Inseparable
Dedicated to Mum.
"How's the pancakes?" asked Charlie
"Delicious" replied Benjamin as he gazed around their small apartment, which is littered with both of their clothes and old plates. "You know, we should really clean this place up one day."
"One day." Replied Charlie as both the men began to laugh as they left the dirty kitchen table and made their way to the living room couch.
As Benjamin was flipping through the channels he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. "Oh my god my head is killing me right now." He said as he held his forehead.
"You need to go pick up your migraine medicine from the pharmacy, Ben."
"Your right...Wow I don't remember them hurting this bad... Do you want to come with me? I'll get us both some supper after." Benjamin asked.
"Sure." Replied Charlie as the two young men got their jackets on and started for the door.
Benjamin and Charlie started walking down the street of their busy neighborhood when they ran into an old friend of Benjamin's from high school, Frank.
"Hey Frank, I haven't seen you in ages!" Benjamin excitedly said as he shook hands with his old friend.
"It's been a long time," Frank replied "what have you been up to?"
"Well, Charlie and I have been living here for about four months. It's a pretty decent building actually." Answered Benjamin with a smile on his face that quickly faded away as the pain in his head grew stronger.
"Yeah, it's a nice neighborhood" Added Charlie.
"Hey that's great, so where are you headed?" inquired Frank.
"Just heading over to the pharmacy, I need to grab my migraine medication. It's been killing me; I haven't had a headache like this in a long time." Benjamin said as he rubbed his temple.
"We should probably get going." Charlie said as he smiled towards Frank.
"You're right; well it was nice seeing you again Frank. Let's catch up another time." Benjamin said as he flashed a quick smile.
"Alright... Well, I hope you get better there, Ben." Frank said as he continued to walk down the sidewalk.
The two roommates began walking towards the pharmacy once again.
"You know what? I've never heard anyone besides myself call you Ben except for...Frank, was it?" questioned Charlie.
"Yeah, Frank. And well, it's not like I have that many friends around here anyway. I have you, Eva and Frank now too, I guess."
"True, still a little strange though." Replied Charlie as the two men crossed the street towards the pharmacy and stepped inside.
As Benjamin and Charlie made their way past the rows of toothpaste and toilet paper, Benjamin's migraine once again grew deeply painful.
"Argh" Benjamin grunted as he held his forehead "let's just get this over with."
The two men approached the service desk located at the back of the large store and were greeted by a young woman, Francine.
"How may I help you today sir?"
"Hi, I'm just here to renew my migraine prescription. I've been getting terrible headaches today." Benjamin answered.
"Okay and what is your name?" Francine asked as she typed in her computer.
"Benjamin Carter."
After a few moments of searching the computer the young woman had a quizzical look on her face. "One moment please." She quickly said as she picked up her phone and called her manager. "Hi Carl, can you come to the service desk for a minute? I'm having a little trouble with this man's account...Alright, thanks"
"Everything okay?" asked Benjamin as Francine placed the phone down.
"Certainly, we have just been having a few technical problems as of late."
"Ah"
Eventually a large man, presumably Carl, appeared beside Francine.
"What's goin' on?" Carl huffed as he glanced towards the computer screen.
"Mr. Carter here would like to renew his prescription, but I am having a few technical issues." Replied Francine.
"Let me take a look" Carl said as he took a seat in front of the computer "I see...okay this should all be in order, go grab this man's order please Francine."
As Francine left, Carl turned towards the two men. "Sorry for the inconvenience, our computers have been acting up lately. So your family doctor is...Lloyd?" he said as he glanced at the screen.
"Yes, is there a problem?" Benjamin said as his temperament was now growing as his migraine worsened.
"No sir, just double checking. You never can trust these machines anyway." The man laughed.
"Ha, yeah." Benjamin offered back.
Francine came from the back doors with a white bag in her hand.
"Here you go sir, have a great day." Francine said as she handed Benjamin the bag.
"Let's get of here." Benjamin said to Charlie, who was already two steps ahead.
"What was up with that, huh?" Charlie said to Benjamin as the two men began the walk back home.
"I don't know, I hope this stuff works fast though. It's been getting stronger all day."
"I've never seen your migraine get like this, Ben." Charlie said, with a hint of worry behind his voice.
"I hope these work fast." Benjamin said as he unscrewed the bottle cap.
As the men walked a few more blocks south, Benjamin's mood suddenly improved.
"Wow, that's incredible." Benjamin said as a smile he couldn't help but contain emerged. "I feel great. Hey, thanks for coming with me. I didn't mean to be a downer."
"Hey, I know you'd do the same for me. So, how about that supper?" Laughed Charlie.
"Ha, sure Charlie. What'll it be?" Replied Benjamin, who was simply elated from his migraine relief.
"How about Sammy's Diner?" Charlie grinned.
"You got it." Benjamin replied, and the two men began walking east.
"I'm stuffed; I can't wait to lie down." Charlie said to Benjamin as the two men entered the cab that awaited them in front of the diner.
"Where to pal?" the cab driver asked Benjamin, who was in the passenger seat up front.
"The apartment buildings on Charter Street." Benjamin said as he rested his head and closed his eyes.
Benjamin awoke as the cab was already parked in their destination.
"Wake up Ben!" Charlie softly shouted.
"I'm up, I'm up." Benjamin said as he unbuckled his seat belt.
"Heh, that'll be an even fifteen there kid." The cab driver smiled.
Benjamin turned out the car to ask Charlie to take the fare, but he was already halfway to the door.
"Typical." Benjamin said under his breath as he handed the cab driver several bills.
Benjamin left the cab and wished the cab driver a good night, only to be met by an odd stare.
"Charlie, wait up." Benjamin shouted as he jogged towards the door that Charlie was already opening.
"I'll be upstairs, I've got to piss." Charlie shouted as he let the door close.
Benjamin eventually made it into the apartment building and stopped to check the mail slot before going up the stairs.
"Nothing today." Benjamin whispered to himself as he began to ascent the stairs.
As Benjamin reached his hallway he noticed his door was partially open.
"Charlie?" Benjamin shouted as he entered the apartment and locked the door.
Silence; Benjamin began walking towards Charlie's room until he heard a short throat clearing noise in the kitchen. As he neared the entrance to the kitchen Benjamin braced called out one more time. "Charlie?"
"Hello, Benjamin."
"What the hell...what is going on here?" Benjamin demanded to the old man and young woman before him.
"Benji, we are here to help you." Eva said as she wiped a tear away from her sorrow face.
"Eva...What are you doing here? Why are you here Doctor?" Benjamin said as he suddenly felt very dizzy and took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Benjamin, I received a call from a Dr. Carl Skinner a few hours ago. He said he had an odd encounter with you this afternoon." Dr. Lloyd said firmly, but with a hint of sadness to Benjamin.
"What? I...I picked up my migraine medication." Benjamin said as he felt a wave of exhaustion hit him and the tiniest poke of a migraine begin.
"Benjamin, I had really hoped we wouldn't have to go through this again" Dr. Lloyd said with a very concerned look in his eye.
"Through what...Where is Charlie? Why isn't he here?" Benjamin desperately said.
"Benji, please don't do this to us." Eva cried as she covered her face with her hands.
"What are you...talking..." Benjamin suddenly lost consciousness in his chair and fell to the floor.
"Where the hell am I?" screamed Benjamin as he hopped off the small bed that was located in a small white room.
A loud buzzing noise came from the hallway and the unlocking of a door was heard. An elderly man in a brown suit came into the room.
"Hello Benjamin, my name is Dr. Roberts. We are in a psychiatric hospital, and you are under our supervision for the next little while."
After a long pause Benjamin finally spoke. "What exactly happened? Where is my roommate Charlie?"
"Benjamin. Please come with me to my office." Dr. Roberts said.
"Look, just tell me every detail to what's going on here." Benjamin said as he took a seat in front of Dr. Roberts's desk.
"Benjamin, in most cases I would never think of such a thing. But this is not most cases." The Doctor said.
"Cases? Cases of what?" Benjamin said as a hint of panic crept in his mind.
"Benjamin," Dr. Roberts sighed "Benjamin, you have a very severe case of schizophrenia, much more severe than Dr. Lloyd initially thought."
Several minutes of heavy silence followed this statement until Benjamin finally spoke. "What happened to Charlie? Is he in here too?"
"No Benjamin, Charlie exists only in your mind." Dr. Roberts factually said.
"What? Bullshit." Benjamin said as he doubled over in pain from a new wave of migraines.
"Those pains in your head? Those are not migraines Benjamin. This is your brain struggling to come to terms with reality." Dr. Roberts said while scribbling notes on the paper in front of him.
"Prove it, prove Charlie isn't real." Benjamin retorted.
"It will take time Benjamin, Dr. Lloyd tried and failed. But I won't fail you Benjamin, you will get better I promise." Dr. Roberts offered.
"That doesn't prove a damn thing, where is he? What kind of sick joke is this?" Benjamin said with disdain.
"We shall continue this conversation tomorrow, try and have a decent sleep tonight Benjamin." Dr. Roberts said as he motioned for the guard to escort Benjamin back to his room.
"Delicious" replied Benjamin as he gazed around their small apartment, which is littered with both of their clothes and old plates. "You know, we should really clean this place up one day."
"One day." Replied Charlie as both the men began to laugh as they left the dirty kitchen table and made their way to the living room couch.
As Benjamin was flipping through the channels he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his head. "Oh my god my head is killing me right now." He said as he held his forehead.
"You need to go pick up your migraine medicine from the pharmacy, Ben."
"Your right...Wow I don't remember them hurting this bad... Do you want to come with me? I'll get us both some supper after." Benjamin asked.
"Sure." Replied Charlie as the two young men got their jackets on and started for the door.
Benjamin and Charlie started walking down the street of their busy neighborhood when they ran into an old friend of Benjamin's from high school, Frank.
"Hey Frank, I haven't seen you in ages!" Benjamin excitedly said as he shook hands with his old friend.
"It's been a long time," Frank replied "what have you been up to?"
"Well, Charlie and I have been living here for about four months. It's a pretty decent building actually." Answered Benjamin with a smile on his face that quickly faded away as the pain in his head grew stronger.
"Yeah, it's a nice neighborhood" Added Charlie.
"Hey that's great, so where are you headed?" inquired Frank.
"Just heading over to the pharmacy, I need to grab my migraine medication. It's been killing me; I haven't had a headache like this in a long time." Benjamin said as he rubbed his temple.
"We should probably get going." Charlie said as he smiled towards Frank.
"You're right; well it was nice seeing you again Frank. Let's catch up another time." Benjamin said as he flashed a quick smile.
"Alright... Well, I hope you get better there, Ben." Frank said as he continued to walk down the sidewalk.
The two roommates began walking towards the pharmacy once again.
"You know what? I've never heard anyone besides myself call you Ben except for...Frank, was it?" questioned Charlie.
"Yeah, Frank. And well, it's not like I have that many friends around here anyway. I have you, Eva and Frank now too, I guess."
"True, still a little strange though." Replied Charlie as the two men crossed the street towards the pharmacy and stepped inside.
As Benjamin and Charlie made their way past the rows of toothpaste and toilet paper, Benjamin's migraine once again grew deeply painful.
"Argh" Benjamin grunted as he held his forehead "let's just get this over with."
The two men approached the service desk located at the back of the large store and were greeted by a young woman, Francine.
"How may I help you today sir?"
"Hi, I'm just here to renew my migraine prescription. I've been getting terrible headaches today." Benjamin answered.
"Okay and what is your name?" Francine asked as she typed in her computer.
"Benjamin Carter."
After a few moments of searching the computer the young woman had a quizzical look on her face. "One moment please." She quickly said as she picked up her phone and called her manager. "Hi Carl, can you come to the service desk for a minute? I'm having a little trouble with this man's account...Alright, thanks"
"Everything okay?" asked Benjamin as Francine placed the phone down.
"Certainly, we have just been having a few technical problems as of late."
"Ah"
Eventually a large man, presumably Carl, appeared beside Francine.
"What's goin' on?" Carl huffed as he glanced towards the computer screen.
"Mr. Carter here would like to renew his prescription, but I am having a few technical issues." Replied Francine.
"Let me take a look" Carl said as he took a seat in front of the computer "I see...okay this should all be in order, go grab this man's order please Francine."
As Francine left, Carl turned towards the two men. "Sorry for the inconvenience, our computers have been acting up lately. So your family doctor is...Lloyd?" he said as he glanced at the screen.
"Yes, is there a problem?" Benjamin said as his temperament was now growing as his migraine worsened.
"No sir, just double checking. You never can trust these machines anyway." The man laughed.
"Ha, yeah." Benjamin offered back.
Francine came from the back doors with a white bag in her hand.
"Here you go sir, have a great day." Francine said as she handed Benjamin the bag.
"Let's get of here." Benjamin said to Charlie, who was already two steps ahead.
"What was up with that, huh?" Charlie said to Benjamin as the two men began the walk back home.
"I don't know, I hope this stuff works fast though. It's been getting stronger all day."
"I've never seen your migraine get like this, Ben." Charlie said, with a hint of worry behind his voice.
"I hope these work fast." Benjamin said as he unscrewed the bottle cap.
As the men walked a few more blocks south, Benjamin's mood suddenly improved.
"Wow, that's incredible." Benjamin said as a smile he couldn't help but contain emerged. "I feel great. Hey, thanks for coming with me. I didn't mean to be a downer."
"Hey, I know you'd do the same for me. So, how about that supper?" Laughed Charlie.
"Ha, sure Charlie. What'll it be?" Replied Benjamin, who was simply elated from his migraine relief.
"How about Sammy's Diner?" Charlie grinned.
"You got it." Benjamin replied, and the two men began walking east.
"I'm stuffed; I can't wait to lie down." Charlie said to Benjamin as the two men entered the cab that awaited them in front of the diner.
"Where to pal?" the cab driver asked Benjamin, who was in the passenger seat up front.
"The apartment buildings on Charter Street." Benjamin said as he rested his head and closed his eyes.
Benjamin awoke as the cab was already parked in their destination.
"Wake up Ben!" Charlie softly shouted.
"I'm up, I'm up." Benjamin said as he unbuckled his seat belt.
"Heh, that'll be an even fifteen there kid." The cab driver smiled.
Benjamin turned out the car to ask Charlie to take the fare, but he was already halfway to the door.
"Typical." Benjamin said under his breath as he handed the cab driver several bills.
Benjamin left the cab and wished the cab driver a good night, only to be met by an odd stare.
"Charlie, wait up." Benjamin shouted as he jogged towards the door that Charlie was already opening.
"I'll be upstairs, I've got to piss." Charlie shouted as he let the door close.
Benjamin eventually made it into the apartment building and stopped to check the mail slot before going up the stairs.
"Nothing today." Benjamin whispered to himself as he began to ascent the stairs.
As Benjamin reached his hallway he noticed his door was partially open.
"Charlie?" Benjamin shouted as he entered the apartment and locked the door.
Silence; Benjamin began walking towards Charlie's room until he heard a short throat clearing noise in the kitchen. As he neared the entrance to the kitchen Benjamin braced called out one more time. "Charlie?"
"Hello, Benjamin."
"What the hell...what is going on here?" Benjamin demanded to the old man and young woman before him.
"Benji, we are here to help you." Eva said as she wiped a tear away from her sorrow face.
"Eva...What are you doing here? Why are you here Doctor?" Benjamin said as he suddenly felt very dizzy and took a seat at the kitchen table.
"Benjamin, I received a call from a Dr. Carl Skinner a few hours ago. He said he had an odd encounter with you this afternoon." Dr. Lloyd said firmly, but with a hint of sadness to Benjamin.
"What? I...I picked up my migraine medication." Benjamin said as he felt a wave of exhaustion hit him and the tiniest poke of a migraine begin.
"Benjamin, I had really hoped we wouldn't have to go through this again" Dr. Lloyd said with a very concerned look in his eye.
"Through what...Where is Charlie? Why isn't he here?" Benjamin desperately said.
"Benji, please don't do this to us." Eva cried as she covered her face with her hands.
"What are you...talking..." Benjamin suddenly lost consciousness in his chair and fell to the floor.
"Where the hell am I?" screamed Benjamin as he hopped off the small bed that was located in a small white room.
A loud buzzing noise came from the hallway and the unlocking of a door was heard. An elderly man in a brown suit came into the room.
"Hello Benjamin, my name is Dr. Roberts. We are in a psychiatric hospital, and you are under our supervision for the next little while."
After a long pause Benjamin finally spoke. "What exactly happened? Where is my roommate Charlie?"
"Benjamin. Please come with me to my office." Dr. Roberts said.
"Look, just tell me every detail to what's going on here." Benjamin said as he took a seat in front of Dr. Roberts's desk.
"Benjamin, in most cases I would never think of such a thing. But this is not most cases." The Doctor said.
"Cases? Cases of what?" Benjamin said as a hint of panic crept in his mind.
"Benjamin," Dr. Roberts sighed "Benjamin, you have a very severe case of schizophrenia, much more severe than Dr. Lloyd initially thought."
Several minutes of heavy silence followed this statement until Benjamin finally spoke. "What happened to Charlie? Is he in here too?"
"No Benjamin, Charlie exists only in your mind." Dr. Roberts factually said.
"What? Bullshit." Benjamin said as he doubled over in pain from a new wave of migraines.
"Those pains in your head? Those are not migraines Benjamin. This is your brain struggling to come to terms with reality." Dr. Roberts said while scribbling notes on the paper in front of him.
"Prove it, prove Charlie isn't real." Benjamin retorted.
"It will take time Benjamin, Dr. Lloyd tried and failed. But I won't fail you Benjamin, you will get better I promise." Dr. Roberts offered.
"That doesn't prove a damn thing, where is he? What kind of sick joke is this?" Benjamin said with disdain.
"We shall continue this conversation tomorrow, try and have a decent sleep tonight Benjamin." Dr. Roberts said as he motioned for the guard to escort Benjamin back to his room.
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