98 Leaving Clues (1/2)

The door creaked open and I looked up. Glances were shared between the two patients and Dr. Knight peered out to usher me in.

”Evie, how have you been?” he asked me warmly.

”I've been okay. What about you? You look positively exhausted this evening,” I commented.

”It's my age, I think,” he grumbled. ”Working long days doesn't suit me anymore. Especially with patients who act like monkeys and don't finish my homework.” I laughed as I pushed my hand into my bag.

I placed the folder in front of him. ”I don't know if you were referring to me like a monkey, but I would like to exclude myself from the group. There you go, my homework.” I jerked my chin towards it.

Dr. Knight groaned as he sat up and took the file. ”You really put in a lot of effort into this.” He flipped through the paper, noncommittally. I raised my brow in question. ”What? If I could know you by just reading it myself, what use would this session be? Tell me how your week was.”

I shrugged. ”Worked, caught criminals. Put some sense into obnoxious people,” I smiled.

He gave a full-belly laugh. ”I am interested in the last part,” he confessed. ”How were they obnoxious? And how did you put them into their place?”

I reiterated the encounter with the student and fighting her opinion. Dr. Knight looked proud.

”Evie, who should I thank for this?” he asked. ”I suppose you.” I scrunched my brow in confusion. ”You defended yourself and your actions, Evie. When she placed the same evil vision of you, you fought back.” He grinned.

”I was just defending myself,” I waved it off.

”No, this is huge.” He flipped through the paper and stopped at a certain page. ”Read this part out to me.” I looked through and started reading. It was a long passage about my fears. I spoke about how I had watched people die without doing anything, how I had been just as guilty as Alicia.

”I see what you mean,” I admitted reluctantly. ”But the feeling hasn't changed. It just infuriated me that she would speak of a situation she knew nothing about.”

”And that is why I am proud of you, Evie. At least when you were calling yourself Victim 4, you acknowledged how powerless you were in that scene. Only when you see yourself as a victim can you start to overcome the effect it had on you.”

”So, by saying that I am the victim, I am making progress?” I asked. ”I always thought it was about acting strong and never giving in.”

”Do you want me to advertise that I am the victim?” I asked passively.

”If you want to do that, fine. But you don't seem like the type. You are allowed to feel anger towards people and ask why you were the one who faced this situation. You can feel sad for your family, who were brutally murdered in front of you without feeling guilt that you couldn't help them. You... as you said in your own words, had no choice. A young girl being dragged into a world of cruelty. You didn't deserve that.”

I didn't voice it, but I felt like I did.

”I can see you thinking about it,” Dr. Knight said. My head snapped up and I gave him a guilty smile. ”Have you visited your family?” he asked. I froze and then shook my head. ”Where are they buried?” he asked.

I shifted uncomfortably. ”I'll need to ask my aunt.” I cleared my throat.

”Okay. Moving on,” I looked up in surprise. He gave me a small smile. ”I'll grill you more in the future. For now, I will let you think about what I said.” I nodded. ”Now, tell me about your sleeping schedule. Did you try what I had told you?”

I nodded enthusiastically and turned to the last page. ”I have made a table of my routine, the time I went to bed, when I fell asleep and the dreams I have had.” He looked over it.

”May I ask you a question?” I interjected.

”Sure.”

”You just glanced through the pages without reading but you still knew the contents of what I wrote. Is this a superpower?” I asked.

He chuckled. ”I've been doing this job for a very long time. I read exceptionally fast. And I don't go into the details, I brush over it to get the gist.” He winked. ”If you want to learn, I can teach you.”

”I would love to learn,” I said eagerly.

”Okay, the dreams seem consistent. Has it gotten better, though?” he asked. He did seem a little worried.

”Yes, I found someone trustworthy to sleep beside me. Uh, as long as they stay awake, I seem to be fine. It just spirals down when he falls asleep.” I sighed.

”He? Boyfriend?” he asked curiously. I squinted my eyes and shook my head.