Chapter 16:

*EDDIE'S POV:

"Eddie, we need to talk about this-"

"I'm fine, auntie! Let it go!"

"I can't let this go! The way you've been acting lately is not normal!"

"I'm fine, auntie."

"No, you're not. This could be something serious. We can't ignore it."

"We can if we try hard enough."

"Don't give me that attitude."

"Don't give me a reason to."

"Eddie, don't disrespect your aunt like that." my uncle scolded, deciding to join the quarrel.

"Oh, great, now you're involved." I scoffed, rolling my eyes and continuing to walk upstairs.

"Of course I'm involved. I'm your uncle."

"And I am your aunt. We're your family. You are our nephew─" Susan added.

"And the sky is blue, the sun is hot, grass is green─anything else you two would like to add?" I groaned.

"God damnit, Eddie! Stop acting like such an asshole!" Wayne yelled.

"Stop treating me like one! You wanna talk? Okay, let's talk." I said, sitting down on the stairs.

"Well," my aunt huffed, "you've been seeing things that aren't there, you've been hearing things that aren't there, you've been so compulsive and aggressive, and for god's sake you've barely been talking."

"What? I can't go through a normal teenage phase?"

"A normal teenage phase is some mood swings and being antisocial but it doesn't involve hallucinations and disorientation!" she shot back, her eyes widening like she just came to a conclusion. ". . .Eddie?"

"Hmm?" I hummed, resting my chin on the palm of my hand.

"Are. . .are you on drugs?" she choked.

I had to laugh. If I was on drugs, I would know why I've been suffering for the past month. "No, but I wish I was."

"Are you lying? Because drugs is part of a teenage phase, isn't it?"

"Auntie, I can assure you that I have not been taking any drugs. That shit is stupid anyway." I shrugged.

"Then what the hell is the matter with you?" she asked.

"I'd tell you if I only knew!" I yelled, standing from my seating position. My aunt and uncle looked completely hopeless. I knew what they were thinking. I could tell. "You think I'm crazy, don't you?" I asked, just above a whisper.

"Eddie─"

"What? Insane? Crazy? Psychotic? Is that what you think I am? Is that who you see me as now? Just some kid with a disorder?!" 

"Eddie-"

"I don't want to hear it. Just. . .just leave me alone, okay?" I said, running up the stairs and slamming my door closed. Now what am I supposed to do? My aunt and uncle think I'm crazy. They don't understand. I don't even understand. Do my friends think the same thing? Does Luna think the same thing?

I'm not crazy. The things I see and the things I hear exist. How could I just imagine that guy? Why would I purposely imagine that guy? The guy who constantly haunts me and tortures me? Why would I imagine this guy trying to harm the people I love? I see him, following my aunt and uncle around with a knife, or setting up 'traps' for them to get caught in. I yell for him to stop, but they just stare at me like I'm stupid. Don't even get me started about how he is around Audy. Whoever this dude is, he's real and he wants something from me. I can't take not knowing if I can trust the people around me. Slipping on my shoes, I opened my door and preceded to the front door. "I'm going out." I shouted.

"Where are you going?" Aunt Susan asked sheepishly, probably still upset from moments ago.

I sighed, rubbing the bridge of my nose. "I don't know. Wherever I go I'll be fine, auntie. I promise."

Before I closed the door behind me, I heard her mutter, "Please be careful."

I drove around for a while to blow of steam. It wasn't working. He kept tainting me and talking to me. I feel like I'm going to implode. Do people think I'm a maniac? Are they hearing about what I've done or what's going on? Do I keep repeating these questions to myself? I don't know anymore. I don't understand what's going on. I needed help calming myself down. I needed to see her.

I drove to Audy's house and parked the car. As I anxiously waited for her to answer the door, I could feel him standing right behind me. His hot breath was right on my neck and I could feel his stare burning right through me. I refused to turn around.

"She's like the others," he said.

"Go away," I muttered, "you're the reason I'm in this situation." 

"She thinks you're insane, too, like everyone else."

"Shut up. I don't need your damn commentary."

"Suit yourself," he hooted, a smirk clearly visible in his voice. I turned around to see the dark figure still standing there, but I turned back around when I heard the click of the door opening.

"Oh, Eddie, hey," a bubbly Audy answered. wrapping her arms around my neck. "You didn't tell me you were coming. I haven't heard from you in a while. I was starting to get worried."

"Oh, yeah, sorry, um, a-about that. I-I just, um, haven't been feeling w-well lately." I stammered, checking to see if he was still around.

"Is everything okay? Come on, come in," she said, pulling me in by my hand. "My family just went out bowling with some friends. You want anything? I got out the ice-"

"No, I'm fine, thanks."

"Oh, okay," she said, kinda bummed. "So, um, you've been kinda quiet lately. How have you been?"

"I'm fine, just . . .fine." I said, trying to contain myself from this skull-crushing headache.

"Are. . .are you sure? You don't sound okay."

"I'm serious, babe. I'm fine."

"Any other nightmares? Pains? Weird encount-"

"You're acting like I need help," I said, becoming frustrated.

"No, I'm just making sure-"

"For the last damn time, I'm okay."

"Okay. You don't have to be so mean about it." she frowned, crossing her arms uncomfortably over her chest.

"I'm not being mean about it. Jeez, calm down." I groaned.

"What's your problem?" she bitched.

"I don't have a fucking problem!" I yelled, startling her. Apollo started barking.

"Eddie!"

I laughed. What? Was she going to tell me the same thing? I began walking around the room towards her.

"Eddie what? Eddie, calm down? Is that what you want me to do? How am I supposed to? How am I supposed to calm down when my head is splitting? How am I supposed to calm down when I keep seeing this, this guy around and hearing his voice inside of my head? How am I supposed to calm down when it feels as if my blood is thickening into concrete and my bones are splintering? How am I supposed to calm down when I feel like every last bit of energy I possess is being drained from my body? How am I supposed to fucking keep calm when I can't focus on anything anymore because I feel so lost?!"

"Stop yelling. I'm sorry─" she said, becoming uneasy.

Something in me loved seeing her so scared. I felt powerful, like I had dominance over her. She's pissing me off. She's acting like the others. I thought I could trust her. "You're like the others, aren't you? You think my mind is running wild─that I'm going out of my mind."

"I-I never said that!"

"You're thinking it."

"What are you doing? Please stop, please. You're scaring me."

I laughed, "I'm scaring you? You wouldn't be scared if you believed me."

"Believe what, Eddie?" Audy asked, her voice cracking.

"I'm not fucking stupid, Audy!" I raged, grabbing her arms and slamming her against the nearest wall. "You're just like the others. You think I'm going fucking insane."

-

*LUNA'S POV:

"Ow- I- get off-" I whimpered, trying to rub the back of my head, which had smacked off the wall, but my arms were restrained.

"You're not answering me." he said blankly, creating less space between our bodies.

The moment I looked up at his towering figure, something wasn't right. His brown eyes were a deep color and the faint sparkle dimmed. It wasn't him.

I yelped as the grasp he had on my upper arms tightened. The tips of my fingers were numbing. "Eddie, you're hurting me!" I cried out as the specks of water formed in the brim of my eyes and fell down my cheeks. His grip only tightened. I tried kicking, but his body was too close to mine. I was scared out of my goddamn mind and I didn't like the fact that I couldn't move.

Looking up into his eyes once more, it looked like something had clicked, for his eyes lightened into the usual color and his hold loosened. As if everything that had just happened finally processed in his mind, distress spread across his face and tears began to develop.

Eddie let go of my arms and slowly stumbled backwards. Looking at his hands and then back to where I was rubbing my sore arms, his mouth gaped open. "I- I d- didn't- I-" he stammered, "I don't know what happened."

"It's o-okay." I croaked, not moving from my spot.

"It's okay? No, it's not okay!" he bellowed, causing me to flinch. He took notice and his face immediately softened. "I'm- oh god I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to yell."

"I know you didn't."

"I- Luna, whatever I just did isn't okay. I-I keep hurting you."

Wiping the salty water from my eyes, I took a step forward. "You didn't do it intentionally. You had another episode, that's all."

"Another episode? What? Now we're calling them episodes? When's my next one gonna be? What if I totally lose control again? Audy, I can't keep hurting you."

I didn't know how to respond. I don't know if there's a pattern to follow or what is even wrong. I can't stand seeing him suffer like this.

"See? You don't even know, so how am I supposed to know? I. . .I can't take it not knowing what the hell is wrong with me." he said, his voice cracking at the end. I almost broke down into tears again by looking at him.

I wrapped my arms around his neck. He held me tightly, and before I knew it, he was sobbing into my shoulder. All I could do was hold him and mess with his hair. "What's wrong with me?" he whispered again, looking at me with bloodshot eyes.

I cupped his face with my hands and gave him a quick kiss. "Everything's going to be okay."

"I don't want to be like this anymore."

"And you won't be, but that can only happen if you get help. I know you may be scared or you don't want to go to the doctors, but it's only going to get worse. Please. If you don't want to do it for yourself, fine. But do it for the people that love and care about you. Do it for your family and friends. Do it for me."

He sniffled and looked down, playing with my hands.

"It's your decision," I said, "just. . .just think about it, okay? Let's take a nap. Naps solve everything─"

"No," he interrupted. "I'm-I'm sorry. I think I should go home. I left my aunt and uncle crudley and they're probably worried."

"If you're saying that because of what happened, I don't care. You're here with me now and─"

"I can't." he said, shaking his head. "I love you, but I can't trust myself around you right now. I'll see you later."

He walked out the door without even giving me a goodbye hug.

I shook it off and ran towards my ringing phone. Looking at the screen, I saw that the caller was Susan.

"Hello?"

"Audy, is Eddie with you?"

"He literally just left. Is everything okay?"

"He said he was going out but didn't say where. We had an argument before he left and I was so worried. Was he okay?"

"He was upset when he showed up and had a. . .a little episode. Everything's great though. I think he came to his senses. He said he was headed back home because he felt bad about the scuffle you guys had."

"Episode? What do you mean by episode? He didn't harm you again, did he?"

"No no," I somewhat lied. "We had a little talking. There was yelling involved, I'll admit that. I tried talking him into seeing a doctor. I think we want to know what's wrong more than he does."

"Wayne and I tried talking about that, but that's what started the whole fight this morning. He got really upset."

"I told him that it's his decision; hopefully he'll make the right choice."

"Okay. Thank you so much, sweetie. I'll see you soon."

"Anytime," I smiled, hanging up.

I threw myself on the couch and groaned. I had such a headache. Apollo jumped on the couch with me and started licking my face. "Whatcha doing, boy?" He snuggled up and huffed. "Really? I'm feeling a nap, too."

***

When I woke up around 8pm and couldn't fall back asleep, I decided to mess around on my laptop. As I was doing so, I thought about doing a little research of my own. I had been writing down some of Eddie's symptoms lately. I was originally going to ask Dr. Collins about it, but I haven't received any emails about when I would be attending. I might as well do the research myself. I typed in keywords like hallucinations, aggression, hears voices, disorientation, nightmares, etc. I kept searching by adding and taking away certain keywords. No matter what I did, the same illness would appear. I didn't panic or jump to a conclusion. There's no way you can diagnose something as serious as a mental illness through the Internet. I'd be wasting my time.

The only way to find out what he truly has is through a professional doctor diagnosis. Eddie needs to see a doctor or he might have to suffer with this for the rest of his life. As soon as I'm with Dr. Collins, I'll ask about it. I don't want to learn all of this information from the Internet. I want books and human knowledge. She went to school for this stuff. She would know...................................................A/N: DOUBLE UPDATE?!

Yup.

What do you guys think is gonna happen to Eddie?

Next update will be out no later than Sunday. I promise.

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