Twisted Souls || Michael Langdon

Chapter Two: Walmart Employee

"Michael, we've been going in circles the past two months." I sighed exasperatedly, shaking my head at the frustrating man who sat across from me. He peered curiously at the framed picture on my desk of my parents and I when I was younger and pursed his lips. "Hello? Earth to Michael?"

"Tell me about your parents. How are they?" Michael spoke in a hushed tone, getting lost in his own thoughts.

"Um last time I checked, I'm the psychologist, so I'm the one with the questions." A brow was raised at his direction and Michael chuckled lightly at my sassy tone. 

"What's wrong with me wanting to get to know my psychologist?"

"Everything is wrong about it. First of all, we've got nothing done. I ask the same questions every session, you dodge each one with sarcasm or try to divert my attention to something else. The cycle repeats the entire hour and then we would have to wait till the following week to do the whole thing over again." My hands waved around in the air as I explained my frustrations to Michael. Amusement danced in the pupils of his eyes as he watched me, noting the color of my cheeks becoming a light red from my heightened emotions.

"Is that all?"

"What do you mean?" Confusion washed over me as I furrowed my brow at him.

"You said everything was wrong with me getting to know you, yet you named only one reason. Do you have any more to list?" A devilish grin spread out across his mouth and I rolled my eyes at him, causing another chuckle to emit from his tongue. "Okay, okay! I'll answer one question if you answer the one I had about your family."

I narrowed my eyes at him, knowing that it would be a losing battle if I continued to argue with him.

"Fine. My parents died in a car accident when I was eighteen years old, right before I was going to leave for college. It was rough... It was during that time I decided I wanted to be a psychologist, because I wanted to help people fight against their own personal problems since I didn't have anyone to help me fight mine." My lips pursed as traumatic memories played over in my head, flashes of my parents' funerals flying through my already jumbled mine and causing my heart to crumble slightly.

"I'm sorry for your loss." Michael said in a somber tone. I glanced over at him and shook my head, trying to brush away the rush of sadness that blew over me. 

"So am I. Anyways, that's your answer. Now, it's my turn." I leant in closer to him, folding my hands over the desk's wooden surface as I focused solely on Michael. "How did you make my door close the first time we met when you were feet away from it? What other horrible things did you do to make your parents think you're evil? Have any of your urges popped up since the last time we saw each other? What helps you resist giving in to them?"

"I said I would answer one of your questions, not all of them." He said arrogantly. Michael examined the buttons of his black coat before speaking. "No, I have not had any urges since last week. I've been very well behaved since the last time we saw each other."

"Good, I'm proud of you." I smiled sweetly at him. "Now will you care to continue your good behavior and answer more questions for me?"

Michael stood up and walked around my desk to where I sat, nudging me with his knuckles, silently asking me to leave my chair. Confused, I slowly got up and watched as he settled onto my former spot, gesturing for me to sit on his former seat. Not knowing where this was going, I followed his wishes and waited for him to speak, predicting that he had something up his sleeves.

"I'll make a deal with you, Estella. If we get out of your office, which I am tired of seeing after two months of staring at its boring white walls, and actually go somewhere I will answer each and every question." Michael leaned back into my chair and crossed his arms over his chest. His golden curls shone brightly as the Californian sun poured through the window and into the room. Irises blue as the summer sky connected with my gaze. "What do you say? Are you ready to go on a little adventure today?"