Chapter 6

Jennie Wilson POV I gripped Rosé's hand in my hand growing insecure under his stare. Even with the distance separating us I could clearly see those cold, cold eyes tracing my part of body and I felt naked. I felt like he was stripping me, leaving nothing but heat and insecurity. He was looking at me like I was his prey. His eyes were filled with pure hatred towards me. *YOU ARE MINE! AND I WILL HAVE YOU SOON.......* It was constantly ringing in my mind. Each and every scene of that night was repeating in my mind. My gaze averted to a girl who started approaching me...the girl whom I met in a cafe that night. " Hi Jennie..I am Xavier's girlfriend Emma" she raised her hand for a handshake. My heart was hammering my chest. My mind was going blank. I started stepping back pushing the hold of Rosé. " You.... " I started stepping back. " Listen Jennie, I am sorry about the attack that happened on you at the cafe. It was a mistake, please give me a chance to explain." Emma started taking larger steps towards me. Then somebody shouted from behind me. " You what!? You got attacked in the cafe!!!" Lisa screamed, almost getting everyone's attention. " When, how, you didn't tell me you little twerp" she pulled me towards her, almost screaming on my face. " Please, give them one second, let them talk, they are having an important conversation!" Rosé reached towards us and clamped Lisa's mouth. " What do......you... want.." I shuttered, not looking at the maniac and his friends, just staring at the marble floor. I was panicking, for god sake. My breath was becoming uneven. " Please calm down for a second, please someone give her a glass of water." Emma shouted. " No please leave me alone, why are you here!?" I started panicking. " Please take Vincent outside, she is panicking seeing him!" Emma ordered the boys out there. Xavier and another guy left with that maniac. " Now please calm down, let me explain it to you." Emma said in a calm tone. A tall boy maybe height of 6 '2 was standing beside her. They made me sit on the chair. We were all sitting in the dining room, across the dining table. " We need your help Jennie, it's severe, I know it was wrong to approach you like what happened that night, we didn't know he would be there" Emma said concern lacing her voice. " Let me tell you something....please listen carefully, you need to know everything " Emma said in a dead serious tone. " Vincent had suffered from cyclothymia. It's a mood disorder where the symptoms consist of persistent instability of mood between mild depression and mild elation. " " However these symptoms are not severe enough to be diagnosed as a manic or major depressive episode. Patient of cyclothymia are accessible, communicative, adapt themselves readily to new conditions, but soon the colouring of mood is subjected to frequent change. " " These people constantly oscillate hither and thither between the two opposite poles of mood, sometimes 'rejoicing to the skies' sometimes 'sad as death.' Their power of imagination is usually very much influenced by moods and feelings. " " Every task stands in front of them is like a mountain. The life and its activity is a burden for them which they habitually bear....but without being compensated by the pleasure of existence. In some people, traumatic events or experiences may also act as a trigger for this condition and Vincent became the prey. " Emma voice shook, her eyes getting watery. " It all started with the betrayal of his ex lover. Her name is Eva Smith. Blake, show her the photo." Blake walked over me, his tall figure almost overshadowing mine. He hands me the photo. No way.... A doppelganger. Same eyes, same lips, same hair. She looks so much like me. Any body could be mistaken me for her. Well she looked more of a rock version of me. She was so stylish, her personality was dead opposite of me. I was quite simple and bare. " She's the one that Vincent loves. " Emma said. " So he mistook me as his Eva. " I said amusedly. " Yes. Both their fathers were business partners, best friends. She always visited Vincent house. Now that's where he fell for her trap. He danced according to her tune. He was addicted to her. I don't know what black magic she pulled upon him. " " His laptop, PC, iPad, were full of her videos and photos. Let's say he was crazy in love. Everything was going on ease in his life. Being the most popular guy of our school, perfect in everything sports, looks, studying, his social status. He was the top student in our school. " " But then everything changed between them as Vincent became the captain of football team. She started acting weird. She got irritated by him eventually, even if he made time for her. We all wondered what went sore but the truth was, she was actually cheating with a newly transferred guy Jake Martin, who was a tough rival for Vincent. Vincent heard many rumours that Eva was going out with Jake Martin, but he was so blindly in love with her, he never accepted it. " " But Eva shattered his faith and trust once he caught her in action. In fear of her reputation getting ruined, she accused him of abuse, he wasn't fit to be his boyfriend, he was mentally sick. He did drugs and all. She piled accusations after accusations just for her reputation sake. " " Nobody listened to him, his story because he was a boy. A man. She fabricated everything well, portrayed herself as a victim. Eva shattered Vincent's life. He was removed from the football team, and lost his reputation. He was also on the verge of getting dismissed by the false scandals, but Vincent's father paid a lot of donations to the school. But his life wasn't the same anymore. There were relentless chatter, ill rumors, judging his every step. Some believed him, some didn't, which upset him deeply. He felt pressured by the cynical talks and their scrutiny. Everybody were talking about Eva and Jake, it was making him more depressed, he started developing several mood swings. " " Once he was euphoric, irritated, anhedonic, insomniac and one time he was fatigued , had poor concentration, low appetite, low self esteem, hopeless and depressed. He had developed Cyclothymia. " Emma's eyes welled with tears. " He became volatile, involved in excessive physical activities, having racing thoughts, grandiosity, reckless behaviors. One time he cried for her, he cried for himself. He even begged her to come back, change everything back to normal but she never looked at him. Even we begged Eva to come back for Vincent's sake but she just insulted us." " Vincent couldn't take it, he cannot endure contradiction. When something comes up against opposition to his wishes and inclinations, it brought him into extremely violent outbursts of rage. He involved into fights with Eva and Jake. Easily fell into disputes with the people round him. Felt irritated and agitated. There was extraordinarily great fluctuations in his emotional equilibrium, frequently in an unpleasant way. " " Vincent's father being fed up of his behaviour and discovering he has cyclothymia...they sent him to a Juvenile Institute of Mental health care with Neuro-psychiatric and allied Sciences Hospital & Rehabilitation centre. " My brother was forced to stay there for three years. To take treatment, and studies assistance was also given on request so that he doesn't ruin his education too. It was for his own good after all." " After coming back from the hospital, he looked lost and dejected. Vincent didn't talk to anyone of us for a year. He was mad at us for sending him there. But we still made him follow up his treatment time to time. He was given medicines followed by Psychotherapy and Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT). Restricted him from doing things which could risk his mental health. " " People with cyclothymia have to struggle with all sorts of internal obstructions, which they only overcome with effort. Vincent had always put efforts since then. Involving in a wide variety of creative interests and activities. My brother is very intelligent and exceptionally productive. He easily absorb and learn new things, become interested in fresh games, sports and college projects, all forms of work seems to recur. Everything went fine. He was good at socializing, spoke readily. His mode of expression was clever and lively. Never at a loss for an answer or an excuse. But gradually as the time passed by he felt pressurized, irritated and frustrated by his works and surroundings. Once he couldn't take his dog's sudden death or any sorrowful events occurred around the surroundings. There were unexplained tearfulness and despair. Felt the small disagreeables much more strongly than the elevating and satisfying aspects. He started relating the events around him with his old ones. Slowly recalling his old memories, reopening his old wound. We tried to restrict him in many possible ways but sometimes events or triggers are big and the effect is lasting. It's not unusual to be able to remember things that triggered depression." Vincent was easily drawing himself to delusional interpretations of the events. Remembering Eva, recalling all his ugly memories back. Vincent also started complaining that he was having body pain, nausea, shaky and anxious side effects of antidepressant medicines. He started skipping and throwing away medicines yelling it's making him drowsy, giving him headaches. He doesn't want any treatment. Defying everything we said. He stopped eating his meals, locked himself and cried more. Felt irritated and caged, blamed each and everyone. Sometimes behave like he hates everyone, wants to run far away. Got involved into constant feud with random people. Created troubles and ruckus. Constantly having racing thoughts, fault finding, intolerant. He thinks he is tricked by the people round them, he is irritated on purpose and taken advantage of. Cries thinking about his first love Eva. He doesn't let go of that matter and we cannot leave him to look for her. It will just endanger him again. " Emma's eyes were filled with tears. The rest of us looked at her shocked.