Page 74 of The Birthday Girl
The first thing that hit her was the smell. The air reeked of sandalwood and something antiseptic, cloaked in the scent of incense. A brass lamp clicked on, its amber glow catching the rim of a whiskey glass and the glint of a silver watch on a wrist.
The silhouette resolved into a familiar jawline, the same one she’d stared at during every therapy session while confessing things she’d never told another soul. He sat in a leather chair as if he had been waiting all night, hands folded loosely on his knee, his tie still knotted like he had come straight from the office. His smile was faint, but charismatic, as though nothing about this meeting was strange.
Tahlia froze, her lungs seizing mid-breath. “Dr. Farrell?” The name scraped from her throat as her fingers curled into fists.
Behind her eyes, the courtroom flashed, hertherapist’s measured voice carrying to the jury.“In my professional opinion, Ms. Banks displays classic signs of schizoaffectivedisorder, manic type, with comorbid antisocial personality disorder...”
“The one and only,” he said simply, his voice so calm the sound threaded into her bones.
Her teeth ground until her jaw ached. “You sold me out.” The words burned hotter than anything said in the courtroom, hotter even than her laughter when Danielle’s body went still.
“You sat on that stand with your educated smile, and you dissected me in front of strangers like I was a fucking frog. You called me broken, you called me sick, and you buried me alive in that place.”
Farrell didn’t flinch. Instead, he leaned back in his seat, one arm draped across the chair as if her rage were nothing more than weather passing through.
“I told the truth you gave me,” he replied evenly.
“That shit doesn’t make what you did any better!” she hissed, taking a step toward him, her fists trembling at her sides. “I trusted you!”
His smile widened just enough to show teeth, a predator’s patience. “And you still should. Since the day you finally crossed the line, I’ve been more than your therapist. I’ve been your accomplice.”
“My-my accomplice?” Her breath stuttered, her fury quickly morphing into confusion, curiosity, the dangerous edge of hope.
“Yes.” He nodded, a smirk curling the corner of his lips.
“Fuck that!” She shook her head to clear the fog.
Dr. Farrell was good at playing with her mind, and she no longer trusted his silver tongue or the way he could twist her words into weapons against herself.
“I ought to kill you where you stand,” she said, her voice a razor’s edge.
“You should,” he agreed softly. “But you won’t. Because you know I’m the only one who ever really saw you. Not the jury.Not the cops. Not even your family or friends. Me.” He pointed at his chest. “I listened. I understood. And now…” He rose from the chair. “Now I’m going to give you everything you’ve always deserved.”
“And why would you do that?” She lifted her chin, glaring at him sideways.
Farrell’s expression shifted, the clinical mask slipping away to reveal an intimacy she’d never witnessed before. “Do you know when I first fell in love with you, Tahlia?”
“I remember the exact moment,” he said, voice dropping to a whisper that crawled across her skin. “You were the only one clapping in that courtroom when Tyriq cleared my name. Everyone else cried, whispered, and pointed fingers. But you—” He inhaled, his breath uneven for the first time. “You were radiant. You clapped for us, and I thought—my God, she understands me. She isn’t ashamed of dark hunger. She celebrates it.”
“Then, when you strolled into my office, I figured you felt the same as I. Why else would you choose me as your therapist? Out of all the others, you came to me. You wanted to be close, didn’t you?”
Tahlia balled her fists tighter. “You arrogant son of a bitch. I came to you because I needed a doctor.”
“No, you needed me—all of me,” Farrell countered, his tone rising with conviction. “You always did. I saw it in your eyes when you sat across from me. It was then I chose to watch over you to ensure you were always protected.”
Tahlia’s lips curled back over her teeth. “So you’ve been following me?”
“Following?” He shook his head, stepping closer, his shadow cutting across her face. “No. I kept you safe from a world that didn’t deserve you. Do you want to know why?”
“Why?” she asked, chest heaving.
“Because you’re mine. And when I killed Tremaine and Jimmy…” He paused, a smile ghosting his lips as though he were recalling something intimate. “I did it for you. Every cut, every note of their screams, it was a love song, Tahlia. My gift.”
For the first time, her composure wavered, and her voice broke into a rasp. “You… what?”
“I killed Tremaine and Jimmy,” he repeated, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead before he leaned in, his words a hiss meant only for her. “They’d planned to rob you, but I got to them first. No one will ever hurt you as long as I’m alive.” He gently moved a stray hair from Tahlia’s face and placed it behind her ear.
“Baby, do you know how close the police were to arresting you? They were circling you like wolves, eager to tear you apart? They wanted you in a cell. Forever. So I gave them something else. I contacted a detective and informed him that Danielle was in danger, and then I testified. Not to betray you, my love, but to protect you. Jail would have buried you and left me without access to you. The hospital was something that I could manage, a place where I could reach you.”
