It was just after the first of the year and I was sixteen. Like always I was exploring old warehouses. I did not want to go home yet, my dad was a mean drunk and my mom… well my mom was a hooker. School had gotten out a while ago and I was watching a storm that was in the distance.

The loading dock I was on had this hole about three feet deep and it was full of water. I had sat on the railing to watch the storm, it was about five miles away so I was not worried about the lightning. I saw this huge bolt of lightning zig zag across the sky and suddenly head right for me. It was like everything was moving in slow motion.

The lightning seemed to drop close to the roof tops and then at the last minute it curved over a roof and struck. It hit me in the middle of my chest and threw me backwards towards the large puddle of water. When I hit the water, the lightning bolt seemed to be stuck to my chest, lighting everything up in blue flames. Even as my body sank below the water, the lightning was still there.

I could not move as energy coursed through my body and then out into the water. As suddenly as it had come it was over and I floated to the surface of the deep puddle. I floated there looking up at the roof and part of the sky. I knew I was breathing and my heart was beating, I just did not want to move.

It was like I could feel my body or to be précis, my brain, changing somehow. It felt like I could hear a million people all talking at once. I could see my own future reach out before me, branching at every decision I made. I knew I could reach out with my mind and move things or even teleport them or even myself.

I floated in that puddle all night feeling my mind change, adjusting itself. The sun had just come up when I was found. A police officer had seen my backpack from the street and decided to check it out. When he got closer and saw my body he thought I was dead, until he saw me blink.

After that it was yelling and splashing as he jumped in next to me and pulled me out. Then there was the ambulance ride to the hospital and the doctors poking me in the emergency room. The lightning had chard and blown most of my clothing off. Every time they hooked a machine up to me it shorted out.

I had left my drivers license home so they called me John Doe and moved me to a room with four other beds, all were empty though. A young nurse came in and she looked at me with pity. I could hear her thoughts about it being a waste. They thought my mind was gone, they just could not prove it.

They were going to put tubes in me in case I went to the bathroom. When she got closer and started to pull the sheet back I shook my head slightly. She froze looking at my face and reached for the sheet again. Again I shook my head slightly and her eyes widened, “You are aware?”

I gave a slight nod, even that was a distraction from trying to process what was happening in my mind. The nurse bent over me, “You do not want us to put anything in you?”

I shook my head no, only moving slightly. I saw and felt the doctor at the door but she did not. She was still watching my face intently, “are you in pain?”

I shook my head and she glanced at the doctor as he moved closer. She looked back to my face, “can you move anything else?”

I nodded and she smiled, “move your arm for me.”

I shook my head no and sent a thought to her. She frowned and took my hand, “well just a finger than.”

I used my finger to lightly tap a SOS into the palm of her hand. She looked down at her hand, “do that again.”

The doctor moved up next to her as I did it again. She looked into my face, “SOS? Are you in distress?”

I slightly shook my head first yes and then no, sending a thought to her again. She looked at the doctor and back at me, “you can talk using Morse code?”

I nodded and she looked around before grabbing my chart and flipping a paper over. She set it on the bed with me and put her hand back in mine, “okay, go ahead.”

I sighed and began tapping, “hit by lightning. Need to process what happened. Wait.”

She looked at the paper and the doctor before they both left. It was several hours later when the doctor came back with another man and stood beside my bed. I knew the man with him was here to read my signals, “we need to connect you to some machines but they keep shorting out, do you know why?”

I knew but was not going to tell him that it was me. Instead I tapped, “lightning?”

The man repeated what I said to the doctor and he frowned. They both left and a nurse came in, she put a tray of food in front of me and pulled a chair close. The next thing I knew she was feeding me slowly. That was the way I spent the next three days, the doctor and every once in a while another man would come in. He was an engineer and kept touching me with a volt meter. After the third one burnt out he never came back.

Everything changed early the morning of that third day. My mind had finally adjusted and I sat up and got out of bed. First, I went to the bathroom and then I took a shower. When I came out of the shower two nurses were waiting for me. I had put the drafty gown back on when I came out.

I walked to them and gave each a kiss on the cheek whispering, “thank you.”

I walked out and they just watched me. It was a cold walk home. Dad was passed out on the couch and mom was asleep with a man in her bed. I quietly got dressed, this time taking my driver license. I had spent four days thinking and processing what had happened to me. There was no way I was going to let just anyone know what I could do now.

I had a plan and would start working on it today. First I needed to read Crystal’s mind, people think that just because you are a telepath you know everything they think. That is not necessarily true, mostly you only read their surface thoughts. If they think about something than you can read it. I wanted to read her because I had a crush on her since I was twelve. I thought she liked me but there were times that she was distant.

The second thing had to do with drug dealers. I needed someplace special and had just the place in mind. It was an older brick warehouse about two hundred feet long and seventy feet wide. It had four big rooms, two downstairs and two upstairs. There were two bathrooms, the one upstairs was huge.

I walked to school, it was still early so I sat on one of the benches out front. It was like old times when Crystal walked up and sat beside me. She smiled, “I missed you last week.”

I smiled and probed her mind. I sat back suddenly, stunned by what I had found. I did not let it show on my face as several futures ran out ahead of me. I looked at her, at least I knew she liked me, “I had a… accident.”

Crystal sighed, “accident, okay.”

She was the one person that knew that had more than one meaning. We just sat together until school opened and then made our way to home room, well she did. I went to the office and explained that I had been in an accident. I was surprised at the thoughts of the secretary, the first thing she had thought was that my father had abused me.

She gave me a slip of paper and told me to try to make it up. I found out something else that day, it took only moments to learn a subject if I read the teacher. After school, I walked Crystal home like always but this time I hated the thought of letting her walk into that house knowing what was going to happen to her. I walked away though, it was not time.

I went to my warehouse and slipped through the broken back door. A lot of the windows were broken and as I walked around I noted what needed to be fixed. Upstairs I went into the back room and sat down. Time for my plan, I reached out with my mind and found the drug dealers I was looking for.

One at a time I slipped through their minds and then stole every penny of their drug money as well as the drugs. I sent the drugs to an empty warehouse and brought the money here. Two hours later I stood up and looked at the stacks of money around me that filled the room. For the next three weeks I was busy.

I never returned home, I brought all my clothes to the warehouse. I visited a realtor to buy the warehouse, a lawyer and a bank as well as several other places. I had been fixing the place up as well, the big sliding doors onto the loading dock were replaced with a wall. The downstairs bathroom was cleaned up and fixed. The first room downstairs had a large window looking out onto the warehouse and I made it into a large kitchen.

The other downstairs room became a dinning room. It had two windows, one that looked out into the warehouse while another looked out at a park. The first room upstairs had a window looking into the warehouse, it was as wide as the room. I made that into my bedroom, I remodeled the bathroom and made the second room into a very large walk in closet.

I had also bought seven new cars, five were very expensive sports cars. It was Friday and again I walked to school. I knew today would end differently and had hopes it would end the way I had seen it. I spoke to Crystal again while we sat waiting for the school building to open. As the school day closed I became a little nervous.

I waited for Crystal on the sidewalk and we started walking. She only glanced at me when I turned her away from her house and kept walking. It was overcast and began to rain lightly. I led her to the door of my warehouse and opened the door. She looked around the inside of the warehouse in surprise before turning to me, “who lives here?”

I looked around, the first part was divided into an entertainment area with a stereo and a sixty inch TV. It had large comfortable chairs that faced the big screen. On the other side was my living area with couches and chairs and even an iron fireplace against the wall. There was a long computer desk beside the door with several computer screens.

I looked at her, “I do.”

She looked at me in surprise and then around the room. I took her hand and pulled her behind me as I led her to the living area. In front of the couch, I watched her shiver and stepped back so she could see me. I held out my hand and a very large towel appeared in it. Her eyes widened as I stepped closer.

I looked into her eyes, “I know about your father and what he does to you. I know you enjoy it but not that he forces you.”

I reached out to her stunned body and undid the buttons on her shirt. Her mind was spinning as she let me remove her top and then her bra. All she was thinking about was that I knew and would tell. As her bra fell away I used the towel to dry her and then I held a hand out to catch the thick flannel pajama top.

I had to move her arms to get the top on and she seemed to wake up a little, “what are you doing?”

I grinned, “You are wet. I do not want you to get sick.”

She bit her lip when I knelt and took her shoes of. She did not stop me as I pulled her pants and panties down and dried her with the towel. I knew that she was watching me intently and that she was thinking that if she had sex with me I might not tell her secret. The thick flannel pajama bottoms that appeared got her attention.

She had not noticed when I brought the shirt. I touched her leg and she lifted it absently as her mind went back to thinking about what was happening. She lifted her other leg before I even touched her and I pulled the bottoms up. When I touched her feet one by one and put the thick lambs wool slippers on she was staring.

I stood up in front of her and a thick fleece blanket appeared in time for me to wrap it around her and then I gently pushed her back onto the couch. I stood back, keeping my eyes on her and slowly took my clothes off but instead of using a towel I did something else. I used my mind to get all the water off.

I held out my hand and a pajama top appeared. I put it on and then did it again with the bottoms. When I stepped into my slippers I moved closer to her and knelt at her feet, “please just listen. I have had a crush on you since I was twelve. I have always hoped you felt something for me and dreaded that you did not.”

I took a breath, “when I had the accident it was not from my father. I was struck by lightning. I spent a night staring up at the sky in a puddle of water and three days in the hospital. That lightning changed me somehow. I can move things with my mind or kind of see paths of the future. I can also read thoughts.”

I stopped as panic filled her and I waited until she looked back into my face. I smiled, “I know what you are hiding and I know telling you it is not your fault will not change how you feel. I will not tell and you will never have to worry about me finding out about your dark secret. I already know.”

I looked down, “reading a mind is not like they show in the movies or even in the books. I only see what is on the surface. I mean unless I really want to and then I have to sort through so much stuff it makes my head hurt.”

I could hear Crystal thinking, “is he reading my mind now?”

I smiled as I patted her leg, “Yes I hear you. It is kind of like you are shouting at me.”

She blushed, “sorry.”

I shrugged, “I had to tell you. At least I know that you liked me.”

She touched my hand on her leg, “I still do, it is just…”

I laughed, “at least you get to adjust to it on the outside. I could not move for four days.”

Crystal smiled and took a breath. She looked around, “so you live here now?”

I stood and held out my hands, “come with me.”

She let the blanket fall onto the couch and stood to take my hand. I could hear her thinking I was going to take her to bed and smiled to myself. I led her into my kitchen and things started flying around the room. I held her hand as she squeezed it tighter. I looked at her and everything slowed and then stopped, “sorry. I got into the habit and it is easier to get things done.”

I sat her on a tall kitchen stool and turned to a counter, “I thought chicken soup for dinner would be good since it is raining.”

Crystal laughed and then she became serious, “what are you going to do?”

I knew what she meant. She wanted to know what I was going to do about her father molesting her every night. I looked down and then turned to her, “I am probably not going to say this right so please… be a little patient. I love you, I told you that. Yes I want to have sex, every boy does. I want you to live with me. I want you to be my… lover and my friend. I want to share my life with you but I want you to want it too. I will never force you, I… I can not.”

She stared at me in surprise and then got a funny look, “you said you can see the future so you know what I will say.”

I shook my head, “It does not always work like that. Each decision we make changes the future, making a new… path I guess. In some you accept and in others you do not. In a few you even turn away from me forever.”

Crystal sat there thinking and nodded to herself, “I will think about it.”

I nodded and went back to what I was doing, making chicken soup with fresh dinner rolls. I could hear her surprise when we ate dinner, it was very good and seemed to warm us. When it was over, I washed the dishes while she watched. I finally took her hand and looked into her face before I led her upstairs.

I could hear several things from her as I led her into my bedroom. I let her get a good look and then led her into the room I had converted into a walk in closet. She took one look and turned to me laughing, “okay, you convinced me.”

I grinned and hugged her and started pulling her back the way we had come. I knew she thought that I was heading for the bed and laughed as I led her through the room and down the stairs. I looked into her blushing face, “we can do that later.”

I led her back to the couch and sat down, pulling her down beside me and wrapping the blanket around her. I held my hand out in time to catch a laptop. I handed it to her, “you have homework.”

She grinned and took the laptop and opened it and started in. I leaned back and concentrated on finding drug dealers. By this time I had to reach out to other large cities in other states, not that it really mattered. So far I had managed to steal close to ten billion dollars. Most of that was in bank accounts I transferred to an account in Switzerland.

I had deposited over twenty million in a local bank and used my own name. I was waiting for the IRS or one of the other government agencies to contact me. We worked for an hour before Crystal sighed and looked at me. I could hear her think about printing her work. I smiled, “just hit print. The printer is over by the door.”

She grinned and a minute later shut the laptop down. She looked at me as I stared into space, “so I had homework and what are you doing?”

I grinned but kept working, “you could call it drug prevention.”

I could tell I had her attention, “that is where the money came from? You did not steal everything here?”

I nodded, “I have been taking drug dealers money and drugs. I keep the money and put the drugs in an abandoned warehouse so I can give it to the police later.”

I sighed and sat back, finished with the city I had been working on. I looked at her and turned to face her. I sent the laptop back to the office area by the door, “think of your room and all your belongings.”

She smiled, “do not want to face my father?”

I reached for her hand, “I will tomorrow.”

I could see her room clearly and it only took a minute before I was done. I released her hand, “everything is up in the closet. Would you like to watch a movie with me?”

She grinned, “sure. Do I get to pick one?”

I smiled and stood, holding my hand out. I walked her to the entertainment area with the big TV. We cuddled in a large comfortable double chair and watched a new comedy. When she started nodding I shut the TV off and stood with her hand in mine. I was very nervous and I knew she was too.

I led her to the bathroom and she grinned at me before sticking out her tongue when I handed her a new toothbrush. In the bedroom we stopped by the bed and Crystal hesitantly lifted her hand to the buttons of her pajamas. I reached out to stop her because I could feel how she really felt.

I smiled and held out a hand to catch a long tee shirt. I unbuttoned her top and slipped it off before putting the tee shirt on her. I kissed her and knelt to remove her slippers and then her bottoms. I stood and folded back the covers to reveal warm flannel sheets. I helped her into bed and shut out the light before climbing in bed beside her.

I turned her and held her against me. I gave her a kiss and laid my head back, “go to sleep Crystal. When you are ready to make love I will know.”

I felt her hand caress my chest before she laid her head on my shoulder, “I am sorry. I know you wanted…”

I smiled in the dark, “holding you was what I wanted. The rest will come when you are ready.”

I woke to Crystal trying to move quietly out of bed and smiled as I reached out to turn a lamp on, “good morning.”

She blushed and then grinned, “good morning.”

I followed her into the bathroom and then downstairs for breakfast. I grinned, “this morning we have several things we have to do. First we pay your father a visit and then we have to go deposit some cash at the bank. I was thinking of handing out some money to the homeless and then we need to go shopping.”

Crystal was grinning, “playing Robin Hood?”

I grinned and nodded, “I can not spend all the money. I might as well try to help others.”

After breakfast I did the dishes and followed Crystal up to the closet. I let her pick her clothes out while I got dressed in a nice silk shirt and jeans. I kissed the back of her neck before leaving, she found me wrapping money. I put a hundred thousand in a paper bag I had cut opened and then wrapped it.

She joined me and grinned, “just like play money.”

I laughed and kept wrapping, I put five million in a bag and finally stood up, “that is enough for today.”

Crystal looked at the huge pile of money still in front of her and then up at me. I grinned, “save some for another day.”

She grinned and helped me carry the packets to the car. I grinned and the keys appeared in my hand. I held them out to her and she looked at me wide eyed, “really?”

I nodded and she grinned before grabbing the keys, kissing my cheek and running around the Lotus. I could feel how nervous she was as we pulled up in front of her house. I got out and walked around to open her door. The door of the house opened before we were even halfway up the walk, “Crystal where have you been!”

Her father stepped out as she suddenly stopped walking. I stepped in front of her, “she was with me. She was trying to persuade me not to call the cops and have you arrested for sexually abusing her.”

At first he had looked like he was going to explode. When I mentioned the cops and him abusing Crystal his face went white. I looked him up and down, “Crystal will be living with me now. If I ever hear of you touching another little girl I will have you put in prison for the rest of your life.”

I did not wait for him to speak, I turned and took her hand. I led her back to the car and opened the door for her. I looked at the doorway where her father still stood and he stepped back inside quickly. I could still taste his fear as I walked around the car and got in. She would not look at me but I could feel her confusion and fear as well.

I put my hand on her leg, “you can change your mind at any time. You do not have to stay with me or go back to him.”

Crystal nodded and finally looked at me. She searched my eyes before leaning over to kiss me. I caressed her face, “it is a good thing we have things to do or I would do as you want.”

She grinned and turned to start the car, “later.”

We walked into the bank and I led her to the commercial window. The teller looked up, “is this for a business?”

I opened the bag and started taking out stacks of money. The teller’s eyes went wide and she looked around, “you know we have to report this.”

I nodded, “I know.”

She called the head teller over to help her count. Crystal was nervous but I went through this every time. It did not really take that long to finish and then I led Crystal back to the car. The homeless shelter we went to was for families. I gathered all the packets in my arms and we went in. We went from door to door, Crystal would knock and hand whoever answered the packet.

We ran out at the last family and made our way out of a building buzzing with talk. I smiled at her happy face, “the mall and then grocery shopping.”

She grinned as she started the car, “we could just order Pizza.”

I reached over to squeeze her hand, “the mall and then we can decide.”

We spent almost two hours with Crystal dragging me back and forth before she finally decided. While she drove I called for pizza. I opened the garage door and she drove in. She was grinning when she parked and I nodded to our room, “go put your new stuff away while I get some plates out.”

It was only a few minutes before I walked to the door and opened it. The pizza delivery guy was outside looking around and I waved. The pizza was very good and we snuggled up in front of the fire afterwards. Crystal leaned against me and put her head on my shoulder, “today was fun.”

I nodded, “I enjoyed it.”

We snuggled together and I turned the TV on to the news. Crystal kept glancing up into my face and finally she lay her head on my chest, “Lee, will you make love to me tonight?”

I smiled as I caressed her, “you will have to show me what to do.”

I could almost hear her purr as she smiled, “okay.”

It was an amazing night, one I will never forget. She seemed to take pleasure in having me there to do whatever she wanted. She woke me three times in the night. She had a big grin on her face in the morning as she made me stand still so she could wash her toy in the shower. I took her out shopping for new clothes at the mall again.

When we returned she headed straight to her closet to… put things away. I sat on the couch and sighed before letting the barriers down and reaching out with my mind. Crystal sat down beside me a little later and could tell I was not all there. She leaned against me and waited. This time I was reaching a long way, the money I dropped into the warehouse was in large pallets.

Just the knowledge that it was only the tip of the money I took was daunting. I sighed and thought of the cell phone I needed. I dialed 911 before sending it to the warehouse with all the drugs. I looked at Crystal, “the warehouse with the drugs was getting full.”

She looked at me and I grinned, “I used a GPS cell phone and dialed 911 before sending it to the warehouse.”

She laughed as I stood and held my hand down, “how about a movie?”

Crystal grinned, “my turn to pick.”

We watched a funny comedy that was interrupted half way through with a news bulletin about a huge drug find by the police. She had a big grin on her face and leaned against me. After the movie it was bed time and she pulled me after her. She had to get ready for her toy as she called me and then laughed.

We were a little tired when we got up but she had this satisfied smile that said mine every time she looked at me. I drove another of the sports cars to school and we walked in holding hands. Everything seemed brighter and the classes even seemed easier. I met her for lunch and she gave me a big hug and kiss in front of everyone.

After the last bell we met by the edge of the parking lot. Several of the jocks tried to stop her and talk to her but she only waved them off. I grinned after she kissed me and handed the car keys to her, “I drove this morning, it is your turn.”

She grinned and kissed me again before pulling me towards the car. A small crowd watched as we got in and drove off. I had Crystal stop at the bank so I could make a deposit and then we stopped at a store. When we got home she went to her closet to change into something comfortable before coming downstairs.

I did what little homework I had and then leaned back and reached out to find another drug dealer as she sat beside me doing her homework. It is strange how our life together has made both of us enjoy life more.

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