Psychasthenia - PROLOGUE

Copyright © 2018 of James A. Pettis, III
All Rights Reserved

Psychasthenia

PROLOGUE

Hallucination

It was Christmas Eve 2016 at the Pachsyis’ Mansion on Royal Estates Drive—and a great celebration was about to start. Daniel Pachsyis, the man of the hour, was hosting a celebration for a merger with a real estate company. Guests would soon be arriving to what was to be a big night for Pachsyis & Company. 
     Daniel came down from the upper level of his self-designed three story mansion, walking into the living room area to check on the preparations for the gathering. Butlers and service maids were cleaning and laying out utensils, when a young woman came from the kitchen arguing with one of the cooks.

“That’s awful,” she complained. “If that’s what you’re planning on serving to our hundreds of guests arriving within the hour—you are sadly mistaken. Fix it…now!”

The cook threw up his arms and returned to the kitchen, as the young woman turned around and stared at Daniel.

“This is going to be a disaster if they can’t even get the main course correct,” she whined. Daniel placed his hands on her arms, messaging her shoulders.

“Come on now Allison—be nice,” he told her. “Everything is going to be fine.”

“Daniel, everything needs to be better than fine, it has to be perfect,” she argued. With a smirk, Daniel kissed Allison and placed his hand on her cheek.

“This is why I love you,” said Daniel. Taking a deep breath, Daniel began to look around, as though he were looking for someone.

“Where is he?” Daniel asked. Allison rolled her eyes and stepped back from Daniel, crossing her arms.

“Why would I know?” She fussed. “It’s not like he talks to me.”

Daniel shook his head and began to walk away from Allison, when she grabbed his hand.

“He’s still in his room,” she told him. “According to Roger, he isn’t coming out.”

Daniel groaned and continued to walk off from Allison, when the doorbell rang. Daniel stopped and waved his hand at one of the butlers to answer the door and one of them opened it. A man stepped through the door in causal business attire, glancing around at the set up for the party.

“Big brother—I think you’ve out done yourself,” the man said. With a chuckle, Daniel stepped over to the man and hugged him.

“Eric, I didn’t think you were going to make it,” Daniel exclaimed.

“Well, I knew this was important,” Eric mentioned. “Didn’t want to miss it just because Leslie still had work.”

“Tell him he was missed,” said Daniel.

“I will, and he sent his congrats and best regards,” Eric informed him. With a smile, Daniel walked Eric over to Allison, who smiled back at him.

     “Eric, you remember Allison, right?” He wondered.

     “Of course I do,” Eric replied, when he and Allison embraced. “How is the future Mrs. Pachsyis?”

     “I’m doing wonderfully Eric, thank you,” she smiled.

     “So, have you two decided on a date for the wedding?” Eric inquired.

     “We have,” Daniel told him.

     “But we agreed to allow the merger to happen first,” Allison added. “Just so the excitement wouldn’t gear away toward our wedding.”

     “Well, as long as I’m still a bridesmaid—I don’t care when it’s happening,” Eric joked, and the three shared a laugh. An awkward silence quickly followed, with Eric looking around the living room.

     “So, where’s my nephew?” Eric asked. Daniel cleared his throat and looked off for a moment, slightly agitated.

     “Still in his room,” Daniel started, “refusing to come out apparently.”

Exhaling sadly, Eric placed his hand over his forehead, when Daniel crossed his arms.

     “What?” Daniel demanded, as Eric stared at him angrily.

     “You did this to him,” Eric claimed. “All for your own agenda.”

     “Are you kidding me?!” Daniel snapped. “I did this to protect him!”

     “No, you did this to protect your reputation,” Eric corrected him. “Hope it was worth it.”

     “We are not doing this now,” Daniel stated angrily through his teeth. He and Eric stared at each other with annoyance in their eyes, when Allison reaches for Eric.

     “Did I show you my wedding dress?” She quickly changed the subject, grabbing Eric’s arm.

     “No, you didn’t,” he said blandly.

     “Ugh, my goodness—Eric, you have to see it,” Allison exclaimed, pulling Eric away from Daniel to another room. Daniel stood still for a moment, placing his hands over his face. He sat down on the love seat and began to breathe heavily, when the doorbell rang again.

     “Answer the damn door!” Daniel yelled, when one of the butlers rushed to the door and opened it. A man stepped through the door in a fancy suit and had a woman on his arm wearing a luxurious gown, with a younger man and teenaged boy similarly dressed following behind them.

     “This is the party?” The man complained, as Daniel looked up and realized it was his older brother Andrew, his wife Cora, and their two sons Andy and Justin. Daniel stood up, while Andrew, his wife, and sons walked over to him.

     “Not entertaining enough for you brother?” Daniel teased, shaking Andrew’s hand.

     “You’re hilarious” Andrew dryly remarked. “Honestly though, why is it so vacant?”

     “I told the family to arrive 30 minutes prior to the start of everything,” Daniel confessed. “I figured it would be best if the entire family were here as guests start to arrive.”

Andrew rolled his eyes and snapped his fingers, when one of the butlers rushed over to him. He removed his suede trench coat and handed it to the butler, with his sons repeating his actions. As the butler walked off quickly, Daniel looked over at Cora and smiled.

     “Cora, you look ravishing tonight,” Daniel told her, taking her hand and kissing it as she blushed.

     “Oh Daniel, no need to flatter me,” she laughed. “Tonight is all about this important merger you made happen.”

     “Humility suits you well madam,” Daniel continued smiling, glancing over to Andy and Justin.

     “Now, how are my two nephews?” He asked, when Andy reached out and shook his hand.

     “Excellent Uncle Danny,” Andy said with a smile. “I know we’re celebrating the merger tonight, but I wanted to let you know that everything is running smoothly with the overseas buyout.”

With a smile, Daniel placed both hands on Andy’s and looked at Andrew and Cora.

     “This is the future of Pachsyis & Company,” he said. “You are a God send Andy.”

     “A spitting image of his hard working father,” Cora added, embracing Andrew’s arm.

     “Where’s the food? I’m starving,” Justin interrupted.

     “Everything is still being prepared,” Daniel told him. “But check with Stefano and see if there’s something you can get before the guests arrive.”

     Justin walked away from the three and headed into the kitchen, while Andrew shook his head.

     “We’ll be lucky if that one even goes to college,” he groaned, crossing his arms, when Allison and Eric came back into the living room laughing. Allison smiled and looked at Daniel, seeing Andrew and Cora with Andy standing near him.

     “Andrew, you’re here,” she exclaimed, walking over to them with Eric beside her. Andrew took her hand and kissed her on the cheek with a grin.

     “Allison—just as gorgeous as ever,” Andrew flirted, while Allison blushed.

     “Oh, Andrew stop,” she chuckled and glanced over at Cora, as her demeanor dropped.

     “Cora,” she said.

     “Allison,” Cora responded, as the two shared a brief pseudo cheek kiss. She quickly steps away from Allison and begins to walk toward the kitchen.

      “I’m going to make sure Justin doesn’t eat everything,” she told everyone, entering the kitchen. Andrew looked over at Eric, slightly disgusted by his relaxed attire.

     “Could you be anymore underdressed?” Andrew snarled, twisting up his face at Eric.

     “Hello to you too, brother,” Eric replied and crossed his arms, when the doorbell rang a third time.

     “The guests are early?” Allison wondered out loud, when Daniel shook his head.

     “No, they aren’t,” he corrected her, waving his hand at the butlers again. A butler opened the door and a man a few years younger than the brothers entered the mansion.

     “Stephen, I was worried you got lost,” Daniel quipped, walking over to the man and shaking his hand.

     “Funny you should say that,” Stephen started, “My GPS almost had me turned around.”

     “Well, you’re here now—and we should be getting started soon,” Daniel told him.

     “Excellent,” Stephen replied. Daniel stepped over to the others, with Stephen standing beside him.

     “Everyone, this is Stephen Madison,” Daniel introduced him. “He’s the attorney I hired to help with the legal negotiations for the merger—I’ve decided to hire him as the family attorney as well.”

     “Hello everyone,” Stephen smiled, when Andy nodded at him.

     “Very nice to meet you Stephen,” said Allison, shaking Stephen’s hand.

     “Ah, you must be the future Mrs. Pachsyis,” he realized.

     “Yes, yes I am,” she confirmed.

     “Well, congratulations on that as well,” Stephen told her. “Now, Mr. Pachsyis, were you still wanting me to go over everything with you and your son this evening?”

     Daniel stared at Stephen for a moment, trying to think of what to say without telling Stephen the truth.

     “He isn’t feeling well at the moment,” Daniel lied. “He probably won’t be attending.”

     “Aw, that’s a shame,” Stephen replied. “Maybe we can find another time to go over everything.”

     “Yes, maybe—hopefully,” Daniel said with a nervous laugh.

A half an hour later, guests had swarmed the inside of the Pachsyis’ Mansion, awaiting the celebration to commence. Daniel was stepping through the crowds of guests, shaking hands and greeting them briefly.

     “Hello—welcome, welcome,” Daniel greeted a man and his wife in passing, heading towards the foyer.

     “Daniel, congratulations on this merger,” a woman said tapping his shoulder, as he passed her and turned around.

     “Thank you, Alana,” he said, bumming into someone.

     “Pardon me,” the man said, when Daniel turned back around and realized who it was.

     “Mr. Duncan,” Daniel said embarrassed, brushing the man off. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to bump you like that.”

     “Mr. Duncan? Why so formal, Danny?” Mr. Duncan asked. “I was your mentor eons ago—call me Earl, we are equal businessmen now.”

     “Thank you Mr—uh, Earl,” Daniel grinned.

     “You did well, Congratulations Daniel,” Mr. Duncan commended him. With a nod, Daniel continued on his way and made it to the foyer, where his family was standing.

     “Has anyone else gotten here yet?” Daniel asked.

     “No, Dan,” Allison groaned. “Who are we waiting for?”

     “I called someone to help get him down here,” Daniel told them.

     “Shouldn’t everything be starting soon?” Cora asked.

     “Yes, shouldn’t it?” Andrew complained. “I think we’ve allowed your spoiled son to ruin the night long enough.”

     “We are NOT starting without him,” Daniel proclaimed. “I’ve called someone who he listens to.”

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK! Daniel turned to the front door and opened it before the butler made it over, and a young man was standing in front of him.

     “Vincent,” Daniel exclaimed with relief.

     “Hi, Mr. Pachsyis,” Vincent replied, as Daniel made way for him to come inside. Justin looked over and saw who it was they were waiting on, turning up his nose.

     “What’s the homo doing here?” Justin commented, when Andrew looked over and saw Vincent.

     “Yes, what is he doing here?” Andrew asked sternly.

     “He’s here to help,” Daniel told him. Andrew walked over to Vincent and stood in his face.

     “Homosexual deviants are not welcome here,” he said with disgust.

     “Excuse me?” Vincent stepped toward Andrew.

     “Whoa, whoa, whoa, let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” Eric intervened, stepping in between the two. “And if homosexual deviants aren’t welcome Andrew, why am I here?”

     “You have a stake in my company and you’re family,” Andrew attempted to clarify. “I have to tolerate you—you’re just a lost cause.”

     “Oh please,” Eric argued.

     “Believe what you want but that’s the truth,” Andrew told him. “But we don’t need anymore faggots running around.”

     “That’s enough!” Daniel exclaimed. “This is my house, my rules; we will not talk like that here—and for the record, it’s our company.”

     Daniel took Vincent by his arm and brushed through every on to get him to the staircase.

     “I’m sorry Vincent,” Daniel apologized for his brother.

     “It’s okay Mr. Pachsyis, I’m used to it,” said Vincent. “What do you need me to do?”

     “Just talk to him, get him to come down if you can.”

     “What if I can’t?”

     Daniel paused for a moment, taking a deep breath and placing his hands on Vincent’s shoulders.

     “I need him there, it’s important,” Daniel confessed to Vincent. With a nod, Vincent went up to the second floor, while Daniel exhaled and covered his face.

     On the second floor, Vincent walked by the house workers in the hall and made his way up the third floor staircase in front of him. He went down the hallway and passed the interior balcony looking over the living room, reaching a door where a body guard stood.

     “Hi Roger,” said Vincent, when the body guard looked over at him with a cold stare.

     “Can I help you Mr. James?” Roger asked.

     “Mr. Pachsyis sent me,” he told him. Roger shook his head and crossed his arms, clearing his throat.

     “He’s not coming out,” Roger declared. “He already told me that several times.”

     “Can I just talk to him?” Vincent asked. With an annoyed groan, Roger opened the door and Vincent went inside the room. Closing the door behind him, Vincent looked around the dark room, seeing only a small light near the bed on a nightstand. A young man was sitting on the edge of the bed and staring at the wall, not moving or making a sound. Vincent stepped into the middle of the room and stopped, staring at the young man.

     “Hey,” he said, when the young man looked back at him briefly. “You’re dad sent me—he’d really like you to come down stairs.”

Exhaling, the young man looked away from Vincent and back at the wall. Vincent walked closer to him and bent down on one knee by the bed, grabbing the young man’s hand.

     “Come on, just come down for a little bit,” Vincent tried to reason with him. “You’re dad really needs you down there.”

The young man continued to stare at the wall, frozen in the same position. Vincent put his head down and cleared his throat, looking back up at the young man.

     “If you won’t do it for him—do it for you,” he told him, when the young man looked at him again. “Come on—Ethan.”

Later that night, the gathering had started; everyone was mingling and enjoying themselves. After being begged to attend, Ethan finally came down to join everyone in the celebration, though he wasn’t doing much celebrating. He sat on a stool near the open bar with his elbow pressed against the counter, leaning over it and watch in the guests. He placed his hand on his face and exhaled, while the guests drank champagne and ate hors d’oeuvres passed around.  Vincent eventually walked over to Ethan and sat next to him, holding a two glasses of champagne.

     “Want one?” He asked, when Ethan looked over at him and shook his head. “Okay then—more for me.”

     Vincent placed one of the glasses on the counter and took a sip of the other, when the chime of a wine glass rang through the room. All the chatter halted and the attention was turned to the center of the room, where Daniel stood amongst everyone.

     “Thank you everyone for coming,” he happily acknowledged. “I know it’s Christmas Eve—and you all most likely had plans with your families, but I truly appreciate you all coming to celebrate this merger with me and my family.”

     The guests began to clap and cheer, as Daniel held up his hand for them to hold their applause.

     “No, I’m going to be honest,” Daniel started, “when I got the call from The Anderson Corporation I thought, ‘Wow, what a perfect time to make a profit on another’s misfortune.”

     The guests briefly laughed and smiled, while Daniel shook his hand.

     “I only joke,” He clarified. “It’s hard when corporations go through bankruptcy—so many factors can affect the outcome and many questions arise. Like: will the company still run? Will any of the investors pull out their assets? These are the things that can prevent a company from pulling themselves out of their rut. I didn’t want that to be the case for The Anderson Corporation; they had so many great unfinished projects. So, I decided to assist them—and now, here we are!”

     The guests cheered and clapped once again, this time more enthusiastic than before.

     “The Anderson Corporation have pulled themselves up and agreed to a merger—giving Pachsyis & Company a 40% stake in all their assets,” Daniel revealed, while the cheers and clapping continued. “This is indeed a great day for both companies!”

     The butlers began to walk around the room with trays of champagne filled glasses, passing them out to the guests. Once everyone had a glass, one of the butlers stepped over to Daniel and handed him a glass.

“Before we make a toast—I have one more announcement to make,” he revealed, as the guests began to look at each other confused. “Now, there are obviously many changes coming to Pachsyis & Company, and with change brings more productivity. That being said—I have decided to bring on a junior partner.”

The guests continued to glance around the room, trying to figure out where Daniel was going with his speech. With a smile, Daniel stepped forward and carried on.

     “Choosing who I wanted for the position was tough,” he said. “I wanted someone close to me, someone I knew I could trust.”

     Andrew tapped Andy on his shoulder, assuming he was going to give the job to him.

     “That is why I decided to give the position—to my son, Ethan Pachsyis,” Daniel revealed. The guests began to clap and cheer, when Ethan stared at his father in shock. Vincent looked over at him, concerned by his reaction.

     “Did you know about this?” He asked, while Ethan held his head down and began to breathe anxiously.

     “You can’t be serious,” Andrew mumbled, looking at the distraught stare on his Andy’s face. Still smiling, Daniel raised his glass and cleared his throat.

     “So let us raise our glasses,” he said, as everyone raised their glass. “To new beginnings!”

     With a brief cheer, everyone took a sip of their wine and clapped. Vincent kept his eye on Ethan, who was still hyperventilating. Daniel looked over at Ethan with a smile, making eye contact with him for a moment.

     “Ethan, come up here with me,” Daniel called him out. Everyone looked Ethan’s way, while he sat frozen in his seat. Without warning, Ethan got up from his stool and rushed passed the guests, hurrying into the kitchen. Daniel stood still in the center of everyone, holding his glass and chuckling nervously.

     “Ha ha—uh, anyway,” he tried to move on, “everyone enjoy the rest of the night.”

     The guests went back to mingling, now gossiping to themselves about Ethan’s strange behavior after the junior partner reveal.  Embarrassed by Ethan’s actions, Daniel quickly drunk his glass of wine, taking another glass off a tray from a butler standing near him. Seeing his brother in dismay, Andrew shook his head and made his way toward the kitchen to confront Ethan.

     Ethan stood by a counter, holding the edges and leaning over if with his head down. As he exhaled, Andrew burst into the kitchen with rage in his eyes.

     “You fucking ingrate!” He yelled, startling Ethan as he looked up at him. “How dare you embarrass the Pachsyis name like that?!”

     Ethan stared at Andrew, breathing through his nostrils and grasping the corners of the counter.

     “You were just given a position you don’t even deserve and you can’t even appreciate it,” Andrew scolded Ethan. “That should’ve been given to Andy—he’s been working hard to build up this company with us, you’ve done nothing but tarnish this family and cause problems.”

     Ethan looked away from Andrew, continuing to breathe heavily, when a cook came through the back kitchen door holding a tray. Andrew looked up and saw the cook, waving them off.

     “Get out!” He screamed, as the cook quickly went backwards through the door. Glaring back at Ethan, Andrew shook his head.

     “You disgust me,” he said, when Ethan stared back at him. “Everyone has to tip toe around poor little Ethan because he wants to brat and not talk—everyone has to go out of their way for Ethan, you’re ridiculous.”

Ethan’s eyes became glassy as he opened his mouth to speak.

     “I—”

     “Don’t even bother wasting your breath,” Andrew interrupted Ethan. “You don’t get to pick and choose to speak when it’s convenient for you.”

     Andrew walked away from Ethan and opened the kitchen door, looking back at him.

     “Get your shit together boy,” he said in a degrading tone. “Cause no one cares about you.”

     Andrew stepped out of the kitchen and closed the door behind himself, as tears began to fall down Ethan’s face. He hung his head down and trembled, placing his hands over his face. He continued to breathe heavily, eventually wiping his tears away and closing his eyes—

CLICK! I opened my eyes and realized I was standing in the dark. The kitchen light had cut off, but the light switch was still on. I observed my surroundings, trying to figure out what was going on.

     “Hello?” I called out. Dead silence—no creaking noise, no refrigerator humming, no water dripping from the sink faucet. What the hell? I wondered, beginning to heart a subtle heartbeat getting louder and louder. It was mine; I didn’t have a clue what was going on. I rushed around the counter and burst through the kitchen doors, only to see a now empty—dimly lit living room. I was confused. Where did all the guests go? Where was everyone?

     “Dad—Allison—Vincent!” I cried. “Uncle Andrew—Aunt Cora—Uncle Eric—anybody?!”

No one was responding to me. THUMP! I jumped, startled from the noise coming from the upstairs area.

     “Who’s there?!” Why did I even ask? Like I was going to get an answer. Regaining my composure, I walked through the living room slowly, stepping over to the staircase. It was completely dark, I couldn’t see anything past the last step. I was hesitant, but I had to figure out what was going on. Pressing onward, I made my way up the staircase, stepping into the dark hallway of the second floor. A chill came over me; I couldn’t tell if that was from my fear or whether the heater for whatever reason cut off. But that didn’t matter. I continued down the hallway, keeping an eye out for anything suspicious. THUMP! THUMP! I froze in place, hearing another noise—this time coming from the third level of the mansion. I exhaled and kept moving forward, heading toward the stairs leading to the next floor.

     Once I reached the third floor, I stood at the end of the hall and stared at my open bedroom door. I cleared my throat, moving passed the balcony and stepping into my room. It was completely empty. All of my things had somehow vanished from the room, and all that could be seen was the moonlight shining through the window. I stepped further into the room, when the door slammed shut behind me. As a reflex I jumped and looked back, only seeing the closed door—nothing else. Calming down, a turned back around and saw a chair in the middle of the room. Someone was sitting in it, but I couldn’t see who it was clearly, like a fog was blurring my vision. I walked slowly toward the chair, reaching out my hand to touch the person’s shoulder and get their attention. When I touched them, I felt a brush across my shoulder.

     “What the—” I freaked, glancing over my shoulder—but no one was there. Turning back to the person in the chair, they suddenly stood up and the chair vanished. As they turned around, I realized it was me. Sadness in my eyes, tears falling down my face. I stood in front of myself confused, when I realized the other me was holding a knife.

     “What are you—” before I could finish, the other me stabbed himself in the stomach. “NO!”

The other me bled out of his stomach becoming blurry again, before vanishing. I immediately felt a sharp pain in my stomach afterwards. My hand started trembling, as I glanced at it and saw it was covered in blood. Looking down, I saw the end of a butcher knife extruding from my stomach, with a puddle of blood underneath—

Ethan looked up, realizing he was standing in the living room, right outside the kitchen door. The lights were normal again, and all of the guests had were still there. They were all staring at him with widened eyes, like they had seen a ghost. Ethan stood there trembling, when his father stepped forward with shock in his eyes.

     “Ethan—why—what happened?” Daniel asked, while Ethan continued to shake. He looked down at himself, seeing the end of a butcher knife in his stomach, his hands covered in blood. He had stabbed himself.

     “Ethan, no,” Vincent cried rushing over to him. Before he made it over to him, Ethan coughed up some blood and lost his balance, falling over on the floor.

     “No—NO!!” Daniel screamed, running over to Ethan, reaching him shortly after Vincent. “Someone call an ambulance, NOW!”

     The guests began to gasp and shriek in fear, as the rest of the family gathered around Ethan.

     “What the hell is wrong with you boy?!” Andrew scrutinized him, as Ethan started to lose consciousness.

     “Have some respect Andrew!” Daniel snapped, lifted his son on his lap. “It’s gonna be okay, Ethan—it’s gonna be okay.”

     “Ethan don’t die on us—you can’t die on us,” said Vincent, as his eyes geared up.

     “Is he going to be alright?!” Cora asked in dismay.

     “He needs to be in a hospital! Someone get here now!” Eric snapped, hanging up his phone and bending down near Ethan. “They’re on their way buddy, hang in there.”

     Ethan began to gasp and shut his eyes, when Daniel started to panic.

     “No—no, don’t you die, don’t you fucking die!” Daniel pleaded. Without warning, Ethan closed his eyes and lost consciousness.

     “Ethan—ETHAN!!!”