. I never told them about Curtis and Allie. It would upset them.”
“Is Curtis considered to be mild or severe?”
“I don’t know the answer to that. I only know his parents feel like they can’t control him.”
“Curtis visits Allie several times a week,” Ren repeats, as though he’s simply thinking out loud. “I thought he was harmless. Just a kid who was friends with Allie, someone who saw her as a mother figure. She was always trying to help him decide what he wanted to do with his life. I thought she was sort of a mentor to him or something. It never occurred to me that…” Ren doesn’t finish his thought. “The night nurse is there to watch over Allie. I never worried about Curtis being there. Patty always told me visitors were good for her. But I never imagined…”
“Oh my gosh.” Susan covers her mouth with her hand. “We let Curtis visit Allie even when she lived with us. He’s always had access to her. I never understood your dislike of him, Jack. He was so sweet with her. Come to think of it, he almost always helped with her feeding time at the lunch hour.”
“Wait,” I say. “Are you implying Curtis has been giving his Adderall to Allison all this time? I thought he loved her.”
“I don’t know,” Jack says. “It’s just a theory, and a crazy one at that. It’s possible, though. It could also just be that Allie acts the way she does because of the brain damage. There’s no way of knowing until we look into it.”
“I’m going to look into it,” Ren states firmly.
“Here’s the thing. With Curtis’s condition, he sure wouldn’t feel remorse about it. People with antisocial personality disorder lack empathy and compassion. They’re also known for being engaging, arrogant, manipulative, impulsive, and self-centered. That’s a dangerous combination. I’m sure he used hispersonality traits on Allison. I’m not excusing what she did. But I doubt she realized what she was dealing with. Most people with severe antisocial personality disorder are considered to be psychopaths. They make up seventy-five percent of the prison population. With Curtis living next door, I’ve done my research. I was worried about Kate and Ethan.”
“What?” Ren whispers. “You didn’t tell me?”
“You’ve had enough things to worry about.”
“Why haven’t his parents done something about it?”
“I think that’s why they keep him close. They’re scared of what he might do. There’s only one thing I know for sure. Something isn’t right. You can bet I’m going to figure it out, though. First thing tomorrow. If he’s guilty, Curtis is going down.” Jack sounds like an action movie hero. One I’d want on my side.
Ren nods. “If foul play is involved, it stops tomorrow. No matter what Allie has done, she deserves peace.”
