“I can hear you breathing.” I sang, tauntingly as I entered that cold, dry, box of a room.

I twisted the knob, guiding the door gently to a silent close. Then one by one, I turned, pushed, and chained each lock. This was my place. My safe haven. My…bubble.

“You don’t have to do this.” She pleaded, watching me twirl the tip of my blade against the wooden table.

I nearly chuckled at such a cliché line, circling around the room, openly stalking my prey. Of course I didn’t have to. I wanted to.

I stopped in front of her. This terrified woman tied to metal chair that I’d bolted into the floor, pleading for her life through endless tears.

“Why not?” I asked, following with, “No. you know what? Let’s play a game. I’ll give you five minutes.”

“…F-For what?” She wondered, with a growing lump in her throat. She tried so hard to be strong, and I thought that was so adorable.

Holding up my stopwatch, and seating myself on the floor, I continued, “Convince me. Why should I let you leave this place alive? Make every second count.”

As soon as I started the timer, and rested the watch down beside me, she began.

“We’ve known each other since we were kids. You were always so shy, and you had one of the kindest hearts I’d ever known. You were selfless, and generous. This….this isn’t you. I know how hard it’s been. Your family was toxic, and they walked all over you. For some odd reason, you could never form a bond strong enough to keep around the people you called your friends. You don’t trust anyone. I know- …I know how you feel. You want to find your place in the world. There’s still time. You have so much time to do great things. You’ve been sad, and lonely, and all you’ve ever wanted was to be heard. To be seen. To be respected and taken seriously. It’s not your fault. You were never the problem.”

She was getting through to me, and she knew it. I could see the light, the hope, growing in her eyes.

“You are not your father.” She continued. “You don’t have a heart so dark you’d abandoned the people who need you most. Stepping in and out of their lives to make yourself seem like you care. You are not your mother, who had children before you, but chose to lean on you. You don’t take advantage of people’s kindness, or pull them back into the dark places they’re trying to leave behind. You are, and have always been so much stronger than you believed. You want to get better. You want to be better. I will help you. Finding your way in life…it’s tough. Especially when your family has made you feel like a robot, waiting for its next command. You are broken, but you don’t have to stay that way. What’s this about? Power? You want to feel in control? There are better ways to have those things, and I will help you. What will killing me do? What will killing anyone do for you? Let me in. I will teach you everything they failed to. I will guide you, and make sure you live a long and happy life. You are not alone. Okay? I’m here and I always will be.”

My eyes remained glued to hers as I raised and stopped the timer. My eyes shifted toward those frozen numbers, then back to her. They stung, and blurred, and drained salty streams down my cheeks. I thought she would’ve talked about herself, but instead she talked about me. She wanted to help me. Her head raised as I stood, never taking her weeping eyes off me. I’d caught a hint of her smile. She knew she’d gotten through. There was a heavy weight on my chest that I hadn’t felt in years.

Forcing my feet, I approached her, one step at a time. I could feel the warmth from my own smile. My heart was beginning to melt. Her smile soon faded, and while she was confused, she seemed so hopeful when I showed her the time.

…She was three seconds over the limit, and my heart hadn’t melted enough.