Iago Incarnate

Perception Becomes Reality, part 9

Now they're going to bed
And my stomach is sick
And it's all in my head
But she's touching his chest now
He takes off her dress now
Let me go
And I just can't look, it's killing me

“Can you imagine it?” Nick asked his colleague as Michael stopped into his office for a moment between patients. “Knowing the woman you love is… you know… and you can’t do anything but imagine it? Fucked up….” He knew well that Michael could imagine it because the last months had been a concerted effort to ensure it. Nick grinned as he lip synched the rest of the song, noticing his colleague shifting a bit in his seat. It almost felt too easy at times. Nick never crossed any lines, never let his hands grow dirtied even the slightest bit. He wasn’t a wrecking crew, more a farmer, just planting and cultivating and letting things grow.

One night, and one more time
Thanks for the memories, even if they weren’t so great
He tastes like you, only sweeter

This time Malvagio sang the line out loud after the track change. “Talk to me, dude, what’s going on, amigo?” he asked, reeling in Michael closer. To be able to intentionally make Cassius so uncomfortable and then masquerade as a confidant to help him deal with those feelings was a work of art that easily rivaled anything Michaelangelo ever created. Nick was a mastermind, and his ability to undertake such nefarious acts without hesitation was rooted in his disbelief of religion. Christianity was a normalized Daddy kink that none of its followers would ever admit to, but religions were the epitome of submission. To Nick, humans were all tools whose purpose, conscious or otherwise, was to become subservient to him.

Souls were a fictional delusion as he saw it, and none of what the religious texts wrote about ever happened or held any reasonable relevance. In fact, what made Christianity so persuasive was the pointed explanation of events and the inclusion or omission of facts and data, strategies the doctor had mastered. You play to people’s fears and they’re easy to lead and control. Those who need answers that cannot be given or disproven breed insecurity and need for guidance. Like religion, Nick took full advantage, and was equally righteous to those who had been metaphorically baptized by him.

“I just don’t know…” Michael said, trailing off uncomfortably. He seemed more confused than worried, but that was precisely the plan. “Bianca and I have so many mutual friends and connections, if she was cheating on me, I’d know. Right? I mean….. Maybe?” Dr. Malvagio leaned across his desk and turned the music down as he made eye contact with his nervously distraught ‘friend.’ “Mikey, you’re an idiot. I mean that in the nicest way possible, you know that.” Nick said with a grin that seemed playful but was anything but. “She’s crazy about you. Fucking nuts. I dunno why, but that girl is all in on your dumb ass.” The way the words came out made Michael chuckle and nod, but his body language remained unchanged. “You worry too much. Trust me. If she was that kinda girl.. I mean she’s good looking, it wouldn’t be hard, right? But people don’t cheat just for sport, it fills an emotional void. If she was cheating, she’d be fucking all kinds of people, and I just don’t see that happening. You shouldn’t either. Moreover, if she felt a need to cheat, that’s you not fulfilling an emotional need. So rather than worry, reevaluate yourself and make sure you’re being a good man.”

The idea, of course, was that Michael would begin trying to be the best man he could be, but out of nowhere that might seem like someone either trying too hard out of desperation or needing to cover some tracks. If Bianca had her concerns, Michael trying to be the best partner he could be would hopefully come across as disingenuous and suspicious. The more awkward things grew in the Cassius home, the easier it would be for Nick to pull the strings of his puppets. Michael stood and reached out to shake his colleague’s hand.

“Nicky, thanks man. I honestly don’t know how I would keep my shit together without you. Really, we all need that friend we can trust without hesitation or reservation. Everyone needs their own Nick, you should consider cloning yourself, might be a big market for it… just saying.” Nick laughed and waved off the idea. “Oh no, I don’t need wives ordering one and having a bunch of angry husbands chasing after me. I prefer keeping above the fray and out of trouble. You know me, maybe not a saint, but definitely no sinner.” he replied with a confident wink as Michael chuckled and walked out to meet his next patient.