The first thing I noticed wasn’t the panic still clinging to him—it was the way his fingers trembled, or rather, the way they gripped mine as if, I was the only thing keeping him centred and grounded. Maybe I was…

  We spend the entire night talking and talking, reliving old memories with each other sharing a part of ourselves which neither of us dared to show the world. And you know the most shocking thing? I laughed, I smiled, and God knows that I haven’t done that in quite a long time.

  He smiled too and fucking gods above…his smile is enough to ruin me. How does a damn killer look so…sweet when he smiles? Maybe he always wasn’t like this—just like me. I wasn’t like this either but had to be. What am I even thinking? Fuck no.

  He should be the last person in front of whom I want to let my guard down. But why isn’t he?

  He scares me…I’m scared of whatever he might make me do because I am what he is too…and I have a feeling that it won’t take him long to find out.

  ***************************************************************************************

  I stir my coffee, dark circles under my eyes and a terribly tired expression on my face. Congratufuckinglations Inez. What else did you expect after spending the entire night yapping away to him. I could have gone—I should have gone but I didn’t want to and that is a dangerous desire.

  I hear footsteps I know all too well, and it has an exasperated sigh escaping me.

  “Well looks like someone pulled an all nighter Dr. Inez” Asher teases mirth dancing in his gaze.

  “Some patients are just worth it Dr. Asher” Shit…. That was most definitely not what I meant to say. Asher raises an eyebrow “Oh? Worth it you say. And here I thought Dr. Inez was immune to all tactics by guys…but looks like she isn’t” I turn back to completely face him “the hell you mean huh?”

  “Whatever you think I do. Riven’s having quite the effect on you, isn’t he?”

  “What the fuck are you trying to say Dr. Asher?”

  “Oh its pretty evident what I want to say.”

  Gosh…the number of times I have wanted to kill this motherfucker is insane. Its none of his goddamn business. Gosh Asher, you really drive me to the edge sometimes. If I wasn’t a psychiatrist I would have had already killed you fuckface.

  And then I hear a voice which annoys me but at the same time has a smirk forming on my face. It belongs to Riven. “Dr. Asher I’m sure its also pretty evident what she’s trying to say too but unfortunately, dumbasses like you won’t understand so let me do you a favour and translate it for you.” He leans against the counter. “Leave her the fuck alone and mind your own business”

  “And who are you to command me while standing in MY hospital” shit…Asher—big mistake.

  Riven shrugs as if Asher owning this place is no big deal for him. “Okay and? Owning this place doesn’t give you the permission to run around insulting and accusing other doctors.” I can see that madness slowly building up inside Riven. Fuck, Asher needs to back off. I don’t want a fight first thing in the morning. “Theres no use arguing with crazy people. That’s what you are, aren’t you? That’s why you’re here in the first place. I have no intention of wasting my time.” Asher comments with a smirk. I notice Riven holding the edge of the counter with a white-knuckled grip. He’s barely holding on to his sanity right now, just like me. If I wasn’t a psychiatrist, I would have had been the one to kill Asher right here and Riven would help me with the body. We would make a great team, wouldn’t we? But unfortunately, right now I have to focus on diffusing the situation. “Uhmm… Asher, I believe you have a session with Lyra right now. That’s where you were heading to right?” Asher gives me a mock sweet smile. “Yes, thank you very much for reminding me, Inez. Good attempt at protecting your Romeo. Keep it up.” He casts one last glance in Riven’s direction before walking away. Most probably, Riven is already planning his murder but I don’t want another doctor to die in here—I wont let him do it.

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  “Riven, I know what you’re thinking. I know Asher’s a dick but lis-”

  “And I too, know that you’re thinking the same thing as me”

  I let out a dry chuckle “maybe I am. But that doesn’t make it any less wrong. He is also a psychiatrist, just like me.” He scoffs “yeah psychiatrist with a high ass ego who couldn’t care any less about his patients”

  “Riven, he’s always grumpy in the mornings don’t mind him. He’s just really annoyed, not a morning person at all.”

  “That isn’t an excuse for him to go around insulting people. Someone needed to ground him…It just happened to be me. Next thing you know, he’s going to be grounded six feet under.”

  Holy shit…I know that look. Of course he’s planning to kill Asher. But I won’t let him because before an obsessive-compulsive person myself, I am a doctor. And doctors are supposed to protect others, not harm them.

  “Riven, do you even know how much he cares about you? In fact, I think you’re one of his favourite patients. Asher’s just not good at showing affection so instead, he teases you.”

  “Oh and pray tell, pretty shrink, what causes you to think that I’m one of his favourite patients?”

  “He does quite a lot for you.”

  “Like?”

  “He knows how important all your stuff is to you so he told the cleaners not to remove anything from your room. When you don’t like any meal given by the hospital and leave it outside the door, Asher makes sure it is never served to you again. Need I say more?” I lie smoothly.

  That seems to have caught Riven’s attention causing his eyes to widen slightly with shock. “Really? He did all of that for me? Well could have never guessed. Looks like grumpy old blondie does really care about his patients.” I internally heave a sigh of relief at him being convinced of that fact that Asher did all of this for him. “Mhmm…yes, he did do all of that for you. He’s a good person, really.”

  His face cracks up in a slight smile. “Looks like he isn’t that bad after all.”

  Honestly, none of this is true, but if lying to him is what it takes to save lives then so be it because as I said before— doctors protect people, be it from diseases or killers.

  But what if you are both?