His Sick Obsessions

Chapter Fourty Six: James

I waited by the door listening to Serena's distant voice.

"My last boyfriend, he was very abusive. Physically, verbally, and mentally. He always got his way, he chose what I wore, what I ate, when I ate, who I was allowed to hang out with, and pretty much everything else in my life" She stopped talking.

I decided not to go in. I wanted to listen. Who is Serena? The question that I yet to figure out.

"He even sent me to the hospital at one point. But what I figured out is sometimes it's better to just go with it. If you know he hates red, then you get rid of all the red before he makes you. You just do the things that you know in advance that they like before they have the chance to fight you on it, even if you're biting your tongue in the process. Can't swallow the poison with a closed mouth" She said.

I guess she was trying to imply that's how Meme should be with Danny. He'd like it but it wasn't real.

"Why would you stay with them?" Meme asked, I could hear the shock in her voice.

"I needed some one to fill the space from what happened before. My first relationship was built on love. This relationship was built on lust. I guess at the time, anything was better than being reminded that the one I loved was dead and never coming back. But I mean, that relationship isn't far off from most of my friendships. I think that's true with a lot of people, you do the things you hate because everyone else loves them" Serena answered.

I thought back to my friendships trying to reassure myself that it wasn't true. But then I remembered Danny, I did this for him and what he wanted. It was true, I can't admit this is what I wanted for myself. Hell, I guess if I really thought about it that was true with my relationship with my dad.

"So what changed? I mean, what got you out?" Meme asked.

"He got worse. He wanted me to bleach my hair blonde and get other modifications to fit his perfect image. He didn't want me to spend so much time with my family and he was affecting my school work. Along with an endless list of reasons" She said simply, as simple as she tried to sound I could almost sense there was a different reason. Not that those weren't bad enough, but something worse.

I entered the room just as Meme spoke, "How do you fake it, if it's wrong?" She asked.

Serena avoided my general direction, "No matter how much you hate it just try to look at the image without you in it. If you aren't who they want, the next person is. Friends, relationships, and even family" She said adjusting her tucked in legs.

"Now that's not true" I said, joining the conversation.

Serena hesitated before she challenged me, "Oh yeah? Explain".

"People become friends or even date people because they like them for who they are" I said, our conversation slowly turning into a scene from a PG movie.

"That's where you're wrong. We are all fakes. No one is real with anyone. You may think you are the same but the way you talk to me would be different from how you talk to your girlfriend. Which is different from how you talk to your friends and so forth" She shrugged her shoulders. "What can I say, raised from fakes, born fake. It's human nature at its finest" She finished.

It still felt wrong, or at least weird. Sure I act different around different people, we all do. Sure I also fake certain interests, who doesn't? But does that really make everyone fake? It just means we care too much about what others think.

My phone buzzed, a text from Danny, "I need to speak to you" Is all it said. For some reason I was already dreading those six words.

He's your friend, I reassured myself as I left the room. It didn't take that long to find him, he was upstairs waiting outside the tan walls of my room.

"I need you to do something for me," He looked behind me, checking to make sure no one was hidden behind me. "I need you to split Meme and Serena up. I don't want them knowing that I asked you to do this," he lowered his voice, "I really do not want them seeing each other. I don't want them getting any sort of ideas or... Anything that might jeopardize my relationship with Meme" He ended his words with a stern expression.

"Okay, I'll come up with something. Don't sweat it, they haven't really said anything" I said trying not to stress him out.

He nodded slowly before I walked out. When I reentered the room Serena was starting to braid Memes hair. Girls.

"Serena, I need to talk to you can you come with me?" I asked.

Serena's eyes flickered to Meme for help but she didn't see it because Meme was looking at me.

"What do you need to talk to me about?" She asked stalling.

"Just come with me" I demanded a little harder.

She got up and followed me, today she seemed more hesitant. Like she finally figured out the situation she was in. When we got to the kitchen I nodded to the table. Before I joined her I filled a glass with water and set it down on the table. Setting down two pills next to the glass. Her eyes watched them like they were going to jump out at her and then she moved her gaze. She wasn't looking at me, her eyes on my arm to avoid looking at the tiny pills.

"You need to take them" I said after several minutes ticked away in silence.

"And why is that? You think just because the prescription is in my name I need to take them?" She stalled.

"Obviously. They are yours" I replied.

"I don't take them anymore for a reason. I'm off of them, there's no use to take them when I grew out of them" She said picking her words.

"Well, we want you back on them" I said blocking her words.

"Why?" Her voice broke ever so slightly.

"Just take them or I will force you to" I said starting to get bored.

She picked them up, they rolled to the center of her palm. She stared at them silently, swallowing dryly she continued her stare down. She brought the cup closer to her.

"Please, please don't make me. You don't understand" She pleaded.

"Enlighten me, what don't I understand? Better yet, how about you tell me why you needed them to begin with" I bargained.

"That's just it I never needed them. I just had an asshole doctor who made assumptions about me because of my past. I never wanted or needed the pills, I don't know if you could tell but I have done pretty good with my life without the help of prescriptions" She said getting complicated.

"Fine, you didn't need them. But what are they for?" I asked growing intrigued at how distraught they made her.

"Look them up. I don't want to talk about it" Her expression stony.

"Take the pills" I pushed.

She went back to staring at them. I wondered what was going on in her head. They were just pills, they wouldn't kill her. She closed her eyes tightly for a minute, racking her mind. When she opened her eyes she popped the pills into her mouth and then chased them with the water.

We were silent again. She couldn't look at me. Her fingers strummed against the sides of the glass. Clear droplets beaded down slowly.

"I... I have to take them the same time everyday. I don't want to take pills I don't need, but if you force me I can't just have them whenever you deem fit" her voice was low and sheltered.

"Okay... How about breakfast, what do you want?" I asked getting up.

"I'm not hungry" Her hands traced a spot on her neck. "Thanks anyway" She added.

"Are you actually not hungry or do you just not trust me?" I finally asked.

She smiled at my words, a weird knowing smile that held secrets I'd never know.

"How about this, I'm not hungry and I don't trust you" she toyed.