Personal

Leaving?!

"(Y/N)!" Zack says as he stands up once seeing me walk towards him. "This is a riddle, not a math equation." He states holding a piece of paper.

"Oh sorry Zack I forgot to tell you. I kinda ran out of equations that I could find. Math has never been my strong suit. But I thought riddles might challenge your mind in a similar, perhaps lesser but it's something, way. It has been about a year. I'm surprised I could find as many as I did to stimulate your mind." I say rubbing my neck. I sit down across from him as he sits back down.

"I thought you had made a mistake. Now that I know it was purposeful I'll figure them out." He says looking down at it.

I smile and sigh. He looks up. "Is something the matter?" He asks worried.

"No, no. Just in thought." I reply smiling.

"In thought, about?"

"You."

He turns his head in confusion, blinking a few times, his ears and nose dust with a light pink.

And I laugh, a dusting on my face as well. "No, not like that. I'm not allowed to think of a patient like that. I just meant after all this time you still seem like a contradiction. On paper you belong here, you were deemed criminally mentally ill. But I've been watching you, studying you. I really don't think you killed that man. I don't think you're mentally ill. And yet you're here for life. I cannot wrap my head around it." I chuckle again and shake my head.

"I confuse you, that should upset you. That what you've read and experienced are different and yet you smile about it." He states.

"Yes, I'm happy to not have a bad thought about you. That I don't see you as an "insane" murderer." I explain.

"Do you wish to have me moved to a prison? If I'm not mentally ill that's where they'll move me." He says suddenly in thought himself.

"Prison?! No, you wouldn't do well in prison. I just... Zack!" I pull his face to look into my eyes. "Have I told you that I'm finishing up my dissertation soon? And thus finishing my internship. I'm not gonna work here after that. But I don't think I can allow myself to leave when my heart and brain don't agree on your mental state. How can I correctly judge someone's mental state when I can be tricked by one of them." I lean back.

He blinks again. "You're leaving?"

"That's all you heard?" I laugh.

"You can't leave... Me here! Alone! I... Who will bring me problems to solve?" He says pouting slightly looking into my eyes.

My heart jumps. "Uh... I'll ask someone else to do it, I guess."

He sighs. "Okay." He looks back down at the riddle sadly.