Chapter 288: Post-traumatic Stress Disorder
"Ew!" The moment everyone saw his expression, they instinctively took a large step back, looks of disgust on their faces.
Fortunately, his "blech" was just a physiological gag reflex; he didn’t actually vomit anything.
Evan York dry-heaved a few times and seemed to feel a bit better. He looked up at the crowd, his eyes red-rimmed, and frowned. "Where is this? Why am I here? And Mom, Dad... why are you standing so far away?"
The atmosphere in the room froze at his words. After a long moment, someone asked curiously, "What’s going on? Did he... lose his memory?"
"...Or it could be that his body instinctively feels he’s made a fool of himself too many times recently, so he’s selectively ignoring this period and burying it in some corner of his mind." As for whether it would ever be unearthed again, that depended on how strongly he resisted the memory.
At Arabella Donovan’s words, everyone couldn’t help but recall the crazed image of Evan York just moments ago—madly in love, utterly obsessed, and ready to bang his head against a wall for it. An involuntary shiver ran through them.
Putting themselves in his shoes, they probably would have instinctively chosen to discard that memory too and pretend nothing had happened. Otherwise, carrying around such an embarrassing history, they’d likely want to pack their bags and flee the planet at a moment’s notice.
Mr. and Mrs. York seemed to realize that their sweet, well-behaved baby boy might have truly returned. They rushed excitedly to Evan York’s side, asking with concern, "Evan, are you... all better? Do you feel uncomfortable anywhere? Does your head hurt? Are you dizzy? Do you still feel like throwing up?"
"I’m okay. My chest just feels a little tight, and my head’s a bit heavy, like I’m carsick. It’s weird... I think I remember seeing a movie with friends right after summer vacation started, and then... HISS... why does it feel like I’ve forgotten something?"
Evan York clutched his head, his face contorted in pain. Seeing that he seemed to have genuinely forgotten the events of the past few weeks, his parents quickly stopped him. "If you can’t remember, don’t force it. It wasn’t anything important anyway. By the way, do you remember this person?"
Mrs. York was quite a character. She had seen a photo of Valerie Lewis when she had someone investigate her and had even saved it. Now, to test whether the curse was completely removed from her son, she shoved the photo right under his nose.
The moment Evan York saw Valerie Lewis’s photo, he froze. His expression changed, and he turned to his mother with another round of, "GAAAG~~~"
Mrs. York: "!!!"
Everyone: Pfft...
"M-Master Donovan, what on earth is happening?" Mrs. York panicked seeing her son’s reaction. "It can’t be that the Curse Worm was in his body for so long that it’s caused some permanent damage, can it?"
Arabella Donovan watched from the side for a moment before saying awkwardly, "This should be considered... what do you call it, post-traumatic stress?"
"Post-traumatic stress?"
"I’ve never been in a relationship, but I’ve heard that people fall in love because of a hormone in the human body called dopamine at work. The more of this hormone that’s secreted, the greater the sense of pleasure, and the stronger the positive feelings toward the person causing this effect."
"The principle of the Love Worm is to use the Curse Worm to stimulate the body’s dopamine production. This makes him get a huge rush whenever he sees Valerie Lewis, who carries the Mother Worm. It’s love at first sight, deep affection at second sight, and by the third, he’s hopelessly devoted and unable to break free."
Everyone: "..." ’We’re here talking about the supernatural, and you’re hitting us with a face full of science. Doesn’t everyone say that metaphysics is what lies beyond the limits of science? So does that mean science is what lies beyond the limits of metaphysics?’
"...Do people in the supernatural business need to know this much stuff nowadays?"
"There’s no end to learning. You have to keep up with the times, no matter what line of work you’re in, right?"
Everyone: "..." ’You actually make a good point. We have no comeback for that!’
Arabella Donovan glanced at the still-bewildered Mr. and Mrs. York, thought for a moment, and tried to explain the situation in simpler terms.
"To put it simply, once he was afflicted by the curse, everyone else looked more or less the same to him—one nose, two eyes, nothing more, nothing less. They were all just part of the scenery. Only the person carrying the Mother Worm, Valerie Lewis, was a shining, radiant presence the moment she stood in front of him, without having to do a thing."
"Even if her looks and personality weren’t your son’s type, the curse put hundreds, even thousands of filters over his eyes, making him see her as a heavenly beauty. That’s why he became so utterly devoted to her, as if he were under a spell. Though, strictly speaking, he was under a spell."
"...I get it." Even though Mrs. York was worried about her son, she couldn’t help but feel a bit awkward. "So what’s happening to him now is..."
"He was forced to like someone he didn’t originally like and did a ton of things to please her that he would never do in his right mind. Now that he’s come to his senses, there’s bound to be some physiological discomfort. His current state is likely a stress reaction."
"A stress reaction?" The Yorks subconsciously glanced at their son, who was still dry-heaving, and then at the girl’s photo on the phone. For a moment, they didn’t know whether to feel relieved or exasperated.
To be fair, Valerie Lewis wasn’t ugly. She was a fifteen or sixteen-year-old girl, radiant and in the prime of her youth. Aside from a few pimples on her face, she was full of yet-to-be-lost collagen; she was far from unattractive.
Although Evan York hadn’t liked her before, he didn’t have any particularly strong feelings of aversion toward her either.
At most, he just felt she wasn’t his type. They could be friends, but if they were to date, something would feel missing. To put it bluntly, there was no spark.
People are like that sometimes. They don’t pay much mind to things they don’t care about, adopting a "whatever" attitude of just going through the motions—if I have to do it, fine; if not, that’s fine too.
But if someone were to suddenly show up and force you to do that very thing, insisting you get it done, a rebellious streak would definitely flare up.
Evan York’s current situation was similar. Before, under the control of the Curse Worm, his first sight of Valerie Lewis was one of awe and infatuation. Now, his first glance at her had transformed from his initial indifference into revulsion and alarm.
His mind hadn’t caught up yet, but his body had already issued a warning, telling him to stay away from her. This was the cause of his excessively violent reaction.
"So what do we do now? We can’t just let him keep gagging like this, can we? How can his body take it?"
"That’s easy." Arabella Donovan reached out and turned off the screen on Mrs. York’s phone, making Valerie Lewis’s photo disappear.
Evan York’s gagging stopped instantly. He steadied himself against the corner of a table, panting heavily. "Wh-What happened? Who is that? Why do I get a massive headache and feel like throwing up the second I see her face?"
As he spoke, he felt the urge to vomit again. He covered his mouth and said, "No, no, I can’t think about it, I can’t. The moment I do, my whole body feels sick. Did this person have a grudge against me in a past life or something? GAG~~~ GAG~~~"
Mr. and Mrs. York: "..." ’It’s a bit tragic, but on second thought, it’s a good thing. At least they don’t have to worry about their son going back to being a simp for her and getting himself killed.’