"SO YOU'RE HELENE AMSEL."

The director smiled widely as he sat down in his chair, spreading his arms as he welcomed her. Helene glanced around only for a second at the grey walls and empty room, before looking back at her new employer. When he had called her, his voice had sounded urgent, but now she heard him speaking again it sounded like that was simply his way of speaking. His eyes kept darting to the door even though he laced his smile with confidence, as if that would be enough to hide how nervous he was. Not of her, that she could tell, but considering that they were in the highest security prison of the country, it was not that strange that he seemed to be anxious all the time.

"It's a pleasure," Helene said.

"No, the pleasure's all mine," the man replied," to have an internationally renowned psychiatrist in front of me - I must say, I didn't think you'd say yes to coming here. Don't you get a lot of job opportunities?"

Despite years of hearing the compliments, she still didn't quite know how to respond to them. She'd excelled at any subject she tried her hand on her whole life, but medicine had been the most fun. All her days in college had been spent hidden in the libraries, until she had memorized every single thing she could. Not that there were many other ways to spend her college years when she was thirteen when she began and eighteen when she finished. The job offers streamed in, one after the other, and she started working, even though her patients often looked at her like she was still a child. It always was a strange feeling, considering she never had been allowed to be one.

"I needed a change of pace," she said, absentmindedly glancing at the bars on the sole window in the room. When she looked back at him, he was fidgeting with his fingers again. "Besides, it sounded like you really needed to find someone quickly."

"I did," he said," I'm glad you accepted. Being director here is hard enough, but honestly, I've been at my wit's end these days. I'm sure you've heard of our current prisoner, so you can imagine the pressure I'm under."

"Nathan Parker," she mused.

"The devil himself," the director shivered.

And the reason she was here.

These days she only felt numb as she went to work and arrived home to work. It was tiring, the fatigue of it all seeping into her bones, rattling with every step she took like she was a wooden doll dancing around on a stage. She was performing even while breathing, so busy holding the weight of the world on her that sometimes it was difficult to even hold her shoulders high anymore. But she did. She always did. In the end, who was she when she was not perfect?

When the director of Brooksville Penitentiary called her, she knew logically there weren't many reasons to say yes. Her current job paid more, there were TV programs asking her to come and perform her so-called magic, she was getting more well-known by the day. No sane person would exchange that for a job where she was in danger every day, one which would make her disappear from the public eye. Perhaps that's exactly why she said yes.

They needed her to come in immediately, the director had said, and when she turned on the TV she could see why. Nathan Parker's face was everywhere, the same clip of him being dragged into a police car playing over and over. His list of crimes was longer than she'd ever heard, but the thing that truly stuck in her head was his expression. The way he smiled ever so lazily, like a bored lion stretching out in the hot sun, no care in the world about the people cursing him out and the multiple life sentences he was going to serve. For the first time in a while, she didn't feel that numb anymore. A curiosity she thought she had long forgotten had piqued, and now, here she was.

"Well, let's go," the director said, already on his feet and out of the door," our last six psychiatrist were out of here within a day, so I hope you can last longer. The authorities are highly invested in this case, so they were very dissatisfied with the lack of medical reports here the last couple of days. I'm glad you're here now, so you can start as soon as possible."

They stopped in front of a door then, similar to the many others they had passed in their walk through these narrow, gray hallways. Honestly, even without the many guards that were stationed practically everywhere, Helene couldn't imagine anyone running away anyway in this maze-like structure, where everything looked exactly the same. She hadn't seen one window yet, this all a vast difference to the luxurious mansions of her past clients.

"So, good luck," the director said, patting her on the back as he turned to leave.

"I'm supposed to see him right now?" she blinked," this was quite the short tour of the building."

"There's no tour necessary, I assure you," the director said," you can't walk alone here, after all, so you'll always have someone to guide you."

"And who would that be?" she asked.

"Me."

The director stiffened at the source of the voice, Helene following his gaze towards the end of the hallway. Where all the guards were wearing navy uniforms, he was dressed in a white button-up and black trousers, caramel hair combed back and hazel eyes cold. One hand was in his pocket, the other carelessly holding a thick binder, jaw clenched in mild annoyance at something. As he neared, Helene couldn't help but notice the overflowing confidence, but it didn't seem to be just from his appearance, even though he was handsome. Did he come from money?

"He's the son of a high ranking FBI agent," the director whispered in her ear," apparently he messed up real big and now he was sent here to help."

"You know I can hear you, right?" the guy frowned, causing the director to flinch," everything echoes here so fucking loudly." He stopped in front of Helene, glancing down at her. "Anyway, what he means is that I was sent here to waste my time guarding psychiatrists who all leave within a day. You're the newest, I see."

"Helene," she smiled," nice to meet you."

"I don't care for your name," he shrugged, pressing the binder in her hands," it's not like you're going to stay long."

He passed through the door without looking back, another hallway leading to a door with multiple locks on it. Helene wasn't that bothered by it, instead glancing at the binder filled with info about her current patient, before looking back at the director, who was still standing there despite his earlier rush.

"Sorry about him," he said awkwardly," he's quite angry at being sent here."

"I noticed," Helene replied.

"I hope you and Dante do get along though," the director continued," I trust you'll be staying here for quite a while after all."

Helene simply smiled at him, the director immediately heading off as she walked through the second door, Dante having left it open. She entered a wide interrogation room, the table in the center and the chairs the only pieces of furniture there. Despite the summer heat, there was a certain chill in the air here, one which almost made her shiver. But she didn't, because there was no place for any movement which would give away even the slightest bit of information about her. Instead she took a seat at the table, noting the four other guards in the room, Dante ignoring them all as he leaned against the wall with his arms crossed, clearly bored.

Then she locked eyes with Nathan Parker.

He was beautiful. Considering his crimes, it was strange to even think so, but there was something mesmerizing about him, which made it hard to look away. It was like she was watching a forest fire ablaze, staring as the flames consumed air and breathed out ash, knowing that she would die if she stayed too long but still unable to move. People always were both petrified and fascinated by death and Nathan Parker was shrouded in it, his jet black eyes reminding her of an abandoned graveyard at dusk, like the only company he kept was those of ghosts. His dark hair was messy and insomnia gave a blue tint to the shadows underneath his eyes, though he didn't look tired at all. Even now, he was smiling.

"A new one?" he said, the chains around his wrists and ankles clanking against each other as he leaned forward," that took long. I was getting bored, you know."

Helene placed the binder she had been holding down, mirroring Nathan's position as she held his gaze.

"I'm doctor Amsel," she said," your new psychiatrist. Nice to meet you, mister Parker."

"You almost sound like you mean it," he said amusedly, before adding," how's the binder? Did they add something new about my gruesome mind yet?"

"I wouldn't know," Helene replied," I wanted to speak to you first before I opened it."

Nathan's smile widened as he suddenly reached out towards her, his hand nearing her neck at once, before abruptly being stopped in place due to his chains. He didn't seem too disappointed, but Helene didn't think that he was foolish enough to have believed they would put her close enough for him to touch. All the guards in the room had jumped up, but she gestured for them to stand down, smiling as she looked back at him. He knew how far his restraints would go and he knew that there would be no use in choking her if he wanted to stay entertained, so this had simply been a test to see her reaction, to watch if she would flinch. She hadn't.

"You are so fragile," he said," how much pressure do you think I'll have to put on that lovely neck of yours before you pass out?"

"Depends on where you press down," she said, grazing her fingers along the soft pulsing of her carotid arteries," but I think you and I both know that, don't we?"

He stared at her, hand still frozen in the air as it reached out to her, before throwing his head back in laughter. As if he hadn't just threatened her, he pulled his arm back, running both his hands through his hair to push it back from his face. In the fluorescent lights of the prison, there was almost a crimson sheen to his eyes.

"I like you," he grinned.

It seems she had passed.

For now.

hi lovelies!! hopefully you enjoyed this first chapter! the second one is already up on Inkitt (i've attached the link below in case it's easier), anyway, have a nice day💗
https://inkitt.app.link/vividlycrimson18_TH_Affiliate