love for your mother. Gabe never, ever showed love. But you do.”
She moves her finger over to another picture, this time it’s me and a caterpillar. I’m crouched in the garden as I carefully hold the fuzzy insect.
“Right here, empathy. You have a heart… a soul. You’ve always cared for others.”
“Mom…”
“Listen,” she says, her finger moving to another picture, “Right here, when Jessy was born. Love. You love, Gabriel. He didn’t.”
I clench my jaw as she goes from one picture to the next. Where was this talk when I was younger? I feel that it’s just too late. How can I decipher whether those emotions in my younger years were real or fabricated?
I can’t. My broken mind only knows the here and now.
“Mom!” I exclaim, and her eyes snap to mine.
“Please,” I whisper, “I can’t do this right now.”
She nods slowly as she lets out a slow breath, “I have something for you.”
I exhale as I watch her fingers scrambling to stack the pictures. She puts them in her purse, and then retrieves a manila folder. “These are his medical records.”
I reach out and snag the folder from her before she turns and begins to leave.
“I love you, son.” She says before disappearing out the door.
My eyes stay locked on the folder in my hand. I’m afraid to open it, for fear that I’ll misread something and my mind will slip further into despair. I pull my wallet from my pocket and retrieve the business card.
I dial the number and clear my throat as I wait.
“Doc, I need to see you. Today if possible.”
I watch the building get closer as I approach. To me, this place is eerily calming. I guess it’s because some of these people are crazier than me.
As I walk through the hallway, I keep my eyes locked dead ahead. I can feel their eyes burning into my skin, and I’m happy when I reach his office. I open the door without knocking, but Dr. Branson doesn’t seem bothered by it.
“Gabriel, it’s nice to see you.”
I frown as I walk towards him and sit before handing him the folder.
“What’s this?”
My eyes flit from my lap to his, “It’s my father’s records. I haven’t looked at them.”
He clears his throat and I hear him shifting through the papers.
“Hmm,” He murmurs, “He scored forty out of forty on the psychopathy test. He was an extreme psychopath. This paperwork indicates that he completely lacked empathy. He was a narcissist. He is everything that I’ve seen in my patients here, only amplified. He was heartless, Gabriel.”
He snaps the folder shut and my eyes snap to his, “That’s it?”
He removes his glasses and massages the bridge of his nose, “You show some of the same traits. However, you do feel empathy, whereas he did not. From all of the tests we’ve run thus far, you do score high on the psychopathy test, but you feel. Most psychopaths would only dream of being able to feel. You sir, are an enigma.”
I stand abruptly, I feel myself slipping into the darkness as I march to the door.
“Thank you doctor.” I murmur as I escape the confines of his office. I stare at my feet as I walk hastily to the exit.
I feel a pull at my arm and look down to see the woman with tangled hair. Her turquoise eyes are entrancing as she seems to read my soul.
“You belong here.” She rasps. I frown as I try and wiggle her grip off of my arm. She won’t let go, and finally, I whip around, sending her flying.
She crumples to the floor. “You’ll be back!” She hisses as a smile comes over her face.
I turn once more and run from the building back to my car.
16
"I shan't shed a tear. Life is full of shocks of all descriptions and they have to be faced."
-Patrick Mackay
“Dani.” He rasps, causing my eyelids to flutter open.
He’s on top of me, peppering kisses across my naked skin. I sigh as I run my fingers through his hair.
“I need you.” He growls,
She moves her finger over to another picture, this time it’s me and a caterpillar. I’m crouched in the garden as I carefully hold the fuzzy insect.
“Right here, empathy. You have a heart… a soul. You’ve always cared for others.”
“Mom…”
“Listen,” she says, her finger moving to another picture, “Right here, when Jessy was born. Love. You love, Gabriel. He didn’t.”
I clench my jaw as she goes from one picture to the next. Where was this talk when I was younger? I feel that it’s just too late. How can I decipher whether those emotions in my younger years were real or fabricated?
I can’t. My broken mind only knows the here and now.
“Mom!” I exclaim, and her eyes snap to mine.
“Please,” I whisper, “I can’t do this right now.”
She nods slowly as she lets out a slow breath, “I have something for you.”
I exhale as I watch her fingers scrambling to stack the pictures. She puts them in her purse, and then retrieves a manila folder. “These are his medical records.”
I reach out and snag the folder from her before she turns and begins to leave.
“I love you, son.” She says before disappearing out the door.
My eyes stay locked on the folder in my hand. I’m afraid to open it, for fear that I’ll misread something and my mind will slip further into despair. I pull my wallet from my pocket and retrieve the business card.
I dial the number and clear my throat as I wait.
“Doc, I need to see you. Today if possible.”
I watch the building get closer as I approach. To me, this place is eerily calming. I guess it’s because some of these people are crazier than me.
As I walk through the hallway, I keep my eyes locked dead ahead. I can feel their eyes burning into my skin, and I’m happy when I reach his office. I open the door without knocking, but Dr. Branson doesn’t seem bothered by it.
“Gabriel, it’s nice to see you.”
I frown as I walk towards him and sit before handing him the folder.
“What’s this?”
My eyes flit from my lap to his, “It’s my father’s records. I haven’t looked at them.”
He clears his throat and I hear him shifting through the papers.
“Hmm,” He murmurs, “He scored forty out of forty on the psychopathy test. He was an extreme psychopath. This paperwork indicates that he completely lacked empathy. He was a narcissist. He is everything that I’ve seen in my patients here, only amplified. He was heartless, Gabriel.”
He snaps the folder shut and my eyes snap to his, “That’s it?”
He removes his glasses and massages the bridge of his nose, “You show some of the same traits. However, you do feel empathy, whereas he did not. From all of the tests we’ve run thus far, you do score high on the psychopathy test, but you feel. Most psychopaths would only dream of being able to feel. You sir, are an enigma.”
I stand abruptly, I feel myself slipping into the darkness as I march to the door.
“Thank you doctor.” I murmur as I escape the confines of his office. I stare at my feet as I walk hastily to the exit.
I feel a pull at my arm and look down to see the woman with tangled hair. Her turquoise eyes are entrancing as she seems to read my soul.
“You belong here.” She rasps. I frown as I try and wiggle her grip off of my arm. She won’t let go, and finally, I whip around, sending her flying.
She crumples to the floor. “You’ll be back!” She hisses as a smile comes over her face.
I turn once more and run from the building back to my car.
16
"I shan't shed a tear. Life is full of shocks of all descriptions and they have to be faced."
-Patrick Mackay
“Dani.” He rasps, causing my eyelids to flutter open.
He’s on top of me, peppering kisses across my naked skin. I sigh as I run my fingers through his hair.
“I need you.” He growls,
Similar Books
