Paranoia

"I know what it looks like, OK? I just want you to know that it's not what you're thinking... It's totally not what you're thinking!"

Axel's kind smile and confident attitude went away like the wind that blew last spring. It was so nice and gentle on your skin, but when the new season came in, the wind was gone. Axel was behaving like some people do when they're caught lying. Despite him insisting that he wasn't up to anything shady, Margo didn't feel safe anymore. Her friend was going through a terrible ordeal, and she had no idea how to help her. All she wanted to do at this point was turn tail and run, but the thought of what would happen to Lilly if she abandoned her like that made her feel sick.

What do I do? If only I hadn't given her that spiked drink... we could've ran away together... OK, Margo... you can't leave your bestie in the hands of that... that pervert... Ugh! To think that we actually had a thing! I'm so disgusted!

Axel was 6"2'. Not only was he tall, but he was also a buff, athletic twenty-two-year-old. Margo was 5"3'. She wasn't athletic at all. She was thin, though, not because of any special dietary practices. She didn't pull any punches when it came to eating. Lilly tried to watch her diet, though. Margo would make her eat fast food from time to time whenever she got the munchies, so their friendship was kind of a health risk for Lilly. The only exercise Margo enjoyed was dancing, and even so, she wouldn't stay long on the dancefloor. It was unlikely that she would be able to outrun Axel, even with him carrying someone. Margo had a tendency to slip on even ground. Considering all this, it's no wonder she hated putting herself through the hell of practicing sports.

"M... come on... I'm offended that you'd think that I would... you know... do that type of stuff. Believe me; there's a really good explanation for everything!" "Stop calling me M! It was cute at first, but now I want nothing to do with you!" she barked. Despite her fearfulness, Margo seemed to be developing a backbone. Instead of sheer panic, she was starting to think clearly and devise a plan to get her friend and herself to safety.

"M... alright, Margo... look, I get it. But don't make things worse by making a scene here. Let's talk. Show me to your room, we put your friend to bed, and then I'll explain everything. How's that sound?" Axel was gaining back his composure. But after entertaining the idea of him being a creep, there was no way to get that thought out of Margo's head.

"How stupid do you think I am? Here's what's gonna happen. You're gonna set Lilly on the floor there and walk away. If you don't, I'll start screaming. All it'll take is for them to take one look at Lilly, and everyone will know the kind of creep you are. You'll go to jail!" Margo said all that with no hesitation. Given she was still trembling on the inside, her performance was convincing enough to make Axel believe that she wasn't bluffing.

"M, please! You don't understand..." "I told you to stop calling me that. Don't say I didn't warn you..." After Margo said those words, she started screaming for help.

It was 2:27 A.M. All the students would usually be asleep in their dorms at this hour. Things didn't turn out the way how Margo expected since everyone had gone to a special celebration at the nightclub. No one was actually at the dorms. They were in the flight of stairs between the second and third floors.

When desperation began to take hold of her again, the Uber driver, Michael, was behind her with two police officers.

"That's her, officers," Michael said while pointing his finger at Margo. After being relieved to see the police there, her relief turned to confusion in a matter of seconds. "You're here to help me and my friend, aren't you, officers? Michael... what's going on here?" "Ma'am, you're going to have to come with us," the male officer ordered in a stern-sounding voice.

"Me? Aren't you going to arrest him? I don't understand... why are you doing this?" as she questioned everything, the female officer put cuffs on her and started dragging her away. Margo wasn't having any of it, though. It was at that point that she started kicking and screaming. "You have to arrest him! He's the one that drugged my friend! Aren't you police officers? Michael! What's happening? Help my friend Lilly!" Since she was resisting fiercely, the other officer had to help carry her as well. While they were carrying her out of the dorms, Axel was following close by.

"This is what I was trying to spare you from, M. Why wouldn't you trust me? This could've easily been avoided..." While Axel was still talking, Margo cut him off abruptly. "Shut the hell up!" She shouted. As time went by, the look in Margo's eyes looked more and more deranged. "M... please..." Axel was trying to explain something to her, but Margo wrote him off completely. "Why won't you stop talking? I'm sick of hearing you say that! My name is Margo!"

The officers put her in the patrol car in the back seat. At no point did she stop yelling and screaming like a crazy person. Axel was trying to talk to her from the outside of the patrol car. "M! Listen to me! There's something you need to understand! I..." "I'm not talking to you! I'm talking to them... They're the ones doing this! You think you can get away with this? I'm not going down without a fight! I dare you to come at me!"

The patrol car drove off. In all the time the police officers had been in the dorms, it was as if they never acknowledged that anyone else was there other than Margo.

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Margo opened her eyes. They felt heavy, and she herself was feeling drowsy. Apparently, she was asleep, not clear for how long. when she tried to get out of bed, she realized she was in a straitjacket.

"She's awake, doctor" she heard a voice say. She couldn't tell from where or who it was either. Moments after, a man wearing a doctor's lab coat entered the room.

"How are you feeling, Margo?" "Who are you? Where am I? Why am I wrapped up in this thing? What's happening here? Where's Lilly?"

The doctor took off his glasses and seemed to sigh in disappointment. "Margo. This is all happening because you stopped taking your meds. Your sister died five years ago." The doctor gave off the vibe of someone that was repeating himself. He absolutely hated it, but it was part of his job according to the circumstances. "What do you mean, my sister? What sister?" "Your sister, Lilly. The year you both entered college, she hung herself in the dorm room you both shared. The sight of her hanging lifeless and the shock of the realization that she had taken her own life seems to have been the trigger that broke you. Ever since, you have been entertaining an increasing number of delusions. But that's all they are, Margo. Delusions. You're lucky that a good samaritan saw you acting erratically and decided to call the authorities."

"You... you're lying... None of that's true... I'm not crazy... I'm not..." Margo sat in her bed in disbelief. As she sat there in denial, she saw in the hallway, through the window, an orderly with the name tag Axel on him. As he passed through the hallway, he glanced at her. The look on his face suggested worry. When she saw that, Margo shed a few tears.

Not all of it was a delusion... some of it... was real...

THE END