A loud knocking disrupted Gus from his morning cereal routine. He stood up, grabbed his bowl of wheaties and headed out into the hallway of the complex to find a man about his age, with very short hair, in jeans, a t-shirt and a brown suede jacket, banging on Melanie's door across the hall. Gus stood there and ate his cereal, simply watching for a bit.
"Melanie, open up!" the man shouted, "I'm done waiting to hear from you, let me in!" Finally the man turned around and noticed Gus, who merely waved politely and went right about eating. The man turned back and continued to bang on the door, until he finally sighed and looked back at Gus. Gus walked past him, knocked calmly on the door and spoke. "Yo, your highness, you got a visitor!" he shouted, and finally the door opened a crack. The man pushed his way inside to find Melanie standing there in pajama pants and an oversized flannel, her hair up, her eyes dark like she'd been crying. Gus stayed in the hall and watched, making sure the man wouldn't hurt her. The man stopped in the middle of her living room and sighed, shaking his head. "This is sad," he said. "What are you doing here?" Melanie softly asked. "I've been leaving you messages for months. You haven't called me back, you won't respond when mom calls, so I'm here to take you to mom. We all need to have a talk," the man said. "Are you her brother or something?" Gus asked, finally butting in. "Yeah, this is my brother, Shane," Melanie replied, answering for him, "the rightful heir to the throne, the prince in all his princely glory." Shane grabbed a coat off the floor and tossed it at Melanie, then picked up her shoes and handed them to her before standing and staring at her, arms folded. "Get dressed," he said, "We have to go see mom." Melanie reluctantly pulled her jacket and shoes on, as Gus shrugged and headed back into his apartment. Once Melanie was finished, she and Shane exited the apartment, locked it up and headed down to the street where Shane's jeep was parked. They climbed inside and fastened their seatbelts then Shane started up his jeep and pulled away from the curb, heading towards their mothers house. As Shane fiddled with his radio dial, he glanced over at Melanie, who looked extremely displeased with this entire situation. "Pouting isn't going to make it any better," he said. "It isn't gonna make your face any better," she replied, making him laugh. Despite her problems, Shane had always loved his little sister, and had always sworn to protect her, even if it meant his own life taking somewhat of a hit. He didn't mind. That's how much she mattered to him. He just wished she understood that this wasn't an act of war, it was an act of compassion. Their mother was worried about her, and it was up to Shane to bring the family back together albeit even for a brief moment. After a bit, they pulled up to their childhood home, and Melanie - reluctantly, considering - got out of the car and followed Shane up the walkway to the front door. Shane unlocked the door and let them both in. The place looked the same as it had for the last 15 years. The furniture was the same, the wallpaper had never changed and the tone of the house was the same as it had been before. Not a single thing had been touched, and the whole house looked like a snapshot, frozen in time. Finally, from out of the kitchen, their mother, Karen, walked in and smiled at them before quickly rushing forward and putting her arms around Melanie. "Sweetheart!" she cried, squeezing Mel tightly, "oh god, it's so nice to touch you again." The three of them took seats on the couches and nobody spoke for a moment as Karen drank her coffee and then offered to get a cup for either of her kids, both of whom turned it down. After a few minutes of just sitting together in silence, Karen finally opened a box of biscottis on the coffee table and handed them to her kids before unwrapping one herself and biting into it. "I'm glad Shane was able to bring you," Karen said, "How have you been? I've left you messages but you haven't called me back, and I understand why. I just...I got worried after a while." "Nothing to be worried about," Melanie answered quietly, "I am a teachers assistant, and I'm seeing a therapist. Everything is fine." This admittance shocked her mother and brother, both of who sat somewhat slack jawed upon hearing this. After a few awkward glances between them, Shane finally spoke again, breaking the silence. "Seriously? You're seeing a therapist? Of your own accord?" he asked. "It was a friends suggestion actually, but yes, and it is helping tremendously," Melanie said, "Why did I need to come here, anyway? Was there a reason for my kidnapping?" "I have some boxes that belong to your father, and I was hoping you could take them to your apartment," Karen said, "I need the room back and I can't bare to go through them. I would hurt far too much. I thought maybe you'd be more interested in that sort of activity." Melanie nodded slowly, solemnly, and was then led by Shane up to the attic. Inside they found a few cardboard boxes labeled "Chris" and sat down together to open them up. Sitting there with her brother, Melanie could almost feel like she was a child once again, being protected by her brother, but she didn't need his protection now. She could handle this on her own. As Shane began pulling some stacks of papers and a few binders out of the opened lid to one box and set them gently down on the floor in front of them, Melanie cleared her throat. "I...I think I'd rather do this myself, if that's okay," she said quietly, and Shane nodded, then stood up and turned to leave. Halfway down the attic ladder, he popped back up momentarily. "Just call me back in if you need anything," he said, and she gave him a thumbs up. The papers were assorted documents, some legal, some not. Some were things Melanie had written or drawn for or with her father, and some were things her father had written himself. She scanned through these papers, skimming their words, or in some cases, pictures, and then began organizing in a few different stacks. Things she personally wanted and things she thought her mother should keep, and things that could easily be thrown away. She thought about her father, and what he'd say if he knew she was doing this. Why neither Karen nor Shane felt comfortable doing so made sense to her, even as wife and son respectively they'd never been anywhere as close to Chris as Melanie had, and thus they likely figured it was better for her, psychologically, to go through this. She continued creating her piles for an unknown amount of time, with Shane only coming back occasionally to bring her snacks and drinks, but eventually the attic door lifted up and Melanie looked back prepared to see her brother once again but instead saw Gus. "What are you doing here?" she asked, lifting an eyebrow as he climbed into the attic and crawled to sit beside her. "I called your mom and she gave me directions. I figured I should make sure they weren't holding you hostage or anything," Gus said, picking up some papers and casually looking through them, asking, "so...what's going on?" "Going through some of dads things," Melanie said, as a stack of photos slipped from a handful of papers she was holding and spilled out onto the floor before them. She started to pick them up and smiled at them, showing them to Gus, "see," she pointed out, "this is my 5th birthday party. He had a dragon brought in and found a knight to fight it. He really was a good king." "That's really cute," Gus said, genuinely smiling at the image. "I don't recognize this, I think that's my brother being held, this is obviously before I was born," Melanie said, "This must be their old house." "Who's that woman?" Gus asked, pointing a finger at a woman standing beside the rest of the family. "I...don't know," Melanie said. "Anything written on it?" Gus asked, and Melanie flipped the photo over to reveal the scribbled writing on the back. "Pressure Point Way, 1982, Chris, Karen, Shane and...it looks scratched out," Melanie said, "but it kind of looks like it says Daisy....Gus...who the hell is Daisy?" Melanie asked, looking at him, the both of them confused, but determined to figure it out. *** "You know," Gus said, sticking his hand in the open bag of pretzels as Melanie held the binoculars to her eyes from the drivers seat, "if we keep doing this, people are going to think we're perverts." "You are a pervert," Melanie said. "Well, fair, but I don't want to be labeled as such," Gus said. "That's her. I mean she's older but that's definitely her," Melanie said, lowering the binoculars, and adding, "she looks blind. I think she's struggling getting her groceries out of her trunk." "Go over there and help her," Gus said, and Melanie nodded. Together, the two of them got out of the car and began to head across the street. The woman they assumed was Daisy was older now, about her mothers age, and was most definitely blind. She dropped one bag on the ground, but thankfully it turned out not to have anything breakable within it, so nothing of value was lost. Melanie knelt down and picked it up and handed it to Daisy, who smiled at her kindness. "Thank you," she said happily. "We saw you having some trouble, we figured we'd help," Gus said. "Are you two looking for a home to buy? Gonna start a family?" Daisy asked, making Gus and Melanie give one another an uncomfortable glance. "God no," they said in unison. "I used to live over on Mulberry Branch," Melanie said. "Beautiful part of town," Daisy said, setting her bags down, acknowledging she was a part of this conversation now and that the groceries could wait a moment, she continued, "My brother used to live in that part of town, and I visited often before we stopped speaking. Back before I lost my sight, and I could see it for how pretty it was." "Your...brother?" Melanie asked, "Was is name Chris Irres?" "...who are you?" Daisy asked, her voice changing, growing suspicious. "I'm Melanie, I'm his daughter," Melanie said, "We...my friend and I, we found a photo of you with my family and I wanted to find out who you were. I never knew my father had a sister." "...you should come inside," Daisy said, "Help me get these in and we'll talk." Gus quickly gathered up her remaining bags and, together, he and Melanie followed Daisy into her home. The inside of her home was quaint but lovely. Plants hung from the ceiling and everything was fairly clean, a far cry from how Melanie and Gus lived to be honest. Gus took all the groceries into the kitchen and began unpacking and putting them away while Melanie and Daisy sat at the small round kitchen table to talk. "Why...why did you stop talking?" Melanie asked, and Daisy sighed. "Chris was angry," Daisy said, "he saw you were beginning to exhibit signs that I, and our mother, both exhibited. Signs of extreme mental illness. Schizophrenia, dissociative disorder, a struggle to recognize reality. Nobody can control everything, and some folks can't control anything, so that sometimes forces them to create a world that they can control. I created things that helped me cope with other things. But, not until after my brother and I stopped speaking. That was what pushed me to really get help. Reality shouldn't be defined as an overall experience we all partake in but rather a personal experience that is beheld to the individual processing it. Your reality is not my reality, you understand?" "Not really but please go on," Gus said, making her chuckle and lighten the mood. "He was mad at me for what he saw happening to you, and irrational as that may be, I didn't have the strength to fight him on it. You were his baby, and he was so angry at thinking what your life might be like if you really were to wind up like me. I think this shows how little knowledge he actually had of mental health and the mentally ill because, as you can see, I'm doing just fine. We cope. We're capable of living our lives. And you too, clearly, are okay, otherwise you wouldn't be here right now." Melanie had never thought about that before. She chewed absentmindedly on the sleeve of her flannel and waited for Daisy to speak again. Daisy let out a long exhale and then reached across the table and grabbed Melanie's hand, squeezing it gently. "You're your fathers daughter, but you're not your father," she said, and Melanie finally started crying. She'd fought so hard her entire life to be her own person, and only Gus really seemed willing to acknowledge that, but to hear that sort of admittance from someone her father was related to really hit home. Gus stood there and watched, smiling a little at seeing Melanie finally get some sort of peace of mind. Daisy excused herself to use the bathroom, and Gus took her seat. He watched Melanie wipe her eyes on her soggy shirt sleeve and then look up at him. "You okay, your highness?" he asked. "You just accepted it," she said, "You just...accepted me, right from the get go." "To be fair I didn't have much choice, you destroyed my rental car," Gus said. "You never made fun of me for being this way, you never questioned it, you just...accepted that I'm a princess and nobody else has ever really done that, so thank you," Melanie said. "I always did wonder why you chose to talk so openly to me and not someone else," Gus said. "...because you listen," Melanie said, surprising him. Gus smiled and held her hand as well, feeling like perhaps she'd finally found a place she could call home. A new kingdom. A new queen. A new throne to rule. *** In her bathroom that night, Melanie looked at herself in the mirror after her shower. She ran a hand through her long blonde hair and she smiled. For the first time in, hell, maybe ever, she felt like the person she had looking back at her was someone she didn't hate, and someone she could learn to recognize. She'd grown up as a princess, but maybe it was time to become a queen, after a bit more hard work on herself. She went into her bedroom and got into her pajamas when she heard the front door open. A minute later, Gus knocked on her bedroom door and then opened it when she said it was okay. "I come baring gifts for your highness after such an eventful day," he said, "Two pizzas and a whole lot of alcohol." "Gus, you didn't have to-" "Naw, I did have to. I had coupons, they were gonna expire," he said, making her laugh as he sat on the floor and opened the pizzas. Melanie sat down across from him and took a slice, beginning to eat as he opened a beer and took a long drink. "...thanks, not just for dinner, but for, like, everything," Melanie said, and then she set her pizza slice down and rushed to her closet. She pulled out a long real sword and unsheathed it, then walked back in front of Gus and looked down at him; Melanie pressed the blade to his shoulders lightly tapping them and said, with a smile, "I, Princess Melanie Irres, for unwavering faith and impossible devotion, thusly knight Gustopher. Your dedication to the crown is nothing short of tremendous, and the kingdom thanks you highly for it." Gus wanted to cry, but he managed to not and instead just stood up and hugged her. "Thank you for believing in me," she whispered, and he squeezed her tighter. "Right back atcha, princess," Gus said. The kingdom had been fractured, but thanks to the efforts of a knight and a princess, it would rebuild, and it would grow stronger, and they would soldier on. Just months prior, Gus and Melanie had been strangers, and now neither could imagine their life without the other, and as people who'd both been left by people they'd cared so deeply for in the past, that sort of bond meant a lot. So what if Melanie thought she was a princess. She had every right to. She wasn't hurting anyone with this belief, and Gus was ready to defend it to the ends of the earth. She WAS Princess Melanie Irres, and no amount of therapy was ever going to change that.
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Royally Screwed follows 24 year old Melanie Irres, an average young woman...who legitimately believes she's a princess. Archives
July 2023
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