Love Crazed

SET ME FREE

“What the fuck!?” Fred looked incredulously at Vive, jumping out of bed, butt naked!

Vive sat up, smiling at him mischievously.

Fred narrowed his eyes wondering if she was really possessed by that evil girl, Jenna.

Suddenly, Vive’s smile broke into roaring laughter. “Gotcha!”

“You sneaky little bitch.” Fred tackled Vive on the bed, tickling her sides. “That’s not funny!”

“Hahaha! What? A crazy girl deserves to have a little fun.” Vive continued to laugh so hard even after Fred stopped tickling her. She wrapped herself in a blanket and pulled him in for a kiss.

“You really had me going.” Fred admitted. He hugged Vive tightly.

“Hahaha, I know. But what would you do if I got possessed?”

“I guess I would have to BANG the Vive out of you… her… you know what I mean.” Fred grinned with a witty smile.

“Pervert.” Vive teased back.

“So what does this Jenna look like anyway?”

“She looks exactly like me, sorta. But I’ve been seeing her with blonde hair lately.”

“Sounds interesting.” Fred mused. “So what’s her story?”

“Well, Dr. Simmons said Jenna Swanson killed herself 3 weeks ago. The best I can tell, she must be a ghost.”

“No shit?” Fred’s eyes widened with disbelief.

“No shit.” Vive nodded.

“So that means your not crazy, right?” Fred seemed a little disappointed.

“You say that like it’s a bad thing.” Vive took his hand and held it in hers.

“Well, I was started to like the idea of dating a crazy bitch.” Fred caressed Vive’s soft hands.

“Hehehe, so we are… dating?” Vive looked hopeful.

“We are mated, if you know what I mean.” Fred hinted with a wink.

“Fred, I need to ask you something and you have to be serious, okay?”

“Sure.” He waited for her question.

“Jenna said you’re a psychopath. Is that true? Why are you here?”

Fred’s gray eyes looked away. He seemed hesitant to answer as if his very words would banish him from Vive’s presence. The truth did not feel natural to Fred but he tried very hard to vomit it up for Vive.

“Dr. Simmons says I’m a sociopath, not psychopath, big difference. It means I lack normal feelings towards other people. This does NOT mean I’m a psycho killer, running around with an axe and eating people. I get bored very easily which is why I constantly keep busy. Most of my time is spent having fun. But everyone calls it mischief.” Fred waited for Vive to make sense of what he trying to tell her.

“Does this mean you can’t love me?” Vive’s dream started to crack.

“No, I still love you.” Fred partially lied. He knew he should feel sorry for Vive’s broken dream but he didn’t. The remorse, the regret was just not there. It was not like he didn’t want to feel something. He just couldn’t feel any true emotion for anyone else.

Vive looked into his eyes and saw reality and the hard truth. It saddened her greatly. She was indeed crazy but also saw the world in a very different way. Perhaps this helped her understand Fred for what he really is… a hollow shell, needing to be filled constantly.

“I think I need some time alone.” Vive spoke quietly.

“Are you breaking up with me? You’re practically my wife now.” Fred’s fear started to rise. He sensed his plans being torn down. All thoughts of escaping with Vive moved farther away from reach.

“No, I’m not breaking up with you. What we have is special to me, even if you can’t feel everything between us. This is just so much to take in. I need some time to think.” Vive tried to assure Fred but his fear was growing stronger.

“Okay, I’ll leave you alone. You know, I wanted you to escape with me. We were going to leave tonight.” Fred put on his underwear and jeans and left the room. He wanted to clear his head.

Vive saw his black shirt on the bed and pulled it to her chest, wondering if he would leave without her. She put it to her nose and smelled his youthful scent.

Fred came back a few seconds later with a very angry look on his face.

“Fuck! Do you think I’m stupid?” He yanked his black shirt out of Vive’s hands.

“Fred, wait.” Vive pleaded, wishing she never said anything.

“At least you were a good fuck!” Fred’s words speared through Vive, shattering her heart. He pulled open the door and walked out.

Silent tears rolled down Vive’s cheeks. Her heart felt like it was being crushed. She didn’t know what to do. Jenna was right. They were both sociopaths. And both of them used Vive like a disposable tampon. Now she was being disposed.

“Told you so.” Jenna’s evil voice echoed from the hallway. The ghost relished in Vive’s despair.

“You’re right. Is that what you wanna hear?” Vive sobbed, pulling on her light blue pajama clothes. All reason for living slowly faded from her mind.

“Well I was hoping to destroy Fred but your heartbreak will do for now.” Jenna ran her long red nails through her blonde hair. “By the way, your door is still open.”

Vive looked over and saw it was open. She got up, walked to the door, and entered the hallway. Her once best friend, now most hated enemy stood ghostly transparent in front of her. “Go ahead, steal my body. I don’t give a shit anymore.”

“It’s not that easy. You have to be near death. When your soul leaves your body, I can enter it and take over. All you have to do is go to the pretty lights and all that shit. Meanwhile, I become flesh and no one will notice. I assume your pathetic life.” Jenna rubbed her hands together, marveling at her brilliance. She was finally coming back into the physical world. The spirit world was such a drag. No sensation, no feeling, no nothing. It was just endless time passing with nothing to do. It was the ultimate hell.

“You can jump off the roof.” Jenna suggested, hovering right up to Vive’s face.

Vive blinked her tears away and slowly made her way down the hallway, into the stairway, up to the roof top. She opened the door and felt the cold breeze of death’s waiting embrace.

The broken hearted girl slowly walked to the edge of the gravel roof top, looking over and seeing nothing but rustling tree leaves in darkness, and a lit parking lot with a few cars. It was 4 stories down. The drop would certainly kill Vive, but what if she survived? She could be crippled for the rest of her life.

Vive balanced her feet on the very edge of the roof top. This wasn’t the first time she tried to leap from a roof top. She thought about her parents, the pain they will endure from losing their daughter. She thought about Dr. Simmons, the one person who helped her navigate the nightmares. She thought about Fred, the one boy who gave her happiness even if it was not deeply felt by him.

“Vive? What are you doing?” Fred called out to her, dressed only in his jeans. He was carrying a thick coil of bed rope.

“Don’t listen. He’s just going to play with your mind again.” Jenna warned. The ghost was standing right behind Vive.

Vive looked back, seeing Fred and smiled. He did not look mad anymore. But how long would it last? When will he have another outburst again? It was only a matter of time for a sociopath.

“Jump and it will all be over.” Jenna whispered.

“Come on Vive. It’s cold out here.” Fred complained, clutching his naked chest. “Let’s go back in and I’ll warm you up.”

Wait a minute. Where’s the shirt he yanked out of my hands during the fight? Vive wondered to herself.

“You mean this shirt?” Jenna revealed a black shirt for Vive to see. Her faced turned evil, black rings formed around her eyes, and she grew fangs! “RAAAAARH!”

The ghostly scare was enough to set Vive off balance and she slowly fell off the edge…

“NOOOOOO!” Fred ran to catch Vive but he was too far away.

Vive fell 4 stories with Jenna flying right beside her. She now realized it was not Fred that came back into the room, it was Jenna disguised as Fred to break her heart.

I’m sorry Fred. I made a mistake. That was the last thought going through Vive’s mind as she impacted the ground…

~~~

A soft glow of warm light opened up from the heavens. Vive blinked her eyes, seeing angels flying down to meet her. She was dressed in a flowing white silk gown. Her spirit floated up from her body, feeling free and serene.

Jenna was nearby, hiding in the shadows of the real world. The evil ghost was waiting for Vive to catch a ride into the light source. Vive’s body lay lifeless on the ground, an empty soulless shell, waiting to be filled.

But Vive was not planning to leave. She turned away from the angels and floated right at Jenna, reaching in to the shadows with her white spirit hands, tearing her from the shadows!

Jenna screamed like a baby being yanked from a womb. She was exposed to the light source and found unworthy of heaven’s embrace. Instead, the ground opened up. Fire and boiling mud welled up, forming grasping hands, taking hold of Jenna, dragging her into its depths.

“You tricked me!” Jenna screamed in anger.

“No, I’m just sending you where you belong.” Vive waved goodbye to the evil ghost, watching her disappear into the boiling mud and fire.

~~~

Fred climbed down the building, using his rope and ran to Vive’s body. He pulled her up, mourning for the death of his love. For the first time in his life, he felt something for someone. It may not be as strong but it was definitely there.

“You crazy bitch. Why did you jump? We were going to leave together. I wanted you to be my wife.”

Vive’s eyes weakly opened, and whispered something. “I made a leap of faith. I did it for us.”

“Please don’t leave me, Vive!” Fred’s tears dripped from his cheeks. He kissed her lips with his trembling mouth, holding her limp body tightly to his chest.

~~~

Vive coughed back to life, feeling Fred’s arms holding her. She saw those familiar gray eyes. But the tears were gone. He was wearing a white lab coat.

“You came back for me.” She weakly mumbled.

“I never left you.” Fred sighed in relief at her.

“How did I survive the fall?” Vive asked Fred.

“It’s only 1 story. You probably sprained your ankle though.”

“1 story? But I’ve had group therapy on the 4th floor.” Vive looked confused.

“Trust me Vive, the building only has 1 floor. Schizo, remember? Plus you had your meeting with Jenna who also wasn’t real.”

“Wait a minute. Who are you?”

“I’m Dr. Freddrick Simmons. Do you remember me wearing the white lab coat? I visited your room.” Fred pointed out, showing her his psychiatrist ID badge.

“But we… oh god!” Vive gasped, thinking about their sexual encounters.

“Relax, we never did anything. It was just part of your fantasy. It happens a lot with my patients because I’m one of the youngest doctors in this facility. I would like to know how your encounter with Jenna went this time?”

“This time? You mean, I’ve had this happen before?” Vive started putting the pieces together now. Fred was always able to open her door. He did wear a white lab coat at one time.

“Yes, your parents told me about the time you tried to jump off your roof.” Dr. Simmons recollected.

“I thought Dr. Simmons was a female doctor?” Vive argued.

“That’s how your mind masks the characters in your fantasy.”

“So how do I know I’m not in another fantasy right now?” Vive looked around paranoid.

“We’ll get to proof soon. First, I was hoping to resolve your issue with Jenna. I believe that is why your mind has dug such a deep hole. She is your twin sister who committed suicide 3 weeks ago. Have you finally confronted her?”

“Yes, yes I have. I sent her to hell. So that makes me Vive... Swanson.” Vive answered the doctor and herself.

“Good, you have free yourself from the guilt of her death. I’m so happy we have made progress. No one could set you free but yourself. And you have finally done that Vive.”

“What about the drugs Zyprexa?”

“A placebo to help induce your fantasy.”

Vive went through every detail and Dr. Freddrick Simmons answered each one, showing how Vive took actual details of her real therapy life and turned them into her fantasy. She longed to confront the guilt of her sister’s suicide and she also wanted a male companion to anchor her sanity. All these things combined with her highly intelligent schizophrenic mind made it possible to live in an elaborate world. It was so complex like a maze of obstacles at every turn. But she finally freed herself!