Page 54 of Bleed Me

She looked sad as she nodded. “Yeah. He said that’s how you feel.” After a moment of silence, she added, “He’s technically not psychotic, though. He’s very aware of who he is, and of his limitations.” She gazed off in thought. “I can’t imagine being in a body that isn’t mine most of the time.”

“Stop feeling sorry for him!”

She actually sat there and pondered for a minute. “It’s not pity that I have for him. It’s more like regret. I wish he never had to be, even though I really like him.” As my nostrils flared, she giggled, “You two are truly a lot alike.”

“Not making me feel better, babe.”

“Well, it’s like this. He truly wants to protect you—”

“I don’t need him.”

“You’re correct. You’re more capable of taking care of yourself now than ever. That’s gotta be hard on Dick. He was there when you had no one. Now, he has no place in your life.”

That was a perspective I had never considered before.

“Yeah,” she nodded. “Sad, right? On top of all that, deep down, I think he’s actually happy for you.”

“Shit.”

“Yeah, your recollection of memories—”

“What do you know about those?”

“Not too much. As I said, he protects you. Dick says that you’re embarrassed about what’s happened to you. That you wouldn’t want me to know the details.”

This fucker was starting to not sound like the horror version of me I had made him out to be, but I still wanted to be normal—free of any other ‘MEs’. “I wish I knew how to make him go away.”

“I can understand that. Articles I’ve read say there is no cure, but I have a feeling your lifestyle is the closest to a cure you could get.”

“Huh?”

“You live under constant protection. The deadly kind. I mean, think about it. We sleep like vampires, underground, so that no one can get to us without sufficient warning so we can be prepared and protect ourselves. For someone who is afraid of the night, it’s a fantastic scenario.”

This was true. There were a very select few that would dare enter our quarters, especially uninvited. But… “I know I will eventually be part of other activities for the club. I can hardly consider that a safe and nurturing lifestyle for a cure.”

“Compared to what you came from? From all I’ve witnessed with you, I have a feeling our lifestyle is a safe walk in the park for you. In fact, it’s orderly. Controlled environment. A safe brotherhood. Something you have possibly never known.”

Mr. Ward…

She agreed, “Yes, except for the last family you lived with.”

“H-How did you know—”

“But there may lie the problem. Did you truly trust they could handle you?”

I sneered, “I didn’t know there was anything wrong with me.”

“Ah, but Dick did.”

Fuck. This is starting to make sense.

“Your whole brotherhood literally sleeps with guns under their pillows. Admit it. You trust us. Deep down.”

She was dead on. I did. So, I nodded in surrender.

“There are only two things, that I know of, that seem to trigger you, hence Dick appearing.”

“Which are?”