Life moves on...

Chapter 2.

The familiar smell of jasmine air refreshener greeted Usman as he entered the house. The front door opened into the living room, which was evidently decorated by a woman. Most of the paintings and furniture were pink and the remaining a mixture of gold, silver and baby blue. It looked as if a 7 year old girl had painted it. But all this was not new for Usman. He strode over to his usual seat and sat down.
"So, Usman. How's your day going so far."
Usman nodded.
"Good"
These were all formalities they had been unable to go past because Usman was not complying.
"Well let's begin shall we." She said eagerly.
Usman knew this was all an act. The jolly behavior, the eagerness. It was a cover. Usman didn't know any specifics, but he knew Miss Violet's life was not all roses and daisy. Treating other people's problems seemed to be her way of dealing with those problems. People might view this as ambitious and impressive but Usman thought of it as pathetic. She should fix her own problems before looking at everyone else's. Plus he knew she knew that he was too far gone to be fixed. He could see it in her eyes.
They played some word association games and then a picture game sort of thing. He couldn't care enough to remember its name. She would show him a picture and he would tell her the first thing that would come to his mind.
She showed him something that to him looked like a corpse dripping in blood, but she didn't need to know that. So he said it looked like a red SpongeBob.
Usman had read her through. She was conscious of her looks. Sure she was pretty, but why else would someone wear a glittery red dress that looked like it cost a fortune when a 17 year old patient was at her house? She was insecure, and masked that insecurity by being overly jolly and positive. These things didn't matter to him anymore though. He had stopped caring about things like that a long time ago. Ever since he di-
"Usman are you okay?"
Vio- Miss Violet's voice cut his thoughts. She was looking at him thoughtfully. He realized that when was lost in thought, he had teared up. He abruptly wiped his eyes with the back of his hand.
"Usman what's wrong?"
Suddenly Usman felt immense anger at her. Who was she to butt into his business? To take pity on him. But he controlled himself. It wasn't her fault. Not really. She had nothing to do with his de-
"You still remember him don't you." She broke his train of thought once again.
He wiped his hand across his eyes to check if he was still crying. He wasn't. He stood up.
"I have to go. "
Instead of stopping him, she nodded.
"I understand"
'No you don't' was what came to his mind but what came out of his mouth was
"Thank you"
Having said that, he walked to the front door and left.

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Violet Brown watched him leave out the front door and sighed deeply. He was one of her failed projects. But she knew that was partially her fault. She hadn't done him justice. But something about that boy unsettled her. He was quite polite, no doubt about that. But it was way his eyes seem lifeless, as if he didn't feel anything anymore. And right know he suddenly gone quiet and had started crying. It was the first time she had seen him express emotion. It was, in its own way, terrifying. But it also meant he could still be saved from the dark pit he was stuck in. She knew he was angry, at her, at the world, but he didn't express it. She had tried to use that, help him vent out his frustrations but it didn't work. He was intelligent, the boy. He was making a conscious effort not to display any emotion. Not to slip up. She was the enemy. Everyone was. She had thought he was beyond help, until today.
"He still has hope." She said aloud.
But she knew she was kidding herself. The boy's spirit was like a brick wall. It was impenetrable. Ever since...

It was killing him from the inside. The death of someone close to you can be crushing, but this severe a reaction, it was extremely rare.
Violet got up and went inside to make herself some tea.