Free The Secrets You Hide: A Mind-Blowing Thriller (The Psychosis Series) by Alex Crimson Page B

with discomfort. I did not want to read further. I did not want to remember the details of what had happened.
    “Do not stop, doctor” Jack ordered.
    “One morning, a few days before the bank’s scheduled auction of our property, my father walked into the living room where I and my elder brother Zach were watching something on the television.
    “We were lying down on the floor while our father stood at the door looking at us nervously. He stepped into the room and stood behind us. He called out for our mother who was in the kitchen and waited there for her to arrive. When she finally came into the room a few minutes later, she noticed the handgun he was holding. Without a warning, he shot her dead with two blasts of his gun. Both Zach and I stood up and looked at him. Zach rushed to our mother’s body, crying. My father followed him, shooting him in the head with a single shot. I…I was paralyzed at the sight of everything that had happened. I just stood there…watching.
    “My father fell on his knees before me. He pulled me closer and hugged me. He told me that everything would be okay. His cheek was pressed against mine. Then, moments later, he shot himself dead, leaving me alive…and alone.”
    I loosened my grip on the pages and they swirled down clumsily onto the floor. I addressed Annie directly, deviating from the script, improvising. “I am sorry, baby. I am sorry for not telling you before. I have always been afraid that I would end up like him. I have always been afraid that I would hurt you and Sarah just like him…I am afraid of becoming just like my father.”
    There was an extended silence.
    “You’ve finally lost your mask, doctor. I hope you can feel that heavy burden lifted off your shoulders. I can tell you that Annie here is crying tears of pain and shock for you. I believe she forgives you.”
    “Why are you doing this, Jack?”
    “Simple reason. I am doing this to tell a story to the world. I want to shake it out of its pathetic state of hypnosis and self-obsession. I want to take the drapes off the mirror and make the world stare into its own frightening face. You, doctor, represent the world in this story. You are the medium through which I want this world to see itself.”
    “Jack, I understand. Let’s talk about this. You don’t have to hurt Annie and Sarah to do that. You don’t have to hurt yourself to do that.”
    “And what makes you think I am hurting anyone?”
    “Jack…you probably haven’t slept in days…you have been watching me all this while. You have been skipping food to serve your obsession. You are threatening the lives of my family. You need to see this for what it is, Jack. You need to see that you are obsessed with the idea of doing this.
    “You are not a criminal, Jack. You are not what you are pretending to be. Remember your wife. Remember Catherine. You need to stop before things go out of control, Jack.”
    “Stop,” he said. “Stop trying to plot your way out of this, doctor. You have only one choice and that is to do as I say. This story is not going to stop before it has reached its conclusion. Now…you better get on with your next task, doctor. There is not much time. You need to write about this conversation we have just had in your journal, doctor…the second part of your journal for today. You have twenty minutes left.”

10: Robert’s Recollection – Of Day 10
     
    Talking directly to him wasn’t working. The grip that his obsessions had on him was much stronger than I had presumed. All I could do was to keep trying.
    If I had time on my hands, I could have tried to understand the origins of his behavior more closely. I could have dug into his history like an archeologist looking for clues–finding facts where possible, making theories where necessary. I could have deconstructed his mind before trying to fix it. But time was a costly and unpredictable resource. The clock was ticking and I had no idea what it was ticking towards.
    It took