A Psychopath's Heart

3

The head doctor was there, typing something into the computer and he looked up as I entered. "I noticed you are taking an interest in our most interesting patient, so I was wondering if I could have a word with you."

"Of course, sir."

"How would you rate your first session with him?" The head doctor spoke without even getting up from his desk.

"Enlightening." 

"He's an interesting one, isn't he?" The man spoke with his eyes averted, he was typing away at his computer still and his tone wasn't sharp or angry. "I trust you've been careful with what you've been saying to him?"

"I have. I do have one thing I would like to discuss with you." I stated before approaching his desk.

"Please, say what's on your mind." He looked up at me, seeming genuinely curious and perhaps even a bit concerned.

"I wondered if it would be okay if my patient and I could have our sessions in my office from now on?" I asked, hoping he wouldn't find me too insane.

The doctor looked off to the side and thought about it for a moment."I don't see why not, you've made good progress and you might be the only person who can genuinely connect with him properly." He thought about it a moment more. "Just make sure you know what you're doing and make sure he doesn't get attached to you like he did with Elizabeth."

I nod my head.

I head home from work and prepare myself in bed, nervous about what tomorrow brings. I fall away into a sweet slumber.

I wake up to my alarm blaring in my ear, and jump up to get ready for the day. I get dressed, do my hair, and make breakfast fo the two of us again, then head to work. I arrive in my office to see archer is already there, strapped to a chair.

His eyes are wide open, looking at me as I enter the room. Without even waiting for me to speak, he spoke."Good, you didn't lie about it being private out here." There was another pause as he waited for me to speak, he was looking dead into my eyes this entire time and I could tell he was analyzing every inch of my face.

I laid out breakfast and had him completely untied from his chair.

When he was untied, he instantly got up and grabbed some food, after eating what he wished, he spoke."So can I ask you a question?" His tone was a bit sharp, not completely like before but still sharp.

"Yes," I stated intrigued.

His gaze bore deep into mine and didn't move. He sat with his arms crossed, looking at me intensely."Why would a nice woman like you want to help someone as dangerous as me? How did you manage to build so much empathy?"

I stared back into his eyes before answering. "To be frank. it's my job. I didn't have a choice of my patients you were handed to me. I have grown empathy for you because it seems as though you were dealt with bad cards in life."

"What makes you think I was dealt bad cards in life?" He seemed intrigued by the statement but his face didn't show it. He had a stone-cold serious face but when I looked a bit deeper, I could see a lot of pain in his eyes.

"Your folder. There is no mention of family or friends. I assume you were a lonely child." I said in a sad tone.

His body froze and his breath caught in his chest, he seemed stunned by the accuracy of my statement. This was surprising to him.He stared at me quietly for a moment before he finally spoke."My parents died when I was twelve, it was just me in the world for a while." His tone was sharp as usual, but it had a tinge of sadness in it.

"How did your parents die?"

He seemed a bit caught off guard by the question, his breathing seemed to pick up as he thought about it. The sadness in his tone became a bit stronger and genuine. "I guess I never told anyone in this place. My mother died a long time ago, she went too deep into her work and ended up taking her own life." He paused for a second after that, he took a deep breath."My father couldn't deal with the pain, all the sorrow I was feeling when we both lost her broke him, and a few days later he followed her."

"I am sorry to hear that. Remember when I told you I would share one of my secrets with you?"

He sat up in his seat at the mention of secrets, he was very curious as to what kind of secret I would share with him. What could I have going on in my personal life that was dark enough to be considered a secret?"That's right, I almost forgot."

"My secret is, you and I are very much alike," I stated.

He stared at me as the meaning began to process in his head. "How are we alike?" He stared directly into my eyes as he waited for an answer, a small frown came across his face as he thought about the entire thing.

"Do you think we are alike?" I questioned.

"Are we?" He asked. The frown on his face grew even more as he wondered why I would even bring that up. "I really don't see anywhere where we are alike. I am.." He thought for a moment."I'm a psychopath. I have no empathy, no feelings, and I'm an emotionally numb individual who can't feel anything."

"What if I told you I too have murdered?" I raise my eyebrow.

His entire body froze, and his eyes grew wide, and his jaw dropped partially."You have?" He sounded shocked by the news but it was hard to hide the admiration and excitement behind it, he was staring into my eyes with complete awe and he looked almost awestruck that I had that kind of secret to hide.

"Yes."

"How many?" He was practically beaming with admiration, I being so similar to him meant so much to him. He was so happy to see some kind of similar quality in someone.

"37." I stated.

His eyes grew even wider and he paused for a second, he didn't know what to say or what to feel about this news. "37?" He paused again, he didn't even know how he should process that information."Who were they?"

"My friends and family."

He paused once again, and finally, he just spoke his thoughts out loud."God damn." That was all he said because it was all he knew what to think about the whole thing.The information was new to him but he was already starting to feel a bit of a connection with me. I was completely different from anyone else he'd ever met.

"How does this make you feel?"

"It's a bit shocking, but I guess it makes me feel a little less alone." He had never known anyone who could have a history like that, no one who had killed so many people. "I feel a lot more comfortable around you now."

"Good!" I said confidently. I was happy we were able to make some sort of connection.

"Can I ask what the circumstances were for those murders?" He was curious about the details of the murders, he wanted to know if they were a spur-of-the-moment decision or if they were planned and calculated. For him, most of his killings just happened because he felt like it, his anger just got the better of him and he snapped. He'd never really planned any of them.

"There were reasons, yes. However, I will have to answer those in our next session. Our time is up for today." The doctors come in and tie him back down and escort him out of the room.

"Alright, I'll look forward to it." He didn't really want the session to end but he would respect my request and wait patiently for the next session.