Role of the Victim Ch. 01

Steven thought for a moment.

"Maybe if they were dying of hunger they'd eat sushi?" he offered.

Claire chuckled.

"So you don't think there would be any problems if I made their mind constantly think they were dying of hunger? No other side effects?" Claire watched as Steven's eyes widened in understanding, and she nodded. "Besides, that would just make them accept eating sushi. In this hypothetical, they want to love eating sushi."

Steven's brows furrowed. He could see how this was much more complicated than he had first imagined.

"But then... what if there is no path?" he asked. What are the circumstances where someone who hates sushi would love it? What if there were no circumstances where his mind wouldn't consume itself with anxiety?

"There's always a path," Claire said. "This is why the first step is to learn why the mind thinks what it does. So you know where to come at it from. The safety and fear related things, like anxiety, are always some of the most difficult to figure out, but it can be done. It just may take a while."

"I don't have the money..." Steven muttered, realizing how many sessions solving his problems might take. "Not for that."

"For situations like yours, once we start we must finish. Because of that, I usually do a flat rate up front. You pay it all at once before we start, and I give you as many sessions as it takes."

"How much?"

"$5,000."

Steven reeled back as if he'd been struck.

"I have to come up with $5,000 before you'll even start!?" Steven may not be able to feel his anxiety at the moment, but he certainly felt anger and frustration.

"The types of deep trance sessions necessary to adjust this part of your mind are priced at $500 per session," Claire reasoned. "The flat rate is for 10 sessions. Your request is most likely to take somewhere between 20 and 30 sessions, so you're receiving a pretty steep discount, actually."

Steven thought through all his options. If the sessions were only once per week, like he'd originally been thinking, it would take half a year to complete. Coming up with $5,000 was going to be a problem though. He couldn't think of any way to do that without selling his car, which had been his graduation present only 6 months earlier. Selling the car would be difficult to explain to his family or friends without telling them why he needed the money. But... not impossible either. Was it worth it?

To permanently fix the thing that's been holding you back your whole life? Steven thought. Of course it's worth it.

"Once we start," Steven said slowly, still thinking through his options, "can we do daily sessions? So that we have a chance to finish within one month instead of six?"

"That would actually be my recommendation," Claire agreed. "I can give you a... 'patch job' that will last you a week, but it's more difficult, and less reliable."

Steven was silent as he once again tried to plan out all the logistics. He also hadn't considered who he would ask to be an observer yet. Or even if he would want one. It seemed almost reckless or insane to do this without an observer that he trusted, but if he understood what Claire had explained so far, whoever was observing would learn about parts of his psyche that even he probably didn't know. He couldn't think of anyone that he trusted that much. Perhaps his parents or his brother. Could he actually convince his brother to do that? He wasn't sure that he could handle the embarrassment of his parents listening to his hypnosis sessions, even with 'the waves' he currently had with him.

It'll have to be Tobias then, Steven decided, thinking about how he would convince his brother to help. At least his brother would definitely understand why he wanted to do something this drastic.

"I'll have the money by Monday," Steven finally spoke. "And I'll try to bring my older brother as my observer."

"That sounds good," Claire agreed with a nod. "So you want to start next week then? Assuming you still want to follow through with this tomorrow when your current hypnosis fades?"

"Yes."

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Stacy tapped her feet impatiently as the barrista completed her coffee. Why was everyone always so incompetent?

"I don't have all day!" she called out, drawing the gaze of the young woman that was making her drink. The woman glanced down at the machine which was filling the espresso shots at the speed it always did, the only speed it could, then back up at Stacy, wondering what she was supposed to do faster. "Just, hurry it up!" Stacy pressed.

"It's not a big deal," Stacy's friend, Marcy, said softly standing next to her. "We have plenty of time to get to class."

Marcy was worried. Stacy had always been... a difficult friend. She had a short temper and hated interacting with strangers in a way that was honestly difficult to understand, but when she was just around her friends she always acted so sweet and compassionate. Since starting college though, Stacy had seemed to get worse. It was honestly starting to become hard to be around her some days, and that left Marcy unsure about what to do.

"If they did their job instead of checking their phones, it wouldn't be an issue!" Stacy insisted. She wasn't exactly shouting, but her words were definitely drawing the attention of the other customers waiting inside the cafe.

"Stacy!" Marcy said in a harsh whisper. But the conversation was cut short as the stressed looking barrista set Stacy's drink on the counter.

"Thanks," Stacy said in a tone dripping in sarcasm. Marcy glanced at the woman behind the counter and mouthed 'sorry' as she turned to follow her friend back out onto the street. She had to run to catch up as Stacy was walking very quickly down the sidewalk towards campus. Just as she caught up to her friend, Stacy bumped into someone walking down the street, dropping the drink.

Marcy's eyes widened as she knew what was coming, considering the mood Stacy was clearly in. She quickly glanced at who Stacy had bumped into and was shocked to realize that it was one of the people that had gone to their high school. What was his name? Sam? Seth?

"Steven!" Stacy shouted. "You useless fucking twerp! Look what you did!"

Steven, that was right. He seemed to almost get panic attacks back in high school when things got confrontational, but he seemed oddly calm and collected now.

"You walked into me," Steven said evenly. "I'm sorry about your drink though."

Steven looked down at the spilled coffee, seemingly considering what to do.

"You're blaming ME!?" Stacy shouted. Marcy's eyes widened as she watched, almost in slow motion, Stacy's hand come up and slap Steven across the face. This seemed to finally break through whatever zen Steven had been able to maintain, and Marcy finally saw some of the panic in his eyes. She dived forward and pulled Stacy away from him.

"Sorry," Marcy said to Steven, apologizing for her friend once again. "She's... having a bad day."

"Get your hands off me Marcy!"

Steven looked up at them, seemingly torn about whether to run or say something.

"Fuck you, Stacy," Steven said in a somewhat shaky voice. "You were always a bitch."

Not even waiting for a reply, Steven turned and continued on his way, walking rapidly. Marcy had to restrain Stacy from following him.

"Let me go!" Stacy shouted. "I'll show him 'bitch'!"

"Stacy," Marcy snapped. "Remember what your therapist said. Breaths. Focus on your breaths."

Stacy continued struggling for a few seconds, but seemed to calm down after a few seconds, taking deep, purposeful breaths. Marcy kept holding her tightly until she felt Stacy begin to shake slightly in her arms. When she pulled back, she saw several tears rolling down Stacy's cheeks.