A Haunting Forever Troubling, chapter 2

Adrienne woke up the next morning to find Billie Joe not laying beside her. She sighed and stood up, walking into the bathroom. But, he wasn't there either. She thought for a second, and walked quickly down the stairs and found him sitting at the table with his head in his hands. She listened, and for a second it sounded like he was talking to himself. She thought she was hearing things, but she moved closer and heard him. It sounded like a sad begging, pleading just to be left alone. She listened for a second again, than put her hand over her mouth.

"No, please, I will do anything. Just leave me the fuck alone. I never did anything to hurt you, please... "

She walked into the kitchen and sat down beside him. And, this wasn't the first time it has happened, either. She stroked his cheek and noticed how warm he had become from last night. Something just wasn't right about him anymore.

"Billie? Sweetie, are you okay?"

He looked up slowly and stared into Adrienne's eyes, helpless. Should he just explain to her what was wrong? Besides the fact that he has the dream, should he just tell her about the voices, and paranoia? No, she probably wouldn't even believe him anyway, so what was the sense?

He sighed and wiped his eyes. "Ye-Yeah, I'm okay, don't worry about me, Adie... "

She stood up and threw her arms in the air. "Billie Joe, what in the world is going on in that head of yours? I have found you doing this before, and I can't stand it anymore! I can't help you if you don't fucking tell me what's wrong with you! Just fucking tell me already!"

Billie Joe remained in his chair, holding his hands over his ears. He hated it whenever someone yelled at him. Granted he was paranoid, but he was also extremely sensitive. Not like he could help it anyway; that was his personality. "Adie, pl-please, stop yelling. I am begging y-you."

"Why should I?! You aren't going to say anything, anyway!"

He finally stood up, gripping the chair because he was dizzy, and he felt like he was going to vomit, just like a mere hour ago. "I am be-begging you; I don't feel well. Just leave me alone!"

"Billie, don't you understand that I cannot leave you alone? What's wrong... you're shaking... "

But, he didn't hear her. He already ran to the bathroom and collapsed down by the toilet, vomiting his guts up. This time, it felt like he couldn't stop. Adrienne walked in and knelt down, tenderly rubbing his back. His knuckles were turning white from how tight his grip was, and he was deathly pale.

A long while later, Billie Joe fell into Adrienne's chest, breathing heavily and shivering. He was so cold that his teeth had begun to chatter. But, that did not stop the voice from coming back.

Aw, poor little baby doesn't feel very well. It snickered.

Le-Leave me alone. I have a feeling that you caused this to happen.

"Billie, please... what's wrong with you?"

Nothing is wrong with me, now shut up, go to hell, and leave me alone!

Adrienne turned around, taken aback. She stared into his eyes, and noticed that they turned to a black, and he was no longer pale. But a reddish color. He looked angry, and Adrienne began to feel even more helpless and scared then ever before.

She tightly gripped his shoulders and looked at him closely. "Billie what is going o-on?"

Oh, don't worry, you're precious little Billie Joe is just fine. He maybe ill, but he will be just fine. it had snickered once again. Even Adrienne was beginning to hate that snicker with a passion.

Suddenly, he began to come back to reality. His eyes were green, and he was once again pale and shaking. Tears fell down his face rapidly.

She hugged Billie Joe close to her, playing with his hair. "Billie, what the fuck was that about? That sc-scared the shit o-out of me."

"It scared the s-shit out o-of m-me also." He whimpered quietly. He turned around and looked to Adrienne, confusion and fear setting in, along with illness and fatigue. The look on his face made Adrienne not want to go in and work, but stay home and keep a very sharp eye on Billie Joe. She didn't even think that he wanted her to go anywhere anyway, because his grip was beginning to tighten upon her waist and his breathing was slow and staggered. He was going to fall back asleep, and she knew that, in the back of her mind, depression was setting in. She felt that this was going to just be like the Insomniac era all over again, and she wasn't liking it one bit.

She stood up, then she got a hold of Billie Joe and lifted him up as well, and they made their way off to their room, Billie Joe leaning heavily upon her right side as they walked up the stairs. She stroked his hair as they walked, and he almost tripped over his own two feet.

She got a hold of his waist. "Billie, come on honey... we're almost to the room, all right? Just, hold on."

He nodded against her and when they got to the room, Billie Joe collapsed underneath the covers and immediately fell asleep. Adrienne kissed him on the cheek, and covered him up, walking out and before closing the door, and looked one last time at his pale face. She sighed, and felt powerless. What was going on through her husband's mind?

She opened up her laptop and decided to do some research. Granted she was a major in sociology, but there was a difference between that and psychology. In a way she could understand why people acted the way that they did, but right now, she had felt defeated, and this was her own husband; the man who she has loved and admired for ten straight years. Through all the drugs, alcohol, panic attacks, and anxiety, she was still going strong with him. She could never find it in her heart to leave him, even though she has already come close to doing so.

She looked up some stuff on paranoia and schizophrenia. It turned out, that, the way Billie Joe was acting was associated with paranoid schizophrenia. He was having hallucinations, voices in his head, and was paranoid about the dream; or, just paranoid in general.

I have to get him to a doctor or something... before he hurts himself or people around him.

Adrienne stood up and decided to call up Billie Joe's psychologist and schedule an appointment with him. Billie had to talk to someone about this, for it was really starting to bug Adrienne, and make Billie Joe worse and worse as the days went slowly by. She saw the way he would act; picking out fights for no reason, hardly any sleeping or eating, talking to himself, and concentration was scarce. And, what killed her was the confusion. But, he still had managed to write outstanding songs, which was what haunted her the most. How could someone, who may have a mental illness, write an outstanding song, and have such an amazing talent to portray? It was a mystery to her, really.

She waited until he answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Hello, is this. Mrs. Armstrong?"

"Um, ye-yes... this is she. How are you doing?"

"I am doing fine... how is everything with you? Is Billie doing all right?"

She sighed, knowing that he wasn't. "Um, Dr. Anderson... there is a problem with Billie. It is the way he has been acting, for the past few months. And, I would like to schedule an appointment with you so he could see you."

"That will be fine, but what exactly seems to be the problem?"

She sighed. "A possible schizophrenic husband."

She thought that she had heard him gasp on the other end. "Um... I am all booked, but I can squeeze him in here somewhere. How about, Friday at ten-thirty?"

Adrienne sighed with relief. "That is fine, thank you very much. I really appreciate this."

"It is fine, Mrs. Armstrong. I will talk to Billie, and maybe he will tell me something. I will do the best I can with him, just like I have done in the past."

She smiled to herself. "Like I said, thank you."

"You're very welcome." And they hung up. As long as she knew now, that her husband was going to get some form of help, she was fine.

He walked around one night in Berkeley, when it was as black as black velvet and foggy. He liked the feeling about it; it made him feel calm, and relaxed; a feeling that he hasn't felt in a very long while. He finally wasn't feeling troubled, or paranoid. He was feeling like himself...

... Billie Joe Armstrong.

He stuffed his hands deeper in his pockets, and heard a yelling in the distance. He turned around frantically, trying to see or hear whom it was. He was curious, and he let the curiosity get the best of him, just like always. He turned around, and walked in the opposite direction, trying to find the woman who was yelling.

He walked, but his feet began to take him faster and faster with every step; the yell was extremely familiar, like something that he has heard once before in his life. But, he can't remember where, or when he has heard it before.

His fast paced walking soon became running, and he found himself in a park... different from all the other dreams, he thought to himself. Why was he in a park, around midnight? This was very confusing to him.

But, everything was confusing to him... except when he was writing and playing songs. He felt relaxed and content.

He looked up in a tree, and noticed a woman sitting there, blood trickling down the branch. But, the woman wasn't alive.

She was dead.

Billie Joe jumped back and gasped, his body beginning to shake with fear. Why was this woman, dead, lying up in a tree? What crazy asshole had pulled this off?

He whipped himself around, and saw a man standing behind him, pointing a gun to his head. No, this cannot be happening... what did he do?

"What do you want from me?"

It snickered. "You finally get to meet me in person, Billie Joe. But, you have to say goodnight now."

And, the gun was fired, leaving Billie Joe in a hole of darkness.

Billie Joe shot up in his bed, gripping the sheets tightly between his fingertips. That can't be... and he felt paranoid once again. He began to shake uncontrollably with paranoia, and he felt the voice screaming in the back of his head "you're gonna die, you're gonna die... " over and over again. He gripped his ears tightly and screamed "leave me alone, leave me alone... " getting louder with each and every yell that was sounding from his lips.

He looked over the foot of the bed, and saw the same image of the woman, lying in the branch, blood trickling down rapidly from her bullet wound. It scared and sickened Billie Joe, for he was sick as it was already.

He screamed, and jumped up from the bed and onto the floor, trying to slap away the image that he was seeing. But, it was all inside his head... it was never really there.

Adrienne walked into the room, and saw what Billie Joe was doing. She immediately ran to him, and grabbed his hands off of his ears. He kept on struggling to put them back on, for the voice was yelling "say goodnight, say goodnight... " but, Adrienne reassured him that nobody was here who was going to kill him.

"Billie, sweetie, nobody here is going to kill you, ever. As long as you are here with me, nothing shall ever happen to you. Please, believe that."

He began to slowly calm down, and bury his head into Adrienne's chest, filled with embarrassment. What was wrong with him?

But, he couldn't tell Adrienne yet... not just yet was he going to tell her anything.

He gripped onto Adrienne tightly, trying to remain calm, for he was still shaking. He sighed, and soon his breathing was staggered once again, and he fell back into a deep and troubled sleep, once again.