Until Dawn (AU)

0.2

"Anyone in there?" A muffled voice called out, followed by light knocking on the door.

Dr. Hill looked up from his documents and over at the door. A smile forming on his face, already knowing who was at the door. It was one of his patients that he hadn't seen in a while and admittedly missed. They always had the best discussions, even if most of them were actually pretty depressing. Dr. Hill didn't mind though, apart of his job was having depressing conversations.

"Come in!" He called out while placing the documents into a manila folder and slipping them into a small file cabinet under his desk.

The door knob slowly twisted and his patient walked though the door at the same pace. Dr. Hill looked up at his patient, smiling, but also carefully examining them too. You see, as a psychiatrist, Dr.Hill had the ability to base his patient's conditions from their physical appearance, just as well as their internal appearance. And with this patient, the trauma they'd gone through in the past often caused them to cause harm to not only others but to themselves. It was vital that he made sure they were physically okay.

After a quick visual inspection, Dr.Hill stood up from his desk chair and gestured towards the other chair at the other side of his desk; the ones for his patients. "Are you just going to stand there the whole time?" He chuckled, "Have a seat."

The patient nodded, closing the door behind them. They took a seat in the chair, their eyes never meeting Dr.Hill's, they went straight to the floor.

Dr.Hill noticed this, but refused to question it. At some point in this session he would figure out what was wrong, not now though.

"So, it's been a while since we've talked."

His patient nodded, still having their eyes glued to the floor.

"How have you been?"

"Okay.. I guess." The subject answered.

Dr. Hill chuckled once again. He knew his patient was lying but he also knew that his patient knew that as well. He sighed, walking over to the wide window that was placed in the back of his office.

He stared at it for a few moments, going deep into his thoughts. He then came back to reality and walked back over to his out-patient, "I know you're not okay. I know you haven't been okay for a while. I know what this is about. I know what this has always been about."

Sitting in the chair, Dr.Hill's listener finally looked up at the doctor. They sighed, "Well of course you know everything. It's about.. the girl."

"I know you wish you could change the past," Dr.Hill started, "but that isn't how life works. The past? Well, that's beyond our control. I hope you realize that the only way you'll be able to move forward in your life is to accept the past. But if you focus on the now, you will get a better future. Everything you do now affects your future and that is what you must focus on. It's important that you remember this. Especially now that you plan on playing your little game."

He picked up the luke warm coffee cup from his desk. He took a sip from the cup, and cleared his throat while placing it back down.

"And also, you must know that your current life choices don't just affect you, you know. They affect those around you. Like, those friends of yours. They are your friends, aren't they?"

His patient nodded their head slowly. Showing as much sincerity as they could right now. "They're my friends, but this doesn't excuse them. They will be in my game. Whether they like it or not."

Dr.Hill sat back in his chair, staring his client over for a few seconds. "Okay." He smiled. "I can not stop you. I can only help you. So that is what I'll do. I'm only here to help you get past your internal issues after all."

Saying this, caused his patient to share a bright grin. Something that Dr.Hill's patients didn't regularly do.

"Let's do a little exercise."

Dr.Hill reached under his desk, opening a draw from his file cabinet. He pulled out a bright red folder then pulled out a picture. He placed the picture onto the desk and in front of his patient.

The subject looked down at the picture and saw a black and white photo with multiple shadowy figures and a creepy looking haunted house in the background.

"How does it make you feel?"

"Anxious."

"Anxious? What about it makes you feel this way?"

"The shadow like figures."

Ah, I see. So if I were to remove the figures from the photo, would that make you feel better?"

"No, the house adds to the anxious feeling too."

The doctor nodded, "Interesting."

"Interesting?"

"Yes."

The subject flipped the paper over to its blank side. They didn't want to look at it anymore. It was giving them an uneasy sense.

"Do you think you could be inside a house that looked like that?" Dr.Hill asked.

His patient shrugged, "Probably not. Why?"

Dr.Hill picked up his mug once again, "No reason." He took a sip of his beverage and smirked, "I think we're out of time for now. But believe me, next time, we will get to the heart of your problems."