She Seems Back to "Normal", For Now...

Simon was waiting for me outside the office. He was looking anxious and nervous. My heart jumped in my chest and I ran up to him, wrapping my arms around him, pressing my body against his. "I'm sorry!" I said, looking into his eyes, my own wide. "I'm so sorry!"

"Shh," he said. "It's alright." He was holding me, caressing my hair. "It's not your fault, alright? We've been fucking stupid, playing with you like that."

I was his... How could he say such a thing? He had the right to play with me however he wanted! "We're gonna fix this, honey," I said, kissing his cheek. "I swear!"

He sighed and looked at me. "I hope we will." He mumbled. "Because if we don't, at best you're gonna act crazy for two days a week and at worst one of John's fucking dead man switches is gonna trigger now that he's gone."

I frowned. "Dead man's switches?"

"When we put you into a trance, after we shook hands on it, he reprogrammed you in front of me." He started explaining. "But he said he'd keep a few suggestions in place for if I ever tried to mess with him. Dead man's switches, he said."

I gulped and nodded, the idea that suggestions deeply rooted in my mind might be triggered without Simon knowing how to undo them was scary. "Shit..." I mumbled, feeling a pit of fear in my stomach. "What if it already got triggered?"

He clenched his teeth. "I thought about that..."

"And?"

"Well how the fuck would I know?" He said, sighing. "I can't read your mind, and you might do everything to hide it from me, maybe even from yourself. Maybe it's not gonna happen until later. I have no idea!"

Well that was terrifying. "So what do we do?"

He shrugged. "I'd offer to put you under and..."

"NO!" I yelled, and a shiver went down my spine. I couldn't allow myself to be hypnotized.

"Yeah, that's what I figured. That's probably a suggestion in place. So no way for you to get in a trance and have me figure it out."

I was breathing fast, panicking. "Can't we... Can't we find something else?"

"Honey, let's get back home first, alright?"

"But... What if I try to hurt you? What if I grab the wheel while you're driving and..."

"Relax! Get in the car!" Simon ordered, and I could feel the compulsion in his voice. He was commanding me to obey him, and he was right, I couldn't let myself panic like that. It felt like a weight was lifted from my chest and I could finally breathe again.

"Yes, honey." I nodded and smiled, opening the passenger door and getting in the car.