CHAPTER 31
“Psychiatrist?” Helene laughed when she remembered that Arianne asked her to see a doctor. “What does she think of me? Crazy?”
Malcolm remained seated on the couch with her, but just like earlier, the man seldom talked. Helene noticed his silence. She leaned her head on his shoulder and intertwined their fingers. Their hands fitted perfectly as if they were made for each other to hold on to.
“Is there something bothering you?” Helene asked.
Malcolm heaved a sigh. “I’m just disappointed that your friends thought I don’t exist.”
She laughed. “That’s impossible,” she said. “Tomorrow, I’ll prove to them that you’re real.”
Malcolm knotted his forehead. “What are you going to do?”
She looked up at him. “I’ll go to the psychiatrist—”
“No!” Malcolm protested. “You’re not going anywhere, Helene.”
“W-Why?” she asked, startled by his reaction. “I just wanted to prove to them that I’m not crazy, that you’re real and they’re the ones with problem…” she trailed when she noticed that his eyes weren’t sparkling or reflecting lights from the lamp in front of him.
“Why are you staring at me?” Malcolm asked, his voice suddenly became soft and sweet. He caressed her cheeks. “Helene, I don’t want you to leave me here…”
“Okay…” she nodded and smiled. “I won’t go anywhere.”
***
Lexy and Arianne stood in front of Helene’s house in the early morning. They’re not sure if Helene’s going out, but they’re hoping that their friend would stick to her words. Another hour has passed, and Helene was still not coming out from the building.
“Do you think she’ll show up?” Arianne asked, her bothered expressions just adding up to Lexy’s tension.
“I’m sure she will,” she said and looked at the building entrance. “If she won’t, I will barge in her apartment again and dragged her outside.”
“You’ll do that?” Arianne asked, her brows were raised in disbelief.
“If that’s the only way to save our friend, I won’t hesitate to do that—” She stopped when a woman in a green hoody went out of the building with haste. Before she could hail a cab, they approached him.
“Helene, I thought you wouldn’t come,” Arianne said and blew her breath.
“I don’t have plans on going to a psychiatrist,” she said, brows furrowed. “I’ll go to the supermarket; Malcolm wanted to eat ramen.”
“What?” Lexy asked irritably. “Well, sorry, Helene.” She stopped a cab and opened the door quickly. “But you’ll come with us whether you like it or not,” she said and forced Helene to get in the cab.
***
“You don’t have to do this, Lexy,” Helene said and pushed her. Lexy swayed and almost lost her balance because of the impact.
But what annoyed her, even more is when Arianne helped her as if she’s hurt. She was so worried about Lexy, and it’s making her feel guilty for pushing her.
“Don’t hurt her, Helene,” Arianne said worriedly. She even asked Lexy if she’s okay. “You might hurt her—”
“Arianne,” Lexy cut off and shook her head. It was as if she’s hiding something, and Arianne knew about it. But she didn’t want to tell her. “I’m okay.”
Helene smirked. “You’re always okay,” she said and folded her arms in front of her chest. “I don’t understand why you have to come with us here. You don’t like me, right?”
“Stop it, Helene,” Arianne told her. “Lexy has reasons why she acted rude to you.”
“Oh, really? And what’re her reasons?” she taunted. “She shunned me. The two of you avoided me, and that leads me to meet Minerva.”
“She’s your friend, right? You chose her over us,” Lexy said, tears starting to pool from her eyes. “We tried to talk to you, but it was you who turned your back to us. And, because of what reason again? Because we’re no longer supporting The Beach Boys with all our heart.”
Helene fell silent. Everything that Lexy said happened, but it’s out of her control. “It doesn’t matter now—”
“It matters,” Lexy cut off. “Where’s Minerva now? She left you.”
“Stop it, please?” Arianne said and held her hand. “Helene, we’re still your friends. That’s why we’re here with you.”
“We’re here because the two of you think that I’m losing my mind,” she said, then laughed. “Hallucinations? Illusions? Absurd. And, oh, by the way, you’re not my friends anymore, right? So I shouldn’t be hanging out with the two of you.”
Arianne squeezed her arm. And somehow, it brought a calming sensation inside her chest. “Helene, if you believed that Malcolm is real, then prove it to us.”
Before she could answer, the assistant doctor peeked in the lobby and called their waiting number. Helene raised her hand and stood before she followed the staff; she looked at Arianne and Lexy.
“After this bullshit, you’ll stay away from me, understood?” she asked in a severe tone.
“If you proved to us that Malcolm is not an illusion,” Lexy said. “Then, you’re free.”
Helene nodded. She went to the doctor’s office, but as she approached the door, her heartbeat is racing, and her every footstep felt heavy. It was as if something is preventing her from entering that door.
“Miss Yamate?” The doctor asked her. “Please, have a seat.”
Helene swallowed hard. She doesn’t understand why she has to feel like this. She didn’t speak; she just waited for the doctor to talk again.
“I read the datasheet that you provided earlier,” she began and smiled hesitantly. “Can we call your friends that I talked to? It’s better if they hear this too.”
She shook her head. “I’m alone,” she said and clenched her fist. She doesn’t like the doctor’s tone. “You can tell the results to me, doc. I have all the right to know it.”
The doctor smiled. “Okay.” She took out the datasheet and placed it on the table. “Based on the datasheet that you filled out and on a set of interviews that we’ve done earlier…” She looked straight in her eyes. “You’re suffering from the symptoms of Paranoid Schizophrenia. It’s a kind of mental illness that causes paranoia, delusions, and hallucinations to a person suffering from it. These symptoms blur the line between what is real and what isn’t.”
***