It's All Lies, Darling.

16. Pretending to Not Feel Alone

Chapter XVI

• Pretending to Not Feel Alone •

•<><><>•

"You're not lying, are you?"

My throat burns with dryness as I stare across the table to Dr. Hallowell. Her hazel eyes were narrowed, watching my face contort with discomfort.

"No. I'm not lying,"

Behind her, Amon smiles and sits back against the wall, resting himself on top of the marble table. She sighs slightly and reluctantly marks down that I have, in fact, not encountered a demon. My stomach squirms as I see Morax lift his gaze to meet mine, with his deathly grin haunting me. He winks his russet eye and continues to devour a chocolate covered pretzel that he had stolen from Hallowell's desk. I didn't know they could eat human food.

"Well, Kim, looks like you've been doing a seemingly bit better, relying on your answers," She sets down her note pad and looks me dead in the eye. "But I feel like you aren't answering truthfully."

I look to Amon and Morax, but they only glared at me intensely. I blink a few times and start stuttering nervously, conjuring up a lie to tell.

"I-I really haven't encountered a demon," I give a breathy laugh. "Not that I know of anyway,"

I saw Morax slap a hand over his face and shake his head at my reply. Amon only glares at me to the point where he could boil me down from the intensity.

"Well, there are other signs that people sometimes can't remember. There have been cases where they are marked by a demon but don't ever notice; nor do they remember." Dr. Hallowell looks over her reading glasses and sits up further. "Do you have any markings, Kim?"

Morax unconvers his face just as I fell into shock. Hallowell had a strange smirk on her face, and I nervously fumble with the sleeve of my sweater to hide the mark better.

"N-No, I don't,"

Her eyes flick between my eyes and my hands, and with a stone dead voice, she says: "Let me see your wrist, Kim."

"No."

Hallowell looked just as surprised as I did at my tone. I sounded like a crazed, possessive lunatic. Oh, fuck it. I am a crazed, possessive lunatic.

"Why not?" she tests me, killing me with her eyes.

"Because nothing is wrong. I told you I haven't encountered a demon and I have no markings. Are we done here?" I raise from my seat and watch as she mimics me.

"Did you hurt yourself again?"

My chest stings at her words, but I quickly mask it once I see Amon and Morax standing behind her, strong and masculine.

"No. And I don't intend to." I grab my bag and feel the inner rage clawing at my veins. "I'd like to stop coming here,"

Her whole face wipes of the strong, serious look she was giving me and turns into bitter worry. "What, why?" she asks.

"Because I'm better," I swallow down the truth and look past her to Morax and Amon. Amon was smiling viciously, but Morax looked unreadable.

"I know you're not, Kim, I can see it, don't do thi-"

"Stop. Please. It's my decision. Prescribing some useless drug to me is more harming than anything else. I don't want to be here anymore,"

I exit as fast as I can before she could chase me down, and I run to the parking lot beside the building where my mom always waits. She was inside of her mini van, flipping through a magazine when I opened the door.