The hand.

Chapter eight

"Zac?"
My head is spinning. I'm so confused.
"What's this all about?"
That's when he broke down. I sat him down on my bed and did what I could to calm him down. I rubbed my hand on his back and held his hand in a comforting way. It seemed to work and his breathing was steadying.
"In your own time,I want you to tell me why you did this."
He took a deep breath before starting.
"Alex told me if I come here,I can talk to my mum."
Huh?
"Who's Alex?"
He got up and walked to the window.
"Alex,come here" he called out the window. He then came back over to me and pointed to his left.
"Alex...."
He motioned with his hand to me.
"I'm Aubrey"
"Alex,Aubrey-Aubrey,Alex" he introduced.
Again,huh? There was no one there.
There's something not quite right here. I just smiled and decided to continue to question him.
"If you don't mind me asking,why would you have to come here to talk to your mum?"
He looked like he was gonna cry again but just sat down next to me and patted the place next to him for where I'm guessing 'Alex' was to sit.
"What I'm about to tell you is very personal and I've never told anyone before."
I gave him a look to tell him to continue.
"To help you understand the situation,I'm gonna have to go back a bit. A year ago,my parents split up"
"Oh I'm so sorry"
"It's fine,I was glad they did,my dad was an awful man and he hit me and my mum"
He lifted up his shirt a bit to show me a scar going right across his abdomen. I gasped and looked at him with sympathy.
"He came at me with a knife"
I can't believe what he's telling me,it was obvious he'd been through a lot but this still shocked me.
"He got arrested and sent to prison but he escaped a few months ago. He was still angry at my mum so he paid a man to....um.....k-kill my m-mum and...."
I gave him a hug and let him cry on me.
"Two m-monthsss ago-o they came and they-y....."
"It's okay,just let it out" I said soothingly.
"I-I was completely torn after the murder but then I met Alex and he told me I can talk to my mum if I come here at 4:00 and I did and he was right"
What?
"Yeah I agree dude"
Huh? I looked over at him to see him talking to 'Alex'.
There's something not right at all.
"Zac,I'm a psychiatrist and I can help you but I can only help if you let me."
"No one can help me"
"I know I can,but I'm going to have to do some tests."

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How do I break this to him? I tested him to see what was going on with him and all the symptoms are there.

Zac has been staying by me since he opened up to me when I found out he was the hand. I still can't get used to the idea that he was the hand.

I walked into his room and he looked at me,giving me his full attention.
"Zac,there's something I need to tell you."
He nodded and gestured for me to sit down.
"Zac,I'm sorry to have to say this but you have schizophrenia."
He looked confused.
"I have what now?"
"Schizophrenia is a long-term mental health condition that causes a range of different psychological symptoms, including: hallucinations – hearing or seeing things that do not exist. delusions – unusual beliefs not based on reality that often contradict the evidence. muddled thoughts based on hallucinations or delusions."
He still looked confused.
"So are you saying I'm crazy?"
"No,of course not! It's a mental illness that can be controlled and that's where I come in. I'll help you,with the right prescription and a few sessions of therapy,it can be controlled and you can live a perfectly normal life."
He looked angry and I honestly didn't know what to do. I can understand his anger and it was very hard for me to break this to him.
"So in other words I'm crazy!" He yelled.
"You're not crazy but you do need help." His anger seemed to fade slightly but he still looked upset which is completely understandable.
"How could this have happened?"
Well I guess I have to tell him.
"When I first made the diagnosis,I thought the same thing so I got a hold of your family's medical notes. Your father has schizophrenia which makes you more vulnerable to it. My guess is that the shock of loosing your mother triggered it."
I felt so bad for having to tell him all this.
"It's all dads fault! It's all his fault that mom isn't here anymore and it's all his fault I'm crazy!"

"Zac,you're not crazy,you can lead a completely normal life if you follow my instructions,I promise you"

"I hate him! I can't even call him my father,he's anything but a father!"
I hugged him as he let the tears flow out.

He's right though,his father did ruin his life,he could have lead a completely different life but here he is,grieving his mother and now he's just been told he has a mental condition.