David had been trapped in this room for only a quarter of an hour and the doctor was already starting to take apart his entire life as if she had known him for years. She was good. That much he admitted.

“The fact that you turned yourself in was probably due to remorse. Or justice? At least somewhere coherent. But what I absolutely don’t buy from you is that you suffered trauma from Mr. Perez’s rape, so you need therapeutic help.”

Amazing how a person who was supposed to help knocked down any advances to help.

“I know the case; at that time, I was called in to examine the bodies. You and Mr. Perez were in the showers. After 20 minutes you were out again. After a week you finally get help. Maybe you tried to solve things yourself first and now you hit an invisible wall where you can't get any further. With any other person without previous illness, I would believe that immediately. But you," and then she leaned back and looked at David very carefully, "you're not that kind of person."

David couldn't take another sharp comment. Her arrogance literally shone through the entire room. "You know me pretty well for the fact that I've only been here a few minutes."

“I deal with murderers, psychopaths and notorious liars every day. I would say I recognize such people immediately.”

What would she think of James? Would she immediately recognize him as a cold-blooded serial killer?

"Be honest with me and I'll be honest with you," Dr. Novak said and crossed her arms again. She slid deeper into her chair and looked expectant.

David pressed his lips together. He preferred to stick to his plans to say nothing of any importance. They played the game of silence for about a minute, in which the clock simply ticked through the room.

"Very well," Dr. Novak concluded and finally got up. “I'll take a closer look at your file. If you wish, we will set the session count to zero so that we have another three full sessions with each other before I need to report you to the administration. After all, it was my mistake to come to our session so unprepared.”

David also got up and wanted to leave the room as quickly as possible. "Thank you, I -"

"Think about it," she interrupted, opening the door. “If you're here looking for a safe haven, that's okay. There are some who do that. Help does not always have to be in the form of a conversation. Therapy can be done in many ways. Just be honest with me. Then I am with you too.”

With that she pushed him through the door.

After the rather confused therapy session, David immediately went to the showers. He was surprised that he was not alone. Only then did he realize that he was almost half an hour early. Without thinking about it, he sat on a bench in the locker room and waited. A few naked men stole a glance at him as they changed, but left him alone so far. Some whispered about him. Very loudly.

"Isn't that Antonio's whore?"

"Was, you mean. Before he chopped him up in cold blood."

"Shit, do you think it was him?"

"Who else? He had help from Candy.”

“Do you mean ... do you think they're in bed together?"

“Certainly. He's already got him halfway. So let's go before we're dead.”

David smiled to himself. Even though he still had immense respect for Candy, he thanked James and Candy internally for their help. So he was the psycho monster with three men on his head. It was only half true, but at least now they left him alone. And maybe David could eventually use his connections to his advantage.

Shortly before 8, there were still two men showering. They smooched wildly and jerked each other off. David couldn't see it, but he could hear it.

Suddenly Hank came into the locker room. His eyes suddenly opened another millimetre. David sat in the corner with his legs crossed and stared back. Neither of them said anything as loud groans echoed through the room.

Finally David forced a hesitant smile and nodded to Hank. He swallowed hard and nodded, his eyes lowered. Eventually he went into the shower room and shouted in a loud voice that the shower would now be locked. The shower time was over.

The men immediately stopped fumbling and headed into the locker room, where they looked at David. He stayed calm and smiled politely. Both grabbed their towels and disappeared from the room.

When Hank returned, he looked at David uncertainly but said nothing.

"I didn't expect you to have such a loud voice," David said politely, wiggling his foot in the air.

The guard pressed his lips together. "You have to in here."

"Yeah, I can imagine. Many are sure deaf as fuck. Or at least pretend to be.”

Hank nodded again and clung to his belt, where he had handcuffs and a small gun.

"How long have you been working here?" David asked calmly, looking at Hank with interest. He avoided eye contact and just stared at the damp floor.

"For five years," he murmured, clearing his throat.

"Aha," David nodded, watching Hank look at the clock. Finally, without saying a word, he left the shower and went back to the corridor. David heard the heavy connecting door open and close. Then once again.

Quiet footsteps could be heard.

James finally came around the corner in his usual black bathrobe. He looked at David in astonishment.

"Hi," he said, smiling immediately. "You’re early today."

"Yes, I had a nice chat with Hank," David chuckled, standing up. James immediately took off his bathrobe and put his towel on the bench. As always, he was completely naked. Brave to just walk through the aisles like that.

"He's cute, isn't he?" James giggled, smiling at David, whom he slowly undressed. His nimble fingers tugged on his pants and underpants at the same time.

When they were both naked, David grunted in agreement and immediately got a kiss on the lips. James’ eye was still covered in a light violet shade. The threads in his mouth were slowly dissolving. Anyway, David didn't feel them while kissing anymore.

The warm water pattered over their heads as they rubbed themselves with soap. A kiss here and there, but James didn't initiate anything sexual.

"May I ask you something?" David began hesitantly, stroking James's muscular but narrow back.

"Sure." He closed his eyes and leaned against David's chest.

"Why are you here?"

James’s eyes opened instantly. "With you in the shower or in jail in general?"

"The latter. I know why you're here with me.”

"Oh?" James laughed, kneading David's upper arms as he bit his lower lip. "You don't know that, but I gladly let you believe that."

Before David could ask, he got another kiss on the lips. Then James sighed loudly. "I ... killed someone at work."

"At work?" David asked, raising his eyebrows.

"It was an accident," James said, suddenly looking past David's shoulder as if looking back in time. “I worked in a warehouse. A forklift is a dangerous device. A lot can happen there.”

David could imagine what had happened.

“I impaled my boss on the forklift. Drove to her and accidentally hit the gas instead of the breaks.”

Then James started grinning again. His blue eyes darted back to David as if he had returned to present day. “I didn’t regret it. After all, she was my boss. Unfortunately, my statement brought me here. Manslaughter, nevertheless a psychological report showed that it would be better to put me into treatment. Psychiatry. Closed. I declined. So came here.”

"Declined?"

“I didn't want to waste my life in a madhouse where I was drugged and talked to death. I don't think much of psychologists.”

"Oh," David smiled and nodded. He agreed after what had happened today in Dr. Novak’s office. "But what a shame you ended up here because of an accident."

"Maybe it was just half an accident," James admitted, shrugging his shoulders. Eventually he started massaging David's muscles. "Why do you ask?"

"I was curious. I hardly know you. But I'd like to change that.”

James formed his eyes to slits. But his smile didn't go away. Instead, his massage got a little bit firmer. “People who want to get to know me are up to something. Either they want to do something bad to me - to defraud me or use the information I give them as an advantage. Or, very rarely, they want something good - but in your case I’m not quite sure what that should be. You don't look like the guy who wants to get married before he sleeps with someone.”

David smiled at the statement. “Why does everyone think they know me today? Maybe I want to marry you before we have sex?”

Of course, James hadn't paid attention to the last part of David's statement, only the first. "Who else thinks he knows you?"

David took a deep breath and put an arm around James’s waist. “I was with Dr. Novak today. A psychiatrist. Or at least a doctor.”

James’ smile disappeared immediately. But he said nothing.

“To be honest, I just wanted to talk to her. Not about you, but about Antonio. Tucker had also told me a few things. Mafia, undercover cops. I didn't want to tell her about it, but maybe she could have given me a tip.”

It was as if David was holding a lifeless doll in his arms. James suddenly seemed extremely distant.

“Instead, she didn't believe a word of my life story and said I was wrong in her office. She offered to continue the therapy in order to use her as a safe haven. Or to be honest with her. Anyway, she basically told me that my life was a lie. Which I didn't think was very nice.”

James said nothing for a while until his eyes slid back up to David’s. "You didn't tell her about us?"

"No, as promised," said David. And it was true.

"Good. But don't go to her anymore. I doubt she'll tell you anything. You can hardly trust anyone who works here,” James suddenly said, with a serious face. But he stayed in David's arms, which was probably a good sign. “She won't help you. She was also used for Antonio's report. So you better keep your distance. Otherwise she can become suspicious. Especially if she smells that you actually want information from her.”

David's ears suddenly rang. "How do you know all that? With the report and everything?”

"I have my connections," he said as vaguely as possible.

"Of course …"

"If you want information, ask me," James purred, putting his arms around David's neck. "I'll tell you everything I know."

That had been an outright lie. But James seemed to want to play a game which rules David had yet to learn. So he played along for the time being. "How do I know that's true?" David asked, gently running his fingertips across his narrow back.

James just smiled and kissed David again. Intimate and loving. "Ask me."

He got another kiss.

"Ask."

Another kiss.

And David knew he wasn't going to get an answer. Instead, a kiss.

Ultimately, they continued to kiss until their hands and feet wrinkled from the water. James would have liked to do other things, but initiated nothing. Instead, they washed themselves and said goodbye with an intense kiss. Again David saw Hank peeping out of the hallway into which James disappeared. Like a protector, David thought, and turned to go to his cell. The guards who had initially mobbed him for exceeding the curfew were now looking at him wearily. They understood that he came back from the showers almost always at the same time and did nothing else. They tolerated his decision to take a shower so late, so he tolerated their prying eyes on his ass.