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ECHOES OF THE PAST

DIYA

“N ow that Asher has finished with his theatrics…” I said in my sweetest voice, looking around the room. They all looked entranced. Asher’s body went stiff. “Let’s move on. Anyone else? Millie?”

Millie shook her head, her fingers tightening around her pencil.

When the session was over, I made my way back to my office, well aware that Asher was following me. He walked in with me before I could close the door. My heart faltered for a moment before I steadied my breathing. He could indeed hurt me, but I was capable of retaliating if necessary.

“Need something, Maddox?” He tugged at his hair with a grunt. “You don’t have a one-on-one with me today. Want to talk? But you don’t like talking, do you?”

He bared his teeth. He knew I was goading him, but he didn’t know how much I knew. He wouldn’t simply show me his cards without knowing what I was holding.

I sat behind my desk and motioned him to the brown leather chair. “Take a seat.”

He crossed his arms across his chest, showing off the tattoos running along them. Such strong fucking arms too…

“Your office.”

“Thank you, Doctor T.”

I walked into the office with a sigh. It was too small and too dusty. Cursing Detective Knight, I sat down on the chair that squeaked as soon as it took my weight.

I spent the whole day cleaning the room.

When the night came, I realized the lights didn’t work in my little office space.

I asked Doctor Camille to buy me a light bulb from town. I was replacing the broken one the next day when the chair’s leg broke.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake…”

I closed my eyes, waiting for the impact, but someone caught me.

“Hi, thank you for that,” I said, as he glared at me, bright green eyes burning with something odd. “I’m new here. Doctor Sharma. And you?”

His lips curled mockingly.

“Do you work here?”

He just glared at me when Doctor T walked in.

“Doctor Sharma, this is Asher Maddox. Here’s his medical file. He’s your patient now.”

Oh, hell.

“So… you’re just going to stand there and glare at me? If you’re not going to say anything, you should leave. I’m not in the mood to have a staring contest with you,” I said. “Come on. Get—”

A scream cut me off. I jumped from the chair with a frown.

Doctor T’s mauled body was finally found!

“Such a mess.” I tutted, shaking my head, and Asher’s eyes went darker. As I brushed past him, he grabbed my hand and whirled me around, eyeing me with contempt. “Yes? You want to say something else?”

Without another word, he let go. When I walked out, he followed me until we walked out of the gated yard and toward Doctor T’s cottage in silence.

Oswald was shivering as he wiped his sweat, blubbering about blood.

“I-I brought his ironed clothes and saw him like that,” Oswald said. “The door was open and—”

“Someone call 911,” Dona shouted.

“He’s dead,” Becca whispered, pointing to the man. “He couldn’t be alive after all that.” Her eyes were wide, and she looked like she was ready to puke her guts out.

Three of the orderlies kept staring at Doctor T as if they didn’t know whether to look away or not.

And then they were all looking at me like I knew the answers to all the mysteries of the universe.

“Call the cops. Tell them Doctor T is dead. Looks like he’s been dead for quite some time,” I said, wincing at the sight of him.

The local cops would arrive soon with more questions, and I’d be lying through my teeth. It wasn’t new to me, lying. I had survived because of the lies.

“Clear the place. The cops wouldn’t want our people disturbing the crime scene,” I said. “Becca, Dona, go back, and keep everyone inside.”

“Come on, come,” Becca herded the others away, leaving me alone with Asher, and the still pale guard.

It was strange she didn’t even blink when she saw Asher there. No one considered him as a patient in this place.

“Oswald, the cops will certainly want to talk with you. Go back inside, drink some water, and wait for them to arrive,” I said, patting his shoulder. With a thank you to me, he ran toward the asylum.

I studied Doctor T’s body with a wince.

“You could have done it with more finesse,” I mumbled under my breath. “Such a waste.”

“You fucking know,” Asher hissed. “You know.”

“Well, did you think a stupid mask would hide you? You’re not ready for this, Maddox, or me.”

“Don’t,” he said. “Walk away. Now.” His voice was too calm, too controlled.

I could have lied, could have played along, but I had no intention of playing his games or hiding from him.

I had lived quite a long time in fear, in hiding, keeping the scars covered under the full sleeves and baggy pants. I’d never let anyone make me feel unsafe again. Never.

I whirled around, pushing him against the cottage, my hand against his throat.

“Or?” He gasped when I dug my nails into the side of his neck, making sure it hurt. “Are you going to kill me, too, Maddox?” Laughing, I shook my head. “I just sent your case file, your details, and everything else about Doctor T’s death to my best friends. They will keep quiet as long as I’m safe. If something happens to me… you’ll regret it.”

He pushed my hand away with a growl.

I saw the madness lurking just beneath the surface, ready to break out. A push, a touch. His animal was ready for a hunt, but he couldn’t afford that right now, could he?

“You’re playing a dangerous game here, Doctor Sharma.”

“Well, I do love me a bit of danger.”

His fingers curled so tight, that his knuckles turned white.

“If you know what’s best for you, you’d shut the fuck up.”

“I know what’s best for me. Do you know what’s best for you, Maddox? I don’t care about any of this. Just leave me the fuck alone, and I’ll leave you alone. Blink twice if you understand,” I said with a grin.

He took a deep breath, his eyes wide on my face, unblinking.

“You didn’t blink twice.”

“You don’t care that I killed your co-worker?” His voice held a tinge of suspicion. “Any normal person would. Who the fuck are you and what are you hiding?”

His eyes turned curious as he studied me, like he wanted to look past my mask, deep into my derelict soul. Oh, he could try, but I had locked it up, and lost the key.

“Don’t think I’ll keep quiet if you come into my home again and threaten me. Next time you try that, expect a fucking knife to your throat. I have no intention of becoming your next victim, Maddox.”

His lips curled into a cold, humorless smile as he looked at me. “You look almost cute when you’re defiant, but let’s be real for a minute here.”

“Listen. Your secret is safe with me, but don’t…” I pushed a finger against his chest. “Don’t push me. If you do, I’m more than happy to show you just how uncute I can be.”

“What the fuck are you?”

“You don’t need to know,” I said with a shrug, taking a step back from him. “So, did he kill your friend? Is that why he is…” I waved my hand at the dead doctor.

“You’ve been snooping. That’s why you wanted to talk about best friends in today’s session.” Asher’s voice was accusatory.

“I heard you found your friend’s dead body, and she committed suicide.”

“Mur—” he stopped before he finished it.

“Murder. I thought so,” I said with a frown. “She was a patient here, wasn’t she? So, did you find anything?”

“I had to—” He stopped talking with a hiss. “Damn. You’re dangerous.”

I shrugged. “If you want to talk about it, you can. I’m very good at keeping secrets.”

He didn’t say anything more. We waited in silence until the cops arrived.

“Who discovered the dead body?”

“The guard,” I said, feeling Asher’s eyes on me.

“And you are?” another one asked.

“I’m a psychiatrist here. Dr. Diya Sharma.”

“I’m Sheriff Bricks.” The blond man pushed his hand forward.

“Sheriff?” I asked, a bit surprised.

“Easy to get promoted when you’re stuck in Hollow Heights all your life,” he said with a smile. He had such a beautiful smile, too.

“Easy to get promoted when your brother paid to become the Mayor, and you lick asses like a pro,” Asher grumbled under his breath. Sheriff Bricks’ eyes flickered to him for a second, the muscle in his jaw ticking, before he turned away.

“Do you want anything else?”

I hated cops on principle, but I had to work with them for now to protect my hide.

“We need to process the scene. When I’m done here, I need to talk with your staff and patients.”

“Staff, yes, but patients… I’m not so sure, Sheriff.”

“Call me Vincent.”

Asher scoffed.

With a nod to me, Vincent walked into Doctor T’s cottage, and soon I heard a curse. “Dammit. A fucking mess.”

“You know him.”

Without a word, Asher walked away, and I followed him.

“So, what happened to this friend? Riley… Right?” I asked when we reached the yard. Asher shook his head with a frown. “Tell me.”

“If you tell me what made you skip out on your luxurious little life in New York and hide in this asylum, I’ll tell you all about Riley.”

My body stiffened, but my smile never slipped. “Aw, here we are, finally talking after all these months, opening up to each other. Such amazing progress in a day.”

“You’re very sarcastic for someone who witnessed a murder last night.”

“Well, as long as I wasn’t the one dead, I don’t care,” I said, rubbing my hands together. “I hope it’ll stay that way, Maddox. For your own good.”

“Now I want to see what you’d do if it didn’t stay that way,” he said, eyeing me with a leer.

“Yeah? Curiosity killed the cat. Also, don’t you want to finish what you started? Or do you want to fail because of moi?”

He gave me a cold look before he stormed off.

I knew we weren’t done yet. He would come back.

I’ll be waiting, Pussycat.