Whisper in the dark

Hey, Jeremy.

How are you doing, man?

Hey, Mike.

You're never off the clock, huh?

Yeah, you know, I gotta get those hours in, mate.

Gig economy is killing me, and I think I'm only one of two guys

- around here, so. - Yeah.

Yeah.

Your food.

Wait here, I have something for you.

Sure.

Oh, it's for you.

Just take it.

I drew it last week.

It's for your little sister.

You said she was feeling kind of lonely at school,

so I thought it might be nice. You make her feel less alone.

Oh, OK.

Yeah.

Yeah, you weren't lying when you said you were an artist.

Well, anyways, yeah.

Yeah.

Wait here.

Wait, wait.

Wait a minute.

Sure, no worries.

Here you go.

Huh, so you're finally going to do it, huh?

Yeah, finally.

Well, congrats, man.

I mean, your first big thing, right?

Your first exhibition.

It's a big deal.

But there's... there's no address here.

Where is it?

There is... there is a QR code just right here.

I need to scan it a few hours before the starting time.

He didn't show up.

Interesting concept.

I'm intrigued.

Yeah, I've been prepping it for two months now.

I'm excited.

Well, I can't wait to see it, mate, but yeah,

I've got to get back to work. - Yeah, of course.

- Yeah. - Yeah.

It was good to see you.

Yeah, you take care, OK?

Yeah. No, I will do, man.

- See you soon. - OK, take care.

- See you soon. - Bye-bye.

Bye

Hey, buddy.

Everything good?

I've been worried about you.

I'm fine.

Sorry, I didn't pick up.

I was just... just sleep.

Been asleep for a week.

You've been ghosting everyone, man.

What's going on?

You scared the shit out of me.

I'm sorry.

Come on in, bro.

It's me.

Just to get here as well.

Hey, buddy, I got some beers.

I don't know if you're drinking still.

No, man, my body's a temple.

I knew you were going to say that shit.

That's why I got you one of these.

Hold on one sec.

What are these.

Protein shakes you like so much.

Enjoy.

Why does it feel different in here?

It feels like you changed change something.

Dude, what's... what's with all the art stuff, man?

OK.

Here we go.

No fucking way.

Since when?

I've been prepping for two months now.

So this is why you've been ghosting everyone?

Yeah, I kind of have been pretty busy with this.

You sneaky motherfucker.

Why couldn't you just text me so let me know you're OK?

All right.

You haven't been online.

I haven't seen you for days.

You remember that?

You missed that as well.

What?

Is this... this is so sweet.

Oh, my God, are you OK, bro?

Should I bring you good shit.

Are you OK?

Dude?

Bro talk to me, what the fuck.

You want me to call the ambulance.

Should I call an ambulance to pick you up?

So you had another panic attack recently?

Yeah, it happened again.

It appears this has been happening a lot lately.

Can you think of anything that might have triggered it?

I'm not sure.

I won't pressure you into discussing anything

you're not comfortable with.

In our last session, we delved into your agoraphobia

and the challenges associated with leaving your home.

Our aim was to identify potential triggers

for its intensity.

You opened up about the passing of your aunt

during that conversation.

Unfortunately, we had to conclude

our session at that point.

Would you mind telling me a bit more about your relationship

with her?

Well, she was like a mom to me after my parents died.

When I was four or five years old,

I went to live with my grandmother

but the old lady started to lose her mind

so I went to live with my Aunt Molly here in England.

So I left France.

Aside from my grandmother, she was my only family left,

so I didn't really have much of a choice.

You said you were living with your grandmother for a while.

Can you tell me what happened to her?

Nothing much, Doc.

I don't really remember.

I was just a kid.

OK.

Can you continue talking about your aunt?

Yeah, so I was living with her and her husband, David.

And do you mind telling me about your life with them?

Well, David used to beat my aunt.

And then I realized when I was older

that he was also abusing her.

OK.

And was he abusing you as well?

No, Doc, I was the lucky one.

I was only getting beaten.

One day he beat my aunt like never before.

Then a few months ago, I found out she'd killed herself.

Do you think the news of her passing

could have triggered some childhood trauma?

Perhaps it possibly triggered the agoraphobia?

Maybe, but the agoraphobia started before that.

So what's going on with that Julia girl?

Are you guys still in touch?

JEREMY (ON PHONE): No, we're not really talking anymore.

But it's fine.

I mean, plenty more fish in the sea, right?

I don't really need a girlfriend anyway.

It's so true, man.

She's a bitch to you anyways, bro.

JEREMY (ON PHONE): Yeah, she was just a bitch.

No time to be a simp, man.

You got to focus on being a king, doing career shit.

And you're a full on professional artist, bro.

So fuck those girls.

JEREMY (ON PHONE): Yeah, man.

Fuck them.

Oh, shit.

They're attacking me up North, I need backup.

Wait, where... where?

I can't see them.

JEREMY (ON PHONE): Next to the nuclear factory

where the commander is.

Oh, shit.

Yeah, I got them.

I'm sending you backup right now.

I'm on it.

JEREMY (ON PHONE): Sending you some tanks I just built.

We got those motherfuckers.

JEREMY (ON PHONE): That was close.

Let me build the T3 unit so we can attack their base.

Just cover my ass.

Yes, boss.

On that note, are you talking to any other girls, if not Julia?

JEREMY (ON PHONE): No, not really.

As I said, I don't...

I don't have time for love and shit right now.

I feel pretty great being by myself.

That's the spirit, man.

Listen, I just broke up with this girl I was seeing.

She was nice and everything, but I'm just not ready to commit

to a relationship, you know.

JEREMY (ON PHONE): How come?

The girlfriends are so much work, bro.

And I just want to...

I still want to have fun.

JEREMY (ON PHONE): And you think having a girlfriend isn't fun?

No, I mean, I...

JEREMY (ON PHONE): Got those T3 ready.

Let's kick their ass.

Yeah, OK.

I'm going to bring my Titans in.

We're going to get them from the East

and we'll have them surrounded, OK?

JEREMY (ON PHONE): OK, General.