Vivian was thoroughly drained. The sight of Finnick’s face reminded her of Larry. She couldn’t help but reach out a hand to hug him, muttering Larry’s name repeatedly under her breath.
“Little pumpkin, you’re finally back! Do you have any idea how much I have missed you?”
Finnick felt a small patch of wetness on his shoulder as she spoke. He knew without looking that they were from her tears. It was a true portrayal of a mother losing her child.
As soon as she saw someone who had the slightest resemblance, she would delude herself into thinking it was her child. It was an instinctive process of the human brain to use such a method to make up for the grief they felt. However, if it developed into an advanced stage, the same condition would be diagnosed as a mental illness.
With no alternative, Finnick could only impersonate Larry and asked in a cajoling tone, “Then, shall we go home?”
Vivian nodded, allowing him to lead her to his car.
When they arrived back at the house, she had already fallen into a deep slumber. Both of them had spent the entire day walking and searching respectively. They were exhausted. One peaceful night was all they could ask for.
The next morning, it was Vivian who broke the silence with her sorrowful cry. “My little pumpkin!” Finnick instantly jolted awake, looking at Vivian in concern. “What happened?” he asked. He had already expected she would wake up feeling dejected. But seeing her condition, he was at a complete loss.
“Finnick! My son… My son, he’s dead!” Vivian’s eyes widened as she stared at him before she hopped out of bed rapidly.
Finnick felt truly powerless witnessing her in that way. Although it was evident that she had suffered a great blow to her mental state, he had no idea how to assist her in dealing with her trauma.
Too many things had happened at once. It was a once-in-a-blue-moon opportunity for them to travel. Yet, Rachel coincidentally fell ill at the same time. After caring for her for a while, Larry then became missing. Although there had been hopes to rescue him initially, the same mistakes kept repeating again and again. No matter how emotionally strong a person was, they would bound to collapse when faced with the same situation.
Moreover, Vivian was accustomed to shouldering everything on her own. She never reached out for help. Her heart had long experienced more than she could handle.
The final straw that broke her was Larry’s death. Finnick knew he was majorly responsible for that matter. Hence, he made up his mind to take her to a psychiatrist.
“Vivian, let’s go. I’ll take you to see Larry,” Finnick lied. He had originally wanted to bring up the hospital, but he feared she would be uncooperative and refuse to go if she knew.
At the mention of Larry’s name, she immediately nodded obediently and went along wherever he led. She sat quietly in the car in anticipation at the thought of reuniting with her son.
However, when they arrived at the hospital, her demeanor changed. Finnick naturally felt her resistance but paid no mind to it. The hospital was her only recourse. He took her hand and led her into the building.
As Finnick was acquainted with one of the renowned psychiatrists in the hospital, they managed to skip the lengthy registration process and went directly for a consultation. He knocked twice on the door. As soon as he heard an affirmation to enter, he pushed the door open.
“Finnick, this—” The doctor was slightly flustered when he caught sight of the erratic-looking Vivian. Did something happen to Mrs. Norton? Is she here for treatment?
Finnick nodded to his silent conjecture. Dr. Foster immediately regained his composure and sat down to begin his assessment. Unfortunately, Vivian failed to meet his gaze whenever he questioned her. It made it harder for him to give an accurate diagnosis.
At last, it was determined her condition was the same as Finnick had guessed. Their next step was to try to alleviate her condition. Fearing that there would be side effects, Finnick instructed Dr. Foster to prescribe Vivian’s medication in smaller dosages.
They then sat down and discussed a few things to note in regards to her condition. It was only after Finnick was certain he had everything memorized in his heart that they left. At the door, Vivian immediately turned to look expectantly at him.
