In The Depths

Chapter 2: A Look Inside

Rayden nervously shifted on the sofa as Dr. Stahl's unwavering glare remained focused on her. The only movement he made was the involuntary rising and falling of his chest from his full breaths. His face remained emotionless; the slight smile he wore in their earlier interactions had suddenly disappeared. And in that moment, though she would never admit it, Rayden was absolutely terrified. 

"Are you just going to sit there and look at me, or are you actually going to do something helpful?"

Jesus, why did I just say that, Rayden asked herself, this guy is obviously some kind of creep. Tiny sweat droplets began to form at her temples. Her extremities trembled from anticipation and anxiety. All she could think about was the coldness behind his gaze. She worried what he would do next. 

"Say something, for Christ's sake!"

Her senses heightened, she noticed he loosened his grip on his clipboard.  She returned her eyes back to his face, half-expecting a similar change. Her assumption was wrong. Returning her eyes to his hands, she saw they were now resting at his sides, the palms pressing into the cushion to raise him up. Rayden's heart thumped violently in her chest. As he stood there, his towering figure casting a long shadow, a lump formed in her constricted throat. Slowly, methodically, he bent down at the waist and brought his face level with Rayden's. 

"Boo."

The corner of his lips quickly upturned. Dr. Stahl's laughter was so powerful that it seemed to shake him to the core; he giddily clenched his slightly protruding belly. Taking a few steps backward and resting back on the sofa, he resumed the professional stance he once held: his right leg over the left, one hand clenching his clipboard and the fingers of the other wrapped around a pencil, and his glasses pushed ever so slightly forward on the high bridge of his nose.

"Sorry to frighten you. That was just a little preliminary exercise I like to do with my new clients."

"I wasn't scared," Rayden defensively added, "just a little weirded out is all."

"Those dilated pupils beg to differ. Textbook sign of fear."

"Yeah, whatever. What's your point?"

"When I was there standing in front of you, right in that moment, you felt helpless. You could have called out for someone to help you. You could have ran. I've even had some clients hit me. But you, you just sat there and waited. Why is that?"

"I-I don't know."

"Well, let's try and find out. Tell me about yourself."

Rayden scoffed at the utterance of Dr. Stahl's request. 

"I hate that question. It's not even a question in the first place. How can I tell you about myself? I'm a complicated being. That can't just be explained in a few fucking minutes."

Dr. Stahl nodded along to Rayden's answer, his head bobbing up and down in an established rhythm. At the indication that she was finished, he tightened the grip around the pencil he held and proceeded to write something down on a sheet. 

"What can you possibly be writing down? I didn't say anything."

"Precisely."

"I knew this would be a waste of time."

Dr. Stahl scribbled some more notes on his sheet. 

"You're not the first person who has come into my office with an attitude like yours, but I can guarantee you one thing: by the end of today's session, you'll be begging for more."

"Is that so? You're going to have work harder than this then."

"You're right. I can escalate our session further than this, though I usually reserve my more unorthodox methods for later sessions."