Chapter 55: Chapter 55

"Cry in front of a mirror when you are hurt enough, you will be a witness to your sufferings."

[Jacqueline]

"You can fill your form over there." The receptionist pointed to a chair in the outside corner of the doctor's room. One wall was of all glass doors and there was a garden outside while the opposite wall was filled with different rooms of different doctors where everybody was sitting, perhaps waiting for their time to be called for their appointment. The garden outside though had a calming effect on me and I exhaled thanking her with a smile.

I pulled out a pen from my backpack seeing as the phone had managed to work its way up to the top again. It was flaring with notifications, one after another. I shoved it farther inside without looking at it.

I held the form to my chest and walked up to the chair, and started filling in my mom's info. Writing all the age and diseases related info, I held it to my chest and walked towards the reception again. She looked at it for a minute then asked to pay for the fees. After it was paid, she told me to wait outside the doctor's room.

I sat down on a chair, calling dad to inform him. How we got the appointment from The head of the Psychiatry department, Dr. Pattnayak. He responded with a few warnings that were full of remembering to tell the doctor the issues she has. I answered him in a sincere voice. After that Daddy took Mom inside, her black eyes filled with Collyrium, a thick patch of it. Her cheeks were blood-red with the blush her hair was styled into plates. Overall she looked like someone had overused her makeup. She looked like shit. But nobody cared. Nobody threw her a weird glance, not anybody looked at her and pointed their fingers towards her, nobody looked at her like she was an alien. Everyone behaved like it was normal. I sighed in relief. The people here were considerate and nice.

I saw as My father ordered her to walk towards me but she refused. He said it again, but she refused. Then again she refused. He seems to have lost his patience as he lifted his hand almost to slap her when a man caught his hand. Dad threw him the most vicious glare he could muster but the man didn't even flinch. This time everyone surrounded Dad looking at him as if he committed the most heinous crime in the world. They didn't say anything, just a few taunts. On how he shouldn't hit a patient otherwise, he would be called one himself. After a thirty-second glare fight between both dad and the stranger. Dad withdrew his hand back and sighed.

"She has been testing my patience since the morning. I lost it."

The stranger chose to be kind as he understood Dad's issues.

"I understand Sir. But you have to understand one thing, she is ill, you aren't. So you have to have patience."

Dad agreed with him with a smile. And the stranger helped Mom to the chair outside the doctor's cabin. After that whole meeting with the doctor was spent in peace. The Doctor wrote for some tests to be done and Dad gave him a brief of what she had been doing in the past few years. He listened patiently even when mom screamed at the top of her lungs at him. The Doctor was sure if mom's mental illnesses after the tests were done and he handed us a little book while simultaneously prescribing mom a dozen of medicines. The little Bluebook was filled with every little issue related to depression and anxiety. Their behavior patterns as well as how we can help them.

After the hectic day, we went back together, Dad was too tired to take his revenge upon Mom perhaps because he just went to eat food that my sister Nikki cooked and went to sleep. I helped Nikki clean the kitchen and encouraged mom to take medicine. After everything was done, I headed to my room and cleaned myself. After I was done, I walked up to my bed and took out my phone looking at notifications. The messages were from Remo, I smiled looking at his texts.

"Hey."

"Where are you, Darling?"

"I missed you."

"Hey? Is everything fine?"

I didn't know why but today I felt something better. Something that I haven't felt since childhood. Something I never thought I would be capable of feeling. I felt like life would get better. Something happened right today, and I allowed myself to enjoy that tiny little hope of happiness. It might have been Nina's Revenge plan, it might have been Mom's Doctor who counseled us for an hour and made me feel she will get better one day or Remo's text of missing me.

I texted him back, with a smile.

"Hey."

"I was kind of busy with something."

"Really?"

"That's sweet. Thank you." I smiled to myself feeling an electricity coiling through my body.

He missed me. Ah.

The smile that seeped through my lips deepened.

"You sound happy today? Is there good news?"

"Nope. I made a new friend. She said she is going to take revenge for me."

"Wow? What revenge"

"It's not that important. But her words make a difference to me and I am flattered."

"Oh great."

"What do you think about friendship Remo?"

"I don't think about friendship."

"Why?"

"I don't know. I have different friends in different parts of my life. There are very few permanent people."

"Oh. Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope. What do you think about friendships?"

"I value friendships a lot, Remo, maybe it might be because I don't have friends. But I do know the value of it. I think it's the most beautiful and pure bond in the world."

"Oh. Okay. Nice."

I didn't know why I felt he was ignoring the topic, perhaps foolishly I believed something otherwise. Something other than what he chose to show me.

"I don't know if you understand this, but you are my first friend. And I would like to keep that bond the whole life. I hope you are not playing with me for fun. Or maybe because I respond to you differently. Because if you are doing that, I hope you can take your steps back at this time. It would save us both from hurting in the future."

Writer's POV:

Remo was stunned looking at her text. She was an observer. Just a minute of disinterest showed her his real feelings over the topic.

'Wow. She is something.'

"You are thinking too much Jacqueline. It's not like that, I have been betrayed in friendships, I have seen a side of people and I am uncomfortable in speaking about it. I hope you can understand."

"I do Remo. And that's why I am asking you directly to tell me now. I can block you right now and we won't ever talk again. Plus we will save both of ourselves from Heartache."

Remo's eyes widened reading her text. There was no way in hell he was letting her go before he was bored of her. She absolutely couldn't leave him. Not like this. He ran a hand through his dark hair. He wanted to kick himself for not saying anything more to her. He took a deep breath and blew it out in a long sigh.

'It was better to play it cool. Rather than explaining her.'

"Jacqueline, I don't know what you think of me. But whatever you think of me, it doesn't matter now. If you want to block me you can. I will be fine with it. I don't think our friendship can work if you think the worst about me."

A sudden discomfort rose in the pit of Jacqueline's stomach. Of course, she didn't want to block him. She just wanted him to explain it to her. She just wanted him to help her bury her insecurities but instead, she ended up hurting him. It wasn't her intention. Her only intention was to hold onto the happiness she had.

"I am sorry if I hurt you, Remo. I didn't mean to." She replied to him as a few tears emerged from her eyes. She didn't want to lose him. He was someone she looked forward to talking to a whole day.