"The past is never where you think you left it." - Katherine Anne Porter.

12:00 a.m. | Present

Charlie placed his phone on the table with his recording app active. He pressed the play button.

"I see that you had a great relationship with..." Charlie picked up the folder. "Doris Athers." He took a picture of Emily and Doris smiling widely with a café setting in the background and pushed it towards Emily. He then brought his hands together on the cold table, patiently awaiting a reaction.

Her azure orbs scanned the paper, a genuine smile forming at her lips. She remembered the day they took that picture. It was a cold Tuesday morning, and they had decided to go for coffee while they talked about boys. Well, while Doris talked about boys. She had been on two dates and both had proven to be a failure. Emily was simply there to listen and full her bladder.

"Did you have other friends?" Charlie asked. Emily looked up from the photo in wonder.

"I'm sure you have the answer to that question," she said as-a-matter-of-factly. Charlie pointed to the phone on the desk.

"They don't." Emily sighed.

"Ethan."

"No one else?" He resumed flipping through the manila folder.

"No." Emily raised a brow, wondering what else he wanted her to say.

"What about Myles?" Emily crinkled her nose in distaste.

"Ugh, Myles wasn't a friend. He was Doris' temporary boyfriend." She visibly shuddered, so Charlie assumed she was thinking about him. He thought it was an odd reaction. He guessed their relationship was different from what he originally perceived. He thought about someone else in Emily's life that could help her relive the past and find some sort of closure so that he could call it a day... or rather an early morning. Yes, very early morning, he thought.

"What about Colton?" Charlie stared plainly as Emily's eyes darkened. Based on what he saw in the files, it was a typical step-daughter and step-father relationship, but he knew there was more beneath the surface. Plus, it's been said that the eyes are mirrors to the soul and based on Emily's subtle reaction, there was something unspoken of. "How would you describe Colton? How did he treat you?"

"How did he treat me?" Emily repeated and laughed humourlessly. She then looked Charlie dead in the eye. "He treated me like I was the rarest, precious jewel in his possession."

"Is that what you convinced yourself?" Dr. Bailey asked. Emily faked a look of disappointment. She placed a dainty hand over her heart.

"Ouch," she hissed and ended with a sizzling sound effect. "I thought you came here for answers. I'm giving them to you, and yet you imply that I'm lying." She chuckled darkly. Charlie rubbed his forehead.

"Emily, I'm a doctor. I'm not implying that you're lying. I know that you are. Now tell me what really happened." He pushed the phone a bit closer to her. "Tell them the truth." A few seconds of silence passed between the two.

"We all lie every day. Don't you Charlie?" He didn't respond. "We often say that the little lies, not meant to hurt anyone are the best of them all, right? And we do them with good reason but... you had to admit it, but most times, we do it because it feels good." Doctor Charlie's brown eyes remained unreadable as his lips pressed into a narrow line. Emily sensed his mood yet continued to speak. "Colton was special," Emily began. She licked her lips briefly. "My mother got worried when I started responding to her usual pampering." Charlie raised a brow, thinking this was totally unrelated but he decided to indulge. The ceiling light flickered once above their heads. Both of them were too deep in their own thoughts to notice.

"How so?"

"I'd often swat her loving arms away. I'd think of myself as a callous being." Emily smiled to herself. "I felt empowered, independent... I felt stable. I didn't need anyone's love."

"Is it because you did something so dreadful, that you felt you were undeserving?"

"No," Emily snapped, her eyes turned to slits. "I simply didn't need it." Charlie drummed his fingers on the table with a brooding expression.

"Did someone give you the wrong kind of love?" he asked. Emily stared daggers. "It's okay. People usually assume we want one thing when we simply want another."

"How the hell is this supposed to help me get out of this nightmare house?" Charlie's brown eyes widened, a smile playing at his lips. This crack in character was a sign.

"You feel this hospital is a nightmare?" He stroked his chin. "An unintentional spill of emotions from your lips; I have touched a truthful yet painful topic."

Emily didn't think of herself as a vulnerable subject, but this guy was starting to feel like a tapeworm. Answering questions straightforward was not her style. She didn't have anything to go home to, so did it really matter if she passed the test or not? It was clear that she didn't give a damn about her freedom, so why was this man so incessant? Once it became clear that Emily wasn't going to say anything more, Dr. Bailey decided to lead.

"Do you know what I think? I think Colton was a poison in your life that you needed to get rid of. He touched you in places he shouldn't have and that made you mad."

"No, I liked it." The doctor was convinced.

"But you've said it yourself: you don't need love. Is that why you got rid of him?" Emily leaned back in her chair. Charlie scribbled down some notes. "I will say, this was merciful, remorse if I may add." Emily displayed a toothy grin. Charlie pursed his lips. "Not the reaction I was looking for." Emily shoved a black strand of hair behind her ears.

"Why not?"

"Because I'd have to class you as a sociopath." Emily smiled. "But I know you like others to assume you're something that you're not."

"Then, what am I, Doctor."

***

And that was Chapter Three guys! Thank you so much for reading.

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Taja D'amore.