𝐌𝐀𝐍𝐈𝐀! 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐠 𝐫𝐨𝐲𝐚𝐥𝐬

ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ

'Aurelia's Ups and Downs'

Wilhelm had finally gone down to the front office and convinced them to give him a key to Aurelia's room. When he entered, he hesitated. Unsure of the type of mindset Aurelia was in, how she was doing or how she was feeling, he hung back by the door.

Her fire red curls tumbled down her back as she sat completely still on the bed. From where Wilhelm stood, it appeared as though she was staring out the window, her body motionless. Quietly, he crept inside, closing the door behind himself. It took several moments, but eventually Wilhelm settled himself beside the bed, in view of Aurelia but not sitting directly in front of her.

The two sat in silence for several minutes.

She looked tired, Wilhelm noticed. Her eyes weren't red as though she had been crying, but she looked as if she hadn't slept in several days. She had pulled her long sleeve shirt over her hands, so only her fingertips could be seen. 

"I'm not going to kill myself," Aurelia said abruptly. Wilhelm's eyes narrowed at the statement, confusion overtaking his brain.

"Do people typically think you're going to kill yourself when you disappear?" Wilhelm asked. He didn't know how to deal with this situation; Aurelia was definitely suffering from something, most likely some mental illness he wasn't aware of, but he only knew (partially, that was) how to deal with anxiety.

Aurelia nodded solemnly, "Did Evans call the cops? She's the kind of person to call the cops," She asked, closing her eyes as her breathing became more even. "I was going to come back," She continued, as Wilhelm sat silently, "I was meaning too, the day I took off. It wasn't supposed to go on for this long, but of course, it only acts in the best interest of itself".

Picking at his fingers, Wilhelm bit his lip. "What's 'it'?" He asked, "What's 'it' doing?"

"'It'," She began, "is something I call 'Aurelia's ups and downs'. It's official name is Bipolar Disorder, but I've never officially been diagnosed, so I don't call it that. It's a fun one, though, 'Aurelia's ups and downs'. Sometimes I am on top of the world, and sometimes I want to throw myself off a bridge. Ahh, the joys of mental fucking illness".

"Why have you never been diagnosed?" Wilhelm asked, "Considering you're acting as if this has happened before?"

"What, the disappearing? Yeah, it's a frequent thing. It's annoying, wrecking my life every chance it gets, but sometimes I don't have a choice. You know how you're supposed to control your brain? My brain controls me. That doesn't make sense". She had sounded so sure of herself up until the last sentence. Wilhelm furrowed his brow.

"It doesn't have to make sense to other people," He offered, "As long as it makes sense to you. Or even if it doesn't. That's okay too".

She nodded, sighing quietly. "Why did you come looking for me again?" Aurelia asked. "I've been gone for like..."

"Six days".

"Six days?!" She exclaimed, turning wide eyed to Wilhelm, "I've been gone a week? I thought it was like two, three days. Fuckkk," She collapsed backwards onto the unmade bed.

"We're going to get you help," Wilhelm promised, "I know a great therapist, she helped me with my anxiety. And we can get you diagnosed, they'll do that here. I can help you, Aurelia, let me help you".

Aurelia didn't reply for several beats. "What if I'm not worth it?" She asked quietly.

"What if you are?" Wilhelm countered.

She scrunched up her face, and Wilhelm knew that she was on board. "What happens when I run away? Because I will," She said knowingly, "This is a frequent thing, it's going to happen again and again".

"And Evangeline, and Simon, and I will come looking for you, again and again," Wilhelm said simply, "You can come up with a million reasons for us to abandon you, but it isn't going to happen".

Dragging herself into a seated position, Aurelia glanced around her messy hotel room. "I really need to clean this up," She said tiredly.

"It's not that bad," Wilhelm lied, but one look at Aurelia's face was all it took to change his answer. "It's pretty bad, yeah".

So the two got to it, fetching and packing up Aurelia's discarded clothes from the hotel floor. By sunset that night, Aurelia was back inside the familiar walls of her apartment, safe and sound. 

______

(750 words)

final chapter out tomorrow!