I haven’t slept at all because of this dumbass. Its currently 2 am in the night and right now I’m busy putting on a damn black gown. Its his mom’s death anniversary after all and if im going, better leave a lasting impression. I still don’t understand half of the story. Why is he so afraid of seeing his dad? Riven was never a coward. But today I feel something different, he’s…he’s nervous and anxious, things I have rarely seen him being. He’s sitting on my bed waiting for me and even he is dressed formally in a black suite with a black flower on the coat pocket. Off topic but he does look good. I mean he is the most attractive out of all the patients but today he looks…just damn. I should have had said no but…but I didn’t. Not because of his threat, but because I saw something I have never seen in his eyes, vulnerability. He never asks for help from anyone. Its almost like he hates being dependent on someone and honestly, I get it.

  I put up my hair in a low ponytail and turn to him.

  He stands up, his eyes raking over me. "Damn, looks like black is your colour, huh? You know you should wear a black coat instead of a white one here."

  I roll my eyes at the bullshit coming out of his mouth. "I'm a doctor. Not a fucking lawyer."

  He chuckles, running a hand through his hair. "Feisty as always. Thank you for reminding me you're a shrink. Now, come on," he says, reaching for the doorknob.

  I pull him back. "What the hell are you doing, huh?" I inquire.

  "Uhhmm... going out?"

  "No shit Sherlock, but you're forgetting there are cameras out there."

  He flashes me a sheepish smile. "Okay, chill, Inez. I forgot. So, what's the plan?"

  With an exasperated sigh, I reply, "There's an operable window in my washroom. We go out from there."

  I drape a bag over my shoulder, gesturing him to follow me. Entering the washroom, I look up to the window. "Open it," I tell him.

  "Open it yourself." He shrugs.

  "Riven, open it or else I'm slapping you."

  "I bet your hand can't even reach my face," he teases.

  Considering the fact that he's pissing me off more by each second, I might actually slap him. I throw a punch at him but instead, I stop short, slapping my fist right in front of his devastatingly perfect face.

  "Opening it or not?"

  "Relax, no need to get all violent," he says slowly pushing away my fist until I drop it to my side. Then, he pushes open the window. It creaks, true to years of unuse, but opens up enough for us to climb out.

  "See, I opened it without you needing to slap me. Violence is never the answer," he says playfully.

  "Yeah, because it's the question and the answer is a fucking yes."

  "But you wouldn't actually punch me, would you?"

  "Why wouldn't I?"

  He gives me a cocky, smirky one that I'm finding increasingly attractive and says, "Because you wouldn't want to ruin this pretty face of mine."

  Before I could reply, I feel strong arms grip my waist, lifting me clean off the ground and hauling me up in the air.

  "What are you waiting for, Inez?" I hear him say. I can literally feel him smiling behind me as he's catching me off guard and lifting me like that.

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  Gripping the edge of the window I pull myself up, climbing out successfully. I jump and land with a pained grunt. I think I just felt my ankle go crack, and then back into place. And fuck, it hurts.

  He climbs out of the window with ease. Seeing me sprawled on the ground, clutching my ankle, he leans down to my level. "What happened?"

  "My ass happened. Are you blind?"

  He playfully rolls his eyes, running his hand over my ankle which is already kind of swelling up. Inspecting it, he asks. "How are you going to walk with this?"

  "Oh I can walk just fine, don't you worry"

  Actually, my ankle does hurt quite a bit...fuck, more than quite a bit but my pride would never allow me to admit it out loud. Stifling another pained grunt, I get up walking around with a noticeable limp, but I say nevertheless "see, I can walk around just fine."

  He scoffs. "No, you cannot."

  "Even if I can't I wont having you pick me up and walk around because I know that's exactly what you're thinking."

  With a knowing smile he replies "clever shrink"

  "dumbass."

  He takes a few steps closer to me, bending a bit so that I can lean on him for support. But I don't...

  "Gosh Inez for once just stop being so damn stubborn and accept help when u really fucking need it" I hear a frustrated voice say.

  "Just like you did?"

  His movements still behind me. After a pause he replies "yes, just like I did."

  Perfect. That was exactly what I wanted to hear. Don't ask me why I do this to him. It's just fun...in a twisted sort of way—seeing him admit his vulnerability gives a boost to my ego.

  Finally, I give in and lean onto his side for support. I feel an arm hook around my back as he helps me walk. "Perfect that wasn't so hard now, was it?". "Shut up" I say but there's no real malice behind my voice. God, I think I'm enjoying this banter of ours way too much.

  "We don't need to walk much. We just need to cross the road, and a taxi will be there waiting for us."

  "You called a taxi?"

  He flashes me a smile. "Yes, I did, and I even booked us a hotel for the night. Where else would we be staying?"

  Won't lie, I'm actually fucking impressed. "The hotel better have two rooms Riven or else I'm kicking you out." He leads me to the taxi waiting just a few steps ahead of us. "Don't worry about that. I made sure to book the one with two room because I knew you were going to say this. Next, he helps me carefully sit down in the backseat of the taxi, making sure my ankle is safe, which is very not-Riven-like...but I like it—why do I like it?

  He takes his place beside me and tells the taxi driver the location of the hotel. Just to playfully jab at him I say, "This better not be a plan to kidnap and then kill me."

  "And what if it was?"

  "You're forgetting I'm a damn psychiatrist. If it was, then I would have had already knew and would've never come with you"

  "Even if I kill five of your colleagues?"

  I give him one of those manic grins of mine, which always seem to scare him, or at least catch him when he least expects it. "You won't be able to, if I kill you first."