the ripper || irwin

[ 21 ] delusions

[ 21 ] delusions

When Luke awoke next, he was back in his room.

Alice was there with him, sitting quietly at the edge of his bed, looking down at her hands. She hadn't noticed he was awake yet, and when he sat up in his bed and reached out to touch her on the shoulder, she flinched.

"Luke." Se breathed as she turned and blue eyes met blue.

 "What's wrong?" He asked her, noticing the fear in her gaze.

She gulped nervously. "What do you mean?"

"You look like..." He began, "You look like you're afraid of me."

"Luke, you killed a priest." She informed him, the words seemed strained as they left her mouth. 

He shook his head in denial. "That's a lie." He said to her. "I've been here the whole time. I think I would know if I killed someone."

"I saw you." She told him. "I was there when it happened."

After Luke had passed down on the ground of Ashton's patient bedroom, Calum and Ashton helped Alice carry Luke back to his bedroom while Michael disposed of the body. It was still dark out and Alice hoped they wouldn't get caught. She knew covering for a murder her brother committed would get her in trouble, but she didn't care. He was her sibling and she would do anything to protect him. Alice knew Luke hadn't meant to kill anyone, it was the evil that overpowered him which had committed the crime.

"Oh, Alice." He buried his face in his hands. "I'm a murderer."

"No," Alice shook her head. "It was the demon. We're going to find a way to get you back to normal."

Luke bit his lip nervously. "Bringing a priest here was a stupid idea, Alice." He pointed out. "God...doesn't care about people like me or your friend Ashton, or his friends. We're orphans and no one wanted us so no one cares that we were marked. No one cares that the devil has our souls. They only care if we kill someone sane, someone important, someone with family and people who care about them."

.

.

.

.

Several days passed after their attempt at freeing Ashton's soul. They hadn't heard from Michael and Calum, and Ashton was concerned about his brothers. He was especially concerned about Michael, who was next on the list to be sacrificed.

Luke was taken into a seperate room, where he had a one on one session with one of the doctors.

From a security room on the other side of a glass wall, Alice and her father observed the therapy session. Alice held a clipboard in one hand, a pen in the other, pretending to take notes on her brother's mental state. She didn't bother telling her parents about the scar or that everything was a demon who was controlling him because she knew they would question her own sanity. Being educated in the field of medicine, her parents always believed there was a scientific explanation to everything.

The session began with the doctor speaking first. "Hello Luke, how are you feeling today?"

Luke snapped. "Don't talk to me like I'm a child."

By her side, she heard her dad let out a sigh. "It sounds like your brother is regressing. He was doing so well with his therapy sessions." Jotting down some things on his clipboard, he added, "I think that other boy, the Ripper--as they call him, his behavior is influencing Luke."

"Ashton is a good boy." Alice insisted. "His behavior has really improved ever since he was admitted to the hospital."

"His presence affects the other patients." Dr. Jefferson said.