One Day at a Time

“Sorry, it’s just instinctual now,” he replied as he watched the other speak, his smile growing. To see Nathan has worked up and excited as he was because of him? It just made him happy to be helping in some way rather than just sitting taking up space. Nestling further into his blankets, he bit down on the edge.

“Well, this all sounds very exciting, then! I-I... I mean, maybe it’s just a coincidence with that guy, really. I can always speak to Patrick the next time they decide to make an appearance, yeah? I mean, I-I dunno. I want to help, how can I do that? I just want to be back to some sort of normalcy. I want to move in back with my sister some day, you know? It’s too hot in Australia.”
 
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"Doesn't he scare you, that Patrick thing-- I sound so insensitive, I realise that, I'm just not sure how to... word this, it's hardly normal, Casper," he nervously began, his eyes peering about the room. Despite the other mentioning that Patrick was nowhere nearby at the moment, Nathan was more on edge than ever before. Not having communicated with Patrick, the only interaction they had leaving him petrified, he had no idea that the creature wasn't a threat; that Patrick was actually as eager to help Casper as he was. He thought that, from the painting alone, that the creature was frightening to be around, and the very idea that they might be lingering around him now was horrible.

"...I don't think I'd cope well, seeing what you see. To me, you're managing remarkably well, Casper. I... can't say I'd manage to smile and laugh if I were in your position, so... you're awfully brave, I think-- but that doesn't mean you should have to deal with this a second longer. When that medication is approved by health boards and rolled out to facilities like ours, I'm sure it'll help you."
 
“They’re nice...” Casper countered weakly despite his smile. He hadn’t ever been told that he was brave. In fact, he had been told by his father that he was weak for seeing these creatures, that he was mentally ill for attention. It wasn’t true, though he distinctly remembered experiencing therapists saying the same as his father. He remembered being told that he was hurting himself because he was depressed and felt lonely because of his sister’s success... even though that wasn’t true. In fact, he always eagerly supported his sister when she succeeded in life with very little jealousy. To hear that he was brave and in turn being affirmed by Nathan, he couldn’t hide his smile.

“They helped me out and listened to me. They say they’ll miss me when I stop seeing them but I don’t... I don’t know if I’ll ever stop seeing them. I’m hopeful, of course! I just - I’d rather keep my expectations low. They’re very nice, Nathan. I promise they won’t hurt you.”
 
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"I'm sure they're nice, I... just can't help feeling wary. The things you see have tormented you, I just found it difficult to believe one was a benevolent being, I suppose. But no, I... I'm happy to believe that this Patrick is a good being if you say so, I trust you on that," he nodded, carefully collecting his papers once realising just how late it was getting. He could happily sit and chat to the other for hours on end, but he knew that he had already dedicated enough time with Casper for it to be getting suspicious. The fact a nurse had questioned him about his constant prioritisation of Casper and his case ought to be enough for him to take a step back. Instead, he was more invested in the patient than ever, feeling like it was only a matter of time before he could get him out of the hospital for good - and to achieve that, wasn't it understandable to prioritise him? To put in as much time and attention as possible to ensure he got out?

With a final smile, the doctor took his leave which, for Patrick, was the moment they made a return. They had unashamedly been listening in through the walls, growing more confused by the minute when the research was spoken about because they had no knowledge of the former patient. At least until seeing the sketch for themselves, catching a brief glance just before Nathan left. However, Patrick opted not to bring it up, still trying to get their head around it all without confusing their best friend about it.

"...Are you alright?" They began, sitting on the bed with a nervous nod. "I... I'm sorry for disappearing for so long, I... needed time to... myself."
 
“I’m fine, just... it’s been a day,” he admitted with an awkward laugh from under the blankets, his eyes just starting to have closed. He was a bit woozy once the pain medication took effect. In a way he enjoyed getting hurt because he obviously ended up medicated, more often than not, and that at least helped him sleep. Pinching his nose wearily, he motioned with his head to the lights.

“Could you turn those off? I... I had an incident earlier, after you left. I cracked m’ knee, the nurses say it may have been a bit broken or something like that,” he explained, his voice slurred a bit. “Are you alright?”
 
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"Sort of-- it doesn't matter; I don't matter as much as you do right now. I-I feel awful, I should have helped you," they grimaced, their bright eyes dimming a tad once realising how out of it Casper appeared to be, and the last thing the human needed was to be met with two bright orbs obscuring his presumably already blurry vision.

"...I knew that Jake person. That former patient who disappeared from here. I... can talk to you when you're not so sleepy, Casper. I'll wait here right beside you, make sure those horrid little bugs keep away. I'll s-swat them if I have to though I hate to do that, it feels so mean."
 
“You matter a lot to me,” Casper countered easily as he watched the orbs hover in the dark, blinking back his exhaustion, a feeling he loved to have. If he was exhausted, it meant he could sleep at the very least - he wasn’t going to be rude, of course, and instead offeredca smile.... until the mention of the former patient.

“He disappeared? Like... disappeared?” He confirmed slowly, his brows raised in the dim light. “How does that work? Did you have something to do with it, Pat? You... didn’t hurt him, right? Cuz you’d never hurt me...”
 
Patrick was going to assume that the question came as a result of Casper being medicated, otherwise they would be incredibly offended by it. They harboured no malicious intent towards anyone, so having Casper question that didn't make the feel any better, though they decided not to think too deeply about it. Casper was clearly medicated and in no way able to hold a proper discussion with them... or realise how insulting the question about Patrick was.

"I don't want to discuss it, it... it's old news, it happened ages ago! It feels like yesterday, I... didn't even realise I was around back then, time goes by s-so slowly, I... forget the year a lot of the time, I block it all out," they laughed quietly, stretching their fingers out and watching the blobs land on the ground and disappear, just to occupy themselves and not get too emotional. "Jake-- He-- I'm not going to detach myself and act like he was someone else, that's silly and it'll confuse me, but it's helpful to disassociate m-myself or I'll get upset and-- I just don't want to talk about it. He was a patient, he disappeared out in the woods and-- and that's all there is, really. T-There's nothing that would have helped you regarding him, I... I promise."
 
“We should tell Nathan...” he recommended, though his voice was wavering the more he slipped into unconsciousness. “He could help, couldn’t he? O-Or maybe we could go out into the woods, find this guy or his body. Might be fun, right? You and me and Nathan, heading out to the woods... it’s been years since I’ve been out into the woods. It would be nice,” he drawled, only to be followed with deep snores.

When he woke up in the morning, he barely remembered what had happened but he knew that he had to tell Nathan of the patient. Groaning awake, he was immediately hit with queasiness from the medication and the pain from his knee. He got up nonetheless, his eyes adjusting to the light.

“... Pat?” He weakly called, his hands reaching for his given crutches. “I feel ill...”
 
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Pat hadn't broken their promise, loyally staying beside Casper's bedside for the following hours. That didn't mean they were particularly happy about doing so, not after Casper's remarks about heading out into the woods for a spot of grave-digging. Admittedly, Patrick knew that the first thing Nathan would do was inform police and have the body dug up, to solve the cold case of the young man's disappearance all those decades ago. They would want to identify just who it was and that scared Patrick, so much so that they wanted nothing more than to disappear themselves and not be around Casper to give any details about the body's whereabouts.

Unfortunately, they refused to leave Casper's side, despite knowing the possibility of being questioned once again about the body and what they apparently knew about it - something that terrified the being more than they cared to admit.

"...You don't look well, I think you should stay in bed all day, not move a muscle," they remarked with a faint sigh, blinking at the pained groan from the other. "...I can stay with you, if you'd like. I... don't want those monsters plaguing you."
 
“No, no, I... I don’t think I should stay in bed all day. I have to tell Nathan about what you told me last night, Pat. This... is major. The possibility of finding that patient could, I dunno - it could put some family at ease, at the least. You could help us find this guy and we could give him a proper burial, at the least. Doesn’t that sound at least a little rewarding?” He questioned, his eyes scanning Pat in a mix of excitement and in fear. He then quickly pressed the nurse button by his bed.

“I have to eat breakfast, at the very least. I have to report to the medic afterwards to make sure that I’m okay. This isn’t the worst injury I’ve ever gotten, though. When I was younger, I went to my father’s friend’s house. It was a nice two story and it was hot out so the windows were open, right? Well, this particularly menacing creature pinned me against the wall and I panicked so I ran and ended up falling out the window. It’s fine, really. Obviously I don’t live where that could happen anymore.”
 
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"That sounds horrible, I... I can at least keep them away from you now, sort of. They... came a lot last night, the meaner ones. I-I didn't let them near you, but they were pretty eager. Oh, but a lot of the nicer ones came too! You know those cute little bugs that kinda look like mice? They were flying about so... that was nice; they'd never hurt you, I know that. They're so meek," the being laughed, eager to focus on the latter part of the conversation if it meant avoiding talking about the former. They had their reasons for wanting to drop the topic altogether, however unlikely that was. Similarly, they found they couldn't just ignore the mention of digging up a body they knew the precise location of and burying it elsewhere, nervously pacing at the mere thought of it.

"I want you to just s-stop this, Casper, please. Leave this be, okay? I... was happy forgetting about all of this and now it's all been brought up again and it's upsetting for me. I-I blocked it out, I was... happy not remembering what happened, to... just... please, let's forget this. It isn't important, really, not as important as y-you think it is."
 
"It isn't important to me but what about the man's family?" Casper countered quickly, his eyes taking in the other in shock. He had hoped that Patrick would be as excited and eager to solve what he saw as a mystery.He would be lying if he said living in a mental hospital wasn't notoriously boring, especially since he was still new and hadn't made any normal friends. Anxiously fiddling with his hands, his small smile was a deep frown.

"You don't need to help, I'm sure Nathan and I can find him on our own. I just... I think it's important that we do this, you know? There are probably people who assumed something bad happened, o-or they were told a lie and they deserve to hear the truth. Doesn't that upset you, to know that this man was... I dunno! I dunno...''
 
"I know what happened, I... it's not that interesting. He doesn't have family -not any family that would care about him- so it's not important t-to anyone t g-go digging up the past. G-God, if you dig the body up, I... I might disappear and that'd suck, f-for me and hopefully for you," they babbled with an anxious glance out of the window, knowing with certainty that beyond the trees was the body they themselves had buried. Having it unearthed and the 'mystery' solved would only cause them problems. Patrick evidently had an emotional attachment to the body in the woods and they didn't want that emotion to run over and cause the some sort of breakdown, already teetering dangerously close to the edge of one as they paced back and for, debating whether to reveal what they knew or not.

"...His name was Jake Podolksi. He was a patient here, he was my friend and... he liked me a lot. He would see things like you did, it tormented him, but he... he said he was going to escape and bring me with him. Said we were going to head to the Alps, because he wanted to see snow. I found him hanging in the woods one night, I went looking for him, so... I guess he couldn't really handle seeing me anymore, or the other monsters, I dunno. I buried him, I... figured I could visit him. He didn't have family, I just wanted to keep him close so I could go and speak to him, I read about humans doing that at graves. I just... blocked it out, I forgot all about him until yesterday. H-How awful is that, I-I forgot all about him," they sniffled, fiercely wiping their eyes and forcing a cheery tone to their voice, despite the inky blobs denoting tears contradicting that attempt. "...I'm fine, it happened ages ago. Besides, I wouldn't have liked going somewhere cold. I like it here, in the hospital."
 
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“That’s, I... I’m sorry,” Casper whispered in response, his eyes avoiding the other’s, silently thankful for the nurse that came in to dress his knee and offer a wheelchair. Staring at it, he reluctantly took a seat and rolled himself to the small cafeteria.

“I still think I should at least mention it to Nathan,” he murmured, keeping his voice low as to keep attention off of himself. “We don’t have to go looking, I just think maybe having what happened on the database or whatever they call it might be good...? You don’t have to be involved.” He insisted, only offering a smile once rolled to a table before promptly served the meal of the day.