When we get back to the house, I walk my ten bags of primark upstairs and start to unpack, realizing one bag is the same exact color shirt, only in different fabrics.
As I start to hang them up, there's a knock on my door, before Charlie pokes his head in. When he sees me, carefully hanging the shirts, he gives a weak smile "Hey."
I give a weak smile, before returning to work. He comes to my side and starts to help me. After a long moment, he tells me "Doctor Pryce is here. Said she wants to check you out before Doctor Williams comes over and evaluates you."
I clear my throat and take a seat on my little couch. As I sigh, he sits next to me "What's wrong?" He asks.
I motion towards the shirts and explain "I'm going mad." He cocks an eyebrow to me and I shrug "Ten different shirts, all the same color and style. And when am I ever going to use a meat grinder, or a fucking vegetable spiralizer?"
He gives a weak smile, before I tell him "Before today, I can tell you, I've only ever had sex with more than one person, to rip them off."
He scoffs, before rubbing my back, softly "Do you feel insane?"
I furrow my brow and explain "In the moment, I feel perfectly fine. Now, I know that I was manic."
He gives me a weak smile, before declaring "We'll get you better." I nod, before he asks "Ready to go down?"
I sigh and ask "Think you could give me a minute?" He gives a weak smile, before stepping out of the room.
Once I'm alone, I take a deep breath, before opening my bedside table. After I saw Jamie cheating, I shoved every photo of him into the little cupboard.
The photo that I hold was taken two years ago, when we were a healthy, happy, couple.
He had practically rebuilt my self esteem. It was taken when we had sex, weekly, and we would go to dinners at his friends.
It was Christmas, and he had talked me into wearing this awful green Christmas sweater.
I hold a glass of bourbon, and he holds a glass of white wine. He was shorter than me, and oddly muscular, despite his slender appearance. He had wild black hair, and beautiful big brown eyes.
Everyone who ever saw us together thought he was the bottom, and I was the top.
Despite the fact that he cheated, and the chance that I could have HIV, or AIDS, I don't think I could ever stop loving him.
~
As I step downstairs, I find Doctor Pryce in the dining room. When she sees me, she smiles, weakly "Glad to see you out of bed."
I give a weak smile, before moistening my lips and giving a dry "Yeah." I scratch my forehead, before asking "So, you wanted to check me out?"
She gives a weak smile, before motioning towards the dining room table. As I take a seat, she places her bag on the table and opens it "How are you feeling?"
I furrow my brow and tell her "I feel like my normal self." She hums, before I declare "Yes, I'm taking my meds."
She scoffs, before declaring "You know all the questions."
I give a short nod "I don't exercise. I have a normalish diet. I ate last around ten. I slept about four hours last night, and the only thing I've had to drink today is a fizzy drink, a latte, and a couple of beers."
She furrows her brow and asks "What did you eat?"
I scratch my neck as she shoves a blood pressure cuff up my arm "A chocolate croissant, and a sausage roll."
She takes a deep drag, before pumping on the air pump. She sighs, before asking "When was the last time you actually ate? Real food."
I look to Molly in aid and she tells her "Three days ago." Olivia gives a short nod, before reading the gage.
She pulls the cuff off, before continuing with my physical "Well, if Doctor Williams diagnosis you with what I believe you have, you know you'll have a few days of downtime. I'd suggest you get a therapy animal, such as a dog, or a bird, or a sn-"
"Snake, or a cat?" I ask and she smiles, before I sigh "Yeah, I know. I'm a licensed psychiatrist."
She gives a scoff, before declaring "Then you know what I'm going to suggest. Don't fig-"
"Don't fight the diagnosis." I cut her off, before elaborating "Even if I don't agree with it, trust you and Doctor Williams. If it's not right, you two will plug different pills until something works."
She gives a weak smile, before checking her watch "I expect you, in my office, in four days, for bloodwork."
I give a short nod, before Molly sits a bowl of stew in front of me.
~
At half six, as Molly forces me to shovel down bowl after bowl of stew, with rolls of bread, there's a knock on the door.
George walks out of the dining room and opens the door. I can hear George asks "Doctor Williams?"
"Please, call me Scott." He insists.
Doctor Williams has a beautiful color of chocolate skin. He's got black hair, with dark brown eyes. I find him attractive, despite the fact that he's in his forties.
Doctor Pryce is a very pale woman, with long, straight, black hair and grey eyes. She's also in her forties.
Doctor Williams walks in and asks "Am I interrupting your supper?" I shake my head and stand to greet him.
I give his hand a firm shake, before explaining "I'm very full." He gives me a short nod and I motion towards the livingroom "Prehaps we should get down to business."
He steps into the living room and looks between the two chairs "Which is your favorite?"
"Green." I state and he takes a seat in the maroon armchair. After sliding the door shut, I take my seat.
After a moment, he furrows his brow and asks "Why don't you tell me what's happened in the past three days?"
I moisten my lips, before declaring "Before this morning, I spent two days in bed." I motion towards my head and declare "Mentally, it felt like I was just too heavy. Like I had sleep paralysis. Most of it, I couldn't focus, and I couldn't feel anything." I furrow my brow and "Ummm" before gulping "It felt like I was too tired to even put energy into feeling."
He gives an understanding nod, before asking "What did you feel when you couldn't feel anything?"
I take a deep breath, before shrugging "Self-loathing." He looks to me and I elaborate "I felt like a burden to my family, and to you and Olivia."
He furrows his brow and asks "You understand that we all would do anything to help you, yes?"
I nod, before sighing "Today, I got up at three o'clock in the morning, drove over to an underground gay bar, in Cardiff."
He hums and asks "What did you do there?"
I take in a deep breath, before declaring "I, uhhh-" I clear my throat and clarify "I had intercourse with multiple men."
He gives a short nod, before telling me "Olivia told me that you ended up in London."
I bite at a peice of dead skin, before elaborating "I spent hours in Primark, and I got a dozen of the same color and style shirt. Spent hundreds of pounds, buying a stand mixer with all of it's attachments."
I shake my head "And, normally, my diet consists of pot noodles, turkey and cheese toasties, beans on toast, and bourbon!"
He gives me a weak smile, before telling me "I believe you know what I would diagnose you as."
I furrow my brow and ask "Bipolar 1?" He gives a short nod and I sigh, before leaning back in my chair.
After a long moment of silence, he furrows his brow "I'm going to start you on Lithium, as well as a couple of things to really kickstart your recovery, okay?"
I take in a deep breath, before giving a short nod. He furrows his brow and declares "While you are on Lithium, I need you to do several things."
"Stop drinking." I state and he nods.
He waves it off, before declaring "I'm not saying stop, completely. Just save your drinking for special occasions." He gives a warm smile "And remember that one drink affect you much more than it does now."
I give a short nod, before he stands up and declares "I should also tell this to your family, as well."
We step out of the living room and the Weasleys look us over in concern, before Scott tells them "Like I was telling Draco, minimize drinking to special occasions. One is plenty."
He counts off on his fingers "No tea, no coffee. Exercise regularly. Eat a healthy diet, so no more pot noodles, okay?" I give a short nod, before he continues "At first you'll be taking your medication every six hours, then twice a day, morning and night. Never take your medication on an empty stomach."
Ron furrows his brow "So, what's wrong with him?"
Scott gives a polite smile "Nothing is wrong with Draco, but he is Bipolar." The Weasleys look at me in pity and he insists "Draco will be perfectly fine!"
Charlie furrows his brow and asks "So, when does he start taking medication?"
"Tomorrow." Doctor Williams states, before elaborating "I'll call in his prescriptions at eight. Pick them up before five. Start tomorrow night."
I cross my arms and lean against the wall as he explains "Draco will mainly sleep for the first three days. Unfortunately, we won't be able to find out if it's the Lithium or the antiretroviral medication causing nasty side effects, but he'll get through it."
I look to him and scoff "Doctor Pryce suggested I get a pet to keep me company."
He gives a short nod "I think it wise to get a low maintenance animal, like a snake, bird, maybe a cat."
I give a short nod, before declaring "I like cats more than snakes. Had a bad encounter with a snake, once."
He gives a weak smile "Personally, I like my cockatoo. He's good for my schizophrenia."
Angelina furrows her brow and asks "So, you're mad as a hatter, too?"
Scott scoffs, before explaining "The best psychiatrist suffer from some type of mental illness, but we're not insane. We're just not as polished as normal people."
I look to him and nod "I like that." He gives a short nod.
He shrugs, before reassuring "A lot of the time, bipolar disorder is also paired with psychosis, meaning the patient loses touch with reality."
He looks to me "Draco doesn't have that issue. He's aware where he is, and who we are, so it's not as bad as it seems."
The Weasleys look at me in confusion and I scoff "I'm not holding a knife to you guys, screaming that the death eaters are after me for betraying Lord Voldemort."
They nod and Scott looks to me in confusion, before I shrug and cover my arse "I don't know, it's the first thing to popped into my 'ead."