"The child you saw," she placed a hand on his leg, "How did you feel about him?" Malachi stared blankly at the wall,
"Ky?" I moved to grab his arm, but a pointed look from the hypnotist stopped me,
"I..." He scrunched his face, sounding more like a lost child than the Ranger he was, "I hated him,"
Well then.
"I was angry at him."
What?
"I hated looking in his eyes but I..." Something in him broke a little,"I couldn't look away,"
Why?
"I wanted to hurt him, or leave, but I knew I couldn't leave," I don't think he knew he was crying.
"Why?" The world slowed, the hypnotist sat unmoving,
"I don't know." Malachi loved children, the thought of him hurting one -wanting to hurt a child- clearly scared him.
When I looked up I didn't see the man I lived and worked with, but the scared boy who ran away with me, the one with nothing to lose and a head too smart for his own good, but followed me of all people regardless.
"I don't know," It wasn't repeated for emphasis or for the hypnotist, but as an apology; one aimed at me.
"Could you explain your emotions toward the child?" Though she was rendered dumbfounded as Malachi damn near cut her off,
"It's fine, we're done here, come on Iris," The fragility in his eyes was gone the moment he opened his mouth. Pulling me off the floor and grabbing our coats off their hooks as he made his way to the door.
"But you paid for-"
"Keep it." He continued to pull me out the door and then a while down the street before stopping dead in his tracks.
"So are you going to explain or...?" I rubbed my wrist as I watched him examine a brick wall.
"The child was me," Not a glance in my direction before he began walking away.
He hated himself?
"Okay? So where are you going?"
"I'm hungry, we're getting Murron's."
"Goddamnit Ky,"
"I'm a growing boy! Fuck you!"
I could only laugh, he was going to be the death of me.
"You coming?" He stood in the middle of the street, one hand in his pocket and a smile on his face.
I huffed a laugh, "Right behind you."
