Chapter 5: Therapy

Chapter Five

Therapy

 

 

 

 

     Ritch awoke in the hospital. He had been there so many times before that he instantly knew where he was when he opened his eyes. He was lying in bed, his mother sitting in a chair by his side. He knew by the darkness outside and the steady beating of the rain on the window that not much time had passed since he had fainted.

     "Hey, sweety," his mother said, stroking his hair. Ritch felt a little dizzy and failed at responding to his mother. He then realized that he and his mother were the only people in the room. No dad. No Meko.

     "They've given me medicine," Ritch thought.

     "Ritchy?" his mother said to him. Suddenly the door opened and in came Dr. Montgomery.

     "Is he-? Ah! He is awake," said Dr. Montgomery. He went over to Ritch and shined a light into his eyes. Ritch's eyes felt very sensitive and he tried closing them, but the doctor held them open.

     "Feel any pain? Anything at all that is unusual?" the doctor asked.

     "Yeah," said Ritch. "There is a light blinding me and a man won't let me close my eyes." Dr. Montgomery turned the light off and put it in his pocket, smiling.

     "Ah. I suppose that is quite unusual. I suppose you have switched personalities? I know that isn't the real Ritch I am seeing."

Ritch shrugged and said, "I don't know. I guess so."

     "Well we gave you some medicine that should help with that. Has it gotten rid of the hallucinations? It should have."

     Ritch looked at Dr. Montgomery strangely and glanced over at his mother. "How does he know of that?" he thought to himself. He figured there was no point in hiding something that had already been found. "Yes," he said.

     His mother did not seem alerted at this. He figured the doctor had already given her the explination of what had happened when she told him what Ritch had said and done.

     "Good. Your mother told me everything. She told me what you were saying and that you seemed to be staring at something that wasn't there. Which leads me to believe that you did not take your medicine. Did you?"

     Dr. Montgomery and his mother both stared at him, waiting on an answer. Being adults, they knew the answer to this question by how long it took him to reply. But when he did finally reply, he said, "No. I haven't. I took my last pill on Friday, before my leg ache."

     "Why didn't you take any more meds since then?" Dr. Montgomery asked, taking the words right out of Ritch's mother's mouth.

     "Because of who I saw. I-I didn't want to get rid of him." Ritch stared off into space, but he could see from the corner of his eyes how his

mother's facial expression changed, which told Ritch that she knew who he was talking about.

     "And who is that?" Dr. Montgomery asked. Ritch waited a few seconds before answering with: "My dad." Ritch knew without looking that his mother was now forming tears.

     "Ah, I see," said Dr. Montgomery. "I can only assume that he has been gone for quite some time now. I understand how seeing him could make you not want to take your medicine. But you have to. Don't you think your father would rather you take them than not? Your real father."

     "He's right," Ritch's mother said, holding Ritch's right hand. "I can also understand, but you have to take them. Your father would want that. I want you to. And you will take them. It is for your own health. I'm only doing what is best. You know that." Ritch hadn't heard his mother speak this way to him, or anyone, in a very long time, if ever. But he nodded to her, agreeing that it was best.

     "Great. Mrs. Simmons, you must make sure he takes them. Remember, two in the morning and two before you go to bed. And he should be well enough now to go to school in the morning," Dr. Montgomery said.

     "Errgh," Ritch thought. "School."

 

     After Dr. Montgomery left, Ritch and his mother had a few minutes alone in the room together. The TV was on, but the volume was muted. Ritch had not payed attention to the screen until he caught against of the name Zach Turner on the news channel. He asked his mother to turn up the volume. They both watched in silence as the news reporter told about how Zach Turner had leaped from the bridge, which the reporter was standing on, and into the water below. The water was still rushing furiously. The reporter then stated that Zach's body had not yet been found.

 

 

. . .

 

 

     After Ritch and his mother went home and Ritch finally got a bit of sleep, he awoke to one of those horrible Monday mornings. He ate breakfast, took a shower, brushed his teeth, got dressed, and headed out to the bus. On his way to the bus, he could feel a few drops of rain hit his head and arms. The clouds were dark, and he predicted another storm very soon.

     First period of school was Biology for Ritch. Unless they were dissecting frogs or other animals, this class was very boring to Ritch, except for the fact that his friend Selina sat right in front of him.

      Today was different from all the others, however. The school had changed in an odd sort of way. Everyone went about their normal routines, but there was always a glint in their eyes, or a slight expression in their faces, that gave away a sense of sorrow. One of the most dramatic differences was that the bullies of the school didn't know who to bully. They had to make do with a few wimpy, nerdy kids. Ritch found it strange that they would want to bully the kids who would have the money to bail the bullies out of jail in the future.

     They were in the lab today, which meant Selina sat beside Ritch, as lab partners, and boosted the enjoyment of the class period.

     "Hey," Ritch said to her, as he always did at the beginning of class. He sat at their desk, watching her as she came in.

     "Hey," she replied in a grudgely voice. She sat down rougly and dropped her book bag to the floor by her.

     "You okay?" Ritch asked.

     "Yeah. Just tired. And sad. You know."

     "Yeah." Ritch had known she was sad for Zach and Meko, but he wondered why he wasn't. He felt very happy at the moment. He wiped this thought from his mind. May as well make the best of the time you are happy.

     The bell for class to begin sounded. Mr. Peterson went to his desk and began taking roll by calling out names. Ritch took this time to continue a conversation.

     "Yeah, it's been one hell of a weekend." Selina glanced at him, not use to him cursing. She realized Ritch wasn't there at the moment. Someone else was.

     "Yeah," she said. Ritch raised his eyebrows and grinned at her, ear to ear, not showing his teeth. She looked away from him. The grin faded and he said, "What's a matter?"

     "Like I said, just sad and stuff." The teacher called out Ritch's name and Ritch replied with a loud "Here!" He then looked back at Selina and said, "Okay, okay. Whatever you say." He laughed at his rhyming words. "But are you sure? I mean, I've seen you sad before and it's nothing like this. There's something else isn't there?"

     With an annoyed look and tone, she replied: "No, Ritch. There's nothing else. I swear." She looked away from Ritch for a short while, but when she did finally glance over at him, he was staring at her, chin rested on his two fists, with wide, unblinking eyes. Almost like a Sherlock Holmes look when in a deep thought. Then, slowly, his right eyebrow rose up to make an arch. She grinned.

     "What?" she said.

     "You're lying. I can tell."

     "No, I'm not. I promise."

     "When I say you're lying, saying the same thing again isn't going to make me believe you're telling the truth this time." She grinned slightly bigger.

     "Ritch, seriously. There's-," the teacher called her name, "-here!- nothing wrong."

     "Sooooo...you won't tell your bestest friend what's wrong? Veeery interesting." Ritch did a wave with his eyebrows. She laughed at this. He, too, grinned.

     Then, suddenly, his grin faded. His joking nature dissapeared completely. He turned away from Selina and stared at his desk. He rested his chin in the palm of his hand, and he didn't say another word to Selina for the rest of the period.

 

. . .

 

     The bell rang for third period, World History, to begin. Megan came to sit in her desk behind Ritch. When she sat down, Ritch quickly turned around in his seat, nearly flipping the entire desk over, and screamed: "My baby, Megan!" He smiled again, showing nearly every tooth in his mouth, and held his arms wide open. He had pronounced 'Megan' like 'Mee-gan.'

     She gave a half-hearted smile and leaned over her desk to give him a hug. She, too, had a sorrowful expression.

     "I'm sorry about yesterday," Ritch said. "How are you?"

     "It's okay. I know it wasn't the real Ritch. And I'm doing okay, I guess."

     "Good," Ritch said. Megan noticed Ritch's eyes widen. She followed his gaze and noticed her shirt was hanging too low around her neck. Ritch was looking down her shirt. She pulled her shirt up, preventing him from seeing anything. He looked her in the eyes and said, "Why are you burying your treasure?"

 

. . .

 

     It was seventh period, which meant Study Hall for Ritch. He had just been through a very different sixth period. The gang that use to bully Meko and Zach sat in the bleachers in the gym, talking amongst each other. They, too, were lost. But now, he was headed for the best class of the day.

     During class, Ritch once again talked to his friend Lucas Harrison. Today, however, they were not throwing joking insults at one another, so there was no crowd surrounding them. Instead, Lucas and Ritch had briefly discussed the events that had happened over the weekend. But, not wanting to talk about something so depressing and sad, Lucas started a new conversation.

     "Do you remember Satie? My last girlfriend? The one I broke up with about a month ago?" Lucas asked.

     Ritch nodded as he said, "Yes. The ugly one. Oh wait! They were all ugly." Lucas ignored this, being use to Ritch's joking insults.

     "Yeah, well, she sent me a text with a picture of her and her new boyfriend in bed. Just to rub it in my face that she has found someone new."

     "Really? Wow."

     "Yeah. So what did I do? I sent the pic to her dad." Lucas smiled an evil smile. Ritch laughed and said, "You didn't! Seriously?"

     "Yep. I would have killed to have seen her face when her dad went up to her about it." Ritch continued laughing.

     A large, black girl walked over to Ritch, holding a sheet of paper. She had her hair in pigtails and wore a dirty, white shirt and torn jeans. She looked down at him and said in a squeeky voice, "Can you help me with my homework? You're smart and all."

     Ritch quit laughing but his smile didn't fade. He told her, "I'm sorry. I'm busy. I'll have to ignore you some other time, okay?" He reached up to pat her on the shoulder.

     "It's just a few problems. I'll do them all if you just teach me how to do them," she said.

     "Oh, I'd love to help you out!" Ritch said, smiling at her. She smiled back, her large cheeks covering up her eyes. "Which way did you come in?" Ritch finished. Her smile faded as she slowly got the joke.

     "Just one, please?" she said. Ritch's smile dissapeared and he said in an annoying tone: "I'm sorry, but you must have mistaken me for someone who gives a damn." She looked at him for a moment, then walked away.

     Ritch turned back to Lucas, who was staring at him.

     "That was kinda mean, don't you think?" Lucas said.

     "I have better things to do. Besides, I told her nicely the first two times that I wasn't helping. She insisted to annoy me about it. She got what she deserved."

     Lucas had the expression of dissagreement on his face, but he started a new conversation so he wouldn't start an arguement. A few minutes into the conversation, Ritch changed personalities once again. He tried to keep it hidden that he had changed, as he always tried to do. Lucas continued talking, so apparently he didn't notice any changes in Ritch's facial expressions or attitude.

     When the bell rang for school to be dismissed, Lucas said good-bye to Ritch and left the class, but Ritch did not follow him. Instead, Ritch looked over at the girl who had asked him for help on her homework. He got up, swinging his book back over his shoulder, and went over to her.

     "Hey, I'm sorry," Ritch told her. " I have an illness that makes me do and say things I normally wouldn't do. How about I take your homework home and do it? Besides, it's very easy. I'll make it up to you." She was putting things in her pink bookbag as Ritch told her this, no doubt deeply annoyed by him. When she stood up she told him: "Don't worry about it. I got someone else's help." She then left the room.

     Ritch watched her leave as he stood all alone in the room. He closed his eyes and sighed.

     He met with Megan outside, as usual. Nothing special happened. Ritch felt too bad to talk much, and she, too, seemed too depressed to talk too long. And so they gave each other a quick kiss and he got on his bus.

 

By him, on the window, he noticed the first drop of rain since that morning. It wouldn't be the last one, he was sure.

 

. . .

 

     Every Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday after school, Ritch would have to go meet with a therapist. Doctor Palamen was the therapist's name. He was a large, black man who was always dressed nicely. He always spoke in a soothing, calm voice, as therapists often do. Ritch's mother dropped him off at the doctor's office and would then go shopping or go back home until she had to go back to the office to pick Ritch up.

     The goal of the therapy was to merge all of Ritch's alters, or different personalities, into one, single personality. When Ritch had first started his therapy, over six years ago, he had around nine personalities. Now he only has around five. It had been a long and difficult journey. One that Ritch thought would never succeed.

     Today was no different from the others. Ritch would sit in the comfortable chair in the small, nicely decorated and organized room. Doctor Palamen would sit in front of him, one leg resting on the other, holding his notebook. The only light would be coming from two lamps, which are both on opposite sides of the room, and the windows. Today, however, the clouds didn't allow much light through.

     The floor was carpet, the ceiling seemed lower than other rooms, and the walls were grey. The doctor's desk was organized, as always. The bookshelf behind the desk was completely filled with books. There was a poster of the human brain on the wall above the bookshelf.

     The rain began to tap against the windows as Doctor Palamen took his seat before Ritch. There was a small, circular glass desk between them, which held on top of it two white tea cups, both filled with tea.

     "Good afternoon, Ritch," Dr. Palamen said, flipping through the pages of his notebook.

     "Good afternoon," Ritch replied. Ritch sat in the chair with his elbows on his knees and his chin resting on his fists. He was already eager to get out of there.

     "So tell me about school," Dr. Palamen said. The doctor leaned on his fist with his elbow against the arm of the chair. He was wearing a gray vest with a red tie tucked underneath. A white, long-sleeved shirt, beneath the vest, was tucked in underneath khaki pants, which were helped up by a brown belt. The man was balding at the top of his head, but he still had a good bit of gray hair on his head. He had absolutely no recognizable facial hair.

     Ritch sighed before answering: "It was okay. Boring. Nothing special about it." Ritch knew Dr. Palamen wouldn't take this as an answer, so he prepared himself for another question about school.

     "Nothing at all? Who did you talk with?" Dr. Palamen asked.

     "My friend Selina, my girlfriend Megan, and my friend Lucas. Other people who don't matter much." Dr. Palamen seemed to be offended by the last part. Ritch didn't know why.

     "How many times did you switch personalities?"

     "Umm...around four or five times."

     "Who were you with when you switched?"

     "Selina and Lucas. The other times I was with no one."

     "What time of day was it when you switched?" Ritch didn't know how these questions did any good, but he had learned the hard way that it did no good to try and not answer them.

     "Morning, with Selina, early afternoon with no one in particular, and then in seventh period with Lucas."

     "Anything interesting happen during those periods?" Ritch sensed that Dr. Palamen was getting at something.

     "Not really. I was just acting stupid first period with Selina and..well..stupid and rude during seventh period." This seemed to Ritch what Dr. Palamen had been waiting to hear.

     "Rude? How were you rude?" Dr. Palamen asked.

     "There was this girl, this big, black girl, who wanted me to help her with her homework. I said some mean things to her. Not about her appearance but mean jokes about not wanting to help her and stuff."

     "I see," Dr. Palamen said. He waited a few moments before smiling. He then said, "That 'big, black girl' is my daugher, Ritch."

     "Damn," Ritch thought.

 

. . .

 

     Ritch had a good sleep that night. The first he had had in a very long while. No hallucinations or noises. Just pure silence. His mother had watched him take his pills, which he was very glad he had taken now. He did, however, deeply miss his father.

     The next morning at school, Ritch sat in the Biology classroom waiting to greet Selina with a large smile. But when she came in, his smile faded away. She had a black eye.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Author's Note

How are you liking the story so far? Where do you think it is going? (You're probably wrong). Who is your favorite character so far? (I know, not so much to choose from). :p
Anything that could need some improvements? Please be honest, and thank you.

Reviews

[~Lizzy♬]

Blakey, you really have writing talent. I just love reading your writings, they make me smile. (In a good way.) Your writing is very fluent and it doesn't go too fast or too slow. I think that this story could go in many different directions, so I'm hoping to see where it leads up to. I actually love all of the characters, they just pop out from the story. I really didn't see anything actually, since you have been getting really good.

[Coyote Poetry]

The story is amazing. The storyline gets stronger and better with each chapter. I like the characters and the feel of this tale. I like the feel of walking on edge and trying to figure what is real or not in the story. Thank you for a excellent chapter.
Coyote

[0_o Abbie]

Love the story. It's really pulled me in. Oh wow. Black eye? I'm gonna say jerk wad boyfriend. lol. Where is it going??? Uh... yeah idrk. Fav character? probably the goofy rich. Uh... stuff to work on? Probably not being so random. Like the black girl being his daughter should've been foreshadowed a little bit more. Um... Lets see. Um... You need more of a plot. Where are you going with this? Why am I reading it? What's the point? That kind of thing. Other than that I love it! :D Keep going. :D

[Short.Nerd]

:O Why does she have a black eye? ANd I would've thought exactly what Ritch thought when I found out she was his daughter. very good chapter!

[halflives]

Uh oh. Awesome cliffhanger. Makes me want to devour more. But there's no more to devour... Dx
Anyway, this story is absolutely capivating. It's realistic and research has obviously been applied. I didn't see any mistakes, or any need for improvements. It's a wonderful read. I sure do hope you continue with this.

[Miss Sally Sunshine]

I love the story so far!!! I have no idea where it's going!!! And my favorite, like speaknow, is Megan!!! She just seemstruely nice, and kind :) I like her. Love the story!!!

[Dreamer<3]

I looooove it! I can't even describe how amazing this is! Irdk where it's going, but I'm sure I'll love it no matter where it ends up. My favorite character is Megan(:

[Liz]

Keep me in your read requests too, please(:
As i have said to you many times before, i really love this.
I don't know who my favorite character would have to be.. it'd be easy to choose Ritch, but i'm not really sure.
I'm also very curious as to what happened with Selena! And i'm sure Ritch felt stupid when he realized the girl he was rude to was his therapist's daughter.

[Karli]

Wow! This is really good. I like it so far, I just need to re-read to refresh my memory. I don't know who my favorite is, honestly. It takes me a while to develop that kind of opinion. Keep me in your read requests!:)

-Karli

[SweetHeart (:]

Did you write this your-self???
and so far its very good i really like it.
and i havnt read enough of the chapters to know whats the best character!