“Hello, Bruce. Can you tell me where you were yesterday?” It’s my psychiatrist. I never liked him. Then again, it’s hard to “like” anyone who labels you as a mental invalid.

“What the fuck kind of question is that?” I think I know where he might be going with this.

“Someone was murdered yesterday, and someone else was seen walking away from the crime scene who looked a little like you.” It wasn’t just him jeopardizing my plan that pissed me off, but the presumptive, almost smug aura delivering his judgments.

Plead the fifth, that’s all I can do. “I owe nothing of my personal life to you.”

“Bruce, I’m sure the police would like for you to step forward and give them a statement. It doesn’t look very good for you.” Wait a minute. This was about me being off my medications, wasn’t it? I didn’t even bother getting my latest batch due to a clerical error, and I could tell it wasn’t looking good from his perspective.

“Bullshit, they didn’t even have a—” Oh, god damn it. He’s gonna snitch, isn’t he? I feel a combination of dread and rage fill me, that this bastard had the audacity to simply judge me like this…

I weigh my options for half a second, and end the call right there before I start screaming at him instead. It’s time to begin my play a little earlier than scheduled. I dart into the manager’s office. “Sir… I’m going to have to call in an emergency vacation. Two weeks, you don’t have to pay me if you don’t want to.”

“Wait, why are you in such a hurry, what’s going on?” He seemed more confused than concerned, but there’s some concern somewhere in his voice.

“Something deeply personal came up, and I’m going to need a while to settle it. I’m terribly sorry, sir.”

He pauses. He’s probably a little suspicious, but thankfully he’s giving me the benefit of the doubt. “Very well. Didn’t we talk about forewarning, though?”

I frowned, admittedly feeling a little guilty due to my sudden departure, but I ultimately didn’t have much of a choice in the matter. “I know, but this came up incredibly suddenly. I only got the heads-up today.” I think I let a little too much of my distress bleed through, because now he just looks concerned again.

“Listen, if you ever need someone to talk to… I might be able to help when we’re both off shift, okay?”

“I’ll keep that offer in mind, but for now I have to go. Bye!” I waste no further time with the formalities, darting off to run home.