She walks past me, her shoulder brushing mine. It's another deliberate contact. Another test she wants me to fail, and I struggle not to react to.
At least outwardly. Inside, something's lit I've not felt in a long time.
She pauses in the doorway and glances back with a smile that could rewrite the weather outside. "See you next week, Dr. Mercer."
The air in the office stretches thin as she disappears and shuts the door.
I press my hand against it. An afterimage of her presence lingers in the room, not from anything she touched but from the way she watched me, as though she was memorizing not my words but my weaknesses.
Can she see them?
Don't let her get to you.
I should refer her to someone else.
No. I've dealt with delusional patients before.
I sit at my desk and open the session notes.
My handwriting looks normal even though my pulse still races. I write my notes.
Patient: Blue Ivanov
Session One Observations:
Intelligent. Calculated. Disarming.
Uncertain distinction between truth and narrative.
High potential for manipulation.
Significant fixation tendencies.
Concerning sexual overtures.
Therapeutic boundaries must remain rigid.
I stop writing.
Rigid boundaries.
I close the file and glance at the chair she sat in. I rise and pick a perfectly straight strand of blue hair resting on the arm of her chair.
It didn't fall there by accident. I'm certain she left it intentionally.
I lift it, hold it between my fingers, then drop it into the wastebasket.
This girl is not stable or predictable. She's going to test every boundary I've ever built.
She's not like my other patients. Most of them bore me. They're too easy to diagnose and treat. But Blue...
She's more complex than I anticipated. It's going to be difficult to make progress with her. It'll be more work and slower than any others.
I glance at the broken glass and sand. I go to the closet, grab the broom and dustpan, and sweep up the mess. I barely register the sentimental value of my great-grandfather's heirloom. All I can do is try to breathe through my excitement.
Blue Ivanov might just be the patient I've been waiting for my entire career.
CHAPTER THREE
