What if the person you loved was only a delusion?
Seventeen-year-old Charlotte Bennett had an attractive boyfriend, school infamy, and a supportive family until she was ostracized for claiming to see a boy she described as being called "The Wasp Ki...
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"I am just concerned if anything is going on, your daughter has missed three days of school. Students have been reporting her exhibiting odd behavior lately as well."
I sat sunk into a chair beside my mother. We were in the principals office along with the student counselor, Mrs. Sutherland. She was a pencil-thin woman with sharp cheekbones, and soft eyes. She acted more like a therapist than a counselor.
"Your daughter is still going to graduate and we know she's already been accepted into a college, but she is obviously going through something really difficult. She will need your help and support. I would recommend that you take her to see someone . . . "
My mother's hand was on-top of mine and she kept staring at me like I was an wounded animal that she'd injured somehow.
"She's never done anything like this before, I think she's just been under a lot of stress lately. You know how senior year is. I know I had a meltdown or two when I was her age," Mom explained.
Justine was usually the reason why my mother was called in to speak with student counselors. I had always been the perfect child. Being called in for two problematic children made my mother question herself as a parent.
It made me feel terrible. She had done nothing to cause what was going on inside me.
"I will see someone, I think you are both right. I am under stress and things have not been going my way lately. We will take care of it and I will be a better student, okay? Can we go now?" I asked.
Mrs. Sutherland looked reluctant, but she agreed and we said our goodbyes. When we exited from the office I could see my 'trio' standing in the hallway all wide-eyed and judging me. They thought I was either pregnant or crazy, either way it was delicious gossip.
I'd fallen from my throne; from Queen Bee to pollen in the wind. No one envied me or pitied me, they were simply shocked. I wanted to crawl in a hole and never come out again. Thankfully, it was senior year and I wouldn't have to worry about rumors after graduation.
"Am I not doing enough? Is it that I work too much, or that I've been spending too much attention on Isabelle?" My mother questioned me on the way back to the car.
"Mom—please—you're great. This is all me, not you." I assured her.
The ride back home was filled with my mother spouting reasons why she did wrong and the entire trip, every-time I glanced at the rear-view mirror I could see Wyatt silently sitting in the back of the car. He was a constantly reminder of just how broken I was.
Days turned into weeks, and with each passing day, my parents increasingly became more concerned for me. Wyatt was like a kid who loved surprises and games of hide-and-go seek. He loved to shock me when I'd open the closet, or get into my car.
