5 Chapter Five: The Story of Liam and Ana (2)

"I do not need this place; this is another one of my father's schemes to torture me," Liam answered, crossing his legs as he glared at the woman. He is not a crazy person that needs a counselor; he is mentally okay.

The woman hummed before writing some notes on her clipboard. Liam did not like that; with the way she was writing, he felt she was spewing lies.

"What are you writing there, woman?" He asked, trying to lean over to sneak a peek.

The woman did not answer him as she kept writing, "How do you think people perceive you? Do you believe it to be negative or positive?"

Liam was getting angry by the questions, "What the hell is with those questions? What does that have to do with anything? I'm leaving." He stood up and opened the door before slamming it behind him.

The person at the desk jumped at the noise as they watched Liam stomp out of the building with anger present on his face.

Liam did not care what his father said; he knew the man wouldn't kick him out. He is not coming back to this place; he doesn't need help.

******

Liam hasn't gone back in two days; instead, he worked in a place where his father could not find him for a while. He got a new phone but kept his same number, so he could still end his father's calls.

And speaking of the man, he was calling again. Liam quickly ended the call before going back to his paperwork. A few minutes into his report, there was a knock at the door. Liam looked at the door, not knowing who was there because no one knew of this spot.

He grabbed the bat he kept under the couch and made his way to the door. When he opened it, he swung without question. On the other side was his father, and lucky enough, since Liam had a terrible swing, the father could dodge it.

"Liam!" His father yelled, causing him to drop his bat.

"How are you here? How did you find this place?"

"You have a second to get out here, and let me drive you to the counselor, or I fire you right here, right now." The father spoke, not caring that his son almost hit him with a bat.

Liam scoffed, crossing his arms, "You won't, and I am not a child; you cannot tell me what to do."

His father took out his phone and made a call, "Tell Ron that he has the job; my son decided to step down. Thank you." He ended the call when he finished.

Liam was shocked that his father could do this to him, so he did the only thing he could think of, he punched his father hard. His father fell to the ground without a sound as he held his busted lip. A bruise was already forming on his face.

Liam was not sorry that he did it, but his stomach dropped when he saw the look his father was giving him.

"You are not my son; I disown you." His father spoke in a cold tone as he picked himself up, dusting off his suit jacket.

He turned, walking off, but before he was gone, his father left with one last message, Because I love you, I will give you one last chance. Go to the counselor for a few months, and I will not only give you your job back, but you will be my son again." Then he left.

Liam watched him leave, gripping the door before walking back in to grab his jacket to go outside. He kicked his bat back inside before closing the door behind him.

His mind was in a constant state of anger as he made his way to the building he said he was never coming back to. Once he reached the place, he walked in and made his way to the front desk.

"I am here to see Dr. Speck." He spoke through gritted teeth.

"Na-" The person was getting ready to say until they saw who it was. "You do not have an appointment."

"Then make me one." Liam rudely responded.

"This is not a walk-in place; you have to make an appointment and come back when she is available."

Liam growled before slamming his hand on the table, "I am pretty sure she is not that busy. Make me an appointment and tell her I need to see her immediately."

"Sir, I will call the cops."

Liam glared at the person, feeling like he wanted to strangle them. Who did they think they are? Does this person not know who he is? He could shut down this place if he wanted to. "Listen here, you little du-"

"I can take him in." A voice interrupted Liam's rant that he was getting ready to start.

Liam and the person at the desk turned towards the voice, seeing it was Dr. Speck who spoke. She was standing by her door, watching them.

"That is more like it," Liam commented as he gave the person one last glare before walking towards the woman. She moved out of the way so Liam can walk into the room.

Dr. Speck closed the door behind her and took her seat; Liam sat in the same spot he did two days ago. They did not say anything for a few minutes as the woman stared at him while Liam had his arms crossed; he already looked like he regretted coming here.

"How did it feel when you hit your father?" Dr. Speck broke the silence.

Liam straightened his posture, his face turning red as he was reaching a boiling point, "How do you know that! Did my father call you?"

Dr. Speck calmly crossed her legs while gazing at Liam, "I want to help you, but for me to do that, I need you to work with me."

"Help," he scoffed, "I do not need help. I am perfectly fine."

Clicking her pen as she started writing notes on her clipboard, Dr. Speck repeated, "How did it feel when you hit your father?"

Liam sunk his nails into his arm before answering, "I didn't mean to hit him; he put this on himself by firing me. I am the reason the company is at the top, and he thinks he has the right to fire me because I do not want to go here.

I am a grown man, and he acts like I am some child that needs him to baby me."

Dr. Speck hummed, "How would you describe your relationship with your father since you were young?"

"What the hell is this? What does my father have to do with anything? Forget this; I already feel stupid for answering you. I am leaving." Liam stood up, getting ready to walk away as he gripped the doorknob, but Dr. Speck's words caused him to stop.

"If you walk out again, this is the last time we will see each other."

His grip on the doorknob tightened, almost turning his knuckles white as he gritted his teeth. After a few seconds, he let go and walked back to his seat. "Fine, I will try to cooperate with you."

Liam told himself he was doing it to get his job back, but deep down, he started to think about how he and his father's relationship has been a terrible one ever since Liam was young, making him into the person he is today.

For almost three months, he has been going to the counselor. But when the last week of the third month came, Liam couldn't take it anymore.

He didn't want to admit it was helping; he hated having others help him. Used to doing things alone, Liam couldn't handle going back to that woman.

So, when he went to his appointment, he was ready to tell her he was done.

Once he walked into Dr. Speck's room, he was getting ready to tell her his decision but stopped short when he saw the bruises on her face and neck.

"Ah, Mr. McHumming, I forgot to say that today was not a good day to meet." She spoke once she saw him walk into the room.

Everything in Liam seemed to calm down as he looked away from her, 'Who did this?' He couldn't help thinking. It is not like he cared about the woman, but anyone would wonder when they see someone with bruises on them.

He cleared his throat, "I was coming to tell you that I don't need counseling anymore."

Dr. Speck ran her hands through her hair but stopped when she noticed that they were shaking. "That is fine. I hope that I helped in some way; goodbye, Mr. McHumming."

Liam did not know what to say as he felt choked up; he thought she would make him stay, but she was easily letting him go. Liam's instincts said he shouldn't leave as he looked at her, but then, none of this was his business.

He walked out without turning back, not realizing that he was the last person (besides the workers) to see her before she went missing.

******

Back to the present

The door to the room was opened as the ground swallowed the dead body, moving it somewhere else. The Watcher put the body into the next area that the people would go to for round two.

They watched the people, who were still unconscious, taking in Liam's memories with Ana that he implanted in them. Once the memories are over, the people will wake up and see that the Watcher opened the door.

They smirked because they couldn't wait to see what the people's reaction would be when they noticed the open door, only to realize there is no way out. After all, it would only lead to another room.

The Watcher chuckled to themselves as they tap their fingers on their face; they couldn't wait.