How He Broke

He Needs Me.. (Tate's Alter's POV)

"Who am I talking to now?" The man who I presumed to be "Dr. Harmon" asked.

"Who do you think?" I asked with a smile, leaning back into the couch.

"So you're the one that's been terrorizing, Tate?" Dr. Harmon stated.

I chuckled.

"I wouldn't say I'm "terrorizing" him Dr." I smiled, "Protecting him? Sure. But absolutely not terrorizing him."

"From what Tate has told me you're nothing but bad." Dr. Harmon said.

"Well what does he want me to be? Good? Perfect? That's not reality." I answered, crossing my arms.

"So you're admitting that you're a darkness?"

"I'm admitting that I'm his darkness. I'm the darkness he has suppressed."

Dr. Harmon nodded, "What is your affinity with Sage?" He asked.

"I love her." I answered simply.

"Why?"

I raised an eyebrow at him as I answered, "She's a good person. The best person I've ever met."

"So she's the exact opposite of you then." Dr. Harmon interrupted me.

My neck twitched as I let out a laugh. "She cares about me. About us."

"And why does that concern you? Are you afraid that she'll be able to get rid of you?"

"God didn't get rid of the devil." I stated.

"What do you mean by that?" Dr. Harmon asked, picking up his clipboard as he began to write down my words.

"I mean that good has never gotten rid of evil. The light needs the darkness, and the darkness needs the light. The sun needs the moon, the moon needs the sun." I answered.

"So you're saying that you need Sage then?" Dr. Harmon spoke as he wrote.

"If god didn't need the devil then why wouldn't he have completely destroyed him?" I answered, smiling wide.

"You see the thing about it is, Dr. Harmon, is that Tate is pure. He's kind and innocent. He doesn't understand the world like I do. He's too afraid to live and too afraid to die." I explained, "But I, I know the truth of this world. Evil is everywhere. It's in all of us, Dr., and it's so sad to see good people suffering due to it."

"What have you gone through? What evil have you experienced that's so different from the rest of us?"

I laughed at his question, moving to rest my elbows on my knees, my chin resting in my hand. "I've seen evil so terrifying the devil himself would shudder." I answered.

Dr. Harmon set his clipboard down on his lap, facing me.

"What part does Sage play in all of this then?" He asked, "You never fully answered that question for me."

I smiled at the thought of her.

"Sage is pure, kind and believing in the fact that people can change. But she's tainted by evil." I explained, "I know what she's capable of. I've seen the darkness in her. I'm attracted to it. I don't want to hurt her, Dr. Harmon. Tate thinks I want to hurt her, but never would I even consider harming that beautiful girl. I love her and I want to save her."

"If you love her, then why would Tate be afraid of you hurting her? Why would he come here to talk to me about you if you didn't want to harm her?" He asked, not understanding.

"Tate's naive. He thinks I'm evil, but I am him. We're one person with the same thoughts, the same ideas. I'm just strong enough to actually do something about them." I said. "And truth be told if it weren't for me, we never would have even gotten the opportunity we did to finally talk to Sage at that fuckfest of a party."

~ ~ ~

"So, Dr. Harmon does that all make sense to you, now?" I asked once our session had ended.

He nodded, folding his hands as he reexamined his notes.

"I suppose so." He finally spoke, "I think that's all for this session. Come back next week so we can talk some more, alright?" He stood to shake my hand.

"Sounds great, Dr. Harmon." I smiled as we walked towards the door. "Oh! I'd like you to meet, Sage, she's in the waiting room."

"I'd love to meet her then." Dr. Harmon smiled.

We exited together, seeing Sage. She stood with a smile, rushing over to me.

She threw her arms around my neck.

"How'd it go?" She asked hopefully.

"Good I think." I smiled, kissing her cheek. "I want you to meet Dr. Harmon." I said, letting go of her to introduce the pair.

"Nice to meet you, Sage." Dr. Harmon said, holding his hand out to her.

"You too," She smiled, taking his hand. "Thank you... for talking with him." Sage said. "I know he was really nervous to talk with you, but I know you'll be able to help him."

"I'll do my best." Dr. Harmon laughed, "But from what I've heard, He's really lucky to have someone like you in his life."

His words caused Sage to blush as she grabbed my hand.

I squeezed her hand in my own as we said our goodbyes, exiting the building.

"I think this is a fresh start, Tate." She said to me as we walked down the sidewalk.

"I think so too, Sage."A smirk began forming upon my lips as I could hear screams from inside my mind, a banging against an impenetrable wall, "I think so too..."