Heroin and Vodka
Author's note: Hey guys. It's been a while. So my final semester exams are officially over. University life is at an end and I'm currently awaiting results which will be out in a few weeks. So, I thought this would be the perfect opportunity to push out a chapter. Anyways, good news! HTGAWM has been officially renewed for Season 6 and what's even better is that it's not the final season. So, that mean we will, hopefully have at least two more seasons of murder. Let me know your thoughts are on this.
Disclaimer: I do not own How To Get Away With Murder. Its plot and characters are the sole property of Pete Nowalk and Shonda Rhimes.
Chapter 33
"Have you been getting any sleep?" Isaac asked, concerned, as he observed the dark circles underneath Laurel's eyes. "Like, at all?"
Laurel shifted uncomfortably. That she had a lot going on in her life would be an understatement. Of the century. She was in her last trimester. What with the baby coming in just a month and a half , her body itself was under a lot of stress. Not to mention her oh-so-devious plan of taking down her father which involved much pre planning and secret night rendezvouses at her apartment with Micheala and Oliver.
And now this. These visions were now becoming more and more frequent. Earlier, they would disturb her abruptly during daytime only. Perhaps, once every four days or so. Ever since a fortnight ago though, they had increased in frequency. She recalled being jolted awake, sweating, just yesterday morning. And it had nothing to do with the rumoured 'pregnant lady glow'.
Laurel sighed.
"Now that you mention it, yeah. I've been having a few sleepless nights for the past week or so. But I'm guessing that's mainly a pregnancy thing. Nothing to get worked up about." she finished, shrugging.
Isaac, though, wasn't convinced. Despite not possessing much knowledge in the are of child birth, he was fairly certain that pregnancy did not deprive one of sleep. If anything it was the complete opposite. The growing foetus in a woman required much energy which it derived from its mother. As such, pregnancy was a very tiring event indeed.
Nevertheless, Isaac decided to give Laurel the benefit of the doubt. For now. Yet, he couldn't shake off the sinking suspicion that she was hiding something from him. It was his years of practice as a therapist which enabled him to be able to detect a lies, especially by studying the body language of a person and the modulation of someone's tone.
Laurel looked up at him, finally making eye contact.
"So, where did we stop last time?" she asked.
Isaac got up from his couch and walked over to his desk. He pulled out a drawer and, reached in and pulled out an object. Reaching into a second drawer, he pulled out a camcorder attached to a stand. He then walked back over to his couch and resumed his seat. Setting up the camcorder and flipping it open, he then pressed 'Record'.
"We're going to be taking a...different approach this session." he replied.
Laurel raised her eyebrows.
"I'm afraid I don't follow." she replied.
Isaac reached into his coat and pulled out the object he had just withdrawn from the drawer mere seconds ago. Laurel observed it intently. It appeared to be an ornate, golden pocket watch, the likes of which were frequently used during the late 16th and early 17rpth centuries, till the arrival of the regular wrist watch following the events of the First World War. A golden chain extended from it.
"Today, we're going to be probing a little deeper into your issues, Laurel. Through this." he indicated the watch with his other hand. I'm going to induce a hypnotic state within you, which will then enable me to get to the roots of your problem." he finished.
Laurel couldn't help but smirk.
"Hypnotherapy? That's new." she replied, nonchalantly. You don't seriously expect it to work, do you?"
Isaac mirrored his smirk.
"I know you're sceptical about this. But I assure you, hypnotherapy is very much real. It isn't just some magic trick or illusion made to deceive a person. How do I explain this?" He cast his eyes around, as if searching for means to explain himself.
"Why is it that so many hypnotists go for that cliché of swinging a pendulum?" he asked, with a chuckle. "You know about the mind-body link, don't you?" He asked Laurel, who nodded in response. "Well...I am sure you know that when you are stressed for long periods of time in the mental department, your physical resistances and immune system are weakened – your state of mind affects your state of body."
Laurel nodded. Isaac continued.
"In theory, hypnosis sounds like a pretty easy task, doesn't it? Simply sit with your eyes closed, relax, connect with your breath and guide your thoughts towards a specific intention. However, in reality, it can be much more challenging than this very basic instruction. This is because the conscious mind often has another agenda. One that involves distracting you with a million thoughts so you're unable to truly connect with that all-important unconscious mind."
He reached out and took up his trusty notepad and pen. Donning his glasses, he once again looked up at Laurel.
"What we're going to attempt to do today is to pierce through your mental defences and reach your unconscious mind. That's where our answers lie.
"And the camera?" she asked.
"Oh." Isaac replied, glancing at it. "This is just for my benefit. Something to look over and analyse after our session."
Laurel, who was still eyeing the pendulum in a sceptical manner, nodded.
Isaac nodded in response. Leaning back on his couch and crossing his legs over, he began.
"Now, the first step is quite simple, really. Start by connecting with your breath by doing some simple breathing exercises. I want you to take a deep breath."
Laurel acceded, taking in a deep breath.
"Now, let it out slowly." Isaac responded.
Laurel exhaled slowly.
"Good. Now, the next step is where it gets slightly tricky. I want you to close your eyes and clear your mind." Isaac replied.
Laurel blinked.
"How am I supposed to do that?" Laurel asked, confused.
"Clearing your mind is one of the integral steps to this procedure. Many of us think that our mind is designed to host a constant stream of thoughts and there is nothing we can do about it. The mind is in charge and we just follow. The buzzing can't stop and we can't make it stop. This is not true. Your mind is a tool that you can control—if you choose to." He replied. "Now, I'm going to make you go through some visualisation exercises so as to enable this."
Laurel nodded.
"Close your eyes and relax." Isaac replied.
Laurel acceded, shutting her eyes and leaning back on her couch.
"Now, I want you to visualize your mind as a freely flowing river. Empty your mind, be formless, shapeless - like water. Now you put water into a cup, it becomes the cup, you put water into a bottle, it becomes the bottle, you put it in a teapot, it becomes the teapot. Now water can flow or it can crash."
Laurel's eyes twitched in concentration as she attempted to follow Isaac's instructions. Several faces swam up in her mind.
"So. I'm just your jigolo then?" Frank replied, as Laurel dressed herself.
"Did I ever give you the impression that you weren't?" Laurel asked, smirking.
...
"We could use Tegan's key card." Oliver replied, hesitantly.
Micheala shook her head immediately.
"We're not dragging Tegan into this."
"Laurel, concentrate!" Isaac replied, sharply. Laurel was immediately jolted out of her thoughts. She sighed.
"Its not working." she replied.
"Picture you mind as water and control its flow, Laurel. I'm afraid that's all I can do to help."
She shook her head to clear her mind and began the process anew. This time, while several other thoughts did interrupt her, she continued to fixate upon the image of water. Slowly, but surely, the thoughts began to recede back into her mind. Laurel nodded.
Isaac was jotting down a few notes on his notepad when he looked up to observe Laurel.
"Good." he replied, "You may open your eyes now."
Laurel nodded, slowly opening her eyes.
"Your work is done. This is where I take over." Isaac replied, as he leaned forward. He held the pendulum loosely between his thumb and index finger. His elbow was free floating.
Isaac familiarized himself with the feel of the pendulum as it hung from his grip.
"Now." Isaac replied. "I want you to focus only on this pendulum and my voice and nothing else." Saying this, he started by swinging the pendulum, making large swings and then smaller swings.
Laurel observed the swinging pendulum, her eyes following its gradual to and fro motion. Isaac watched Laurel's eyes intently. He could see the reflection of the watch on her irises. Her eyes began to droop slightly after about a minute or so. Isaac steadied himself as he watched the hypnosis begin to initiate.
Isaac leaned in as he observed Laurel's eyes glaze over. Her eyes stopped following the pendulum's motion. He withdrew the pendulum and leaned back onto his couch. Laurel's gaze remained transfixed, staring into empty space.
"What is your name?" Isaac asked, quietly.
"Laurel Castillo." she replied in a monotone.
Isaac nodded.
"How old are you?" he asked.
"24." Laurel replied, in that same monotonous voice.
"And where is that you study?" he continued.
"Middleton Law School, Pennsylvania." she replied.
Isaac jotted down the answers. So far, so good. She was responding as expected.
"Now, Laurel." Isaac replied. "Why are you really here?"
This was something that had been bothering the therapist for quite some time now. Ever since Laurel had begun her sessions with him, Isaac had felt something...off about her. At first, he had mainly attributed it to the pain she was feeling at the loss of Wes. But as the sessions had progressed and he had learnt some of the harsher aspects of Laurel's past- her inability to actually assimilate herself into a meaningful relationship; the unstable relationship she shared with both her parents, in particular, the rocky one she had with her father. She had seemed oddly reluctant to divulge much information regarding this and would always either shut up or deflect the subject whenever asked upfront.
Isaac observed Laurel intently, awaiting her answer. After a few seconds, she opened her mouth to reply.
"I'm seeing things." she replied.
Isaac cocked his head in puzzlement. That was a very...succinct reply. He couldn't read much off it. He decided to try again.
"What do you mean by 'things'?" he asked, in a casual manner.
Laurel opened her mouth to reply, but then abruptly shut it.
Isaac frowned. This meant that whatever she had seen was not something she was willing to divulge. Her conscious mind was suppressing this information and he would have to coerce it out of her.
"Laurel," he asked, with force this time. "What did you see last night?"
This was a complete shot in the dark. Assuming she had been having difficulty sleeping, he had inferred that she might be having nightmares. He was careful to rephrase the question so as to lower her mental defences.
Laurel remained silent. Isaac sighed and was about to try again when she abruptly began to speak.
"It was at night. I had just walked into her house." she began. Isaac decided against interrupting her and let her continue.
"I texted Wes. Where was he?" Isaac raised an eyebrow at this. This meant that she was recounting a memory. He jotted that down carefully on his notepad.
"I knew we had fought that afternoon but I hadn't seen him since. I shut the door behind me. As I walked into the living room, I spotted him on the couch. He looked up. He reached into his pocket and raised his phone, saying that he has sorry he hadn't replied earlier and that he had been working on a case for Annalise." Isaac's heart leaped unexpectedly at the mention of her name. He ignored it and continued to listen to her narration.
"I walked over to him and hugged him and told him he was an idiot for scaring me like that. He smiled and hugged me back. He told me everything would be alright. That he had signed an immunity deal. I was puzzled. I asked him what he was talking about. He told me that he had been called in by the authorities and had been asked to sign an immunity deal-one which would absolve him completely."
An unexpected memory flashed into Isaac's mind.
"We did...so many terrible things. It's all burnt into my head." Connor replied.
Despite wishing to know the details regarding the immunity deal, he decided to let it pass. Even if he were to find out, he could not divulge any information that Laurel provided him owing to the oath of confidentiality he had taken as a therapist.
Laurel continued, ignoring Isaac completely.
"I was...scared." Isaac looked up at the pause, but decided against interrupting her.
"I asked him whether he was being forced into doing this. He replied that he wasn't-that he was doing it of his own free will. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. We had gotten away with it all, and he was about to ruin it all. Just like that!" she replied, with force.
Isaac frowned. Laurel was beginning to exhibit emotion. Isaac was currently accessing her unconsciousness. This was highly unusual given that the unconscious mind was merely a repository of memories. The consciousness was actually the component of the mind in charge of emotions. Deciding to continue further examination in their next session, he was about to wake her up, when she began to sob unexpectedly.
"I hadn't meant to do it...I hadn't meant to hurt him. But he wouldn't see reason." Isaac's eyes widened ad realization dawned upon him. Her mind was beginning to fluctuate. Her consciousness was attempting to suppress the repressed memories which were now gushing forth, without the superego absent to halt its progress.
"He was going to ruin everything! Everything we had worked so hard to cover these past few months. He couldn't just...decide to end it all in one go!" she screamed. The scream resounded around the silent study.
Having decided enough was enough, Isaac leaned in immediately until he was face to face with Laurel. Intently gazing into her eyes, he raised his right hand and snapped his finger sharply.
Without warning, Laurel's eyes shifted back into focus. Isaac leaned back on his couch and observed her intently. She appeared dazed and out of it for a few seconds, before she shook her head and looked up at Isaac.
"What...happened?" she asked.
Isaac looked her directly in the eye.
"What do you last remember?" he asked, sharply.
Laurel shook her head to clear it, before looking him back in the eye.
"I remember...you talking to me about...water?" she asked, unsure.
Isaac sighed inwardly. She couldn't recall the events that had transpired in the last few minutes. He got off the couch, reached out and snapped the camcorder shut withe resounding snap. He then walked over to his desk and slid the device back into its drawer.
"So?" Laurel asked, following his movement, "Did it work?"
Isaac turned to face him and eyed Laurel intently. The man was unsure as to how to proceed. The therapist in him urged him to confess the truth. Yet, Isaac felt concerned that if he did, he would only be endangering her, or worse, someone else's life. That left only one course of action left to pursue.
Isaac shook his head in reply.
"Sorry, Laurel. I couldn't get much information. Well, other than what I already knew. Maybe we can give it another try next week."
Laurel nodded understandingly. She got up and swung her purse onto her shoulder.
"Well then." She replied, an unnervingly cheerful smile on her face. " I guess I'll be seeing you next week then. Thanks."
With that, she strode across the room, pulled open the door, and exited the clinic.
No sooner had she exited the room did Isaac brush his hand across his hair in consternation. Whatever he had been expecting wasn't this. The therapist felt at odds with himself. He began to pace his study, his eyes fixated on the wooden floor. He began to piece together Laurel's narrative.
She had walked into her house. Annalise's house.
And it had been at night.
She had learnt of Wes's prior absence that day.
She had...hurt him, even though she hadn't meant it.
Which only left one conclusion.
Laurel had killed Wes.
Author's note: There you go. That's my unique twist to canon. I'm pretty sure you were all expecting it. After all, I had left enough clues in the earlier chapters. I always felt disappointed with the Season 3 reveal of Wes's killer. It had been a real dampener. Now that Isaac knows what really happened that night, how will he handle it? To know, stay tuned. Also, let me know your thoughts regarding Season 6. Read and review.