Pseudosapien

Force

"My mom wants to meet you." Garth's voice broke the comfortable silence that had settled over the two. She was sitting on what he had noticed to be her favorite stool and reading a book.

"You told me, but you were obviously not ready for that. You seem worried about us meeting."

"I spoke with Browning about my parents for the first time since I started seeing him."

"Mind if I ask what you usually talk about?"

"Sex and the women I date...why I date them. That thing that usually ends up happening to us after awhile. My job and how it effects me or effected me, if you want the past tense; it used to have an emotionally degenerating effect on me. I find it feels less and less so, the longer I work there."

"Your mom is your only living relative, I assume?" Annie's voice was careful.

"Yes. Neither of us took dad's death well. I became distant and she became emotional closer to me. In need of, is probably the best way to say it. I never noticed that it wasn't at all a part of the conversations that Browning and I had until after I mentioned that I wanted to talk to him about my mom and he said something about that being new or interesting. He didn't even know my father had passed away until recent."

"That's surprising since a lot of therapist's are invasive of their client's privacy so that they don't accidentally bring up sensitive or potentially traumatic memories and topics."

"Are you one of them?" He smirked and she nodded.

"For good reason, if you remember. I take on the major ones."

"Do you mind talking about your parents?" She had long since ignored the words on the pages opened up to her andclosed her book.

"I don't mind at all since you already know some of the more...touchy-ish stuff. What do you want to know?"

"I can ask you anything about them?"

"Anything."

"Did you love them?" Garth watched her face soften.

"I don't know. I was fond of them. Lately, I've been getting confused and frustrated on many things; emotions in particular. It's very possible that I loved them."

"Did you have a record?" She chuckled at the caution put into his question.

"Oh no. I was good girl." He snorted and she smiled at him.

"I never said I still was. When did your father die?"

"Around the time I got my job as a coroner, I think. I started using it as an excuse to not spend time with...well, anyone. Yours?"

"I was five when my parents were murdered on their way to pick me up from daycare. Then seven when the lady that headed my orphanage mysteriously died."

"Your first kill?"

"You sound surprised."

"Seven?"

"She was killing off kids. I had a strong sense of justice at a young age...plus I didn't like the idea of joining my parents just yet." The woman before him shrugged.

"H-how?" She stared through the cover of her book for awhile before her face flushed.

"I'm not used to this."

"Am I being too intrusive?"

"No, it's just that I never told anyone about these things before, so every time I get to share a story with you...it makes me feel."

"Happy?"

"That might be right."

"Perhaps you aren't one of the Dead after all."