Here's chapter 2 of a story I started, but wound up dropping. I had been working on it for years, writing and rewriting it.I finally settled on a storyline I liked, but by then i didn't care anymore. :/ I figured I might as well share it anyway.
Paranoid
Chapter 2
Schizophrenia. Danielle had been diagnosed with it four months ago. She had discovered it when she started going to a physiatrist for feelings of paranoia. She had refused to take medicine because of her overwhelming fear of accidentally over dosing. Dr. Cummings had been working with Danielle to help her get over her fear. First she was given a placebo, but even that proved frightful.
Danielle sat in the waiting room with John. She had told him about what happened the night before at dinner. He offered to drive her to her appointment when he saw how rattled she was.
There was no one else in the waiting room. Danielle was extremely happy about that. Whenever there were other people they all stared at her like she was holding a gun to their heads. Danielle hated being psychotic, but she hated people knowing even more. Dr. Cummings came out and Danielle went up with her. The doctor was a younger woman. She had only gotten her doctorate a few years ago. Danielle was a very complex case and she knew she was taking on a lot, but she didn’t let any self-doubt show. However, she was secretly getting advice on how to handle a paranoid schizophrenic from her old professor and mentor. She didn’t give any of Danielle’s details of course. Danielle was a very complex case, but she was also a sweet girl that listened to what Dr. Cummings said. She was confident that they would find a solution.
They entered the doctor’s room and Danielle sat down on the couch. The doctor sat down in the chair opposite her. She put her clipboard on her lap and smiled. “So, how was you’re weekend?”
Danielle shrugged. “Okay I guess. I saw a really bad movie with my friends. I also helped Mark build a fort out of pillows and blankets.”
“Well that sounds fun.” The doctor smiled. “What else happened?”
“I imagined a girl getting hit by a car.”
“Yes, you explained that to me over the phone. Why do think you imagined that?”
“What do you mean?”
“Well, there seems to be some logic behind your past hallucinations.”
“Um. Well when I was little I almost got hit by a car...”
Dr. Cummings leaned forward. Danielle always refused to say anything about her childhood. “Did this girl look anything like you?”
“Um…I’m not sure. I wasn’t paying attention.”
“Alright, well, we’re off to a good start.”
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Danielle came out almost an hour later. They hadn’t made much progress as usual. Danielle wasn’t getting the help she needed. She often wondered why she kept going, but then always remembered that she could be in a mental hospital. Not only that, but Dr. Cummings was willing to work with her.
John put his arm around her when she came out. “How’d it go.”
“Ok.”
“Wanna get something to eat?”
Danielle nodded in reply. They drove to their favorite burger place, Four Guys. They got their food and sat down in one of the booths. Neither of them spoke. John secretly wished for the old days when Danielle would laugh and smile all the time. He knew those days were gone and while he still cared about her tremendously he was also getting bored. They never did anything anymore and when they did do something she was quiet the whole time. He wasn’t upset. He’d be the same way if after everything he went through he found out he had something as serious as schizophrenia.
Danielle looked up from her food at John and smiled slightly. John was about to smile to when he realized she was actually looking past him. He turned and with great relief saw Shelby coming toward them. “Hello there!” Shelby said happily as she sat down next to Danielle. “How was the doctor, Dani?”
Danielle shrugged. “Okay.”
“Well, that’s better than bad, right?”
John shook his head. She was trying way to hard. “Soooo.” Shelby started. “What are we going to do today?”
Danielle sighed. “I’m actually really tired. I was thinking of just taking a nap.”
“I’ll take you home.” Shelby offered. “I have to pee anyway.”
“You can pee here.” John replied.
Shelby stared at him. “Have you seen these bathrooms? No way. Let’s go, Dani.” They two girls got up and left the restaurant. John continued to sit and stared at the tabletop.
Once they got home Danielle past out on her bed without even taking her shoes off. Unfortunately she did not have a peaceful sleep.
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The only source of light in the room was a candle. Danielle stood in the corner watching the two people sound asleep. Suddenly the room seemed to grow hotter and hotter and hotter. She could feel a heart pulsing, not in her chest, but all around her. She started to feel dizzy and staggered over to the door. She held the knob in order to keep herself up. That’s when she saw the third figure standing in the room. It was just a shadow on the wall standing next to the bed. It took something out of its pocket and jammed it into one of the sleeping person’s throat.
Danielle woke with a scream.