Do all psychiatrists hold their patients when they break? Or is it just me?

  I can’t help it when he looks at me with face like sin and eyes like fire.

  He’s strong, he’s vigilant, but even the strongest need to break sometimes.

  And I’m glad he broke in my arms...

  So this is the man beneath that killer exterior, huh. The one who is haunted, the one who is terrified of nothing but his own self. It’s pitiful, in a way. Now that I know about his past, I do feel sympathetic but that won’t change anything, would it?

  Finally, we are going back to the hospital right now. The scene is easy, I came up with a good tell-tale to trick the management because surely a doctor can’t be seen breaking out with her patient, now, can she? I will simply say that Riven was trying to step out of the hospital premises and ran away so it took me half a day to find him. Sounds convincing enough, considering Riven actually would run away if given the chance to.

  It must have been hard for him, to cry and just be vulnerable. Guess he just reached his breaking point and honestly, I don’t blame him. The shit this man has been through is just… indescribable…

  I’m not justifying his actions, but I’m not openly criticising them either. His past cannot be made the scapegoat of his actions, but now that I got to know about it, everything’s self-explanatory. Like, I get it why he is the way he is.

  Because me and Riven, we aren’t too different are we?

  We are different pieces of the same puzzle.

  I know he is starting to realize that… and that is dangerous

  Reaching the hospital, as expected, they called me to the office instantly demanding answers of mine and Riven’s disappearance. While walking towards the office I whisper to him, “Just play along with me. You know the scene.”

  Once in the office, Asher’s dad, the manager of this place, fixes me with a glare that would have scared the shit out of me if I didn’t know what to say. Riven stands beside me, firm and tall, a stark contrast to what he was minutes ago. I made both of us look shabby on purpose as it’s an indirect way of proving whatever I’m saying is real.

  “Dr. Inez, you were supposed to report at 8 in the morning. Currently it’s 6 pm and we randomly see you emerge out of nowhere with Riven. Could you explain both of your sudden disappearances?” He asks drumming his fingers against the table. Tap, tap, tap. Steady, relentless— like some dreadful countdown.

  I put on the most confident expression I have “sir, Riven here, tried to break out of the hospital. Fortunately, I was awake when that happened so I decided to follow him, but he had gotten away. I spent the night and half of that day looking for him.”

  “Is that right Riven?” The manager asks looking at him intensely. Riven just nods confirming his words. I’m pretty sure he is impressed by my lying skills because come on, who wouldn’t be? Asher’s dad seems convinced but…Asher, he has a victorious smirk plastered on his face, as if he knows the truth. He stands beside his father’s chair looking at me as if he has already won. After all, Asher always had a thing with me. Maybe because his dad always favoured me more than him. He takes a step forward “Then, Dr. Inez, could you explain this footage?”

  Fuck…what footage? Stay calm, don’t let him see it,

  He opens his laptop on his dad’s table and shows me a blurry, barely visible footage of Riven helping me out of the hospital. Shit, which camera was this? I avoided all cameras…fuck I know I did. Or maybe I didn’t…

  Nothing is visible in the footage properly, but betrayal can be caught even in 140p. I watch the footage. It is Riven helping me out of the window when my ankle twisted and as soon as we jump out, the screen goes black. Almost as if someone had put that camera to deliberately to capture this very moment. I glance at Riven—he looks worried too because this is not going according to plan, but only I can see that, to others, he looks stoic, but I have observed, he bites his tongue as hard as he can when he is tensed or nervous and that’s exactly what he is doing right now. The manager doesn’t say anything. He just rewinds the footage.

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  Again. And again.

  Like he’s waiting for something we missed. He looks at me through his spectacles as I see confusion with disappointment…as if he didn’t expect this from me.

  Damn it, of course he didn’t, he favoured me the most.

  “Go on Dr. Inez, explain this footage.” Fuck, I so want to kill Asher right now.

  “What proof do you have that the person he’s helping out is me?” I ask with a raised eyebrow.

  “Well, as you can see the window Riven is escaping from is in your quarters and plus you weren’t in the hospital from today morning. It his highly possible that you made exit last night.”

  Before Asher could speak his father’s voice cuts through the air, sharper than a blade. “Dr. Inez, you do know that this means instant dismissal from the hospital right?”

  I grit my teeth. Fuck I really messed up didn’t I? My fists clench at my sides but of what use is it right now. I look down because I can’t bear to see the disappointment in his dad’s gaze. After all, he was like a teacher to me. He trusted me. And I broke it…

  “Yes sir…” I reply with a nod.

  “No” Riven declares. As if he is ordering instead of requesting.

  The manger’s gaze turns to him “pardon?”

  Riven meets the manager’s glare directly and without any hesitation “I said no, you won’t be firing her anytime soon.”

  Asher scoffs at Riven’s response “and what makes you think we will listen to you?” I think Asher has a really good talent of pissing off murderers off and yet somehow getting away with it because he most certainly is pissing off two of them right now. Next, Riven’s voice is dangerously quite—like a dagger wrapped in velvet. “Remember, if she is not here in this hospital then you will find the dead body of every single doctor by tomorrow morning. Is that a good enough reason?”

  My head whips towards him at Riven’s words and this time, even I unable to hide my own surprise. What the fuck is this man saying? I look into his eyes and see something that pisses me off and thrills him at the same time. He’s serious.

  He tilts his head down, voice dropping to something dark—a whisper that slithers under my skin. “Trust me”

  What is his plan. Shit…how can I trust a killer—but I’m one too am I not...and he trusts me. So, let’s see where this goes.

  “Excuse me what?” I hear Asher’s dad ask. “You heard me. If she isn’t the one treating me, then I will make sure no one else does either.”

  A knowing glance passes between Asher and his dad because they believe it. Of course, they do and even if they don’t, no one is ready to risk the life of literally five doctors. “Why do you care Riven? Why are you defending her?”

  Asher’s words are going to get him killed, either by me or Riven. That’s for sure.

  His gaze snaps to Asher and I can see amusement along with something dark yet understandable dancing in his orbs. “Because she is the only thing keeping me sane. She has become my muse, my ruin and without her I will shatter, I will break and when that happens, you know what’s coming next don’t you?”

  A hint of fear passes through Asher’s eyes, and I know Riven revels in it...just like I do.

  “I said what I said, now it depends on you. Firing her means all doctors dead by tomorrow. Mark my words. It’s your choice now.”