hysteria ♰ eddie munson

𝟎𝟏. ghost of you.

    Adding emphasis on freak, as she could now hear her dead brother's voice.

    After that fateful day, Devin's voice became tedious and repetitive, the boy still watching over her. Maybe it was the drugs decimating her brain, they had tainted her imagination. But he was there. Gwen had seen his ghostly form stare back at her, taunting her within the confined room. Devin mocked the woman for hours on end, reminding Gwen it was her own fault for the state she was in. 

    During the detox, Gwen ached for silence, within the cold white walls that had numbed her soul. Devin had other plans, endless nights of teasing and knocking things over in her room.  Within those days, she begged him to abandon her in her withering mess. Just the thought of those first few weeks made her shiver. Bone-chilling shakes, restlessness, aches, and vivid dreams had haunted the girl. It was a waking nightmare, that replayed every day. 

    To add to her stress, these dreams that could only be described as hell contained her previously lost brother. Gwen would be in her brother's shoes but forever walking in a crimson red cloud of smoke, there was no destination just an endless path. Gwen thought it was some sick purgatory. Detoxing was a waking battle, mind and body screaming at each other for hours. The emotions she withstood were skull-breaking, each day a distinct version of herself but all hideous.

    The experience had eaten Gwen alive but she had willed herself to remain sober, even if the shakes were unbearable. At first, Gwen was doing it as a test, to see if he would vanish from her mind. When he didn't, she continued on the hellish journey of sobriety. Devin would remind her of her friends, Robin Buckley and Lenny Kugo, and how they needed her help. Eddie Munson needed her help, and  Devin pushed Gwen to not hate him for what he did. If Gwen was honest, she wanted to blame Eddie for the way she was but that simply wasn't true.

    All in all, she wanted out of this place. Today was that day.

   Sitting in the waiting room of the centre, which was painted an awful eggshell colour, she waited for her father to collect her. Gwen's foot tapped, growing impatient. The bags under her eyes had only gotten worse, restless sleep was still present, and Gwen resembled a vampire. Unfortunately, make-up and hairspray were a no in Rehab. The girl could definitely have a competition with Steve 'the hair' Harrington with the amount she adored for her wolf cut. Now, it resembled a flat rat's tail, she didn't approve of herself in this state. Her insecurities were present, as she stared out of the glass window into the midnight sky that covered all of Hawkins like a blanket.

    "Stop pouting, Girlie. A face as pretty as yours deserves a smile," The receptionist piped up, from behind her counter. "You're free, you've done the hard part. You can go back to school and break hearts, as long as you keep away from that stuff," She continued while pointing a finger sternly.

    A familiar snicker was heard beside her, Devin's figure appearing beside her, Gwen did not spare a glance at him. A tight-lipped smile and a light chuckle left her lips, sitting up from her slouched position. "Yeah, I guess, just tired," Gwen shrugged, not wanting to continue the awkward conversation.

   "You look like a fucking zombie," Devin chuckled to himself loudly. A luxury of his was that he was able to say whatever he pleased, as Gwen was the only one to see and hear him. 

"This place does that to you," The woman snickered, before continuing her paperwork.

    Gwen huffed lowly in response, averting her gaze to her smirking brother. "I think it was more the endless torment from my imaginary brother," She muttered with sharp eyes.

    Devin smiled brightly, slouching further into the waiting chair. "Most people would be over the moon, seeing their supposed dead brother," He stated.