These Lines Were Never Established

Hayley looked around, they had been traveling a lot lately and this was a new place. Travis sat next to her in the van as it traveled down the freeway. Lane sat on the center console with her camera on his shoulder. Turning, and holding to the straps of her pink car seat she looked at Hubert and Jim behind her father. She didn’t understand what was going on.

“And yes, that’s why I didn’t invite you.” He smiled widely. Lane lowered the camera once it was off and Travis let out a deep breath. He was going to beat Andy. No doubt about it.

“Daddy…” Hayley whispered tugging on his arm. Travis turned to her as she watched him nervously. “I no w’ike.” She whispered.

“We’re going to see Uncle Bob Burnquest.” Jim smiled over the seat Hayley. “He’s really nice.” She whined, scared of what was going on. She was cranky, she hadn’t been able to sleep on the plane due to the group behind their seats talking loudly then another baby crying. So in response to their talking she began to cry loudly as well. Travis had freaked not knowing what to do. She rarely cried, and so publicly as well.

Travis stood with a pink tricycle in his hand and in a bad suit. Hayley stood at Uncle Bob’s feat as they watched him eye the big ramp. Hayley tugged on Bob’s shorts with a soft whine. The big jumps looked scarier than daddy’s dirt one’s at home.

Summer was in full swing across the U.S. and Hayley was enjoying all the dirt in the backyard. She usually came inside with more dirt on her than everyone else combined. Though watching everyone get on motorcycles and turn them in the air was scary to watch it always amazed her.

“Yes?” Bob laughed down at her.

“Da’ look sca’wee.” She pointed at the ramps with a frown.

“It’s not so bad.” Bob laughed down at her. “You ready Travis?” He called, Travis turned to him with a sharp nod of his head and a smile. Hayley whined as Bob walked away leaving her with Hubert.

She lifted her arms at the man and watched as Travis and everyone else climbed to the very top. She hid her face in Hubert’s neck the whole time, she didn’t like this.

“So now what?” Jim asked looking at Travis. They’d spent a whole day having Travis flip his pink tricycle at Bob’s but still had a week left in the area.

“Head farther into L.A…my mom’s friend brought something up a while back that I wanna check….” He whispered looking over at Hayley. Hubert and Jim sat up straight looking at Hayley nervously. “She pointed out she acts different than normal two-year-old, and talks different. She told me she seems like an autism child…” Travis whispered looking at his sleeping child. “I guess, being possessive, having that strange and twisted imagination, having to have everything in certain places is signs of it. So I’m taking her to a doctor in a few days to check.”

Hayley looked at the man across the small table from her with a frown as he smiled brightly at her. She didn’t get why he was asking her questions and showing her cards with pictures on them, though most of the pictures were pretty. Her eyes dropped to the picture of a little ducky he’d given her after she pointed at it and yelled ‘ducky’ at it.

She ignored him and began looking around the room. There were bright colors every where and toys. There were also other small tables and brightly colored chairs. She couldn’t find Travis or any of her Uncles anywhere despite the fact they’d brought her here.

“Hayley,” The man cooed gently drawing her attention back to him. “What’s this?” he asked holding up another card.

Travis paced outside the room looking in through the one way mirror. Jim and Hubert sat in the chairs against the back wall. He was praying nothing was wrong with Hayley, or horribly wrong with Hayley. Sure she was a bit twisted but that didn’t mean anything, did it? It could just be a phase she’d grow out of right? And being possessive meant he just had to teach her to share better, which was something she was usually pretty good about if it wasn’t a total stranger. And having things in order, he always thought she was just mimicking his mom or Jolene cleaning up and organizing the house. He wasn’t sure if it was actually a problem or not.

It’d been an hour. A whole hour he’d left Hayley and the doctor in that room alone. He wanted to be sitting there with her but he wasn’t allowed and it was driving him nuts.

“Mr. Pastrana?” Travis spun to the doctor standing by the door with wide stunned eyes. With a whine, Travis nodded. “Um…She’s not.” Travis leaned in. She wasn’t normal or she wasn’t autistic? “She’s not autistic, far from it actually.” The Doctor pushed his glass is back up. “I’m sorry the test ran a little longer than normal, it was easy to tell she wasn’t autistic after the first few questions I was just interested.” Travis stiffened. Interested in what? “Her…her IQ.” He stumbled over his words as he peered back into the room as Hayley mumbling in gibberish to Tito next to her.

“What about her IQ?” Travis whispered worriedly. She wasn’t autistic just stupid? Is that what the man was getting at?

“Her IQ is amazing.” Travis pulled back eyeing the man. “Her vocabulary is stunning, she has an understanding of math and can do basic adding, subtracting, and even multiplying but she said she doesn’t know what the division sign is but could in no time at all. She can read basic words or tried to sound them out already. She has a vast grasp of English and knows the difference between similar words. She can count in Spanish,” Travis turned to his friends confused, he didn’t even know Spanish and Jeremy hadn’t been around to teach it to her. “She knows how to mix colors, and problem solve, you said she’s potty trained which is highly unusual for a child her age.” His mouth floundered as his hands waved trying to grasp what he was talking about himself. “I’ve never seen or even heard of a two-year-old who can do half that stuff let alone any of it.”

“So…she’s normal?” Travis fumbled nervously.

“Far from it, actually.” Straightening his glass the Doctor seemed to try and find the right words. “She’s a genius. I suspect by four or five she’ll fully understanding of a basic math and be heading into geometry, or close to it, she’ll be able to read perfectly, understand complete Spanish from who ever is teaching her, and be able to write. Which all of that is a tremendous feat for a four or five-year-old child. You’re daughter could be the next greatest mind of our time.” Travis looked into the room as Hayley peering around slowly.

“Yeah right.” Hubert snorted. “His child?” Travis frowned at him.

“I take it your IQ isn’t that great by his response…” Travis rubbed the back of his neck with a sigh.

“I’m not a genius, but I’m not stupid. I’m average.” Travis licked his lips. “Well, she got my looks so I guess it makes sense that she got her mom’s brains.”

“Is her mother smart?” Travis bobbed his head.

“She was.” The Doctor frowned. “She died several months back.” He added at the confused stare. With a groan he ruffled his hands through his hair frustrated. “How am I supposed to raise a genius? I can barely get through a book when I’m really trying to read it! Ugh!” He pressed the palms of his hands into his eyes.

“Well, you could stick to paper and crayons like you usually do.” Jim suggested.

“She’ll get bored of that just like the cardboard houses.” Travis huffed. Hayley had colored one whole cardboard house since he set it up in Christmas and hadn’t touched the second one he’d put up from her. “Oh I’m so screwed. She’ll get in trouble, I’ll go to ground her and she’ll twist my words and I’ll end up the one grounded probably.” He reasoned as he tried to wrap his head around how smart Hayley was. “Question,” He turned pointing at the stunned doctor. “Is it weird that she, during winter, built normal sized snowmen on cars and under them looking horrified as if the cars and trucks had run through a crowd of snowmen, is that normal for a genius?” He had to know.

“Uhh…I’m not sure.” The Doctor shrugged. “If she’s gone through a disturbing time in her life, or moments in her life it wouldn’t be unusual especially is she’s seen a vehicle run through a crowd.”

Travis rubbed his chin in thought. Ashlee hadn’t mentioned anything like that but maybe seeing her mother most her life in a hospital bed dying would do it. Travis bit his lip.

“Seeing her mom in a hospital bed dying most of her,” he waved a hand at Hayley in the room playing with a toy she’d found.

Hayley giggled as it made a sound when she flipped it over. It sounded like a cow. With another giggle she rolled it over making the sound as it did. Tito simply rolled his eyes at her and watched her do it again. With a small glare at the tigers eye roll she huffed.

“Yer just mah caz yew can make dis soun’.” She reasoned.

“You’re just mad I’m orange with black stripes.” Tito shot back with a smile.

“I no wanna be sil’we tiger.” She beamed at him and mooed at the toy. With a giggle she bounced in her spot. She liked this toy.

“Most of her life, would that do it?” Travis asked.

“Probably. Abuse also could do it.” Travis spun to him with wide eyes.

“Her grandmother!” He yelled getting why Ashlee never let him and Hayley stay past a certain point because her mother was coming to visit. “Oh I’m so stupid! How could I miss it?!” he yelled covering his face with his hands again.

Hayley looked up hearing Travis’s yells and frowned.

“Daddy?” She asked looking around.

“I think your dad’s a superhero…” Tito stated simply. Hayley simply nodded at him still hearing him but not seeing him.