The Devolution of Reality

Part 7

"The symptoms can have a huge effect on functioning and can negatively impact the patient's life."

Michael's eyes slowly opened up as the sun broke his state of calmness. To his surprise the girl that was once sleeping on him was gone. He checked his phone and the time read 8:22 AM and there was a text from Sam.

S: "Kyle picked me up this morning, didn't want to wake you"

Michael quickly ran into his house and threw on shoes, shirt, and pants. As he left the house he somehow felt like he was missing something but that didn't matter because he was already an hour late to school. He started to run to school as fast as his legs could move. Michael took the shorter route by hopping through people's backyards to get a more direct path to the front doors of school. He made it to school in about 5 minutes, which had to be a new personal record. When he went to go open the front door it pulled about only half an inch and stopped. They were locked. He remembered that at this time the physics class had their outdoor classes, so he could sneak in with them. Michael snuck by the classroom windows keeping his head ducked down low. Finally he saw the physics class walking inside and he joined the crowd and blended in. He made it to the doorway when suddenly something halted him from going in. Two of his friends had returned and wanted to talk.

L: "Hey Michael, little sleepy-head finally made it to school."

J: "Do me a favor bud and turn around and tell me what you see?"

Michael turned around and saw a couple standing and holding hands. The girl turned to the boy smiled and stood up on her toes to kiss him. There was something familiar about what the girl was wearing. It was almost as if Michael had seen it before, in fact he had seen it a lot. He looked down at his arms and figured out what he had been missing this morning; his black hoodie. That same black hoodie wrapped up the girl that stood with that boy, as they shared something that appeared to be love.

L: "You keep her company at night, give her your favorite hoodie, and then she goes right back to him? I'm so sorry Michael you must be feeling terrible.

M: "He's her boyfriend, it's supposed to be this way......." Michael's head pounded with every heart beat, and he felt a lump in his throat. He hid his eyes from Lucy and Jack, but it was a challenge without the help of his hoodie. He hurt and he didn't like it.

J: "We can sense your anger Mikey, let's let it all out." At that moment Michael lost all judgment and ran inside school. He started to punch lockers and walls, he broke the glass on one of the classroom windows, and finally decided to pull the fire alarm. He lost sense and control. He couldn't feel the pain, the blood running down his hands, or the fact that now the whole school was watching his tirade of rage. He couldn't hear a familiar voice yelling at him to stop until she stood in front of him and grabbed his bloody hands, once he saw her he snapped out of his sensory coma.

S: "Michael what the fuck are you doing?" Water poured down on both of them as Sam demanded answers to why Michael was acting crazy. The blood dripped onto Sam's hands but she didn't care, her main focus was calming down Michael.

M: "Living up to Kyle's expectations for me."

S: "What the hell are you talking about?"

M: "The psycho, the monster, it's what I am Sam." Michael started to tear up and his eyes became red. Tears came out but they blended in with the water coming out the fire sprinklers on the ceiling.

S: "Would a monster be able to love me? Would a psycho give his favorite hoodie to me?"

M: "Who said I loved you?"

S: "You never had to say it." Michael fell to the ground and broke down, the tears rolled down his face. Sam got down and held him. She felt his pain as it flowed out of him. She plugged headphones into her phone and put one bud into Michael's ear and the other in hers. She put on one of her sad songs. One of the songs she listened to at 3 in the morning when no one was there for her. When she wrote in her black journal, when the light was non-existent, when life seemed to lose all meaning. The song started out with about five seconds of guitar and then exploded into a symphony of drums and bass. The words played through the ears of the two at full volume to tune out the sound of the water hitting the floor.

"Well, when you go
Don't ever think I'll make you try to stay
And maybe when you get back
I'll be off to find another way"

Michael lifted his head up and turned to stare into the brown eyes of the girl he loved.

"And after all this time that you still owe
You're still a good-for-nothing I don't know
So take your gloves and get out
Better get out
While you can"

Sam sat up and became lost in the sea of blue color and red lines in the eyes of the boy she was so confused about. The longer she looked, the less confused she became. Michael loved her and it hurt him to see her with Kyle. The truth was she felt something special that night under her oak tree, she felt loved even when she thought she didn't deserve love of any kind. Even the scars she had on hidden parts of her body from past pain taken out on herself, felt loved and felt beautiful to her.

"When you go
Would you even turn to say
"I don't love you
Like I did
Yesterday"."

Michael once again became paralyzed with nervousness and turned his gaze away from Sam. She loved the fact about how nervous he got around her, she thought it was cute. She lifted his chin up with her hand and turned his head back towards her, like she did the first day they sat under the oak tree together, but this time she brought his head and face in close to hers. They both closed their eyes and just proceeded with what felt natural to them. Under the pouring water, in the middle of the school hallway, sitting down soaking wet with bloody knuckles, Michael finally kissed the love of his life. They shared the same feelings they did under the oak tree at 3 in the morning, and that sad song became something beautiful to the both of them.

S: "Let's go home Mike, I don't wanna stay here anymore."

M: "Anything for you."

They got up and walked out the back as the fire department rushed through the front doors of the school. Michael knew it was only a matter of time before Dr. Timbs found out about his rampage and he would soon be back to F.C.O.T.Y. for an early appointment.