Psycho Psychology

2

Reese's P.O.V.

When we walled in the door, which locked behind us, Lanie ran down the stairs and into the entryway. I bent down to pet her but she ran past me, to Noah.

"Awe! Hi cutie!", he said petting her fluffy golden head.

"Lanie I feed you, jerk.", I muttered, walking off to the kitchen. Noah followed as I stepped over Lanie repeatedly, getting her food.

"You live alone?", Noah asked. I nodded,

"Yep. Just me and Lanie."

"Your house is huge." Two stories and a library loft did seem like a lot for us, but it was good for us too.

"Yeah, it's a lot."

"I'd be paranoid someone would get in and just hide forever."

"Trust me, no one is getting in or out of here without me knowing."

"That sounds serial killer-y." I laughed,

"C'mon. I'll show you your room. Then I'll show you where I harvest the organs of my victims."

"Hey that's not funny."

●●●●

"You've worked for me for almost six months and I barely know anything about you.", I said as Noah and I sat down for dinner, consisting of steak I forgot I had and a potato side dish that Noah insisted to make. "So, tell me about Noah Conners." He laughed a little, almost nervously,

"I'm not that interesting."

"I beg to differ as your file has twenty two pages." His blue eyes met my brown ones, now obviously nervous. "I didn't read it. I'd much rather get my information from the source than from other people. I tend to read files as a last resource." He nodded a little,

"I didn't... disclose a lot when I applied for the job. I was worried my childhood would keep me from getting the job and I really wanted it." I raised my eyebrows,

"What happened that you think would prevent you from getting this job?" He sighed,

"When I was ten, my dad started molesting me."

"What? I thought you and your dad were close."

"Hey, you asked for my life story, let me tell it.", he laughed. I did too,

"Okay, okay. Sorry." He stared off into nothing for a minute, as still as I'd ever seen him,

"He'd beat me whenever I would resist and eventually, a teacher noticed. She sent me to the school therapist and he really helped me. He ended up taking me in. It was supposed to be temporary, but we got close and he ended up adopting me. He's my dad now. And we are close, he's my hero. But it was a really long road that seemed easy until I was fifteen and started lashing out. I got suspended a few times, did drugs, my grades slipped- I even got arrested. Eventually, dad forced me into a few different therapy sessions and we worked through it. That's why my file is so big. But by senior year I was doing a lot better and got into college and here I am."

"I'm really sorry that happened to you." He shrugged. "Really. That's terrible and it can effect everything for the rest of your life."

"Don't give me the therapist BS Dr. Harper." I chuckled a little,

"Sorry. And you can call me Reese outside of work. Or in work honestly." He smiled a little,

"Okay." He paused, "Reese." I rolled my eyes,

"Don't make an ordeal of it."

"It is an ordeal!", he insisted, "This is like... the first real adult thing I did. Dad thought I should start small and move up but I wanted to aim high and if it didn't go well, I'd do it his way. This is kinda the first job I've ever had."

"But you had-"

"Three jobs listed, all with relatives. It worked because they aren't biological relatives so no one ever notices."

"That's smart. Sneaky, but smart."

"I know." He paused, "Dad always said my brain would get me into trouble eventually. Mostly it was just trouble with him though."

"What'd you mean?"

"I mouthed off to a lot of adults through my life."

"I'm assuming that's why you don't have friends?"

"I have friends!" I gave him a look. "We're friends." I laughed,

"Yeah but I'm your only friend."

"Leave me alone!", he laughed, "What does me mouthing off have to do with not having friends?"

"Nothing except I'm sure you were grounded a lot and didn't have free time."

"Oh, no. Dad didn't like revoking privileges or grounding me. He didn't think it helped me or most people learn just because he took away an object or didn't let me have a social life. He said it was unhealthy."

"I think your dad and I would get along."

"Yeah, me too."

"So... he just let you run ramped?"

"No.", he laughed, "Absolutely not." He paused, "My dad is one of the few psychologists I've talked to who is very much a supporter of corporal punishment. He actually ended up opening his own office where he teaches the proper way to discipline as well as his usual therapy session."

"So what I'm hearing is you used to get your ass beat." His cheeks turned pink,

"Used to? Still would if I screwed up. I may be an adult, but I'm still his kid."

"That sucks." He shrugged,

"Not really. I can see why everyone thinks that, but it's never been a negative situation for me. We talked a lot regardless of what happened or if I was even in trouble. I don't distinctly remember any time I got punished unfairly or felt afraid of my dad. I know a lot of people react negatively to that type of thing, but my brain is wired where it just works for me. I don't learn from not being physically punished. But I don't learn from abuse."

"Kid, no one learns from abuse. Ever. It might seem like they do but it's not true, they just develop traits of someone who's been abused." I paused, "You don't have those traits and I'm really glad you don't."

"I used to. Bad. Any time someone talked to loud or got upset, I jumped to make it better. Dad couldn't so much as look at me without me apologizing. After a year or so, I had mostly stopped. But it was a rough year for him." I nodded. "What about your parents?" I scoffed,

"My dad abandoned us when I was little. My mom was a religious nut. When I was fourteen, she caught me kissing a boy down the street and kicked me out. I lived with my best friend until I went off to college."

"Ah. That sucks. I'm sorry."

"Eh. Not a big deal anymore."

"So... you're gay...?"

"I might be bi. I'm not sure."

"Well, I'd tell people you're gay."

"Why?"

"If you're bi, that means neither gender wants you."

"Asshole."