Thread: Broken Dreams {Father Figure & AnnaBeth Belle}

He was not necessarily keeping quiet for the reason she assumed, it was not some psychological technique like he was attempting to dissect her, but it was a technique that would allow him to get to the bottom of everything. Nature abhorred a vacuum. If he remained silent then she would fill it, and fill it she did with her words, with her thoughts, as if writing them out for him to see. There was no judgment necessarily in his face, nothing but that calm resoluteness that she had detected in his eyes, and it was that calm which was the part that she had never experienced yet, someone so certain of the fact that they were right in their approach that there was no room to maneuver around them. It was why he was not liked by other medical professionals, why he was not appreciated by his friends for his directness, and yet countless time and time again he was proven to be fundamentally correct in his perceptions of the world. Yet this was not about him, for now this was about her. Her. As she spoke he could not help but appreciate who she was, the way she moved, even if it was a bit frantic and uncertain. It was like seeing a vulnerable animal, prey, just waiting to be pounced upon and every moment that she moved merely emphasized that fact. Her uneasiness, her uncertainty in her own skin, and the quick changes of emotion and position. It was all designed to express the one inherent underlying fact that she had not even bothered to mention...that she felt an emptiness in her life, that she felt a loneliness, and that she hid it behind her work. Her work allowed her to ignore that truth, that fundamental underpinning that she could not face, and that was as an outcast she felt no connection to anyone....and if she was forced to face it she was not sure she could continue to survive. So she mired herself in the idea that somehow she was better than others, that somehow she was needed, and ignored her own pain. Once she was done he gave a small smile at her final words as if she was being humorous, even though he knew she wasn't. He lightly bobbed his foot up and down, having long ago crossed his legs before he made a small motion of one hand. Sit down and turn your phone off. In this office you'll show me the measure of respect I deserve. He didn't follow it up with anything, there was no threat involved. Oh, threat existed to be sure, after all she had been sent here by her work and needed his approval in order to return to it. He could have held that back from her, told her if she didn't behave that he'd have to punish her, but he didn't bother saying that at all. He merely demanded respect from her and there was little doubt that if he did not receive it that he would not put up with her attitude in the slightest. He did not wait for her to reply, instead he merely spoke further, following up his statement with some inherently brutal truth. Things aren't going the way you want them too, Noel. No matter what you think, no matter how hard you imagine you've got it all under control. They are spiraling out of control and this is just the first step to the plummet. So, you can decide here and now...right now, if you want to pull back up from the freefall you're in. You see for me it doesn't matter, I can wait until you crash and burn if you want me to do so. Or...I can do the job you need and guide you back on course. Your choice, but you need to make it today. I don't have time to waste on people determined to destroy themselves.