This wasn't real.
She kept telling herself that, but the vision wouldn't stop and this one was much more vivid than usual. Blood dripped from the ceiling, splattering on her arm and a giant spider had made its home in the middle of her bed. She was currently huddled on top of her dresser trying to avoid the arachnid. She hated spiders with a burning passion.
It kept staring at her with those beady little eyes and she flinched as its pinchers clicked, sensing her fear. She suddenly wished she could have one of her more normal visions. Those were just psychologically scarring. Ones like this made her seize up with fear until whatever monster her imagination had cooked up killed her, the walls stopped bleeding or she screamed herself hoarse and passed out from exhaustion.
The spider stretched a leg out and she gasped, trying to shove herself farther away from it, only for her progress to come to an abrupt halt. The wall blocked her path and she whimpered. The arachnid clacked its pinchers at her again, causing her to bury her head in her knees and clamp her hands over her ears. A sudden childish logic flicked in her mind and she chuckled, the crazed laugh pulled out of her by her hysteria.
If I can't see it, it can't see me.
More clicks proved her logic wrong and she curled into a tighter ball. This isn't real. We can handle this. It's not real. She looked up and tried not to scream. The spider had scuttled off the bed and was making its way over to her. She trembled, her heart hammering against her ribs. If this were a normal spider, not one of her demented imagination creations, she would've just crushed it with a shoe. Unfortunately, this spider was much too big for that.
Footsteps came up the stairs and the spider stopped, staring at the door. Hissing its displeasure as the footsteps stopped outside the door, it moved toward her faster. This time, she couldn't help it. She screamed and threw the coffee mug she'd left there that morning at it. The ceramic simply bounced off its head and shattered on the floor. This seemed to only enrage the spider further and she whimpered, trying to flatten herself against the wall.
The door burst open and more footsteps pounded up the stairs. The spider froze and narrowed all eight of its eyes at the intruder. The blonde realized she should probably look over, to make sure this wasn't some new threat, but her attention was solely on the giant thing that was intent on eating her. More bodies crowded in the doorway and the spider hissed threateningly at them. When none of them reacted, it turned its attention back to her, advancing toward her again.
Feet scrambling for purchase on the slick wood, she pushed herself to the side to avoid the creature. The edge came sooner than she expected and her only clue that it was there before she fell was her hand meeting with empty air instead of more wood. In her panic however, this fact didn't register in her mind and she continued to shove herself away from the spider. She tumbled over the edge, her eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the impact. When it came, it wasn't nearly as painful as she'd been expected and she cracked one eye open, meeting the gaze of... "Gilbert..?"
He cradled her in his arms, looking at the spider, though she knew he couldn't see it. "Frau, vhat are you doing? Vhy vere you screaming like zhat?"
Her dignity gone, she pointed a shaky hand to the beady gaze of the enraged arachnid. "The spider, Gil. It.. was after me."
He looked to where she was pointing, a confused expression on his face until understanding lit up his eyes. "I see. Vell, it von't hurt you now zhat I'm here."
She stared at him suspiciously. "Tell me something only you would know."
He raised an eyebrow at her. "Seriously frau?" Her cold glare told him that not only was she completely serious, but also that he needed to prove he was real or she was going to lose her mind. He sighed and looked up to the ceiling "Um... everyone thought I was dead after I vent after to Arthur's and ate some of his food. Francis thought zhat I vas a monster after I voke up."
Maddy snickered at this. She'd yet to hear about this incident but was now curious. She'd pry him for details later. Turning her attention back to the spider, she watched as it hissed one last time then disappeared.
"Hey."
She looked up at Gilbert again, her eyes wide and questioning.
"It's not real." He was trying to convince both of them, she could tell. Gilbert watched her warily, waiting for her to agree with him. Despite their disastrous first meeting, they were actually friends now and he knew what it was like to have your mind be your worst enemy.
She nodded, then realized that he was still holding her. "Um, Gil, could you put me down?"
His eyes widened and he cleared his throat loudly. "Right." He set her on her feet and she looked around the room, watching the blood and spiderwebs fade. Finally looking over to her bedroom door, she recognized Antonio and Francis, wondering silently what they were doing here. Realizing they were all waiting for her to say something, she smiled. "Hi."
"Cheri, are you okay?" Francis asked. That was when she knew she wasn't hallucinating anymore. He was never concerned about her when she lost it. He was always angry or cold, more like his 2p than himself. But no, this was real. He was currently watching her with an expression that was a mixture of concern and... fear? Maybe for her, maybe for himself, but it was still there.
She forced herself out of her train of thought and nodded. "I'm fine now." Her voice was rough and gravelly. She wondered how long she'd been crouched on her dresser, staring in fear at something that wasn't even there. No wonder the doctors thought she was crazy. Hell, at this point, she probably was.
"Are you sure Chica? You look a little pale."
She bit back the scathing remark that sprang to her mind and sighed. "That's just my face Antonio. Have you forgotten I'm part albino?"
He sent her a smile that was supposed to be charismatic and alluring, but she'd long ago become immune to his "charms." "Of course not Chica. I meant that you look paler than normal." He was fighting not to slip into the habit of speaking in his native tongue, but she couldn't understand spanish and she looked like she was either going to kill him or die if he did. The three men stared at her with worry, wondering silently how long she'd been freaking out and paralyzed atop her dresser. Based on her attire of sweatpants and a loose shirt, it was safe to assume it'd been fairly soon after she'd woken up that the hallucination started.
"Cheri?"
She looked to her almost father-in-law again. "Hm?"
"Are you sure you're okay?" He hated that she never talked to him anymore. True, they hadn't talked as much as they should have before the children and the spell, but now she flat out refused to talk him under any circumstance. Today was a strange day for them both, as he was surprised she'd agreed to spend the day with the BTT and she was still struggling to put herself into their lives again.
Maddy nodded and waved a hand dismissively. "I'm okay, just a bit shaken up. I'll be fine. It's not like this is the first hallucination." She laughed nervously as she recalled the first time she'd hallucinated. That had been a disaster. Sev had been the one to find her shaking and screaming form, hiding from what he perceived to be nothing but empty air and what she saw full of monsters and demons. Mama's boy that he was, he'd tried to help, only to run to Lovino a few minutes later when nothing he did could bring her out of it. She'd been rushed to the hospital after falling down the stairs, trying to get away from a particularly persistent thing that looked like a mix between a spider and a goblin. The doctors decided that the incident had been a result of PTSD mixed with schizophrenia. They couldn't explain why it had suddenly manifested, (though no one who was close to her was surprised it had) and had prescribed medication. That was the end of the hospital's role in the matter.
Now she had random moments of panic and visions would assault her when she least expected it. You'd think after five years, I'd be able to handle the visions better.
"Chica?"
Her gaze sharpened and she looked at Antonio. "I'm sorry, I was thinking."
He smiled nervously. "It's fine, chica."
Francis moved toward her and put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Cheri, you should get dressed so we can go."
"Right." She stepped away from him and ushered them out of the room. "I'm not changing with the three of you in here. Git."
"Are you sure you'll be okay?"
She rolled her eyes. "If it would make you feel better, you can sit at the top of the stairs so you're close in case I lose it again. Just get out." Once they'd been herded out the door and it had been shut, she sighed and went to the closet. Outings with the three of them were hard. Even though one their own, each of them could be loud and obnoxious, it seemed to get worse when they were together. She searched her closet for an outfit that would be acceptable before giving up and going with her default. Jeans, a shirt, sneakers. Comfortable and functional. Not as comfortable as sweatpants, but she knew she wouldn't be let out of the house if she tried to wear those today. She changed into her jeans and pulled a flannel shirt out of the closet, rubbing the material between her thumb and forefinger as she closed the door and pulled the shirt over her head. She went to the bathroom, brushing her hair rather harshly. She could hear it ripping small chunks of hair out, but ignored both the stinging sensation and the lecture she could hear in her head. Cheri, you should really take better care of your 'air. This is why it's so frizzy and uncontrollable.
She rolled her eyes even though Francis wasn't actually lecturing her. She'd gotten rather good at imagining what he would say if he knew how little she cared about her life anymore. He still acted like her father, like her well-being was his concern. It wasn't, but he didn't seem to understand that. None of them did. They all acted like she needed their help, like she was falling apart and needed to be protected. As she put the brush on the counter, her eyes flicked up to her reflection and her expression soured. "What do you want? You're not real."
Her reflection laughed. "Of course I am." Only it wasn't quite her reflection. Gold eyes with snake-like pupils stared back at her, framed with straight black hair. A smug yet playful grin revealed pointed teeth. "Trust me, I'm real. Just as real as you are. I'm every bit of hate and anger inside you and with every passing day, I grow stronger. You won't be able to control me much longer, you know."
"You're not real." Maddy repeated, her own eyes narrowing. "You're just a figment of my imagination. That's it."
The dark haired girl laughed cruelly and reached out, her arm phasing through the mirror. "I'm as real as you are darling." Her fingers brushed the blonde's cheek and she jerked away, her eyes blazing.
"No," Maddy's hand curled into a fist. "You're not." The last word came out as a hiss and she punched the mirror, the glass shattering on impact. Pain sliced into her knuckles and blood dripped warm and sticky down her hand.
The door burst open and footsteps made their way towards her. Francis appeared in the doorway, only for him to take a step back at her enraged snarl directed at the mirror and the blood. "Cheri?" He forced her to sit on the edge of the tub as he searched the cabinets for bandages. Finding some hydrogen peroxide and bandages, he poured the liquid on her knuckles, ignoring her glare that was still focused on the mirror. She hissed as the peroxide burned her cuts, the bubbles turning pink as they mixed with blood. He quickly rubbed the bloody bubbles off with a towel and bandaged her hand. "What happened?"
"I saw something in the mirror. It's fine." she pulled her hand out of his and refused to look at him. "I'm fine."
"Have you taken your medication yet?"
"No. I haven't eaten yet."
"Cheri.."
"Stop." she turned her glare on him. "I said I'm fine."
"I'm just worried about you." He replied, gently grasping her hand again. "You never ask for help and we're all worried about you. You've been having these hallucinations for five years now and they haven't gotten any better."
She ripped her hand away from him and stood up. "J'ai dit que je suis bon!"
He stood as well and raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't believe that you are."
Her eyes narrowed at him. "Why are you trying so hard to protect me? I don't need protection!"
"I'm just worried about you!"
"And I appreciate the concern, but ever since Arthur cast that damn spell on me, you've all been acting like I'm some fragile, delicate thing that you need to be careful with or I'll shatter! I'm not broken or breaking! I'm not crazy and I certainly don't need some petty countries who can't get over things that happened hundreds of years ago to 'protect' me!" She made finger quotes in the air as she said the word "protect."
He recoiled, hurt and anger surging through him like a tidal wave. "Cheri..."
"Don't." she snapped, holding a hand up to stop him. "Just- please leave. I can't handle this if all three of you are going to be like this today. Please just leave."
He sighed and turned away. "Fine." He left the room and after explaining what had happened, he, Antonio and Gilbert all left. The house was back to its usual quietness and Maddy sighed. Leaving the bathroom, she grabbed the orange bottle that held her meds and glared at it. This continued for a few minutes, before she dropped the bottle into the drawer under the sink and closed it, walking away.
No Francis, I haven't taken my medication today. She thought viciously. And she wasn't planning to.
pinkittwice54: In my head, they all knew Maddy was pregnant and were actually monitoring her. She just was so stubborn that they eventually gave up trying to help her with the pregnancy and decided to let her do it her way (which clearly wasn't a good idea). Yes, they probably would run around like chickens with their heads cut off and I imagine that that happened during Maddy's later pregnancies, after everyone decided she really shouldn't be alone for them. I don't have anything to say for the umbilical cord because honestly, I didn't think about that detail. As for what James is planning, you'll just have to wait and see. Brittany coming back and not having aged? I like that idea.