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Renee entered Doctor Rheinegold's office late in the afternoon as she had been doing almost every day since being released from Regents Park Children's Psychiatric Ward. She'd been doing so well that they'd let her have the weekend off to go to Download... though unbeknownst to Renee, Doctor Rheinegold was beginning to think that maybe that hadn't been such a good idea. If they'd been more vigilant, maybe they would have caught this before Renee's meltdown.
Maybe, but maybe not. The doctor couldn't control the influences around Renee, not without locking her up again. Especially when they were her family. This cousin of hers, Natasha, was a danger to Renee's mental health. But how could he possibly tell her that and still maintain any sort of trust...?
Peter had explained everything, and for that William Rheinegold was grateful. It had been documented early on that Renee was exhibiting paranoid behaviour, but there had never been much emphasis placed on it due to the fact that her suicidal tendencies had been by far the more urgent problem. Now that those had been dealt with, her paranoia seemed to have surfaced with a vengeance. In an instant she had turned on her three closest friends, blaming them for her stay in the mental hospital, avoiding the responsibility herself. If this continued, if her mind found a way to absolve herself completely of any blame, then who was to say that the suicidal urges wouldn't return... with Renee placing the blame squarely on one of her friends?
Doctor Rheinegold smiled as Renee took a seat on the sofa, folding her legs up beneath her. At least she still seemed as comfortable as was to be expected with him...
"Hello, Renee," he smiled, moving around his desk to perch himself on the other side of it. It seemed to put her at ease when he was more casual. "How are you feeling today?"
Renee looked up at the doctor and sighed heavily. "Pretty rubbishy, actually."
"Are you still fighting with your friends?"
It was a moment before Renee responded. "They're not my friends."
She'd given him an opening. So far, so good. As long as it appeared to be nothing more than casual interest on his part, he could gather enough information to make a sure assessment. "Is it really that bad?"
Renee nodded. "They've all been conspiring against me. They didn't want me to get better. They wanted me to stay here."
"What makes you say that?"
"Tasha showed me conversations on their LiveJournals where they talked about me, about how mad I was."
"Could they have just been worried about you?"
Renee shook her head. "I thought they were. But she showed me other things. Things that prove their real motives. I was in the way of the relationships they wanted. Pierre wanted Kait, and Kait wanted Scarlett. Scarlett was scared of me because of the rituals I was doing. You know, the things that we've talked about before?"
Doctor Rheinegold nodded. He couldc certainly understand why that would frighten Scarlett, but from what he had seen of the girl, she hadn't a malicious bone in her body.
"She didn't want me to drag her down with me. So they all conspired to have me locked up. I don't think they all knew each other's reasons, though. They were all conflicting. So they were lying to each other as well."
That was interesting... The way Renee was talking, it sounded like she knew that what she was saying didn't make sense, and she was working very hard to justify it. That pretty much settled the matter in Doctor Rheinegold's mind, really.
"Do they have a history of lying to you, or to each other?"
Renee thought about that for a moment. "Kait led me on in a false relationship in France. She couldn't maintain it and she knew it, but she dragged me through it anyway. Then she broke up with me right before I left the country. That was one of the worst times of my life."
"What about Pierre and Scarlett?"
"I don't know what Pierre has lied about. He's charismatic and manipulative. Everyone loves him. And Scarlett... I don't think I really know her at all. I thought I did, but..." Renee covered her mouth to stifle a sound of anguish as the tears began to flow down her cheeks.
"Renee..." Doctor Rheinegold picked up the box of tissues from his desk and brought it over to Renee, sitting down on the other side of the sofa with the box between them. Supportive, but not invasive. "It's alright. You're safe here. Would you like to talk about Scarlett?"
"I loved her," Renee choked out. "When Deirdre and I were separated, I fell in love with her. But she was with Kait, and when they broke up, Kait didn't want me to have her, so she started plotting against me, and Scarlett stopped wanting me because of the magick..."
"But she wanted you before that?" Doctor Rheinegold hadn't been privy to this aspect of their relationship before... it certainly complicated things.
"I think so. I don't know. I don't know!"
"It's okay," the doctor soothed quickly. "We don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to. Would you like to wait until you feel better?"
Renee nodded, too emotional to actually say anything.
The doctor leaned back, considering the situation. There were obviously unresolved feelings where Scarlett was concerned. He had been so wrapped up in the suicide issues, that this was really uncharted territory. Until now, he'd been under the impression that they were just close friends. But now that he was sure about her problem, whatever feelings there were between Renee and Scarlett had undoubtedly been twisted into something horribly malevolent in Renee's mind...
Renee's assertions were, of course, as ridiculous as Peter had told him they were. This Tasha had taken what was more or less a dormant personality disorder and turned into a full-blown breakdown. He wondered if she had even the slightest conception of what she had done to Renee...
"Perhaps we'd better leave it there for today," he said to Renee quietly. "But you're welcome to sit here for a while, if you don't feel well enough to go home."
"No... I should go," Renee shook her head. "Thank you for listening, Doctor. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow."
No, you really won't. "Alright then, Renee. Be safe."
Renee nodded and left the office, closing the door behind her.
Doctor Rheinegold moved back behind his desk and immediately set to work writing in Renee's file. Confirmed Paranoid personality disorder. Extreme case. Treat with care - must not give patient any reason to suspect malicious intent. In worst case scenario, could return to suicide as solution to problems.
This girl was certainly a worry. He picked up the phone and dialled Deirdre's number. She needed to know what was wrong, and how best to deal with the problem.
Maybe, but maybe not. The doctor couldn't control the influences around Renee, not without locking her up again. Especially when they were her family. This cousin of hers, Natasha, was a danger to Renee's mental health. But how could he possibly tell her that and still maintain any sort of trust...?
Peter had explained everything, and for that William Rheinegold was grateful. It had been documented early on that Renee was exhibiting paranoid behaviour, but there had never been much emphasis placed on it due to the fact that her suicidal tendencies had been by far the more urgent problem. Now that those had been dealt with, her paranoia seemed to have surfaced with a vengeance. In an instant she had turned on her three closest friends, blaming them for her stay in the mental hospital, avoiding the responsibility herself. If this continued, if her mind found a way to absolve herself completely of any blame, then who was to say that the suicidal urges wouldn't return... with Renee placing the blame squarely on one of her friends?
Doctor Rheinegold smiled as Renee took a seat on the sofa, folding her legs up beneath her. At least she still seemed as comfortable as was to be expected with him...
"Hello, Renee," he smiled, moving around his desk to perch himself on the other side of it. It seemed to put her at ease when he was more casual. "How are you feeling today?"
Renee looked up at the doctor and sighed heavily. "Pretty rubbishy, actually."
"Are you still fighting with your friends?"
It was a moment before Renee responded. "They're not my friends."
She'd given him an opening. So far, so good. As long as it appeared to be nothing more than casual interest on his part, he could gather enough information to make a sure assessment. "Is it really that bad?"
Renee nodded. "They've all been conspiring against me. They didn't want me to get better. They wanted me to stay here."
"What makes you say that?"
"Tasha showed me conversations on their LiveJournals where they talked about me, about how mad I was."
"Could they have just been worried about you?"
Renee shook her head. "I thought they were. But she showed me other things. Things that prove their real motives. I was in the way of the relationships they wanted. Pierre wanted Kait, and Kait wanted Scarlett. Scarlett was scared of me because of the rituals I was doing. You know, the things that we've talked about before?"
Doctor Rheinegold nodded. He couldc certainly understand why that would frighten Scarlett, but from what he had seen of the girl, she hadn't a malicious bone in her body.
"She didn't want me to drag her down with me. So they all conspired to have me locked up. I don't think they all knew each other's reasons, though. They were all conflicting. So they were lying to each other as well."
That was interesting... The way Renee was talking, it sounded like she knew that what she was saying didn't make sense, and she was working very hard to justify it. That pretty much settled the matter in Doctor Rheinegold's mind, really.
"Do they have a history of lying to you, or to each other?"
Renee thought about that for a moment. "Kait led me on in a false relationship in France. She couldn't maintain it and she knew it, but she dragged me through it anyway. Then she broke up with me right before I left the country. That was one of the worst times of my life."
"What about Pierre and Scarlett?"
"I don't know what Pierre has lied about. He's charismatic and manipulative. Everyone loves him. And Scarlett... I don't think I really know her at all. I thought I did, but..." Renee covered her mouth to stifle a sound of anguish as the tears began to flow down her cheeks.
"Renee..." Doctor Rheinegold picked up the box of tissues from his desk and brought it over to Renee, sitting down on the other side of the sofa with the box between them. Supportive, but not invasive. "It's alright. You're safe here. Would you like to talk about Scarlett?"
"I loved her," Renee choked out. "When Deirdre and I were separated, I fell in love with her. But she was with Kait, and when they broke up, Kait didn't want me to have her, so she started plotting against me, and Scarlett stopped wanting me because of the magick..."
"But she wanted you before that?" Doctor Rheinegold hadn't been privy to this aspect of their relationship before... it certainly complicated things.
"I think so. I don't know. I don't know!"
"It's okay," the doctor soothed quickly. "We don't have to talk about it right now if you don't want to. Would you like to wait until you feel better?"
Renee nodded, too emotional to actually say anything.
The doctor leaned back, considering the situation. There were obviously unresolved feelings where Scarlett was concerned. He had been so wrapped up in the suicide issues, that this was really uncharted territory. Until now, he'd been under the impression that they were just close friends. But now that he was sure about her problem, whatever feelings there were between Renee and Scarlett had undoubtedly been twisted into something horribly malevolent in Renee's mind...
Renee's assertions were, of course, as ridiculous as Peter had told him they were. This Tasha had taken what was more or less a dormant personality disorder and turned into a full-blown breakdown. He wondered if she had even the slightest conception of what she had done to Renee...
"Perhaps we'd better leave it there for today," he said to Renee quietly. "But you're welcome to sit here for a while, if you don't feel well enough to go home."
"No... I should go," Renee shook her head. "Thank you for listening, Doctor. I'm sure I'll be better tomorrow."
No, you really won't. "Alright then, Renee. Be safe."
Renee nodded and left the office, closing the door behind her.
Doctor Rheinegold moved back behind his desk and immediately set to work writing in Renee's file. Confirmed Paranoid personality disorder. Extreme case. Treat with care - must not give patient any reason to suspect malicious intent. In worst case scenario, could return to suicide as solution to problems.
This girl was certainly a worry. He picked up the phone and dialled Deirdre's number. She needed to know what was wrong, and how best to deal with the problem.
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