Psycho

Day 8

I smiled at Jason as he got settled in wit Mack leaving afterward as usual. I took my keys and unlocked his handcuffs like yesterday, moving them aside.

"Katie," he gave a nod.

"I've told you before, it's Dr. Hartford."

"Your bruises aren't as dark today," he pointed out, ignoring my previous statement.

"I tried to cover them up with a little makeup."

"Have you talked to the guy who attacked you yet?"

I shook my head. "No, I meet with him tomorrow," I said, unsure why he was so amused by that. "First meeting completely without cuffs, feeling happy?" I asked him.

"As happy as I can be in here," he replied.

I nodded. "That's good. I think your happiness is the most important factor in this. You said yesterday that most of the time when you kill, it's due to anger, correct?"

"Yeah..." Jason trailed off, almost cautiously.

"I want to fix that. I want you to find a happy place, as cheesy as it sounds," I continued, making Jason scoff.

"You really think it's that easy to calm myself down?"

"No, but I think it could help," I answered. I read my notes from yesterday before speaking again. "What's something that makes you happy? A certain memory, a real place, a pretend place...a thing...a person..." I trailed off, giving ideas.

Jason groaned. "I don't know! Killing people?" He joked, knowing that's not what I meant. I just raised an eyebrow and waited. He sighed, leaning back with his arms hanging at both sides of the chair. "I'm not sure."

"How about this. Think of something that makes you happy, or at least not angry, and think about it for a few minutes. You don't have to tell me or even say anything, just think about it," I explained, hoping he would at least try.

Jason sighed,  "Okay, fine," he gave in.

I grinned, taking out a stopwatch. "I'll start the timer and help you get started," I pressed start on the stopwatch. "Okay, get comfortable in your seat first, then close your eyes," I instructed.

Jason shifted in his seat, leaning back more with his head tilted up. His eyes slowly shut. "Okay, now what?"

"Take deep breaths, and remain calm. Don't talk, just think," I said.

Jason sat there, taking slow and deep breaths. I stared at him, grinning a bit. He actually looked calm and at peace rather than aggressive and annoyed. It was nice.

"Okay...now think of your happy thing. Just picture it in your head, and focus on how it makes you feel inside. Warm, fuzzy, like a weight has been lifted...just focus on that one thing," I said softly.

Jason continued to sit there, and I wasn't sure if he was doing as I told him since I couldn't read his mind or anything, but I did see a small grin on his face. Not a smirk or a mocking grin, just a grin. 

I looked down at my stopwatch and realized we had gone over the time I had planned. "Okay, now slowly open your eyes and sit up," I told him. Jason did as told, sitting up and looking at me. "Did you find your happy thing?" I asked him.

He look to the side.  "No," he muttered.

I softened now, a bit disappointed. "Oh.  You couldn't think of anything?  Not your home, or a good memory?"

Jason let out a breath. "Everything that could be happy in my life is overtaken by something bad. Especially memories."

I frowned, feeling bad Jason felt that way. I really thought he found something good to think about, and the fact he could only focus on bad things was sad.

"I'm sorry to hear that. Really. Everyone should have some happiness they can at least think about."

"Everyone but me. I told you this stuff doesn't work on me," his eyes moved to meet mine.

"Maybe you just need a new approach..."

"No!  Don't you get it?  Nothing you do, or say, no matter how hard you try, can help me!" He interrupted. When I looked at him though, it wasn't anger he was expressing, but sadness.

The buzz rang though the silent room as the door opened from Mack. Jason and I were still silent though, me watching Jason as he looked down at his fingers. I took the handcuffs and handed them to Mack who walked over, but still keeping my eyes on Jason until he was out of the room.