Chapter One- Yellow.

Abigal, unknowingly has a manic episode and makes thoughtless mistakes

     "Oh, Liam..." I moaned, enjoying the way his hands slid down my body with his lips trailing close behind. It was exciting, exceptional...God, it was a rush. Being a virgin, I should have been mortified and nervous, but it felt like a dream. A fun, sweaty dream.
   We laid there, inches away from each other in silence. The only sound was our heavy breathing, until he spoke. "Well, Abby... That was fun," He said checking his phone, "But I think I oughta take you home." I was confused, I thought we were supposed to cuddle and fall asleep in each others arms or something. "Why?" I asked, annoyed. He gave me a sympathetic smile, "What did you think this was? Love?" he laughed. Owch. That stung a little, for a minute I thought it was. I laughed along with him, "I meant, I already asked someone to pick me up." I was lying through my teeth. I looked down at my phone, "I told them to meet me at the convenient store down the road." I said, putting my clothes back on, hiding the embarrassment I was feeling. I started walking out the door, and he came in for a goodbye kiss. I stopped him. "What did think this was? Love?" I mocked.
    As I was walking down the road, I threw my long messy brown hair up into a bun, and wiped the underneath of my eyes to remove any eyeliner or mascara that sweated off. I pulled out my phone, and flipped to the front screen to use as a mirror. My lips were a bit swollen and red, I guess from all of the biting, I had a hickey the size of a golfball right above my left collarbone, and most of my makeup had rubbed off. I looked like I just went through hell and back. After 20 minutes of walking, I finally decided to call someone to come get me, even though I dreaded the thought of someone seeing me like this. I stopped at a Cit-go and called several people before giving up.
    Where are my friends when I need them? I thought to myself just as a blue car pulled up beside me with a man inside. He was about 25 with a perfectly shaved face, a jawbone that could cut through diamonds, and messy dirty blonde hair that hung just above his eyebrows. "I saw you walking and couldn't but see if you were okay" He said, sounding kind of concerned. "Need a ride?" He asked. Normally, the thought of getting in a car with a stranger would have been a total no-no, but I guess I wasn't feeling myself, I got in. "Name?" He asked. I guess it didn't register that he was asking for my name, "what name?" I replied. Immediately regretting what I just asked, I shook my head and said "Abigal." He looked at me for a moment, "Well, Abby," He said, I was slightly annoyed by him calling me Abby. "What's your story?" He finished. My story? I thought. I could have made up an awesome story about how I went to a rock concert last night and banged the drummer. Buuut, I told the truth. "Instead of working on an essay for school, I snuck out around 4am and left with this guy Liam who I occasionally tutor and ended up losing my virginity even though I barely knew him, and then he kicked me out. Which is why I was walking by a highway at 7:00 on a saturday morning." I explained angry. "Well, as interesting as that is, I meant your life story. Your age? Where you're from? Favorite color, even?" He chuckled. "Oh." I replied, beyond embarrassed. "Uhm, I'm 18, I'm from here, and my favorite color is yellow." He looked at me with wide eyes. "You're 18 and JUST lost your virginity?" He bursted. "I wanted to wait." I responded.
   "If you wanted to wait, why didn't you wait for someone who loves you? Not some d********g who just wanted to get in your pants?" He asked, confused. That was a good question, one I didn't even know the answer to. I didn't realize I had begun to cry until I felt a tear on my lip. I wiped my face, hoping he wouldn't notice that it upset me. "What's your story?" I asked, changing the subject. "My name's Michael, I'm 23, and I work at a factory," He
said, "Oh, and my favorite color's yellow too." He added with an enticing smile.
                           
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    "Call me," Micheal said, "Ya know, if you ever need a ride home after a bad one night stand." He snickered, programming his number in my phone. I looked down at the name his number was under, "Yellow." Jeeze, who did this guy think he was? I thought, debating on deleting the number. I decided to keep it, you never know when you'll need a ride from a stranger.
    After sitting at home for hours, with too much energy to keep to myself, I decided to call Mr. Yellow. When he didn't answer, I left a message. "Hi, hey, it's Abigal. Or Abby. Or whatever. And I was just wondering if you were doing anything. I'm bored. I really don't want to be home right now. Call me back. Thanks." I jabbered, my voice speeding across his answering machine. I didn't pause between words, or sentences. I couldn't. I just wanted to talk.
    When he didn't call me back, I called again. And again...And again. I began to get angry at Michael. Wondering why he would give me his number if he wasn't going to answer the phone or even return my calls. All of the messages were about the same, but they seemed to get longer, my voice got faster, until they turned into complete nonsense, I even started to have a conversation with myself about how amazing a slice of pizza I was eating was.
    When he didn't return any of my calls, I gave up. There was no way I would be able to stay cooped up in my house with the sudden burst of excitement and vivacity. I heard my mom snoring on the couch, and saw her car keys laying on the kitchen table...Along with her purse, which had her money and credit card. "Oh, the things I could scheme up." I snickered to myself.  The ideas just kept flowing and the potential consequences were the last the thing on my mind. I laughed to myself as I grabbed the keys and purse and fled.
    "D****t!" I said to myself. I left my license sitting on bedside table, I ran back inside, thoughtlessly slamming the door behind me. I could hear my mother awakening, so I ran to my room. After I grabbed my license, I looked and saw my mom sitting up on the couch with her fingers on her temples. "Abigail, darling, will you grab me some water?" She asked politely. Instead, I ran outside and started the car. As I was backing up, I saw her standing at the door. She was flailing her arms and yelling, but I couldn't understand her. I kept driving, the worst thing I've ever done is get a C on a math test, I think stealing a car tops that a little. The rush was amazing, I felt so free. I should have been terrified, but I wasn't. I laughed to myself hysterically as I took off down the road. I was shaking with epinephrine. Was I becoming an adrenaline junkie?  First sneaking out and having sex, now car theft! I wanted to do more.
     I showed up at the place where my mom usually goes to get her hair done, I've never dyed my hair in my life or even cut it past my breasts. They handed me a book full of different hair styles, and told me that they would call my name when they were ready for me. I flipped through the book, but everything was just so boring. "Excuse me." I said in a pitch that was higher than my usual voice, "Do you have a book with more extreme styles?" I asked, impatiently. The lady who was working the desk turned in her chair and rummaged through several books before holding one up. The girl on the cover had blue spiked hair, I grabbed it out of her hand and squealed as I walked back to my seat to browse through more unique choices.
    "Abigal Bourne." The woman called my name. She seated me in a large chair and draiped a big black poncho over my shoulders. "Did you decide what you want?" She asked with a smile. I held up a picture of a girl with very short periwnkle hair. The barber looked at it and laughed, "We sure are going all out today, aren't we?" I nodded, smiling big.
    I watched my hair fall on the floor, chunks at a time. I could feel the weight being lifted off of my shoulders, literally. After almost on hour of snipping and trimming, they hardest part was over. They mixed hair dyes, and slid on gloves before placing it on my hair. It was a gorgeous shade of purple and I couldn't wait to see the end result. They gave me a magazine and told me they'll be back to check on me in 20 minutes. I sat there, resisting every urge to look in the mirror. I wanted it to be a surprise. I couldn't wait to see the new....And improved Ms. Abigal Bourne.
    "Lets rinse out your hair!" The lady said with excitement. She ran my head under a faucet, until my hair stopped bleeding purple. She put me in front of a large mirror, my hair looked amazing. It was about a half inch on the back and the left side, the right pulled towards my bangs, which fell down to my chin when wet. It was an extra $25 to have it styled, but I couldn't resist.
    After it was styled, the bangs were waved up past my eyebrow. I couldn't have been happier with my new hairstyle, it really was a new me. As I walked out of the salon full of self-esteem my phone rung. It was "Yellow."
    "Michael!" I exclaimed, happily. He began to laugh, "I got your messages, I was working or I would have got back to you sooner." I began to ramble about my new hair. "When can I see it?" He asked. "I could send you a picture if you want." I responded. "I don't think a picture would do it justice, I could pick you up." He told me. Since I had the car, there was no reason to be picked up. "I'll meet you at the park." I said. In my town, there was only one park so there was no need to go into detail.
    I arrived at the park, and Micheal was sitting in his little blue car, I pulled up next to him and he did a double take. "Abby!" He exclaimed. "Your hair looks amazing." He charmed, getting out of his car, as I did the same. We walked over to the skate park that was just across a field, and sat in the empty pool. I looked over at him and noticed he was taking pictures of me. Despite how incredibly creepy I could have taken it, I looked over my shoulder and smiled big as he snapped a picture. "I'm uh...I'm sorry," He stuttered, "I just wanted to show my friend how stunning you are" He finished with a blush.

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   After a few hour with Michael, I finally decided to go home. I had no idea what would be awaiting me, but I knew it wouldn't be good. When I pulled up to my house I noticed several cop cars outside of my house. "S**t, s**t, s**t." I thought to myself. I was beyond screwed. I didn't have time to think, nor did I want to. I sped off as fast as I could, half-way expecting some sort of car chase. Although the thought was enticing, I don't think I would get away. No one came after me. Maybe no one noticed. I pulled over at a store a few miles from my house and texted Michael.

Me: hey i need ur help

       Yellow: What is it?

Me: Dnt wanna go home. Help?
      
       Yellow: 638 cherry st. Come over.

Me: on my way. be there soon. thanks.

    The ride to Micheal's house felt endless, constantly wondering if a cop was going to pull up behind me. Going to prison was definitely not on my to-do list. I saw what looked like another road, but it had a mailbox on the side. Although the numbers were waring off, I could vagely see "638" on the side of it. I followed the road, which happened to be his incredibly long driveway that lead to an amazing mansion. I couldn't believe my eyes, for someone who worked in a factory... He had money. I called him and told him to come meet me outside. I didn't want to risk knocking and disturbing his parents at 1:00am. It had been nearly 24 hours since I last slept, but I was wide awake.
    He walked me inside, and questioned me about my utter silence. "I don't want to wake anyone." I explained. He laughed at me. I began to become ill with his laughter, I didn't understand what was so funny. I stopped walking and he turned around to face me. "I live alone, Abby." He explained. The thought of him living alone in such a huge house, was almost sickening. I didn't like being alone for a few hours in the 2 bedroom apartment I lived in, let alone all day in a house the size of a small hotel. He grabbed my hand and led me to his room. "You can either sleep in here, or in one of the guest rooms." He told me. I wasn't tired, so the thought of being alone all night wasn't a pleasant thought. I didn't expect Micheal to stay up with me, but just being in the same room with him was a much more comforting thought.
    "You can have my bed, and I'll make one on the ground for myself." Micheal told me, with a smile. I felt bad, I didn't want him to sacrifice his bed for me. I looked at the big kind size bed. "If you're comfortable with it, we can each get a side of the bed." I told him. He nodded, "That's fine with me." He walked out of the room to get extra pillows and another blanket. I picked up a picture of what looked like him at a young age, standing next to who I assumed was his mother. He was always attractive, even at the age where most people go through an awkward stage of bad haircuts and fat faces. When he walked in the room, he startled me and I nearly dropped the picture. "Is this you?" I asked, smiling. He nodded, embarrassed, gently taking the picture from my hand and setting it back on the dresser. "This lady here, was my nanny, her name was Macy. She was my favorite woman in the world." He told me. "What about your mother?" I asked, immediately realizing that it was an awful question, I could tell it was a hard subject by the way his eyes dropped to the floor. "She, uh, lets just say she cared more about booze and men than her son." He explained. A part of me wanted to wrap my arms around him and hug him, but I didn't know how he would react to it, so I just apologized. I understood where he was coming from, my mom is a recovering addict so when I was younger it was drugs before family.
    He put on a movie as we laid next to each other on our backs, awkwardly. I rolled over towards the door and pretended to text someone, hoping it would make the situation lighter. "So, why didn't you want to go home?" He asked tugging on my shoulder to face him. "Oh, yeah know," I said rolling over, "just wasn't feeling it tonight." He looked at me sympathetically and lightly tugged my chin with his thumb and forefinger. "You're welcome here whenever." He assured me. I began to cry. Well, sob, actually. I felt the most intense feeling of dread and self-hatred come over me. He grabbed me in a tight embrace. "Did I say something?" He asked with his chin above my head, my ear was against his throat. I could hear the rumble of his vocal cords when he spoke. I shook my head no and tried to stop crying, but I couldn't. I was having a complete emotional breakdown and I didn't understand why. I suddenly wanted to die.
  
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   I calmed down enough for Micheal to go to sleep, and once I was sure he was out, I ventured through the ginormous house until I found the main bathroom. I searched through every drawer and cabinet until I found a bottle of Aspirin. I took one. Counted to 30, took another. Another 30 seconds went by, took another. 30 seconds, turned into three until over half of the bottle was gone. I felt like I had the worst heartburn in the world, but tried to annoy it. I sat on the ground for an hour, waiting for something to happen. I decided to walk back to the room, but once I stood up my ears started ringing and it felt like I just got off of the fastest spinning ride in the world. I felt sick to my stomach, and began to run to the sink but I blacked out before I could.

                                  #

    I heard several overlapping voices saying my name and asking me if I was awake. I shook my head and opened my eyes. "Abby!" My mom yelled, grabbing my hand tight. Before I could speak a doctor was forcing my eyes to stay open and shining a bright light in my face. When he removed his hand, I blinked profusely before looking around and seeing Michael standing against a wall, smiling. I smiled back...Until I saw another person standing behind my mom, asking if it was okay to see me. Liam. My heart sunk. "Can I have a few minutes alone with Abby?" He asked looking at the doctor, my mom, and then Micheal for consent.  "Was this because of me, Abigal?" He asked. "Dude, no. It wasn't because of you. I don't even want you here!" I snapped, angrily. He had the audacity to grab my hand and apologize. I didn't want an apology. I wanted him gone. "Doctor!" I yelled, hoping he could hear me through the door. He must have walked away for  moment, but my mom and Michael busted in. "Everything okay, sweetie?" My mom asked. "Make him leave." I said, holding back tears. She didn't have to say anything, he grabbed his jacket off the back of a seat and stormed out. "My turn for a minute alone, Ms. Bourne?" Micheal asked my mother. She looked at my concerned, I nodded my head. I actually wanted to be alone with Micheal. Ya know, to apologize for nearly making his house a crime scene. "Micheal. I don't know what happened. I am so so-" He cut my off before I could finish my sentence. "You have NOTHING to apologize for, Abby. Just...Tell me why you did it. I want to help you." He assured me. I had no answer for why I did it. I was mad at Liam, but not mad enough to want my end my life. I knew that I was in trouble, but once again, not a reason for me to want to die. "I honestly don't know." I told him. He looked at me with a half smile and hugged me. "I'm gonna go get your mom." He said, walking towards the door and holding it open for her.
    After my mom blaming herself, and apologizing profusely, the doctor walked in. Little did he know, he was saving me again. If my mom would have kept going, I would have died from boredom and humiliation. "Okay, Abigal, there's a specialist that wants to see you. She's going to ask you some very person questions, so everyone's going to need to leave." He said, looking up from me to my mother and Micheal. God, 10 million questions didn't sound fun.
    "Hi there, Abigal. Or do you prefer Abby?" The specialist asked. "Abby's fine." I told her. "Well, Abby, my name is Sasha." Sasha was exceptionally gorgeous, I believe she was mixed with black and white, and had these unbelievable green eyes, and gorgeous black curly hair. "There are people who are very concerned about you, you know that right?" She asked me.
    I wasn't exaggerating about 10 million questions. That woman wanted to know every single detail about my life, my personality. Everything. She was asking questions I didn't even know the answers to.
    "Abby, it seems that you're suffering from a severe case of depression. Depression is common with bipolar mania patients. Your outrageous behavior may have been caused by, what we call, a manic episode." She explained. "Bipolar mania?" I asked, confused. She looked at me for a moment, "You've never been diagnosed, sweetie?" Of course I haven't. I'm normal. I'm the smartest senior at my school, I have friends. Lots of them. I'm a good person, I thought to myself before shaking my head no to her question. "We're going to have to get you on medication immediately." She told me.
    "This disorder can be very serious, and in some cases, like yours...Life-threatening. During an episode like this, it's common to do thoughtless things which can be very extreme and possibly lead to drugs or worse. Many people describe it as the best time of their life, and while it may be fun for some, the consequences can be fatal. You begin to run on little to no sleep, and possibly no food, which is exhausting to your body even though you may not feel it at the time." She explained. I didn't want to admit it, but I related to nearly everything she said.

Author's Note

If you see any grammar problems, please feel free to let me know so I can correct them. :)

Reviews

[catwoman]

this is a really interesting start... i can't wait to know what happens next :)

[Gina Skipworth]

Thank you so much:)