Page 21: The Ride (final part)

**TRIGGER WARNING: this chapter includes Psychological definitions and or relatable instances that some of you might feel uncomfortable about."**

I couldn't tell if I was feeling anxious or elated of the opportunity I was having right now. In front of me is Cherry's or should I say Niko's manager, Lily, eating lunch with us so quietly while my idiot of a manager is grinning beside me enjoying the scene. He would occasionally glance at me which irritated me. I could see in his eyes the bliss he's feeling seeing me uneasy with my entire being.

Why the anxiety?―because I am currently dressed as Hera, red hair and all the glam. Although I was already expecting the outfit change to happen with the amount of bags Dave had brought, I have no idea why he chose an all pink bodysuit matched with pink fingerless gloves. Dave insisted it was to be in character. I understood that, but what I could not comprehend is to why I have to dress like I was going to a halloween party if it was just lunch at the garden.

I did feel embarrassed about it. I'm still human after all. But being Hera right now, with the wig and contacts on, I a6m feeling a lot less my real self and it gave me the impression that this was just a role play. Good tactic for confidence boost if I say so myself.

"Would you like some more salad, Lily?" Dave offered the plate of greens which made Ms. Lily smile as she took the plate from his hand.

I wasn't quite sure whether her silence was because she found it weird that she was invited to have lunch at the pavillion of a mansion in the woods fronting the ocean or because I was dressed like Paris Hilton had decided to recruit me for her version of Charlie's Angels.

"The steak is lovely." She muttered, trying to relieve the awkward silence. "Your cooking is still the best, Dave."

Dave chuckled modestly, "You don't have to praise it that much. I'm not all that good."

She grunted, pointing her fork at him which made me back up to my seat.

"There you go again saying that. Didn't I tell you before to accept compliments when given?"

I glance to Dave expecting a shocked or offended expression, but instead, he was grinning from ear to ear like he sensed it coming and was used to it.

My ears tingled.

"Before?" I said, my eyes shooting glances at them. I saw them tense up in unison as if I'd hit something that was not supposed to be mentioned.

Dave cleared his throat. "We were classmates back in high school."

I managed a strong "Oh." with a flabbergasted look.

Dave shot me a glare that screamed: Drop it or I will put Tabasco on your salad.

But of course, that did not matter to me. Dave can threaten me all he want but I know he can't stop me. So I instinctively moved to Ms. Lily who was pinning her eyes to the plate.

"I do want to ask more of your past, but.." my voice trailed looking back at Dave with treacherous eyes, "As you can see, Dave doesn't seem to be comfortable going off the topic."

"Hera!" Dave protested, but I just gave him a wicked smile.

I caught Lily glancing up to him and they both locked eyes but immediately looked away.

Interesting.

She shifted in her seat trying to pick up the pieces of herself. "I heard from Dave you wanted to talk to me." she said fixing her eyes at me.

I put my utensils down and carefully dabbed the napkin on to my lips.

"Now that you've brought that up I suppose we could begin the main agenda."

"Is something wrong?"

I sat forward, lacing my fingers, "It's about Niko."

Her jaw tightened upon hearing his name but her expression softened like she remembered something.

"Sorry, I always forget you already know Cherry's real identity."

"Yes and I apologize for not dealing with things legally such as having a confidentiality contract with the matter. Not to worry, I will only use the name when we are alone."

Lily raised her hand, "No, it's alright. He told me you were trustworthy enough. He said he enjoyed talking to you and that he feels comfortable being with you."

I felt a pang in my chest. I was glad he thought of me that way, and yet here I was battling with my inner demons.

"I see." I pushed for a smile. "In that case, I want to discuss something about Niko."

Her face turned grim. "I have a feeling I know where this is going."

I went ahead and explained to Lily how I was a student at LIA―without revealing my real identiy of course. I told her of the recent happenings in school and how I knew of his sudden outbursts. I also related the outburst to our recent press conference where Cherry was acting a bit odd on stage before she stormed off.

With every detail I mentioned, Lily's expression slowly turned dark.

She shook her head in disbelief, "I'm so sorry for his behavior. It's been a rough few years after Cherry's debut. He hasn't...." she bit her lower lip, "...fully recovered."

"He.." I stammered, horror in my voice,

"What do you mean?"

"Lily," Dave interrupted, "I've done a bit of research on Cherry. I don't want things to come from me so I've held back information for that sake. But I can assure you, all information is safe with us."

My mouth suddenly felt dry. I wanted to tell him off that I felt betrayed. I knew Dave was hiding something from me, but I too knew it wasn't best to extract it from him. The very purpose of this meeting was for that.

"Lily," I reached for her hand, gently gazing into her eyes. "I want to help. I will be working with Cherry for a few months and if there's anyone who can help in close proximity, it will be me."

She glanced up to Dave and he nodded in agreement.

"I suppose you're right." she inhaled sharply, "I hardly ever saw that child smile. But when he told me of you, I saw a glimmer in his eyes."

I felt my body relax as I said "Thank you."

She smiled. Her eyes was still sad, but there was a shine of hope.

"Alright. What can I help you with?"

I pursed my lips as I gathered my thoughts.

"Niko told me after his uncle was sent to prison, the Stepanov's took him to Russia and had him stay there up until he decided to come back here and debut as Cherry. What exactly happened in Russia?"

Lily had somehow began to examine her food. In about three sweeps of her greens, she relented.

"May I call the subject Cherry? Just to make it formal..."

Dave sets aside his dish, "As you wish."

Lily nodded, "I wasn't part of Cherry's childhood but...I've heard a lot from her grandparents in Russia before they consented to her decision to come back." Her eyes narrowed, "After the whole incident with her uncle, the Stepanovs decided to take her to Russia for a change of atmosphere. Her rehabilitation here wasn't doing her much and the doctors recommended to remove her from the place of disturbance. And yet..."

"And yet?" I urged her to continue.

Lily's eyes were glossy. I was expecting a tear but I guess she held it in.

"On her first month in Russia, Cherry refused to speak." She continued. "Moreover, any interaction with men made her tip over."

Dave took a sip of his tea, "Tip over?"

Lily's mouth set on a hard line. Even if she wasn't there on the said situation, I could tell her pain even as she jogged in her memories.

"She wasn't talking but she became violent." Lily supplied. "They weren't sure what to do with her so they sent her to a Psychologist and got her checked. Through some tests and consistent sessions, her therapist concluded that the child was having PTSD."

"PTSD?" I repeated.

Dave's teacup clanged against the saucer. "PTSD or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. As what I've read about it, it develops due to extremely stressful life events. The individual could either have directly experienced the trauma or witnessed another person in a traumatic situation."

Lily might have not said anything for a while after that, but I could see in her face the same possible reaction I might have made if I was in her shoes. I did not need to ask what happens when you have PTSD. I didn't want to sound so insensitive by letting her describe to me all the treacherous episodes Cherry might have had along the way. So, I decided to strike the next relevant question.

"Is she still experiencing PTSD right now?"

"No...yes. Actually, we're not sure."

Dave sat forward, touching her hand that was resting on the table. I saw her flinch from the gesture but her face softened once she caught his gaze. Seriously, if we weren't talking about such a heavy topic, I would have taken my time teasing Dave about his flirtatiousness. Then again, he didn't look flirty at all so I let it slide.

"We had her checked before." Lily blurted out in a small voice.

Dave and I exchanged glances.

"We." I emphasized, "You were present in this."

She pulled her hand away from Dave. "Before leaving Russia, Heiress required her to take another assessment whether she was stable enough to train and debut. Although her episodes were reducing, Cherry already knew how to deal with it thanks to her therapy sessions. By the time she flew back for Heiress, her Psychologist have her a go signal saying she's able to adjust properly now. The president took a huge risk of bringing her back despite the warning of relapse. To avoid it, the president made sure to have fewer males to interact with her. Thus..." She gestured to herself on that last word.

"Did it come back?" I asked.

Lily's mouth opened then she choked back her initial response. "She was fine on her first two years. No signs of relapse. Until last year."

The feeling of a hundred fire ants crawling on my back surfaced. I didn't know what to make of it, but it made me queasy. "I heard about this." I said, not exactly sure what I heard nor was about to say. The two of them were looking at me now, both in contrasting expressions. Lily looked at me like I knew what she was going to say while Dave stared at utmost nervousness.

I exhaled. "I believe I mentioned that I study in the same school as...him."

Lily's face contorted. "Do you see him there?"

"Partially." I managed to sound confident. "I don't go very often unless it's for exams. However, that doesn't mean I don't know the famous students."

I hope I wasn't mistaken but I saw a glint of hope escaped from Lily's eyes.

"But don't get me wrong." I said, "I'm not exactly sure what's real or not since I barely (never) mingled with the people there. But I heard―" I stumbled on my argument wondering what to call him/her/Cherry/Niko..oh curses this is so confusing.

"Hera?" Dave interrupted my thoughts.

Thank you, I thought.

I cleared my throat, "As I was saying, I heard that ever since t̲h̲i̲s̲ ̲p̲e̲r̲s̲o̲n̲ came to Langley, quality of education has shot high due to the massive improvements in tests. Scoring adjustments were necessary because a certain someone was too smart and persuasive in dealing with the academe."

Lily snorted, "That sounds so much like him alright."

"But that wasn't all." I added. "Students report that this certain genius had been very moody for the past two years, acting so indifferent. Some of the students were able to tolerate this indifference by trying to be close to him, but majority were to afraid to approach him. Then last March, as I heard, it was their first time seeing him act violently. If it wasn't for the high intellectual capability, this person could have been suspended or kicked out."

As I was narrating, I saw Lily's face went from shock to worry to defeat.

"Lily," I was the one holding her hand this time, "I may be of help. What exactly is the situation now?"

"Two years ago," Her voice was hoarse, "Her Psychologist in Russia called me. The doctor said that there was a possibility that there will be an after effect of the PTSD. I was told although she's been doing so well on the outside trying to live normally as possible, there might still be an unconscious battle within her especially now she's back at the place of origin. She's stabilized for the past year, trying to keep her emotions on check until..." her voice trailed.

"Wait," Dave interrupted. "As what I understood, Hera said Cherry in her student life has been very obsessed in her grades, correct?"

Lily and I exchanged looks then nodded in unison.

"Has she been able to control herself since then?"

"Well, yes." Lily replied. "Whenever I checked on her she said staying on top and away from connections made her feel secure and in control."

"But why was she beginning to slip?" He pondered.

"March.." I repeated. "I wasn't present in school then."

"Yeah." Dave affirmed. "You took your exams early and left even before the results came out since your shoot was coming up the week after."

I shuddered. As if lightning had struck me straight in the eyes.

"Dave," I said, my hands were shaking, "Can you repeat that last part you said just now?"

He blinked. "You took your exams and left even before the results came out?"

I turned to Lily, "When did you notice a change of behavior?"

She began to recall, "Somewhere around after the closing ceremony. Cherry had a spring shoot but it didn't go well. It was hard to keep her facial expressions on point and she kept lashing out on the photographer. The president had to pay extra to keep the staff on duty for the project silent to save her image and the reputation of the company."

Hearing her mention the president twice, going an extra mile to watch out for Cherry made my blood boil. If he could do so much for a model, then why was he silent on...

No, I thought to myself, this wasn't the time for this. I tried to calm myself down and compose whatever detail was given.

Dave tapped the table, "Something on your mind?"

I had a fleeting idea amidst the whole conversation we had just now. I tried to push it back in my mind, but the more I heard from Lily, the more the idea was clicking and making sense.

"Slipping off." I said, "March. Exam results. End of closing ceremony."

I turned to Dave. I hoped my eyes could reach him even without words. Then after a few seconds, his eyes widened.

"What? What happened?" Lily chimed in.

I gripped Dave's knuckles holding back my anger. Thankfully, Dave got my message and decided to become my voice in the matter.

"Lily," His voice deeper than earlier, "Were you aware of Che―Niko's dethronement from being ranked first?"

Dethronement was going too far but I guess it matched how the boy must have felt at that time.

I saw her shoulders slump as she exhaled the word "No."

I felt bad how sincere that sounded which pushed me to face her.

"Lily," I said. "I might know what triggered Cherry's hell breaking loose."

She tilted her head which I took the meaning as: I should get on with it despite how truckload of a feeling I'm having right now.

I inhaled sharply, "Niko Stepanov's possible relapse? Yeah. You're looking at it right now."