Page 5 of Mind Games

“You have a beautiful house,” I murmured as I pulled the wooden chair back to take a seat.

“Thank you. So, how has your week been?” he asked.

“The mushroom pills that I have been popping have made a difference. I've felt much more relaxed,” I said as I watched him move around to gather everything up.

“Good, but you realise that at some point, we need to delve a little deeper to help you develop better coping mechanisms. Alcohol isn't the answer.”

I touched the cream wooden table. Everything had a look and feel of quality. I wanted to avoid this conversation because every therapist had the same goal. To pick at my brain and bring those horrid memories back. It made me stabby just thinking about it. I glanced at his wooden knife block and felt a pang of sadness at the missed opportunities to stab my tormentors.

Before I knew it, Dr Lewis had placed the mug of hot chocolate in front of me. It had whipped cream and chocolate drops on it, and I knew before tasting it that it was Belgian chocolate.

He turned to get his coffee before he sat down. When he took a sip, he stared at me with a strange expression. I wondered if his meeting had been bad news.

“Do you live with your family?” I asked politely as I took a sip of the hot chocolate.

The cream covered my upper lip, and I licked it off. His eyes followed my tongue before he looked away.

“My parents live in the south of France, and I’m an only child,” he said before he took another sip of his coffee.

“Oh, I meant if you had a partner or children,” I said, since the house was massive, but I kept that to myself.

This was the best hot chocolate I’d ever had. It was just the right temperature since he knew I liked my hot drinks lukewarm. I took another long sip of the comforting, sweet drink.

“No, I live here alone,” he said with a smile. “How much did you drink this week?”

“I had one bottle of wine and no spirits,” I said carefully. It was really three bottles, but it was better than drinking straight vodka and rum.

“Tell me about your first boyfriend or girlfriend?”

I blinked at his question and swallowed. He usually limited his questions to my present and future goals.

“I’ve had one boyfriend, and it didn't work out. I’m happier on my own,” I said tightly. “My first female friend stabbed me in the back.”

“Hmm, most people are selfish cunts,” he said with a nod while my mouth fell open at his profanity.

I began to feel tired all of a sudden.

“Why don't you tell me about Tom and Violet?” he asked with a sinister smile.

That was when the full-blown panic burst through me. I looked at the hot chocolate, and it began to blur. The hot chocolate was drugged.

This is what I deserved for trusting someone again.

Chapter 4

Nathan

I caught her head before it crashed into her mug. The fear and panic on her face was perfect. I picked her up and carried her downstairs to the basement. I usually had the room stripped bare, but for her, I left a few books on PTSD and childhood trauma. The others were fiction books I’d picked up from a bookshop near my office.

I laid her down on the bed and placed the shackles on her wrists and ankles before reaching for the longer chain that was attached to the wall to snap the collar into place. She needed to be completely vulnerable, so I began to cut away her clothes. When I cut her panties away, I saw she didn't own a razor, but that was something I would take care of before she woke up.

She was too skinny, which is why I was surprised that she had large breasts hidden away under her baggy clothing.

In time, Daisy would become Daddy’s perfect little girl.

???

I’d adjusted her shackles while I shaved her body. My dark urges were as strong as they were the day I met her. The only variation was that my fixation with Daisy grew in a different direction from all of my previous test patients and victims. I wouldn't need to use electric shocks or psychological torture on her to become compliant. Her soul was as shattered as her mind.

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