87. Weird Way to Test

87. Weird Way to Test
Emara Stone

“Make yourself comfortable.”

I walk over to the elegant blue couch and sit down. 

The couch feels surprisingly soft, as if it’s trying to seduce me into relaxing, revealing my deepest secrets, and perhaps even convincing me to take a nap.

Yet, my body remains stiff as a board, every nerve screaming that I am sitting in front of a crack piece of humankind disguised as a psychiatrist.

Xavier takes the single arm sofa directly opposite to me, and sits with the perfect posture. Back straight, legs crossed, hands resting calmly on his thighs, like it’s going to be a very long session.

Just then, the man at reception arrives with a small tray in his hands.

“Coffee.” He says politely, placing the hot cup on the low table in front of me.

“Oh, no! I don’t want any. Thanks.” I immediately shake my head.

“Actually, I ordered this for myself.” Xavier blinks at me while reaching for the cup and asks me, “Would you like one?”

“No.” I repeat, shaking my head again.

“I thought so.” He murmurs, almost to himself.

I sit there in awkward silence as Dr. Psycho takes a long sip of his delicious coffee while simply watching me.

Grey eyes study me intensely, like I am a new species of fish in the aquarium. 

I shift slightly on his rather comfortable couch, trying not to fidget under his unnerving gaze.

“So, Emara..” Xavier finally says, lowering his cup with precise care, placing it the center of the coaster as he asks, “How was the party last night? You enjoyed?”

“Yeah. It was good.” I reply short, careful with words.

I have a strong feeling that he knows something, but wants to know everything from me. He is waiting for me to react, open up more.

Maybe that’s why he slipped his card into my hand!

“How did you know I would come to meet you?” I question my doubt.

“Because patients rarely come to us.” Xavier leans back a fraction, his gaze remains calm, yet piercingly sharp as he states, “But their victims always do.”

I stare blankly as the truth settles heavily in my mind, processing what he just called me.. A victim.

I am a victim.. To Dakota’s brutality.

“So I assumed, sooner or later you would show up.” He smiles with sympathy. 

“You said last time you weren’t trying to provoke me.” I say, meeting his steady gaze, “What did you mean by that?”

“Hmm. I pushed your buttons, not to get a reaction out of you.” Xavier takes another slow sip of his coffee, then reveals calmly, “But out of Dakota.”

“Why?” I question his sanity.

“I wanted to see the progress we are having in our sessions. His level of emotional reactivity. His possessiveness.” He pauses, just to take another sip then says, “And much more so, like his behaviour in front of you.”

He sets the cup down on the table with meticulous care as he discloses, “I am happy with the progress.”

“That’s a weird way to test your patient.” I tell him, just in case he doesn’t know it.

Xavier smiles. A slow, strangely satisfying smirk touches his lips as he states, “Every doctor has their methods. Some of us prefer to observe the subject in their natural habitat. Under pressure.”

Grey eyes watch me silently, studying me like I am an animal at the zoo.

“Have you met his.. other side?” I ask him quietly, twisting my fingers together in my lap.

“You mean Alpha?” Doctor raises his brow, slowly lifting the cup to his lips again.

“Yes.”

“Not often.” He takes another slow sip, keeping his gaze fixed on me, “But the few times I have met him, they were dangerous.”

“How dangerous?” My voice low, but my heart beats louder.

“Once, I provoked him too far during a session that he tried to choke me. With a smile on his face, he said he would shred me into pieces and drink my blood.”

“WHAT!” My stomach drops, while my jaw hits the floor.

“Hmm.” Xavier hums, licking coffee from his lower lip, “Very primal behaviour.”

He keeps the cup down and leans back slightly, “Another time, he threw the glass table at me.”

A sharp gasp escapes my lips, while the doctor continues, “Then he tried to slit my throat with one of the broken pieces. I had to lock myself in the bathroom.”

With a disturbingly casual tone he speaks, “He spent the next two hours trying to break down the door, promising he would kill me very slowly.”

My eyes widen in pure horror. My body freezes on the couch as his words sink deep into my bones.

“When I finally came out of the bathroom, after four hours..” His voice echoes with eerie silence, “He had destroyed every single aquarium. Smashed them all to pieces and killed every one of my fish as punishment.”

“That’s terrifying!” My eyes widen in horror, I clutch my fingers so tightly that my nails dig into my skin.

“Hmmm.” Xavier hums, blinking slowly as he recalls.

“But what was really inhuman about him..” He leans in with a serious face, placing elbows on his knees and locking fingers together.

“He didn’t just leave the fish to die, he decapitated every single one with his bare hands, ripping their fins and heads apart.”

My skin turns icy cold and chills crawl down my spine as I imagine the horrors his monster is capable of doing.

“He made sure it would hurt me exactly where it would cause the most pain.” His voice eerie, and eyes distant as he stares blankly in the emptiness.

The room suddenly feels colder. Even the soft bubbling of the aquariums does nothing to calm my anxious nerves as I sit there in silence.

“He is brutal.” My voice echoes through the room, sounding frightful, “This is not just uncontrolled rage. This is cruelty.”

“Well, I don’t blame him. I triggered him too much.” Xavier shrugs way too casually, like yeah, it happens all the time.

“I was digging into his past with the wrong tools, so he snapped and lashed out to end me. But he couldn’t reach me, so he destroyed what I love the most.” He whispers slowly, as if understanding him.

I remain frozen on my spot with racing heartbeats, realising I have just stepped much deeper into Dakota’s darkness than I ever planned to.

Dr. Lance watches me with his terrifying intelligence, like he knows exactly how scared I am.

“How did Dakota react?” My voice barely above a whisper as I question him, “After he found out what his other side did?”

A heavy silence fills the room. Xavier remains calm and holds my gaze for a very long minute, calculating his reply.

“I never told Dakota anything.”