Gabe stood up, carefully tucking Alex in with the blanket to keep him warm. He quietly started to get ready. When he was done, he had a bit of time before needing to head out, so perhaps reading the diary would be a good idea.
Alex stayed curled on the bed, not waking up. The diary lay on the sidetable still.
Gabe sat down, picking the diary up and flipping to about where he had stopped last time.
Alex kept sleeping.
i don't know how much longer i can go on with this. like this. I see…things. Ghosts. i always have. but there are so many here, i can't do this. too many. too many and they're screaming, screaming, all the time, all the time and it never stops.
Gabe blinked a couple times. So, that's what Alex had been seeing when he had his episodes. That would be helpful information indeed. He glanced over at the sleeping man.
"Poor thing," he said softly.
it doesn't stop. And the attendants lock me up on my own and i can't do anything but see them screaming all the time, always screaming and i can't do this. i can't. if i say anything then it's just somehow proof of insanity, but i'm not, i'm not, i can't be.
Alex was in denial. He saw things, ghosts, things no one else could prove, and he didn't want to admit they weren't really there. Gabe looked at Alex, feeling so bad for him. The way he had been handled… It was sickening. There were so many better ways to have handled this.
There was a break for a while, then a new diary entry.
I think i killed one of the attendants. he was trying to put me in the water again for the water therapy and i was fighting and screaming and he fell. he wasnt getting up and now im in solitary and i think hes dead. The handwriting was rushed, hurried and desperate, the page blotted with tears.
Gabe was worried by this, but it also explained a lot. Alex thought he had killed this man. Maybe he thought he might accidentally do that to Gabe too. No wonder he didn't think he was a good person. Gabe sighed, finally closing the diary. That was enough for now. He understood more about Alex, more than he could have hoped for.
Alex kept sleeping, curled up on the bed with his brown hair fanning out on the pillows.
Gabe looked at Alex a moment more before standing up.
"Be sure to eat today," he mumbled quietly, heading to the door to leave.
Alex shifted a little bit, still sleeping contentedly on the bed, unaware of Gabe.
Gabe wrote a little note for Alex, explaining he would be back, then left.
Alex rolled over, sighing in his sleep.
(time skip?)
(sure! To when?)
(Hm… What about the next time Alex had to deal with a ghost? Then Gabe can use his knew knowledge and let Alex know he knows)
(hmm alright! Tho I will point out that Gabe doesn't believe him about the ghosts, so idk how helpful he's gonna be)
(well, he believes that Alex sees them, so that's a start. Plus, Alex will put the doubt in him when he recognizes what Alex is seeing as the dead neighbor)
(true, true. Do you wanna do the skip or should I?)
(if you could please!)
(sure!)
Alex was sitting in the bed and shaking. He had dropped his book, and it lay unnoticed on the blankets. He was trembling, eyes fixed on the ghost nearby.
Gabe returned home, closing the door gently.
"Alex?" He called out softly, not being able to see into the bedroom yet.
Alex whimpered quietly, shifting in the bed, eyes flashing to the door, then the ghost again.
Gabe grew concerned, strong in farther. When he saw how Alex was in the bed, he made his way over quickly.
"I'm here," he said gently, carefully sitting next to Alex.
Alex was still shaking. "There's…there's…" He stammered out, shaking his head quickly.
"A ghost?" Gabe asked softly. He moved just slightly closer to Alex, concerned for him. What was causing these fits?
Alex looked at him, wide eyed. "I-I…there's…y-yeah…" He whispered, staring up at Gabe.
"Can you tell me what they look like?" Gabe asked softly, making sure Alex was looking at him and not the hallucination. If Alex described the ghost, it might give Gabe an idea what was going on.
"I-I…it's…an…an older man…with…with white hair? And…glasses…" He whispered.