[A large brown couch faces against a long wall. I’m led on it with my eyes closed. A woman, Karen, sits opposite with a large clipboard and a pen. She pushes up her glasses and takes a deep breath.]
[Karen Manning] Mr. Foley… Felix… [she leans forward.] You’re in a safe place. You can talk to me.
[Felix Foley] I know… it’s just… I’ve kept these things inside for such a long time.
[Karen Manning]Tell me about them.
[Felix Foley] When I was a boy, my pop used to physically abuse me. He was an important man in Arcadia, and his life was stressful. Most nights he’d come home, take his belt off and beat me with it… if I was lucky.
[Felix Foley] Other times, I wouldn’t be that lucky and he’d use his hands. He’d punch, kick and strangle me.
[Karen Manning] That must’ve been terrible, Felix.
[Felix Foley] It was. My mom couldn’t stop it. She tried her best, but he’d hurt her too. If she tried to stand in the way, he’d hurt her and then hurt me. I took to making sure that didn’t happen. I stood in the way instead.
[Karen Manning] Did no-one notice what was going on?
[Felix Foley] They did. My school teachers saw me coming in late and with various bruises. They were also afraid of my pop. The Doctors I had to see knew what was happening but kept things quiet. I remember one said to me that she’s expecting my body one of these days from where I’d died. She asked me to run away. She asked me to leave.
[Karen Manning] Why didn’t you?
[Felix Foley]Mom.
[Karen Manning] I understand.
[Felix Foley]Don’t get me wrong, I wasn’t brave. I didn’t try to be brave. I was as cowardice as I could be. I think that’s my problem, you know? I should’ve done something more than I did.
[Karen Manning] So, what’re these invasive thoughts, Felix?
[Felix Foley]You wanna know?
[Karen Manning] I do. What do these invasive thoughts say?
[I swing around on the couch, placing my feet on the floor. I look at her, eye to eye.]
[Felix Foley] You’re not good enough.
[Felix Foley] You’re worthless.
[Felix Foley] You’ll never amount to anything.
[Felix Foley] You’re a pathetic waste of seed and time, boy.
[Felix Foley] You’ll never succeed, you piece of… you’ll always be a pathetic nothing and no-one.
[Felix Foley] If you don’t kill yourself, I’ll kill you myself.
[Felix Foley] One of these days, boy… I won’t stop.
[Tears roll down my face.]
[Karen Manning] Do you believe that?
[Felix Foley] I don’t know. But if I can’t stop these invasive thoughts from invading my every waking moment ahead of Invasion, how can I possibly invade and win? How I beat invasion in the flesh when I can’t even beat it in my mind?
[Karen Manning] Look at what you’ve achieved, Felix. Did he ever say you’d be able to achieve that?
[Felix Foley] No.
[Karen Manning] But you did.
[Felix Foley] Yes.
[Karen Manning] So, he was wrong, wasn’t he?
[Felix Foley] He was.
[Karen Manning] These invasive thoughts are your subconscious invading your conscious to make you aware they exist. Don’t push them away, embrace them. That’s how you beat the invasion.
[Felix Foley] For the children…
[Karen Manning] For the children, Mr. Foley.