The Perfect Obsession [Preview Chapters]

Chapter 12.

Donatello

"You want to represent yourself?" The judge looked bewildered by my statement, but I knew there was no way I was going to do time for this. I sent a sharp nod, and the cop that stopped me spoke, "You know how many years you'll do for carrying a loaded weapon unregistered in your name?"

"None," I hissed.

He chuckled, and I ignored it, glaring forward. "What do you have to say in your defense, Mr. Pessina?" I could feel their eyes on me. "Not only was the officer who attained the gun doing an unreasonable search and seizure, but while doing so, he forgot to marandize me."

She shot him a look of dissappointment while I raised my chin in confidence. His lips parted in an excuse. "I was worried about an attack on this country considering this man is an immigrant."

"Ain't no f-" I clenched my teeth together to stop my outburst. One more swear word from me and I can end up in solitary confinement. I am not a terrorist, I practiced the sentence in my mind swear-word-free. Luckily, I never had to use it.

The judge said a few irrelevant words and I was home free. I didn't want to smile at the officer as they undid the cuffs, but God... I couldn't help it.

****

Dante

From the oh-so sensitive state of my company to the equally sensitive state of my marriage, I was quite figuratively taken from behind. No amount of wearing light colors could change that. I stepped away from the mirror sporting the dull orange sweater the on-sight therapist had generously bought in. It fit nicely with my black suit paints, but it still felt unatural wearing it. I pulled at the neckline of the wool sweater. Is it too tight?

I disregarded how proud of herself she seemed to be when she watched me walk back to the bed with it. "Tell me something, doc," I started, ready to ask the question that was pressing my mind. "If this entire time Verina had been a part of my imagination, how had I seen her all those years ago?" The Verina that I had 'killed' knew things the old Verina couldn't possibly. She knew about Daniel and she had even brought up that meeting from 10 years earlier. Was she just a reflection of things I still thought about?

"Well," she said, thoughtfully shifting in her seat. "It's possible that she was once a real person who your mind just couldn't seem to forget. A very crucial part of your life at some point. Or she was never real at all." She heard my next question before I had even uttered it. "It's not uncommon for people with your disorder to be misdiagnosed with depression." Which I have been. "Given anti-depressants, you would find that they wouldn't be effective and either take them until the point of temporary insanity (hence a hallucination) or overdose."

I couldn't seem to remember what I had taken or if I had taken anything at all on that day, but I hoped it was the latter. That somewhere Verina was a real person. Alive, living well, and sane. It would bring me relief to see her that way rather than the image I couldn't seem push out of my mind. Lifeless, hazel eyes. The decision to find her wasn't final seeing as how I still had many problems to deal with already, but it felt like something I needed to do for myself. "Is it safe to go home today?"

"After flushing all the previous pills from your body, we want to monitor how the new ones work for you over night. If your mood is even and you have no stomach pains or things like that, you will be free to leave." I nodded, laying against the bed fully, staring up at the cieling. The door opened and a man peaked in. "Mister Acosta, you have a visitor."