Helga was laying on Lanie's bed just talking away about the incident at the park. It had been a little bit of time between Joy coming to her home till seeing her again at the park. Since that day at home, Josie has been asking and saying that she hopes the crazy lady doesn't stop by.
"We have a child on the way and we have this psycho. We had Brooke and her parents over so we can all discuss things, and in the back of my mind I'm hoping that Joy doesn't do a surprise visit." Helga was on the edge. "We are in the park and she comes running up to us talking about the engagement and about her pregnancy."
Lanie just listened to her talking. She mentioned something over the phone, but this was still an unbelievable situation. "And that one day when she went to your house and you called the cops. Why did they just let her off with a warning?"
"Oh because she didn't do anything wrong really. None of us are maimed or anything so that is all they did." Getting off the bed, Helga almost tripped hitting the closet. "Ugh I'm a damn klutz." Shaking her nerves off she continued talking. "I can't believe this woman doesn't have a record. Phoebe is getting that emergency Restraining order, but after the damned thing at the park and Brainy getting stalked. Oh and let us not forget that not am I to blame in all of this, but you are a home wrecker."
Standing up, Lanie took her waving hands to calm her down. "Breath. I don't want to see another Joy in my midst."
"Ouch."
"Friends don't let friends go insane." Lanie quipped as she brought her back down to sit. "Tell me about the park. What did Arnold say?"
"She isn't pregnant. When she was rubbing her stomach, her flat stomach I may add, she rubbed it like she was four months or more along. It was like this." Standing up, Helga rubbed way over her flat stomach. "See?"
Hearing a car stop, Lanie kept her ears peeled to hear the engine continue to run. Counting down the seconds she continued to talk. "I never got a restraining order on my ex. I knew he would never care about a piece of paper. For years he continued to stalk me. He told me that he will bury me in a desert and no one will ever find me again. There were other threats. One time I came up here to housesit this house I'm in. I went to that one shopping place near here just to wander around. I was looking at the large tree in the middle of the quad area when I hear his voice behind me. I turned and I know that I paled at the sight of him. I left that place as fast as possible and came home. Bad thing is how he found me. Something I got on my father about. The bastard came here and I went searching for the gun we have in the house. He is truly a sick person and so is Joy."
"Maybe they both should get together."
"No because the world will implode once they have kids." Looking out her window, Lanie issued a sigh of relief. "Yeah I look out my window when I hear a car running for too darn long out there."
"How do you manage yourself?"
"I'm fine but when someone reminds me of him it is like PTSD. The flashbacks are horrendous. My parents don't know the full extent on what is happening with my life because they have plenty to worry about. Last night I had the worst dreams and it was the combination of him and her. It is amazing how much hate a person can hold inside of them." Hearing another car stop outside the house, Lanie did the same countdown in her head till she heard her neighbor say something. Looking outside there she was. "She's here."
Running to the window, Helga looked out too. "Fucking bitch." Leaving the room and opening up the door, she left to stand outside the house.
"You aren't welcomed here." Lanie's neighbor was saying.
Joy didn't say anything even as Lanie came out to join Helga. "To make the first move it will look like I'm assaulting her." Lanie whispered.
Helga stormed across the street just to have Joy drive quickly away. Looking around, Helga went up to Lanie who looked visibly shaken. "I know you know how to use that cane if you need to."
"I do." Glancing to her neighbor, Lanie apologized to him before walking back into her house to pick up the phone to call up, Brainy. "Time to bring in the big guns. She was just here."
Brainy heard her voice shaken. "Did she do anything? Are you alright?"
Lanie glanced to Helga coming back into her room. "Helga is here right now. My neighbor told her to leave."
Brainy wanted to rush out of work to be with her. "What are you feeling right now?"
"Brainy all I could think about is my ex. The one that abused me and stalked me. It's bringing up horrible memories."
"Let me talk to my boss and rally everyone. It is time for an intervention. It is one thing with me but it is involving everyone I care about. Please hang tight." Brainy heard a slight sound from her knowing she was crying. Squeezing his fist tight he had to end this.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
*Brainy POV*
I sat there with a couple having a conversation about their daughter. This is my first official time meeting them and already I could see how they have been worried about their own daughter.
"She's been like this for years and it is obvious how worse it has gotten if she reached this point." Her mother wiped the tears from her eyes. "She has seen plenty of Psychiatrists to help her and she was given pills to help her."
"What happened to those pills?" I wondered as I looked down at the medical file that was given to me. The file was sealed by the previous doctor so he knew how her parents were lucky enough to have it with them.
Her father answered the question. "She took them and she was acting completely normal. No episodes but she did complain of frequent headaches. She stopped taking them because she hated being normal. She said something about headaches, but mostly hated acting normal. We wished she continued taking them in spite of it."
I looked over to my superior and we both knew the answer. "Schizophrenics have often experienced this problem taking this pill. The doctor said in here that she was just depressed. If she was simply that then she wouldn't of experienced that problem, but with that other pill she experienced the headaches. It is because of voices in their head. It can't quiet that."
Her mom looked more upset. "So she is just that?"
He hated saying it, but he closed his eyes. "She if exhibiting more than just that and that is why she needs to be properly evaluated. Where we want her to go is excellent with patients of many types. Perhaps in time she'll be almost in working condition."
"And she says she's pregnant? She is really stalking your friends?" Her dad shook his head. "How bad is it?"
"She wishes to harm two of my friends. Claims that one wants to steal me away and the other is simply helping. She has attacked both my friends and nearly hurt one of my friend's daughter." He watched as her mother rested her head against her husband.
"We knew something was strange. For some time she didn't want to talk to us so when we found her on, Facebook, we sent in a friend request. She accepted and we were looking at her posts and messages. She has no real friends, it is all what is on that site. When she announced her engagement we hoped we would get a name, but she never gave it."
Examining the file more, I felt more alarms going off in my head. "Why were these sealed? She has admitted into cutting into small animals." Looking closely at the reason he began to breath heavily as he let his superior look the file over.
Bringing out another file, her father handed it to him. "This is why. As parents you hope for the best. You pray that she'll be fine, but it is obvious she hasn't gotten any better. She has gotten worse."
Studying this file, my heart was beating heavily. I wanted to throw up. It ran in the family. "I understand a parent wanting to protect their children, but she needs help."
"We realize this. We will do anything now to help her. We don't mind if you lock her up in an institute to help her. We are desperate." Her mom began to cry even more heavily.
His superior sucked in air through his teeth as he handed her file back to him before reaching the other file.
"Is the girl that our daughter accusing of stealing her away someone you have true feelings for?" Her father was trying to protect his wife as his eyes bore into his own.
I couldn't lie. "Lanie has never truly had much time around, Joy. The most she ever met of her was at the park. I went to her due to her dealing with her mother's health. Lanie is one of the most respectful people you will ever encounter."
"But do you have feelings for her? If you do, I suggest you protect her since she was suspended for hurting another girl for believing she was stealing her boyfriend. Those animals she has maimed, you have read that file." The father warned.
His superior was named, Frank. He was in his 50's and had been in this line of work for a long time. "This is far beyond depression. That doctor who was taking care of her is someone who should be out of this line of work." Frank hated piss poor doctors. "I'm sorry to say this, but your daughter is in true need of help. This is the type of stuff you report. Look at her Aunt." Sitting down heavily on his seat it was apparent he was trying to calm down for the sake of these poor people in front of them. "Do you truly want her in that facility that we mentioned earlier?
"Yes!" The father was adamant while the mother nodded her head. "We do love our daughter in spite of anything she has caused. We still have hope that the woman she is supposed to be is in there. We are so desperate."
"Seeing as she is an adult she will try to get herself out on her own. You will need to get passed through a judge to stop that." Frank informed them.
"I do know someone personally who will help you out there. I'll give you her number. She is well aware of what is happening since she was at the party herself." I added in there.
"Give us all the information. Now what?" The mother was obviously desperate. Her only child needed help.
When Frank told me to call, Joy to get her down to this office right away, I swallowed the lump in my throat as I went to my cell to pick it up. Dialing her number, Joy answered being extremely pleased. "Hi Joy. I'm wondering if you would like to come to my office. I'm just doing some paperwork right now so I want to see your face." I paused just to listen to her excitement over the phone. "Yes that sounds great. We can look at that in here, and then have lunch. Just tell the receptionist you are here to see me and she'll let you go to the back." I felt sick to my stomach. "Yes I'll see you soon." Hanging up, I deflated hoping this doesn't backfire.
It was 20 minutes when he was alerted that Joy was heading back to his office right now. Standing up from behind his desk just as the door opened, Joy had a beaming smile on her face till she realized they weren't alone.
"What's going on here, Brainy?" Joy was looking mostly at him and Frank.
Hearing her parents at the couch she twisted her body quickly to see them. He saw it in how her hands looked like they were resembling claws before she threw what she hand in her hands down to the ground. Moving around his desk cautiously, he watched her release a blood curdling scream before launching herself at her own parents. Running up behind her to grab her, Frank opened the door to tell the ones from the Institution to come in now.
"Joy, calm down. You have to calm down." I told her as calmly as possible.
Joy almost sounded like the cartoon of the Tasmanian Devil as she tried to go after her parents who were rushing off to the side of the room. "I'M GONNA KILL YOU AND WHEN I'M DONE WITH YOU I'M GONNA KILL LANIE AND HELGA!" Screaming more, I was having a hard time holding her back when the men from the facility came to secure her.
Her mom was trying to remain calm but the tears streaming down her face told him another story. "This is for your own good, dear. We love you."
"Please. We want you better." Her father urged.
"I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Being restrained, Joy had a shot put in her to settle her down. As she was calming down, she looked to me. "I'll always love you."
I needed the longest vacation after this. I needed to hold, Lanie in my arms to feel her comfort. I needed so much right now to help me remain sane. "I'm sorry, but I'll never love you."
"Why her?" Joy wondered as if she turned into a 4 year old.
Watching her being stood up, I knew my answer to that question, but she won't get it. "This is for your own good."
"Bastard." She spat out as they hauled her away.
I sat at the edge of my desk feeling like a failure once more. Feeling a hand on my shoulder, I saw it was her father. "We don't blame any of this on you or your friends. She has been sick a very long time."
Hearing more words of comfort, I was dismissed for the rest of the day while, Frank went to the facility to watch over the initial briefings. There was a rushed order to get a pregnancy test done. I called Lanie to tell her what happened and her voice wasn't enough so I went to see her. When she answered the door she came out immediately to give me a long hug. Pulling back, Lanie went back inside to change up, told her parents she'll be out, and took my keys to drive me all the way up to see untainted nature.
"How have you managed all these years and not lose your mind?" I asked her.
Her voice was gentle. "There are days when I do lose it, but that is natural. I just do things to settle myself. Right now where we are reminds me of where I grew up. Those trees in front of us remind me of so many trees that I grew up around. The house behind us that is so old, reminds me of the old construction that even existed in my childhood home. I came here to demonstrate to you that you need to find things in your life to keep you sane. I know I have done plenty of wrong things in my life, but I've done good too. It is all in how you deal with the stuff in your life."
"How do you deal with those flashbacks?" Seeing too much hair now covering her face, I brushed it back.
"I talk about it or I write about it. From the time I was 5 till now I just feel that I'm nothing but bad luck. From being molested, then raped at 16, almost kidnapped far too many times I care to think about, cheated on, been told by so many people that I should just die, abused, stalked, and threats to my life. I've had to deal with it all. Yes I have depression that comes and goes, but I have to talk about it. As soon as the feelings come in me I have to say something." Lanie turned to look at me. "I never told you that I blamed myself for all of that. It isn't."
Watching a tear drift down her cheek, I wiped it away. "What are you telling me?" I already knew but I so wanted to hear it from her.
"There are things that can't be helped. We learned to grow past them. We learn to teach others. When we blame ourselves it is only natural, but you can't always stick to that belief. You can't do that, Brainy. You are this incredible person and I know you help others. You have friends that love you. If we really blamed you for this we would of said so. I remember so many times that question always came up: What is my purpose in life? Whether someone asks you what you want to do with your life or you asking that of yourself, the question is there." Placing a hand on my cheek, that smile was so warm. "I help others with my experience and you help others too. There will be a few that will unfortunately slip through the cracks, but we always have to hope that they won't be there for long. Also it is good to think about yourself."
I wanted to confess to her how I truly felt for her finally. Say those three words. Hearing the leaves sound off in the breeze the way she seemed so serene right now I realized how much she just invited me into her home just by being here with her. Something inside of me felt lifted up.
Brainy is assuring us that the quack that didn't do a thing with his ex after all the information he was given will be properly handled. This wasn't an easy chapter to put out there. He left the parents names blank on purpose to respect their privacy.
