Partner In Crime, Aaron Warner

08. The Use of Fear

Partner In Crime
The Use of Fear (Chpt. 8)
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Warner sat across the table from Vivian. He had his arms crossed as he looked at her. He sat comfortably in his chair, a stern expression on his face.

Vivian sat there nervously, fiddling with her dress as she looked at the boy in front of her.

"We made progress yesterday, you know." He finally says, meeting her gaze. He doesn't smile and his expression remains the same, but something about his voice makes him sound satisfied.

"We did?" The girl asks quietly. She furrows her brows as she meets his gaze. The blonde nods. He slowly adjusts in his seat and begins to tap his fingers on the table. The sound of his fingers contacting the table top echos through the room, breaking the silence.

"Seeing it first hand was... incredible." He says, a smirk on his lips. Vivian frowns.

"I hurt him." She says, shaking her head. "That's not incredible- that's dangerous. I'm dangerous." She slumps in her chair, dropping her gaze and running a hand down her face. "If I could just- control my emotions..."

"Love-" he cringes at the word, closing his eyes and sighs. "Vivian..." he corrects. "Emotions aren't something you can control. You don't get to choose whether or not you want to be sad or angry... but it's what you do with that emotion that counts."

Vivian blinks a few times, gaining interest. She perks up in her seat.

"You can choose if you want to let your emotions take control- let them get the best of you- or if you want to keep them to yourself. Being able to choose that will allow you- not to control your emotions as a whole- but when you let them come out and play." He leans forward, resting his elbows in the table and smiles lightly at the girl. "That's something we can work on. We've made progress, Vivian."

Vivian nods slowly, crossing her arms. "And how exactly do you expect to do that?" She ask.

"By making you feel your emotions." He says simply.

"But I thought you just said that I can't control them." She says, skeptical. She furrows her brows as she meets the blonde's gaze.

"No." He agrees, smiling slightly. "But I can influence them." He leans on the table and sighs, looking up and planning out how to explain things. When his words are mapped out, his eyes lock with the brunette's. "By digging into the memories that have triggered your emotions- I have a feeling we'll be able to make progress. If you can remember what happened and how you felt, but keep your emotions at bay, then I think we'll have progress in our grasp."

Vivian looks at him eyes wide. She laughs, amused, and shakes her head. "Not happening, handsome. I am not digging that shit up. I've had it buried in the back of my mind and I intend to keep it that way."

Warner frowns. "Do you want your emotions to keep having control of you? Or do you want to have control for once." He asked.

The girl scowls. "What do you think? The reason I'm scared to do this is because I don't have control. Digging up these memories will bring the emotions up with it. I'll feel the anger again and-" she trails off, dropping her gaze to the table. "I don't want to hurt you." She mumbled.

The blonde smiles lightly, shaking his head and leaning back in his chair. "Oh, Love," he says, not bothering to fix the word. "Do worry about me. Worry about yourself. We're doing this for you."

She sighs, swallowing the lump in her throat and nods.

"Okay." She says softly. "But I am not being put in a tank of water."