Chapter 8
“Take them. Now.”
Camila holds out the bag to him. She has a water bottle in her hands and Billy gets the feeling he knows what’s inside. Camila had dragged him to the downstairs bathroom in Camila and Eddie’s seemingly mansion sized house. What kind of jobs did they have in this universe?
Billy takes the bag from her. It rustles in his hand and he opens it to see an orange bottle with pills inside. He takes it out and Camila grabs the bag from him, handing him the water bottle.
“What are these?”
Camila gives him a confused look. What was this sickness they all seemed to know about?
“It’s your medication. The one you’re supposed to be taking.”
Billy looks down at the orange bottle. The label read Lithium with his name above it. Lithium?
“Lithium? Isn’t that metal? Why am I taking lithium?”
Camilas face changed just like Daisys did in the car. A look on realization. She puts a hand on his shoulder and slightly pushes him down onto the pure white toilet. She crumbles up the bag and throws it into the can next to the sink. The lid thuds closed and she looks back at him.
“The doctor said you’d be pretty forgetful but I didn’t think it could get this bad. I mean, how long has it been since you last took your medication Billy?”
Frustration surges through Billy. Medication for what?! Why wouldn’t anybody say it? What was wrong with him?
“What- I don’t- What the hell are you talking about? Why do I have to take medication?”
“You’re bipolar!”
Camila whisper yells the words. All of the anger leaves Billy. Bipolar? He was bipolar? No. No, this didn’t make any sense.
“The hell are you talking about?!”
Billy stands from the toilet and Camilas demeanor immediately changes. His movement is minor but she immediately cowers under him. Her eyes slightly widen and and steps back.
She was scared.
Camila was scared of him.
The realization hit Billy like a million bricks at his heart. Why was Camila scared of him? Had he done something? Had he done something to her?
Billy sits back down on the toilet. A sign of surrender. Camilas fearful demeanor dissipates and she sniffles alittle. Shame. All Billy felt was shame. She leaned her hip against the sink and continues to look at him.
“Before you got hospitalized, I thought you were a monster. You were always so angry. You were always high. Always cheating on me.”
Small tears form in her eyes and his heart shatters. The shame continues to silence Billy. He listens to her words, the urge to vomit becoming more and more insatiable.
“I thought it was my fault. Because of my miscarriage. I thought you hated me because I practically killed our baby.”
Miscarriage? Is that why Julia looked so different?
“But I loved you too much to leave you. Or I did. But then everything with Daisy happened. And every night I thank God it did.”
Her sniffles again; louder this time and wipes a falling tear.
“We’ve all worked very hard to get where we’re supposed to be Billy. Especially you. You’ve built a beautiful life for yourself with Daisy and Annie. And I know you. I know you have people you wanna be ok for. I know it might not be me-“
“Of course it’s you.”
The words slips out of his mouth like practice. Camila pauses and stares at him. Her lips prune and she takes a deep breathe before continuing.
“Either way. We need you to be responsible about all of this. You have a support system. And no matter how annoying it gets, we’re all gonna be here to remind you for the rest of your life. Or atleast I will be.”
Camila gives him a small smile but Billy is frozen. She doesn’t know the affect her words have on him. Because she wasn’t there. Well, she was infront of him. Somehow. He still had to figure out why. But the Camila he knew was gone. She left behind a broken husband and a carbon copy daughter. She wouldn’t be there for the rest of his life. But this Camila could be.
“Take your meds.”
Camila takes the water from him as he slightly struggles with the cap. He rereads the labels and picks out one pill from the bottle. Camila hands him the opened water and he places the pill on his tongue before bringing the water bottle to his mouth and talking a sip. The pill goes down with ease and he takes a few more sips of the ice cold water. Damn he was dehydrated.
“Thank you.”
Billy smiles at her. She shrugs.
“All in a days work.”
It shouldn’t have to be. Billy had made it so it was. Too much worrying. Too much drama. Too much labor. He’d been too much and she still carried him. His Camila carried him. But this Camila? She found a better life for herself. She seemed happier. Healthier. And most importantly, she was alive.
Sounds of the living room TV sneak through the cracks of the bathroom door, pulling them both back to reality. Camila stands from the sink and takes the pill bottle from him. She opens the door and he stands to follow her. Before she walks out, she grabs Billys jeans and shoves the pills into his front pocket.
“Give those to Daisy when you can. So that Annie doesn’t see.”
Camila shuts the bathroom light and walks out the door. Billy stays where he’s standing. Everything he’d just been told comes running at him. He was Bipolar. Him and Camila never had Julia. He was extremely toxic before he apparently went to the hospital. And his daughter couldn’t know he was taking medication? Did Annie even know he was bipolar? What kind of parent would keep that secret from there child? Wasn’t this genetic?
“Billy!”
Eddie’s voice rings through the house and Billy sighs. What was up with him and Eddie anyways? They seemed to be friends of sorts. Daisy had alluded to something happening with Eddie. Something she couldn’t even say. God; there were so many secrets.
“Hey!”
Billy snaps out of his train of thought and sees Eddie, gleefully smiling at him. He holds up a bag of frozen burger for Billy to see.
“Wanna help me man the grill?”