+Don't Make Me Regret This++Karl Heisenberg+

26

Memory 5

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The familiar feeling of cuffs around her wrist was comforting in a way, but the loss of the usual companion by her side was quite unfavorable. She missed Atari with all her being, she had been the whole reason Valera had kept going for so long.

And now here she was, sitting in a sickening white room that smelled of a mixture of bleach and death. It was torturous scent to the girl cuffed to the table, but she decided that if she just made no move to do anything, they might let her be. 

The door swung open and she couldn't help but let her eyes travel to meet the man's own. He was tall and slender, along with a mean look in his eyes. A figure Valera knew well by now, Doctor Kolev was an unwelcomed sight. A bit of a sneer found its way to Valera's lips without her willing it to. 

The doctor returned a bored smile in response and sat across from her. He placed his hands on the table and leaned forwards, the smile never leaving his face. He hummed as he now leaned back, analyzing the girl in front of him with scrutiny. She was so young, but had countless wrinkles on her face that spoke otherwise. 

"Good afternoon, Miss Scott," Doctor Kolev began. Valera grinded her teeth together at the sound of his voice. "I understand that you're getting tired of our little talks, but dear, we've got a lot to talk about," Valera sat up a little straighter, a bit of a surprise to the bald man in front of her.

"We have nothing to talk about. We never did." the voice that came from Valera was firm and poised, making it seem for a second like there was no room for argument. Of course, the doctor didn't know such vocal cues and instead just sighed.

"We have always had something to talk about. What you did down in Texas, my that was terrible, wasn't it?" the doctor sneered. The words made Valera's heart ache at the memory. She remembered how terrified she was, how alone she felt. She remembered the unnamed man that had convinced her to come out at first, how he'd seemed so genuine at first. 

Heaving a large sigh, Valera shook her head. "What happened in Texas wasn't only my fault. Yes, I did it, but your men provoked me to do it. You know, if they had realized from their mistakes and found out that I can't be damaged by bullets, I might have actually gone with them," she muttered. Doctor Kolev raised an eyebrow.

"Yet you still killed them. All of them," the doctor was cut short by Valera's fists smashing on the table. Anger flared in her eyes and the emptiness that had previously filled them was now replaced by previously disguised rage.

"Are you not listening, I just told you why I did it and you're just going to breeze over it!" Valera snarled. Doctor Kolev relaxed again and stared her in the eye, something that she much so disliked. He knew there was more about to bubble over the surface, and so he waited for it to come in silence.

Valera was shaking with anger and sadness, gripping the chains keeping her attached to the table. "I don't get what the big deal is, Doctor. When I went off the grid in Canada, why couldn't you have just let me? Just let me be happy, let me grow up and live," Valera took a slow breath in and let it out again.

"Who even tipped you off?" she finally murmured. A wicked smile creased the line in the doctor's face. He leaned back and reached into his pocket, taking out a key. He reached over and pressed the tip into the lock, hesitating to turn it. Hope flared in Valera's chest as he began to turn it, but anger returned as he took the key from the lock once more. Teasing her.

"Someone you might now, Officer Johansen? He was silent for years knowing that you were in that town. Initially, he told us that you weren't there. We would have believe him, but he came back to us after a little incident you caused under the bridge in that town. Don't worry, you don't have to be all that mad, he's long since dead now. After he gave us the information we needed, we... got rid of the evidence," the doctor said. He tossed the key in his hand and gave Valera a side glance.