Psychopathic Tendencies

"This is Doctor Charlie-Lynn Watson with patient Andrew Biersack. May 3rd, 2020, current time is 3.15"
I placed my recorder on the floor next to the glass and turned to him.
"How are you feeling today, Andy?" I asked.
He was sitting on the wooden chair from his desk. He had placed it in front of the glass, facing me.
"Well, I'm feeling just swell now that you're here" he smiled.
I took out my notepad and looked for my pen. Searching through my bag, it was nowhere to be seen. Andy watched me intently.
"You're not used to this are you?" he asked.
I looked up from my bag to his blue eyes.
"And why do you think that?"
"Usually, an experienced psychologist brings their own pen" he winked.
He stood up from the chair and made his way to the writing desk in the left hand corner of his cell. He picked up a pencil and strolled back to the glass. Beside where my chair was, just above the drawer they used to deliver his meals was a quarter-sized hole, to let air in I assumed. He pushed the pencil halfway the hole. He raised his eyebrows and glanced at the pencil. I stood up from my chair. I reached out for the pencil and held it between my thumb and index finger. Suddenly, he jerked on the pencil, making me slam up against the glass. Our faces were inches from each other, separated only by the thick cell glass. His eyes examined mine. He licked his lips and smiled.
"Mr. Biersack-" I said.
"Andy."
"Andy, I'd like you to release the pencil now"
He chuckled, then released it before returning to his chair. Composing myself, I sat down and wrote the date on my notebook along with his name.
"Do you get lonely in here?" I asked.
He sat forward in the chair, an air of seriousness fell between us.
"Of course I get lonely" he admitted.
"The only human interaction I have is the three times a day my meals are delivered" he nodded towards the drawer between the glass. I made short notes in my notebook; Little to no human interaction..
He continued to speak without me having to prompt him; "Do you know what it's like to stare at a wall all day? With a thousand thoughts swirling through your head and no one to tell them to? They say I'm in here because I'm crazy, but it's this place that's making me crazy"
I could see he was starting to get agitated. His was shaking his knee up and down, with his fist clenched and eyes staring down at the floor.
"You can talk to me" I said.
He looked up from the floor and smiled.
"You know what it's like to be lonely" he said. "I can see it in your eyes" he continued.
I broke eye contact with him and looked back down at my notebook.
"What makes you think that?" I asked, keeping my eyes firmly on my notebook.
He stood up and moved close to the glass.
"I know what lonely looks like, Charlie-Lynn. Lonely sits in a room full of people and feels empty. Lonely lies awake at night in terror, imagining a life where people actually care about them. Lonely cries herself to sleep, wishing she had someone to connect with"
I could feel tears well up in my eyes and a hard lump formed in my throat. I tried as hard as I could not to let his words affect me. He crouched down in front of the glass and placed his hand on it. I found myself placing my hand on the glass, over his.
"We're the same people, Charlie-Lynn" he said, his blue eyes stared into mine, full of sympathy.
I looked at our hands, separated by 5 inches of glass, so close but so far away. I would never feel the warmth of that hand. I swallowed the lump in my throat and wiped away my tears.
Standing up, I collected my belongings. Without saying another word, I made my way down the corridor, confused and upset.
"We could cure each others loneliness" I heard him say just as I reached the door.
"I'm your psychologist, Mr. Biersack. Nothing more"
I opened the door and exited, shaking.
I looked down at my hand to find I was still holding the pencil he gave me. I placed it in my purse and left Athens Asylum.

Notes