Parallel Delusions

Chapter 7

It'd been a week since it all happened. The whole forest thing. My life wasn't normal anymore. It was interesting. I went to the park every morning and talked to Frank. We walked in the park for a bit, we talked, we laughed, we argued, and also went to the forest again. I was feeling alive. Mikey had noticed that too I believe. He would shot smiles at me while passing, to test me. When I was happy I smiled back but if not, I'd raise an eyebrow, which I never did during the week. It was fun. I wished for it to be like that all the time. But this...

Therapy. I had to go to therapy again. I didn't want to do that at all, but I had some kind of weird idea and I wanted to see the outcome. I was curious to know how doctor Philips would react if I said I wasn't seeing them anymore.

"Gerard? You ready?" My mom said from behind my bedroom door. I wasn't ready to be honest, I could never be. I mean who the heck could be ready for being told they're crazy and need help? I had no idea but that was definitely not me.

I put my favorite leather jacket on. Watching myself in the mirror, I messed my hair up a little bit and then sarcastically smiled at myself before heading out.

When mom saw me, she grabbed her car keys and phone and smiled at me, with a particular feeling in those crystal eyes. I smiled back at her, knowing how much it made her happy. She might've not known me completely, but she knew some particular attributes I had. For example, she knew that I usually wouldn't smile much. But I just wanted to say that hey, I know how to point those mouth tips upwards.

My mom held the door open for me. As I was passing, I quickly turned to Mikey who was on the sofa, watching a horror movie again. "Bye Mikes!" I said, waving at him.

"Bye bro!"

That was followed by a wave, and then I headed outside. The weather was chilly, and the sun was slowly setting. It was six in the afternoon after all, and during wintertime, it was normal for the sky to be almost dark by the time.

I got in the car as my mom did. She started the engine and our journey towards therapy began. I didn't know what to feel, or how to do so. I was stressed, but excited. Angry but happy at the same time. It was complicated. But my thoughts headed elsewhere. As we were driving through the streets, I remembered how many times in that week I had walked down them with Frank. I smiled a little, remembering how good I felt. It was nice, we would just talk about random stuff and laugh. Like two good friends. Like we had finally found someone who understood us.

We were passing the repetitive streets one by one, facing the same amount of cars as always. Everything was repetitive. Except for talking to Frank. There was always something in it that kept it out my "repetitive stuff" list.

In a matter of minutes, we reached our intention. I got out and noticed my mom turning off the engine and getting out as well. I looked at the building. The building I had passed my worst days in. But come on, let's do it. I'd been doing this for a long time. This was just another day. Nothing had changed about it.

I climbed the steps and got inside. The secretary smiled at me. "Wait here." She pointed at a chair and and went back to whatever she was doing on her computer.

I sat down and looked around; the same walls, the same white atmosphere filled with anxiety, and the same crooked chairs.

My mom sat next to me and stared at me. It was awkward but I just pretended I didn't notice. Her gaze went from my feet to my face which was resting on my hand.

"You've grown up so fast Gerard..." she looked at me with a sad smile. "It's like it was just yesterday when you were this tall and followed me everywhere I went with your little chubby feet..." she held her hand somewhere almost higher than where her knees were, showing my height. Then, she looked at the door as I lifted my head to look at her. And there it was, a little tear, out of my mom's beautiful eye.