Over the Cobblestone Bridge

Chapter 3 Gwen

Gwen woke up with a sudden jolt. His whole body covered in a cold sweat, and his chest rose rapidly as he prepared himself for hyperventilation. Naturally, he placed himself in a fetal position to ride out the anxieties, and his body trembled. Trying to maintain calm breaths, but nothing had worked at this point, so he decided to go with it, his mind racing to grasp onto reality, but then again, what was reality at this point? The world around him felt as if he was underwater, the abyss below him slowly sucking him in its never-ending darkness as the pressure of the ocean's heavy body pressing down on him as he sank further. It took several minutes to get through the anxious feeling, but it finally broke, and Gwen was at last able to take deep breaths and settle himself. His skin glistened with sweat, and his chest rose and fell, trying to take in lost oxygen. He couldn't explain this feeling or to why he was going through these anxious feelings. He didn't recall any nightmare, in fact, it was just another dreamless night, but he couldn't ignore the panic that spread from his chest and pulsated throughout his body. Ever since the bullying began back in middle school, he'd been dealing with depression and anxieties.

After a moment's rest to calm down, Gwen lifted his phone to check the time. "Damnit..." He cursed silently when his phone read it was three in the morning. He rubbed his face and thought about calling his friend Hana, but he knew too well that waking her up while she slept was an entirely bad idea.

With a sigh, Gwen pulled himself off the bed to wash his face with cold water in the bathroom. He then opened the medicine cabinet and took out a prescription bottle. "Only one every five hours as needed..." Gwen recited the words his doctor had ordered before he popped the cap and shook out a single pill on the palm of his hand.

The pill was bitter in his mouth, but he still swallowed it. His reflection stared back at him in the mirror, how different he looked compared to the day. His usual perky self with fiery red hair made him alive and happy-go-lucky, but the boy who stared back at him was nothing to compare. Gwen had dark rings under his eyes, the light that flickered in his pupils was gone, and his fiery red hair seemed to be tamed and depressing as well.

Not wanting to stare at himself any longer, Gwen went back to his room to lie down and attempt to sleep. Once the medication had kicked in and calmed the raging storm that brewed inside his mind, Gwen was able to at last sleep.

When morning broke, and the sun strained to seep inside the room, Gwen woke up in a rush to get ready. He hadn't realized he overslept, due to the small mishap that happened in the middle of the night. It didn't help that the alarm didn't go off either, or whether it did, he certainly did not hear it. The redhead had his toothbrush in his mouth in the process of brushing his teeth when he reached for his pants, noticing Nathan's clothes lying neatly on his chair.

I should probably give these back... Gwen thought to himself and quickly placed them inside his backpack before running out of his room while slipping into his jeans. While he rushed down the stairs, he managed to sloppily comb threw his hair and slid across the kitchen to eat.

"Gwe, Gwe!" His little sister giggled as she tried to reach for her older brother, but the highchair prevented her from doing so.

Usually, Gwen would talk to her and kiss her goodbye, but today was a different story. With no time to enjoy his breakfast, he gobbled it all down and chugged his orange juice.

"Sweetie, you're scarfing your food, slow down." A woman with orange locks spilled over her shoulders in curls, smiling while placing a stack of pancakes in the middle of the table.

"Sorry, mom!" He replied as he swallowed his last bit of egg, "woke up late!"

"It's no excuse to inhale your food." She perked up a warning brow.