Mr. Good Bad Guy

10 - I Want That

When I entered the room, everyone was waiting, chatting amongst themselves. They glanced at me when I came in, but didn't say anything about Dr. Acosta not being with me. It was only my second time here, so they should've been concerned about me being alone. But considering how I spoke to them yesterday, there was a possibility they saw this coming.

"Hi again," I said. "Dr. Acosta isn't going to sit in on this session today. I know it's barely been twenty-four hours since you last saw me, but I want to know about any changes you made since then."

Everyone stared at me like I was stupid. I wasn't going to leave until they gave me an answer. If we had to sit in silence for two hours, then so be it. I didn't have anything else to do.

"Well?" I prompted, taking a seat. "Not that anyone cares, but I've recently gotten out of a relationship. As per every romantic trope, he cheated on me. Not with my sister, Mom, best friends, or roommate. It was my boss. A woman I had trusted for the past three years. Do you know how that made me feel?"

"I think everyone here knows what heartbreak feels like." Bobbi shook his head.

"Yeah, but do you know how it feels to be betrayed by two people you trusted with your whole heart? I was going to marry that man. I was going to be the woman he woke up beside every morning. That fantasy was shot down the moment I caught them together. In my bed."

"I'm assuming you don't work for her anymore."

"How could I take that chance? I quit when she refused to apologize. She didn't even have enough decency to say he tricked her. I devoted my life and career to them, and they gifted me humiliation in return. My friends saw it coming. My...situationship saw it coming. I honestly don't know if my ex-colleagues saw it coming, but I wouldn't be surprised."

"What's the point in this story?" Logan asked.

"Right..." Bobbi agreed.

"Yo...give her a minute." Dax shot them both a look.

"Like her heartbreak is going to help her study us." Bobbi rolled his eyes. "Whatever, dude."

"Look, the bottomline is this: I quit a job I loved, because I was afraid of seeing the woman who ruined my relationship every single day. Don't do that, please. Don't give up on changing, because you're sure no one is going to believe in you. I believe in you."

"You study us."

"That's my job, Bobbi. I make a living off of studying your mind. How do you think? Why did you choose the people you attacked? Everyone is saying you're forever going to be the one thing society labels you as. Do you want to be labeled as a murderer forever? A thief? A rapist?"

Like they were ever going to avoid those labels.

"No..."

"Good. I don't want to be labeled as the woman who tricks felons into giving me what I want either. Let's work together to make each other happy, okay?"

🔅🔅🔅🔅🔅

It had finally been a full month since I started working at Scientality. Nothing got better, but nothing got worse. I tried my hardest to fit in without looking as if I was trying too hard. I'd already been reassigned once, but it hadn't been my fault. I was always going to blame Ashtyn for that. Starting with a new group was tough, but I managed to trick everyone into thinking I was simply finding new ways to study the minds of hardened criminals.

That's when everything began to change. At first, I didn't notice it. I was hanging out with Ezra more often and Parker and Randy were heavily approving of it. My friends were working 24/7 again, but we managed to keep up with current news and party a few times. Axel was beginning to see that my interest in him was dwindling. I wished he would see that I would still be with him whenever he wanted to see me, but Ezra was so addictive.